Industry overview
What is shaping water
Water research covers households, utilities, purifier brands and development programmes. Access, quality, reliability and trust in the source decide how people use and pay for water.
- Many households combine several water sources
- Trust in water quality drives purifier adoption
- Utilities are judged on reliability and billing
Client background
A national water authority, working in United Arab Emirates & Saudi Arabia. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- A national water authority
- Sector
- Water
- Team engaged
- Market Research
- Services
- Government research, Quantitative research, Content marketing
Client challenge
The authority wanted to expand the use of recycled water and promote water conservation, but needed to understand public attitudes and concerns among citizens and expatriate residents. Water demand was rising quickly, and per-capita consumption was among the highest in the world.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: public attitudes to desalinated and recycled water.
- Understand the views, needs and behaviour of residents.
- Produce results that can be compared across groups and locations.
- Give the client evidence it can act on within 7 weeks.
Target audience
The work focused on 2,500 residents.
- residents2,500
Audiences we typically reach in water
HouseholdsUtility customersPurifier buyers and ownersCommunity water committeesWASH programme beneficiaries
Geographic coverage
Coverage: United Arab Emirates & Saudi Arabia. Markets: United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
- United Arab Emirates
- Saudi Arabia
Research methodology
A structured quantitative design, so results could be compared across groups, locations and time.
- 1Brief
- 2Resident survey in Arabic and English
- 3Message testing
- 4Insight
We surveyed residents in Arabic and English about water use, conservation habits, trust in water quality and attitudes to recycled water for different uses, then tested awareness messages. The sample reflected the population mix of citizens and expatriates, and questions explored trust in different information sources, from government channels to social media.
Government researchQuantitative researchContent marketing
Sampling strategy
- residents
- 2,500
- The sample was designed with the client around the decision to be made, with quotas to keep key groups readable.
Data collection
- Data was collected with the methods listed below, managed by a dedicated project team.
Data quality & validation
- Logic and range checks on the final data
- Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures
Data analysis
- Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
- Significance testing on the differences that mattered
- Comparison of concepts, messages or products against each other
Key findings
- Residents accepted recycled water for landscaping and industry but were hesitant for household use.
Acceptance grew step by step, starting with less personal uses.
Recommendations
- The authority focused communications on non-household uses first and emphasised quality monitoring.
- Share the findings with the teams closest to customers so they can act quickly.
What we recommended, and the client put into practice
Business impact
- Later surveys showed growing comfort with recycled water for irrigation and district cooling.
Deliverables & next steps
- Insight report and management presentation
- Cleaned data file and data tables
- Evaluation findings with programme recommendations
- Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
- A natural follow-on question: how do households source and store water?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.