First step was pretty standard with a recruiter. Second was a matching of my skills and qualifications (nothing crazy).
Third was a stats exam: in this exam, I was given one of their datasets that matched up to an article they published, and asked to reverse engineer some of their findings in the paper (they would leave parts blank in the paper and I'd have to work with the data in Excel/SPSS). That first dataset was based on this paper they've published: Pipelines and Progression: The Development and Advancement of Women in Science and Technology. The second dataset was provided, and was more to use in Excel with light manipulation (creating an attribute from a column, insights from qualitative responses, etc.). They give three hours: it took me 2ish to complete and a half hour to check my work.
The last part was a bit more in-depth. I was given a week to prepare, and I basically had to present a project plan using their flagship study in a different setting. They've published a white paper called Being Black in Corporate America for a few years, and they wanted to hear the considerations for creating a similar study in Britain. They sent the following email as a prompt:
The plan should be for a study that commences on October 1, 2021, and culminates with a report and launch event on June 1, 2021.
Resources at your disposal for the plan will include:
A project team of a data associate (who can conduct quantitative and qualitative research and analysis), a writer (who can also conduct qualitative research), and a project manager (who and also conduct qualitative research); you will also be working with two research leads who can provide guidance and feedback on the plan, the finding, and the manuscript.
Three external advisors (one academic, one executive, and one head of a D&I consulting firm) who will review findings and share feedback
Five sponsor companies with London-based points of contact, who will also expect to see early findings and host focus groups as part of the qualitative research gathering
In addition to laying out workstreams and a rough timeline, the plan should answer the following questions:
What should the methodology and sequence of data-gathering and analysis be?
How can you ensure that the report accurately portrays the experience of the black professional in the UK?
How should responsibilities be divvied up among the team members?
At what point in the research process should project leads be engaged? External stakeholders?
How can you ensure that the final manuscript is accurate?