Commonwealth is a national nonprofit building financial security and opportunity for financially vulnerable people through innovation and partnerships. Our vision is to make it possible for all people to build wealth.

We know that it is critical to understand how people think about and experience financial security and opportunity in order to improve and influence financial systems. Your ideas and feedback will help us to understand what areas of work to focus on, and how our partners might better design products and services.

Participating in Research with Commonwealth

Participation in a Commonwealth research project may range from a one-time engagement, such as a single survey or interview, to a longer-term engagement, like using a product or service for a period of time and providing feedback through several surveys and/or interviews. You will be paid for your time (usually with a gift card).

In general, if you are interested in participating: 

• You will first fill out a survey to determine if you meet the specific criteria for the study/project. This criteria can vary across projects, so if you are not selected for one, you could still be eligible for others in the future.
• After determining eligibility, a Commonwealth staff member will follow up with you to outline what you can expect for the specific project. You will be able to ask any questions before getting started, and you can stop participation at any time. 

Once you have decided to participate:

• You may be asked to fill out a participation agreement.
• We will always tell you how the data you provide will be used, and all responses will be anonymous. We commit to storing any personal information securely and will minimize the amount of personally identifiable information.
• If you fill out a paid survey or participate in an interview, focus group, or design session, you can expect to be paid for your time within 24 hours. 
• If we ask you to use a product or service as part of your experience, all potential costs to use will be waived. In some cases, you will have the option to continue to use the product or service after the pilot period (independent of Commonwealth), but there may be costs. This will be clearly communicated.
• We will ask you if you’d like to be added to our participant database to potentially be contacted for future research/pilot studies. If you do, we may reach out to you in the future to see if you are interested in other opportunities.
• Some of our work results in publications, such as blogs and reports. If you are interested in receiving the results if they are made publicly available, you will have an opportunity to express that.

Frequently Asked Questions

In what languages are surveys offered?

Most surveys are offered in English; they are occasionally offered in Spanish, as well. In the future we hope to accommodate other languages, but right now we only offer English and occasionally Spanish. If you would be more comfortable having an interview held in a language other than English, we will try to accommodate this.

What technology do I need to participate in research projects?

Surveys are designed to be completed on mobile devices or on computers; these can sometimes be done over the phone (by voice) as well. If an interview is being conducted remotely, this can be done through a phone call (audio) or through a video messaging app, such as Zoom, on a mobile device, or computer.

Are there potential risks?

Commonwealth aims to work with credible, trusted partners across the nation. We do our best to reduce any potential risks that may be experienced through your participation; however, we cannot guarantee that there will be no risk. We will do our best to anticipate and communicate in advance any potential for risk, so that you can make informed decisions about your interest in and ability to participate. 

If you have additional questions about Commonwealth and our Consumer Research work please contact us at: consumerresearch@buildcommonwealth.org