Since January 2022, the Insights Career Network has helped tens of thousands of insights professionals stay connected and develop new skills through free programs and resources. For organizations, this means access to a steady pipeline of skilled, motivated, job-ready researchers who can add value immediately.

Thanks to a committed and tireless volunteer force and nonstop support at every corner of the professional community, the ICN has become a trusted partner in career transitions. By normalizing career transitions, we have established a safe place in the insights professional development and support ecosystem where real people can get help from real people without feeling less than or alone. We’ve built a place where professionals can stay sharp during downtime, and where companies can tap into pre-vetted talent pools and industry-ready candidates.

Together, we have uncovered uncomfortable career truths and explored the impact of AI as it arrived on the scene. We’re stronger standing together.

As the demand for more proactive and direct career support surges in the insights profession, we now ask for your financial support to solidify and secure Insights Career Network education and career support services for the future. When we share the load, we can do so much more.

As workforce transitions accelerate, companies increasingly need solutions that:

• Support employees during layoffs with career development resources and community
• Provide hiring managers with access to ready-to-work professionals
• Strengthen teams by building AI-ready research capabilities
• Contribute to the profession while meeting internal HR and CSR goals

The first $10,000 raised will allow ICN to establish itself as a nonprofit, upgrade our member services platforms, and fund 2025 operations—laying the groundwork for scalable partnerships with companies that want to support employees and strengthen hiring pipelines.

ICN is a career community and a workforce development partner for the insights industry. With your support, we can expand AI training, mentorship, and career programs that serve individuals as they traverse their careers and deliver value back to employers.

The ICN will produce at least 75 free virtual events in 2026, directly helping thousands develop their practical insights career skills set and connect with allies who want to help them. Our website currently serves insights professionals in career transition and the people who want to connect with them the most and the best, with around 100 career-assist videos and decks, real job referrals, and hundreds of recent, real ready-to-research seeker profiles.

A volunteer team of more than 20 volunteers works to upgrade ICN’s infrastructure as efficiently as possible while we develop new programs and partnerships, like ICN Friday Forum. Every Friday at 1 pm ET, the ICN’s Executive Director Brian Fowler, and guest allies will welcome the community in an ask-me-anything Q&A session about career matters. Stay tuned to your member email for more information.

ICN IRL: Socialization of Findings, Advocacy for Opportunity, Community-Enabler

Our representatives and researchers are increasingly invited to speak at insights conferences about our studies and the opportunities facing researchers and when our partners enable us, we operate a mobile Insights Career Office where we help conference goers with career and hiring challenges. This year, we could organize up to 12 low-cost, networking events at the request of community members, especially when those members are company partners. That is, if we have the travel budget. In most U.S. markets, we have leaders nearby, but not all.

Insights is at Risk

As workforce transitions accelerate, companies increasingly need solutions that:

• Support employees during layoffs with career development resources and community
• Provide hiring managers with access to ready-to-work professionals
• Strengthen teams by building AI-ready research capabilities
• Contribute to the profession while meeting internal HR and CSR goals

The first $10,000 raised will allow ICN to establish itself as a nonprofit, upgrade our member services platforms, and fund 2025 operations—laying the groundwork for scalable partnerships with companies that want to support employees and strengthen hiring pipelines.

ICN is a career community and a workforce development partner for the insights industry. With your support, we can expand AI training, mentorship, and career programs that serve individuals as they traverse their careers and deliver value back to employers.

As workforce transitions accelerate, companies increasingly need solutions that:

• Support employees during layoffs with career development resources and community
• Provide hiring managers with access to ready-to-work professionals
• Strengthen teams by building AI-ready research capabilities
• Contribute to the profession while meeting internal HR and CSR goals

The first $10,000 raised will allow ICN to establish itself as a nonprofit, upgrade our member services platforms, and fund 2025 operations—laying the groundwork for scalable partnerships with companies that want to support employees and strengthen hiring pipelines.

ICN is a career community and a workforce development partner for the insights industry. With your support, we can expand AI training, mentorship, and career programs that serve individuals as they traverse their careers and deliver value back to employers.

Growing Programs to Meet the AI Need

The rate of new members to the ICN each month has remained consistently high for more than 2 years, and the need extends beyond the US. The demand for more affordable and direct community services and skill development opportunities is clear, and it’s happening worldwide.

Fewer than 10% of insights workers today are ready for AI in their work, and it can be especially difficult to gain experience and confidence in a new technique as an unemployed professional. The ICN can be a nonprofit research AI skills development agency that builds and trains researchers and reinforces our insights workforce. 

We have seen the direct impact that hands-on training can have on individuals, teams, and organizations. Recently, ICN volunteers hosted research on research projects that developed new AI skills and capabilities by running an original research project over six weeks, and the work is continuing to pay dividends for everyone involved.

We see the need and promise for an independent community that delivers advanced career support through 1:1 mentor matching programs, small, relevant career and community support groups, and career resources curated from all the sources that enable us to help ourselves and each other affordably.

And we see the value of elevating the voices and perspectives of everyone in our professional community, people who study users, customers, markets, behaviors, and trends. This year, Greenbook and Quirk’s Media have already published eight articles written by authors in the ICN community about insights, recruiting and hiring practices, original research on research, and how to succeed as freelance insights workers.

There is so much more need and opportunity in this space, but any expansion of ICN services will have an impact on human resources, if not on hard costs. Today, we are 100% volunteer-powered, a position that becomes more challenging as our programs and voice grow. In very real terms, a part-time or full-time staff member is warranted for a considerable expansion in services.