ESOMAR Questions

The ESOMAR Questions are designed to guide and help buyers of online research samples.

Company Profile

(1) What experience does your company have in providing online samples for market research? How long have you been providing this service? Do you also provide similar services for other uses such as direct marketing? If so, what proportion of your work is for market research? 

Cint Answer:

Cint hosts the world’s largest consumer network for digital market research, consisting of more than 149 million research participants in over 130 countries – accessing more than 4,500 individual market research panels and sample sources. The Cint platform offers a unique and transparent marketplace environment called the Insight Exchange for buyers and sellers of sample to connect and transact by matching a seller’s market research panel and respondent profiling data against the buyer’s sampling needs in real-time. This makes Cint the most effective and efficient way to access sample to conduct digital market research at scale and at speed.

Founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 1998, Cint is trusted by over 2,600 agencies, researchers and brands in more than 72 countries worldwide. Since Cint’s inception, innovation has been a cornerstone of the company’s growth. In 2005, it launched the industry’s first and only global online sample marketplace platform called CPX, now known as the Insight Exchange, which is the nucleus of the Cint platform today.

Sample is generally procured via the Cint platform’s self-service solutions — Access by Cint or Access Pro by Cint or Cint’s API-based automation as well as via a managed services offering where a Cint project manager executes and manages the project. Access by Cint enables sample buyers to check feasibility, calculate pricing, set-up target groups, assess quotas, order sample, and manage their fieldwork, all from an easy-to-use dashboard-based interface. Access Pro by Cint extends these capabilities, giving sample buyers total fieldwork control from feasibility to invoicing. Cint’s API-based automation also permits automation of the entire process from feasibility through invoicing.

This sample ecosystem is based on a large number of panels, augmented by carefully selected and vetted supplemental permission-based sample sources. All Cint’s panel partners gain free access to its advanced panel management software, Engage by Cint, to set up, recruit, manage and maintain panels and subpanels for their own insights needs.

Panel and sample source partners in the Cint platform include market research agencies, media owners, publishers (digital and traditional), non-profits and companies with access to large-scale web traffic. All panels use consent or some other legal basis for processing personal data and are operated in compliance with ISO 20252. As stated above, these are augmented by carefully selected and vetted supplemental panel-based sources.

All panels accessed via the Cint platform are operated in compliance with accepted industry codes, including, but not limited to ESOMAR and the Insights Association.

Cint also offers API-based integration that permits survey software tool providers to integrate their platform, giving their users (sample buyers) direct access to Cint’s Insight Exchange marketplace. Cint also offers a sophisticated set of Buyer-APIs, supported by a developer portal and toolkit, allowing those sample buyers full access via APIs to Cint’s full-feature set available in available in Access by Cint for feasibility, pricing, quota management, and targeting.

In 2020, the company launched Track by Cint, a market-leading and revolutionary approach to field and manage tracking studies delivered through zero-touch wave automation.

Cint is also leading the research industry’s evolution to non-survey based digital market research with a suite of products led by Connect by Cint that permits clients to connect deeply profiled research participants (panelists/participants) and track their exposure to online advertising, websites and other Internet content. Cint is committed to being an integral part of the online advertising testing ecosystem for cross-device advertising measurement within walled gardens.

Cint’s OpinionApp enables sample providers and sample buyers to leverage research participants/panelists in a mobile environment. Cint’s OpinionApp permits participants/panelists access to surveys and their panelist information.

 The number of projects Cint conducts year-over-year continues to grow rapidly. In the 12 months ending December 2020, the company completed 2,790,712 projects in approximately 130 markets around the world. In addition to all the major developed markets, Cint also delivered services and projects to clients in markets where digital market research is less prevalent.

Through its platform, Cint’s clients also get access to niche audience groups in many geographies that are not commonly found in offerings from other sample providers. These include gamers, sports fans, mothers of children of specific ages, certain ethnicities, varied B2B audiences, professionals, health care providers and many others.

Cint’s scope of work is broad. In partnership with market research agency clients, it executes research for leading brands, retailers, CPG/FCMG firms, and companies in many different sectors in many markets. This includes a significant proportion of tracking work running continuously for years.

All panels within the Cint platform are only used for market research and when participants/panelists register, they are informed that the panel is used exclusively for market research purposes. Clients (sample buyers) using the Cint Platform must accept Cint’s Terms and Conditions (or other such agreement) that limits their use of the platform to market research.

Cint’s panel partners source participants/panelists through a variety of methods in order to help build diverse, representative, engaged panel communities. Over time, each panel builds more and more detailed profiling points on each individual, and the Cint platform uses this deep information to facilitate matching the right active, engaged participants/panelists with the right surveys. Some of the recruitment methods used by panel partners include:

  • Online recruitment through the owner’s portal which includes: (1) brand communities and (2) digital media and publisher sources
  • Email recruitment through a panel owner’s newsletters
  • Specific invitations sent to a panel owner’s database
  • Email recruitment using a permission-based database
  • Social networks
  • Loyalty web sites
  • Affiliate traffic
  • Telephone-based recruitment
  • Face-to-face (F2F) based recruitment
  • All participants/panelists available through the Cint platform are subjected to comprehensive quality checks to ensure clients get the highest quality outcomes.

(2) Do you have staff with responsibility for developing and monitoring the performance of the sampling algorithms and related automated functions who also have knowledge and experience in this area? What sort of training in sampling techniques do you provide to your frontline staff?

Cint Answer:

Yes, Cint’s Operations, Platform Intelligence, and Product teams continuously monitor the performance of the company’s automated sampling algorithms. These sampling algorithms are developed using best practices in sampling theory to help minimize both source bias and panel usage risks.

Cint’s in-house Customer Success Team is responsible for project success and completion. They receive regular training on sampling approaches and best practices. When specific complex sampling approaches are needed or requested, the Customer Success Team will engage in strategy conversations with Cint’s clients (sample buyers).

Clients using Access Pro can develop and follow their own sampling and blending approaches and protocols.

(3) What other services do you offer? Do you cover sample-only, or do you offer a broad range of data collection and analysis services? 

Cint Answer:

The Cint platform is also used by leading market research agencies as a SaaS solution for the management of large-scale sample operations. This offering, known as Access Enterprise, replaces the need to maintain technology infrastructure and is a complete “bid-to-bill” solution that eliminates complex bidding, fieldwork, project management and invoicing across all supply sources. Access Enterprise also enables organizations to create private marketplaces with their proprietary panel assets and strategic panel and sample source partners, allowing seamless blending of supply – optimizing delivery and maximizing cost-efficiency.

Cint also offers automated, scalable non-survey based digital market research solutions for behavioral market research using techniques for participant and data matching. The platform’s connected data offering can combine online and offline data with survey insights. Cint also offers data enrichment services, targeting ID, cross-device measurement, and cookie-less tracking solutions.

Sample Source and Recruitment

(4) Using the broad classifications above, from what sources of online sample do you derive participants? 

Cint Answer:

As stated above, Cint’s sample ecosystem is based on a large number of panels and carefully selected and vetted supplemental permission-based sample sources. Cint’s panel and sample source partners include market research agencies, media owners, publishers (digital and traditional), non-profits and companies with access to large-scale web traffic

(5) Which of these sources are proprietary or exclusive and what is the percent share of each in the total sample provided to a buyer? 

Cint Answer:

The majority of Cint sample is sourced from third parties, that is through panels hosted by Cint and carefully selected and vetted supplemental permission-based sample sources.  In addition. Cint will continue to build and acquire specific proprietary sample assets where demand exceeds its third-party sample supply sourcing.

 

(6) What recruitment channels are you using for each of the sources you have described? Is the recruitment process ‘open to all’ or by invitation only? Are you using probabilistic methods? Are you using affiliate networks and referral programs and in what proportions? How does your use of these channels vary by geography? 

Cint Answer:

As stated above, Cint has built a sample sourcing ecosystem with a large number of panels augmented by carefully selected and vetted supplemental permission sample sources. Recruitment methods and sources will vary by partner. All of Cint’s panel partners gain free access to its advanced panel management software, Engage by Cint, to set up, recruit, manage and maintain panels and subpanels, for their own insights needs.

(7) What form of validation do you use in recruitment to ensure that participants are real, unique, and are who they say they are? Describe this both in terms of the practical steps you take within your own organization and the technologies you are using. Please try to be as specific and quantify as much as you can. 

Cint Answer:

Cint leverages a mix of proprietary AI-based techniques and technologies supplemented by selected “off the shelf tools”, including duplicate prevention to aggressively target, identify and limit fraudulent participation and duplication. Cint applies these tools to all partners, thereby ensuring sample buyers of consistent quality checks.

For opt-in panels, recruitment typically takes place through a link to a specific registration page hosted on Cint’s platform or a website hosted by Cint’s panel partner.  After a participant/panelist joins, they complete an email-based, double opt-in process. For Cint’s other sample sources, registration takes place via the sample source provider’s website of application.

Validation takes place by using the personal and profiling information held by Cint’s panel partners and other sample source partners. Panelists and participants are continually validated using personal and profile data at the time when the individual is invited to surveys or other market research opportunities. Invitation links are encrypted so as to limit participation to a validated panelist/participant.

Cint does not host the questionnaires for data collection. Accordingly, Cint works with clients to help them deploy appropriate validation checks, including but not limited to analysis of questionnaire completion time, data outliers, unanswered questions and patterned responses. Cint further encourages its clients to add straight-lining, red herring questions and other data quality checks to their surveys. Panelists/participants who do not pass these checks do not qualify as completes and do not qualify for an incentive.

These techniques and technology permit Cint to field re-contact studies, diary studies, and wave studies very effectively with a high level of participation.

(8) What brand (domain) and/or app are you using with proprietary sources? Summarize, by source, the proportion of sample accessing surveys by mobile app, email, or other specified means.

Cint Answer:

  • Opinion App
  • Your-surveys
  • Surveyrewardz
  • Points2shop
  • TrendsetterClub (GapFish)
  • EntscheiderClub (GapFish)
  • Suppliers with their own hosted panels utilize the Engage platform or Panel360

 

(9) Which model(s) do you offer to deliver sample? Managed service, self-serve, or API integration? 

Cint Answer:

Cint offers all these methods to access sample. As stated above sample can be accessed and delivered via the Cint platform’s self-service solutions — Access or Access Pro. It can also be accessed via Cint’s API-based automation, or via a managed services offering where a Cint project manager executes and manages the project.

(10) If offering intercepts, or providing access to more than one source, what level of transparency do you offer over the composition of your sample (sample sources, sample providers included in the blend). Do you let buyers control which sources of sample to include in their projects, and if so, how? Do you have any integration mechanisms with third-party sources offered? 

Cint Answer:

Whether a sample buyer uses the Cint platform’s self-service solutions — Access or Access Pro – Cint’s API-based automation, or Cint’s managed services offering, sample buyers can select and customize sample sources and blends.

Cint’s platform permits sample buyers to retrieve specific project specifications and launch additional waves or separate projects using or modifying previous sample specifications.

(11) Of the sample sources you have available, how would you describe the suitability of each for different research applications? For example, is there sample suitable for product testing or other recruit/recall situations where the buyer may need to go back again to the same sample? Is the sample suitable for shorter or longer questionnaires? For mobile-only or desktop only questionnaires? Is it suitable to recruit for communities? For online focus groups?

Cint Answer:

As stated above the Cint platform provides the highest level of transparency.  Sample buyers select specific panels and other sample sources that best fit their specific project needs. Sample buyers need only indicate their specifications and sample will be delivered in accordance with their needs.

Sampling And Project Management

(12) Briefly describe your overall process from invitation to survey completion. What steps do you take to achieve a sample that “looks like” the target population? What demographic quota controls, if any, do you recommend? 

Cint Answer:

Panelists/participants can be invited by direct email invitation or via a link placed on a website or application. For direct email invitations, content varies by panel partner, confidentiality, closing date (if applicable), incentive terms and conditions, privacy policy or notice and opt-out link.

The profiling information that Cint holds or has access to permits the Cint platform to target specific audiences, including hard-to-reach groups.  Sample buyers can select ‘census representativity’ on both survey send-outs and incoming completes.

The Cint platform automatically provides the correct allocation to achieve the proper distribution based on census data for a specific geography should the buyer indicate this need. A sample buyer can also choose to create custom allocations (including age, gender, etc.) on survey send-outs and incoming completes. During field, the client and Cint both have the ability to adjust quotas as required.

(13) What profiling information do you hold on at least 80% of your panel members plus any intercepts known to you through prior contact? How does this by the sources you offer? How often is each of those data points updated? Can you supply these data points as appends to the data set? Do you collect this profiling information directly or is it supplied by a third party? 

Cint Answer:

Cint’s profiling depth varies in each of the that it provides. Clients are asked to contact the Cint team with questions on the specific profiling information for a project’s needs and audience.

Standard profile data can include email address, name, address, phone numbers, gender, postal code, year of birth, education level, occupation, and a large number of panel or sample source specific profiling information. Cint has a large set of standardized ‘global profiling questions’ used across all panels and countries in Cint’s Insight Exchange marketplace. This results in Cint being able to provide detailed standardized profiling data on its research participants/panelists.

These “global profile questions” include questions pertaining to automotive preferences, consumer goods, education, electronics, ethnicity, finance, food and beverage, gaming, healthcare, hobbies, media preferences, mobile preferences, shopping, travel. This data is updated every time participants/panelists make changes or update their profile information, either proactively or through profiling surveys or panel communications (member communications, newsletters, etc.) or respond to a survey where they are given an opportunity to complete additional questions from the global profiling questions list. In addition, Cint collects and makes available hundreds of additional profiling points that are based on sample buyer needs and/or market requirements. Profile points also vary and are customized to specific geographies. Cint’s profiling data permits sample buyers to easily target participants/panelists who are a fit for a particular study’s demographics. Cint’s profiling information provides sample buyers with great flexibility in targetable qualifications.  Profiling data includes data which is fixed (e.g., gender, birthdate), data which can be dynamic over-time (e.g., pregnancy, recent movie-going habits) and still others which do not change frequently (e.g., household income, employment status). Those profilers that are dynamic have a refresh period where participants/panelists are prompted to provide periodic updates.

(14) What information do you need about a project in order to provide an estimate of feasibility? What, if anything, do you do to give upper or lower boundaries around these estimates? 

Cint Answer:

Cint requires via the Cint platform:

  • the demographics being sought (age, gender, regions, etc.);
  • any non-demographic targeting or behavioral criteria required for qualification;
  • quotas or sub-quotas required;
  • the number of completed interviews requested;
  • the estimated length of interview;
  • the estimated incidence rate;
  • additional sampling criteria as applicable (i.e., census rep., balanced send-outs, etc.);
  • any panelist exclusions required;
  • device or survey restrictions; and
  • whether the panelist/participant needs to agree to the collection of personal data.

In situations with limited field time, complexity of quotas, and/or niche targets, Cint may provide a range of feasibility.

(15) What do you do if the project proves impossible for you to complete in field? Do you inform the sample buyer as to who you would use to complete the project? In such circumstances, how do you maintain and certify third party sources/sub-contractors? 

Cint Answer:

The Cint platform permits sample buyers complete transparency with respect to the source of panelists/participants. Sample buyers have transparency into every panel and sample source down to the panel brand. Cint always permits sample buyers the choice of how and from which panels and sample sources from which they want to sample, allowing for single sourcing or sophisticated panel blending.

Cint’s Insight Exchange’s sample inventory can be extended by outside third-party sample from outside the Insight Exchange.

In any instance where feasibility is or becomes a problem, the sample buyers are always notified, be it at the bidding stage, when a job is commissioned or during the field period.

(16) Do you employ a survey router or any yield management techniques? If yes, please describe how you go about allocating participants to surveys. How are potential participants asked to participate in a study? Please specify how this is done for each of the sources you offer. 

Cint Answer:

The Cint platform includes a yield management system that utilizes proprietary routing technology. The company’s proprietary algorithms and advanced targeting systems identify surveys that are the best fit for any particular panelist or participant during any survey session. They operate on an optimization function that seeks to maximize the likelihood of a respondent qualifying for and completing a study. This “best match” technology emphasizes both research participant experience and minimizes over-quotas, disqualifications, and other factors resulting in termination of specific surveys.

Once a survey has been completed or terminated, the Cint platform will then identify the next best survey opportunity which considers quotas, or other relevant factors dictating how much sample should be deployed. The Cint platform ranks surveys based on individual panelist/participant characteristics rather than targeting one demographic or profiling target over another.

(17) Do you set limits on the amount of time a participant can be in the router before they qualify for a survey? 

Cint Answer: Panelists/participants, on average, are routed five times before a session is terminated so that a participant does not have a poor experience.

(18) What information about a project is given to potential participants before they choose whether to take the survey or not? How does this differ by the sources you offer? 

Cint Answer:

This differs depending on the sample supply source. Panelists from hosted panels receive a customized email invitation that uses the “brand” of the specific panel of which they are a member. The email invitation components include:

  • the estimated length of interview;
  • access to full disclosure of incentive terms and conditions applying to the project;
  • an explanation if the invitation is sent out on behalf of another research service provider;
  • for panel members, the opportunity to unsubscribe or opt-out of future research; and
  • an appropriate privacy policy or statement.

Panelist/participants can also be invited through other means including offers on panel partner websites or applications.

Invitations for non-panel supply sources are offered via the supply source partner’s specific invitation mechanism.

(19) Do you allow participants to choose a survey from a selection of surveys? If so, what are they told about each survey that helps them to make that choice? 

Cint Answer:

In the case where a panelist/participant accesses a survey via website of application, the following are generally presented:

  • Survey name
  • CPI
  • LOI
  • Incentive offered

If routing is being deployed, surveys are selected for presentation to panelists/participants.

(20) What ability do you have to increase (or decrease) incentives being offered to potential participants (or sub-groups of participants) during the course of a survey? If so, can this be flagged at the participant level in the dataset?

Cint Answer:  

Incentive levels will vary by incidence, length of interview and other factors. In the case of hosted panels, the Cint platform uses incentive levels that are agreed upon by Cint and the specific sample supply partners. For other sample supply sources, incentive levels are determined by the specific sample supply partner using similar factors.

Incentive levels can be customized to specific studies in specific situations, in consultation with the sample buyer.

(21) Do you measure participant satisfaction at the individual project level? If so, can you provide normative data for similar projects (by length, by type, by subject, by target group)? 

Cint Answer:

Cint has implemented and deployed a panelist/participant satisfaction measurement program. Every individual that completes a questionnaire has the opportunity to provide feedback. They are asked a number of questions regarding survey length, survey flow, and language used and are able to give provide feedback via an open-end question. This information is available to clients (sample buyers) via the Cint platform.

This information is continually reviewed by Cint and feedback is shared with sample buyers so they can implement changes to their surveys.

Cint also undertakes continual ‘research-on-research’ that addresses panelist/participant engagement, satisfaction, and fatigue, to identify potential solutions. This research is shared with sample supply partners and incorporated into Cint’s internal quality program.

(23) Do you provide a debrief report about a project after it has completed? If yes, can you provide an example? 

Cint Answer:

For each project, Cint provides a report containing information including the number of survey responses, survey dispositions (completes, screen outs, quota-fulls), and dropouts as well as average length of interview and incidence rate, etc. Below is an example of project level stats:

  • Response rate – percentage of panelists responded out of total invited.
  • Conversion rate – percentage of panelists completed out of total started.
  • Dropout rate – percentage of panelists who abandoned out of total started.
  • Quota full rate – percentage of panelists who were over quota out of of total responded.

 

Data quality and Validation

(23) How often can the same individual participate in a survey? How does this vary across your sample sources? What is the mean and maximum amount of time a person may have already been taking surveys before they entered this survey? How do you manage this?

Cint Answer:

Cint monitors the frequency of participation of all panelists given a score based on responsiveness.

Cint’s Insight Exchange marketplace holds detailed information for each panelist/participant regarding the surveys that they have participated in. For hosted panels, panel owners can choose a desired ‘quarantine period’ (i.e., time between survey invitations) to ensure panelists do not receive too many survey offers. For other permission-based sources, suppliers make their own choices and, as a general principle, seek to maximize the life-term value of their respondents.

Regardless of sample source, Cint’s operational policies allow for one invite and one reminder for every survey opportunity. Typical lockout periods before an invitation to another survey opportunity are seven days, but this can vary based upon specific supply source and geography.

 

(24) What data do you maintain on individual participants such as recent participation history, date(s) of entry, source/channel, etc.? Are you able to supply buyers with a project analysis of such individual level data? Are you able to append such data points to your participant records? 

Cint Answer:

Cint’s Insight Exchange marketplace maintains detailed participation data which includes: join date; last participation date and transaction history on all surveys; redemptions; and reward points transactions. As Cint complies with all applicable data protection laws and regulations, data that contains personal information is never made available unless the panelist or participant provides consent and is permitted by applicable local laws and regulations.

Cint can provide participation history reports to sample buyers upon request.

(25) Please describe your procedures for confirmation of participant identity at the project level. Please describe these procedures as they are implemented at the point of entry to a survey or router.

Cint Answer:

Cint has implemented a variety of quality measures that are applied to panelists/ participants before they are offered surveys. These include email validation, comparison against “blacklist databases”, browser fingerprint, geographic location, and participant behavior.  Cint uses proprietary technology augmented by leading “off-the-shelf-solutions.”

Cint is particularly diligent and proactive with respect to the detection of fraudulent and inattentive behavior, including speeding and straight-lining. The Cint platform assigns each participant an internal quality score based on survey response quality, and other user behavioral data. With this information, Cint makes every effort to identify and minimize fraud wherever possible. When fraud is detected, Cint temporarily locks accounts, bans or blocks participants/panelists from all survey activity, and from reward redemption, until an internal review can be completed by Cint’s internal quality administrators.

Cint has also implemented advanced geo IP and proxy detection and device fingerprinting that detect user’s actual location and device type used for a survey.

(26) How do you manage source consistency and blend at the project level? With regard to trackers, how do you ensure that the nature and composition of sample sources remain the same over time? Do you have reports on blends and sources that can be provided to buyers? Can source be appended to the participant data records? 

Cint Answer:

As noted above, whether a sample buyer uses the Cint platform’s self-service solutions — Access or Access Pro – Cint’s API-based automation, or Cint’s managed services offering, sample buyers can select and customize sample sources and blends.

Cint’s platform permits sample buyers to retrieve specific project specifications and launch additional waves or separate projects using or modifying previous sample specifications.

For tracking or other normed-based studies, buyers can indeed manage the blend composition so as to keep it constant over time.

Cint also allows for robust exclusion rules to ensure a panelist/participant may only complete a specific survey once. Deduplication, re-use and the lockout period for quota-full or terminated statuses are set for each project, based on sample buyer’s preference and Cint’s quality practices. The default settings allow no re-entry once an official status of complete, screened out, terminated or any similar “final” status is achieved. Panelists/participants can re-enter if the individual has no “final” status (complete, screened out or terminated or other similar “final” status).

For tracking surveys, de-duplication, panelist/participant re-use and lockout period for subsequent waves are set according to sample buyer’s specifications.

(27) Please describe your participant/member quality tracking, along with any health metrics you maintain on members/participants, and how those metrics are used to invite, track, quarantine, and block people from entering the platform, router, or a survey. What processes do you have in place to compare profiled and known data to in-survey responses? 

Cint Answer:

As noted above, Cint keeps detailed records of participation in studies. For panels hosted in the Cint platform, Cint automatically ensures that all panelists/participants are ‘quarantined’ after participating in a survey, meaning they cannot be offered another survey for a defined period of time. The standard quarantine period is seven (7) days which varies by panelists/participant preference, supply source provider, direction and geography. The Cint platform generates a “score” based on each individual’s participation. This participation “score” history is recorded along with exclusion information. Cint’s platform also provides advanced subject-category quarantine capabilities that are available to sample buyers on request. Each panelist/participant is tracked via a quality score. Should a particular panelist fall beneath a certain quality tier, he/she will no longer be able to participate in any market research studies.

(28) For work where you program, host, and deliver the survey data, what processes do you have in place to reduce or eliminate undesired in-survey behaviours, such as (a) random responding, (b) Illogical or inconsistent responding, (c) overuse of item nonresponse (e.g., “Don’t Know”) (d) inaccurate or inconsistent responding, (e) incomplete responding, or (f) too rapid survey completion? 

Cint Answer: 

This question is not applicable. Cint does not program or host surveys.

Policies And Compliance

(29) Please provide the link to your participant privacy notice (sometimes referred to as a privacy policy) as well as a summary of the key concepts it addresses.
(Note: If your company uses different privacy notices for different products or services, please provide an example relevant to the products or services covered in your response to this question). 

Cint Answer: 

Cint’s primary Participant Privacy Notice can be found here. Cint’s Participant Privacy notices address the requirements data protection law and regulation including EU-GDPR and CCPA. These include:

  • Principles for the processing of personal data
  • Types of personal data processed
  • How personal data is processed
  • Legal bases for processing
  • Data retention
  • How personal data is shared
  • Cross-border transfer
  • Participant rights

(30) How do you comply with key data protection laws and regulations that apply in the various jurisdictions in which you operate? How do you address requirements regarding consent or other legal bases for the processing personal data? How do you address requirements for data breach response, cross-border transfer, and data retention? Have you appointed a data protection officer? 

Cint Answer:

Cint has developed a data protection compliance program designed to meet the requirements of applicable data protection laws and regulations. These include:  Brazil (GDPL), Canada (PIPEDA), the EU (EU-GDPR), Japan (APPI) and the US (CCPA as well as other federal and state law and regulation).

Cint uses consent as the primary legal basis for processing and in limited situations will use other legal bases, including performance of a contract and legitimate interest.

Cint’s data protection compliance program includes policies and processes to address:

  • Data breach response (including required notification times, data subject notification and supervisory authority notification requirements)
  • Cross-border transfer (Standard Contractual Clauses with supplemental measures)
  • Data retention (in accordance with law and regulation)

Cint has appointed a data protection officer.

(31) How can participants provide, manage and revise consent for the processing of their personal data? What support channels do you provide for participants? In your response, please address the sample sources you wholly own, as well as those owned by other parties to whom you provide access. 

Cint Answer:

Panelists/participants can provide, manage and revise consent (including the retraction of consent) for the processing of their personal data. Panelists/participants can use Cint’s platform or Cint’s panelist/participant support desk.

As Cint provides a platform for sample source owners to manage and provide access to their sample sources, Cint provides consent management as a service to its source owners.

(32) How do you track and comply with other applicable laws and regulations, such as those that might impact the incentives paid to participants?

Cint Answer:

Cint’s compliance team continually monitors applicable national/regional and state law and regulatory developments. Monitoring is done primary via legal and regulatory information sources, industry association participation and engagement of external expertise (as required).

(33) What is your approach to collecting and processing the personal data of children and young people? Do you adhere to standards and guidelines provided by ESOMAR or GRBN member associations? How do you comply with applicable data protection laws and regulations? 

Cint Answer:

Cint complies with applicable national/regional and state laws and regulations, including EU-GDPR (and member-state derogations) and COPPA as well as standards and guidelines provided by ESOMAR, ESOMAR/GRBN, GRBN member organizations and other national organizations.

(34) Do you implement “data protection by design” (sometimes referred to as “privacy by design”) in your systems and processes? If so, please describe how.

Cint Answer: 

Cint has implemented “data protection by design” by:

  • putting in place technical and organizational measures designed to implement applicable data protection principles; and
  • integrating safeguards into data processing to meet applicable regulatory requirements.

Data protection is built into processing activities and business practices and is included in:

  • the development of new IT systems, services, and processes that involve the processing personal data;
  • the development of organizational policies, processes, business practices and strategies that have privacy implications;
  • physical design;
  • Initiating data sharing initiatives; and
  • using personal data for new purposes.

(35) What are the key elements of your information security compliance program? Please specify the framework(s) or auditing procedure(s) you comply with or certify to. Does your program include an asset-based risk assessment and internal audit process? 

Cint Answer:

Cint’s has implemented an information security management system using ISO 27001. Cint’s managed hosting and cloud services providers are certified to ISO 27001 and have obtained SOC 2 Type II audit reports.

(36) Do you certify to or comply with a quality framework such as ISO 20252? 

Cint Answer:

Cint complies with ISO 20252 and has implemented an ISO 20252 compliance research management system. Cint is certified to ISO 20252 in Australia.

Metrics

(37) Which of the following are you able to provide to buyers, in aggregate and by country and source? Please include a link or attach a file of a sample report for each of the metrics you use.

Cint Answer:

Cint uses a number of business intelligence and reporting solutions. Data and metrics are available on demand and can be exported for analysis. Metrics are available for a variety of measures, including completions, conversion rates, price and cost and can be aggregated by sample buyer, supplier, region etc.

(1) Average qualifying or completion rate, trended by month. 

  • Cint Answer: Data can be made available to sample buyers upon request.

(2) Percent of paid completes rejected per month/project, trended by month.

  • Cint Answer: Data can be made available to sample buyers upon request.

(3) Percent of members/accounts removed/quarantined, trended by month.

  • Cint Answer: Data can be made available to sample buyers upon request.

(4) Percent of paid completes from 0-3 months tenure, trended by month.

  • Cint Answer: Data can be made available to sample buyers upon request.

(5) Percent of paid completes from smartphones, trended by month.

(6) Percent of paid completes from owned/branded member relationships versus intercept participants, trended by month.

  • Cint Answer: Data can be made available to sample buyers upon request.

(7) Average number of dispositions (survey attempts, screenouts, and completes) per member, trended by month (potentially by cohort)

  • Cint Answer: Data can be made available to sample buyers upon request.

(8) Average number of paid completes per member, trended by month (potentially by cohort)

  • Cint Answer: Data can be made available to sample buyers upon request.

(9) Active unique participants in the last 30 days

  • Cint Answer: Data can be made available to sample buyers upon request.

(10) Active unique 18-24 male participants in the last 30 days

  • Cint Answer: Data can be made available to sample buyers based on specific requirements.

(11) Maximum feasibility in a specific country with Nat rep quotas, seven days in field, 100% incidence, 10-minute interview

  • Cint Answer: Data can be made available to sample buyers based on specific requirements.

(12) Percent of quotas that reached full quota at time of delivery, trended by month

  • Cint Answer: Data can be made available to sample buyers upon request.