From Firefighting to Foresight | Disruptive Innovators Network

“Before I buy anything, you need to tell me what works.”

This was the message of a housing provider at a recent event I attended.

Reasonable enough. But when asked whether he knew what was currently working inside his own organisation, the answer changed.

“I don’t. I haven’t got time to stop. I’m constantly firefighting.”

While it might not sound like a research problem at first, it is precisely what it is.

Knowing what works. Understanding what doesn’t. Being clear on what to stop, what to scale, and what to change. These are not luxuries. They are prerequisites for good decisions. And they are all gaps to be filled in what you know right now. That is research.

Stopping is not indulgent. It’s horizon scanning. Understanding the lay of the land before choosing a direction. Without that pause, firefighting rarely puts out fires; it often spreads them. You react without the tools to respond properly, unknowingly pouring oil on the flames.

The quiet problem the sector rarely names

Research in housing is still treated as a separate activity. It is too often the “big project” that happens later when the funding appears, when time is created, when someone else can be commissioned. Meanwhile, gaps in what we don’t know quietly widen.

You collect enormous amounts of data yet remain unsure about what is actually working. Feedback is gathered but not always translated into insight. Complaints are processed efficiently but rarely reframed as intelligence for improvement. Dashboards glow, reports accumulate, yet clarity is stubbornly elusive.

This isn’t because people don’t care. It’s because pressure reshapes behaviour. When everything feels urgent, reflection feels optional. When performance is scrutinised, curiosity can feel risky. And when failure feels dangerous, it becomes safer to repeat familiar patterns, even when they no longer serve tenants or colleagues well.

Rolling out solutions without understanding the problem. Expecting suppliers to prove their products work while remaining unclear about what works inside your own system. That contradiction quietly shapes far more decisions than we like to admit.

The insight we often overlook

The way forward rarely lies in silver bullets or grand programmes. More often, it lies in something quieter and more powerful; building the skill and confidence to ask better questions, more often.

Small acts of inquiry compound over time. Spot a gap in what you don’t know. Design a focused, practical survey rather than a generic list of 50 questions. Talk to teams - particularly those who are regularly talking to customers - with curiosity, not assumption. Test whether a change is actually working, rather than hoping it is.

This is what real, everyday research looks like. Not glossy. Not outsourced. Not delayed. But embedded in decision making, shaping services.

And it takes courage. Curiosity surfaces uncertainty and uncomfortable truths. But the alternative - continuing without knowing - is far riskier. Skills in asking, listening, analysing and learning are not “nice to have”, they are what turn pressure into progress, data into direction, and activity into meaningful improvement.

The solution hiding in plain sight

The sector’s most powerful shift is not investing in research as a product, but as a capability.

Build confidence not just in using data but in questioning it. Build skills not just in collecting information but in noticing what’s missing. Build habits that make reflection part of everyday work, not something reserved for strategy days or inspection cycles.

When teams consistently fill small gaps, strategy sharpens. Delivery becomes more responsive. Decisions are informed rather than instinctive. Firefighting never disappears, but it becomes more controlled because people understand the system they’re working in.

A quiet shift is beginning

This is the thinking behind Curiosity to Clarity, the DIN research forum launching in February 2026.

Not another abstract framework but practical, confidence-building support for those who want research to be part of how they lead, decide and improve. Familiar and unfamiliar tools. Simple approaches with real power. Space to practise curiosity without waiting for perfection.

Because knowing what works isn’t something that happens after the firefighting stops. It is how the firefighting eventually slows. Treat everyday research not as a luxury but as a prerequisite and clarity starts to replace constant reaction.

Knowing what works, understanding what doesn’t, and being clear on what to stop, scale and change are not luxuries; they are prerequisites for good decisions.