Episode 7: Tim Toy

Research That Scales is a nine-part podcast series inspired by my book of the same name, Research That Scales: A Research Operations Handbook (Rosenfeld, 2024). In each thirty-minute episode, I speak with a brilliant research mind, weaving in voice notes and sound design to bring their stories to life. Together, we explore what scaling research means, beyond the platitudes and jargon, and what it takes to turn the vision of scalable, impactful research into a robust reality."I love how your book talks about how research operations is a part of research strategy because I don't think a lot of people think about that. I think a lot of people think of research operations as, “Oh, you called some people or you sent a survey out to some people, now we have participants.” But the way you build your research operations… determines what your researchers' experience will be and then what that dynamic between ResearchOps and research will be as well."—Tim ToyIn this episode, I speak with Tim Toy, a pioneering leader in the ResearchOps field and Senior ResearchOps Lead at Adobe. We explore the evolving definition of ResearchOps and discuss how equity and proportionality play crucial roles in successfully scaling research across organisations.Tim shares valuable insights from his hard-won experience, highlighting the importance of strategic alignment between research and research operations teams. We delve into the significance of thoughtful system design, avoiding common pitfalls such as under-resourced operations teams and bureaucratic bottlenecks.Tim and I also reflect on the growing maturity of the ResearchOps discipline, considering its expanding global presence and the emerging second generation or 'Gen2' of ResearchOps professionals. He offers practical advice on effectively communicating the value of research operations through clear metrics and advocacy.Whether you're aiming to scale research capabilities, enhance organisational impact, or build a resilient research operations team, this episode provides essential insights and strategic guidance.Things Mentioned* Research That Scales: A Research Operations Handbook (Rosenfeld, 2024)* Adobe* Cha Cha Club—a member's club for full-time ResearchOps professionals.* The Eight Pillars of User Research by Emma Boulton* Research That Scales, Chapter 10, “Money and Metrics”, page 232* Research That Scales, Chapter 11, “Getting Priorities Straight”, page 270* ‘Judo’ approach to operations—maximum efficiency with minimum effort (Research That Scales, Chapter 10, “Money and Metrics”, page 249)Scaling & Systematising Research–a One-Day Masterclass This year, I'm running in-person masterclasses for research, product, design, operations, and marketing leaders in Europe, the UK, and Australia. If you want to transform research into a scalable insights-generating engine, this masterclass is for you. Thanks Thanks, Glenn Familton, for being a reviewer and co-producer, and Avec Audio Visual for audio engineering. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit katetowsey.substack.com