The human signal
We look at the motivations, emotions, tensions, and cultural contexts beneath observable behavior. Listening to people's experiences helps us understand what surface-level information can leave unexplained.
A small team.
A deeper lens.
Groundwork is a boutique research agency based in Metro Manila, Philippines, led by licensed psychologists. We help brands and organizations understand the people at the center of their decisions—their motivations, tensions, experiences, and everyday realities. Our work connects that understanding with clear, practical direction.
Meet our founders
The human context
behind the decision.
Important decisions often begin with an incomplete view of the people they affect. Groundwork studies how people think, feel, behave, and make meaning within the realities of everyday life.
We combine behavioral depth, real-world inquiry, and rigorous analysis to explain what the findings mean for the decision at hand.
Structural clarity
We connect the findings to the question that brought you to the research. The aim is a focused interpretation of what the evidence means and where it can provide direction.
Boutique partnership
Our co-founders remain closely involved from research design and fieldwork through analysis and recommendations. You work with the people doing the thinking.
The people behind
the work.
Groundwork's co-founders are licensed psychologists who remain directly involved in every engagement.
PhD, RPsy
Jonathan Robert A. Ilagan
Co-Founder & Principal Research Consultant
Jonathan is a licensed psychologist, researcher, and educator with experience leading qualitative and mixed-method studies across commercial and institutional contexts. His work focuses on understanding behavior and translating complex findings into clear strategic direction.
PhD, RPsy
Mara Patricia Yusingco
Co-Founder & Principal Research Consultant
Mara is a licensed psychologist and researcher with experience in qualitative inquiry, fieldwork, and behavioral analysis. She brings a culturally grounded and people-centered lens to the study of lived experience and organizational questions.
The decision leads.
The methods follow.
We begin with what needs to be understood, then choose the methods that fit the question. Depending on the engagement, the work may combine interviews, focus groups, observation, surveys, desk research, testing, and stakeholder consultation.
- 01
Clarify the decision
Define the question and what remains uncertain.
- 02
Design the study
Choose the methods and people that fit the question.
- 03
Find real-world signals
Listen, observe, and engage directly with people.
- 04
Interpret the patterns
Connect behavior, meaning, and cultural context.
- 05
Provide direction
Translate findings into practical starting points for action.
What guides
the work.
Groundedness
Stay close to people's real experiences and the context around them.
Intellectual integrity
Be clear about what the evidence supports and what remains uncertain.
Quiet confidence
Offer a considered view in plain language.
Human-centricity
Treat people's perspectives as central to the research.
Emotional connectedness
Attend to what people feel as well as what they say and do.
A closer look at Groundwork.
Our approach, research services, and the people behind the work in one short document.
Bring us the question that still feels unclear.
Tell us what you are trying to understand, test, or decide. We can help clarify the question and shape the research around it.
Start a conversation