Uni Panel

Access Researchers, Academics and Higher Education Professionals Worldwide

Uni Panel helps organisations recruit researchers, academics, research managers, university staff and other higher education professionals for surveys, interviews, focus groups, usability testing and research studies. We're committed to enabling these audiences to have their say, influencing the policies, infrastructure, culture, products and services that impact their work.

With more than 33,000 opted-in panel members across 182 countries, Uni Panel provides access to specialist audiences that can be difficult to reach through general sample providers. Participants include academics, research-active staff, PhD researchers, scientists, technicians, research managers and professional staff working across higher education and the wider research ecosystem. More than 19,000 members currently have subject-specialism information associated with their profile.

Planning a Research Project for 2027?

Uni Panel is currently onboarding members, enriching profile information and developing its systems. We expect to begin accepting new client projects from January 2027.

If you're planning a study for 2027 or beyond, we'd be delighted to hear from you now. Early conversations can help us understand your requirements and prepare for future recruitment needs.

Email: [email protected]

What We Do

Uni Panel connects organisations with people working in higher education, metascience and scholarly communications.

We help clients recruit participants for:

  • Online surveys
  • Research interviews
  • Focus groups
  • Usability testing
  • Advisory groups
  • Product development research
  • Thought leadership studies
  • Policy consultation or co-creation projects

We do not conduct research projects ourselves. We help organisations reach the right people and recruit participants for their own research.

Why Uni Panel?

Specialist audience

Unlike general sample providers, Uni Panel focuses on researchers, academics, scientists, technicians, research managers and higher education professionals.

International reach

Panel members are located across 182 countries worldwide.

Targeted recruitment

Recruit participants by discipline, country, role and institution type.

Trusted approach

Research invitations are distributed through Uni Panel. Participants are not routinely approached directly by clients.

Established heritage

The panel has a long history of supporting research involving organisations such as Wellcome, UKRI, Cambridge University Press, Springer Nature, Crossref, UKGCE, MI Talent and others.

Why Uni Panel Exists

Uni Panel was established by Jane Powell following the closure of Shift Insight, the specialist higher education and research consultancy she founded and led for nearly than 25 years.

Rather than allowing a long-established higher education and research participant community to disappear, Jane acquired and developed the panel so that universities, publishers, funders, charities, research organisations and commercial organisations could continue to engage with researchers and higher education professionals worldwide.

Research involving these panellists has contributed to highly influential studies for organisations including Wellcome, UKRI, Cambridge University Press, Springer Nature, Crossref and many others. To learn more about the projects Shift Insight conducted see the archive website: www.shift-insight-archive.co.uk.

Connect with Jane on LinkedIn: Jane Powell

Looking for Research Participants?

Whether you need:

  • Academics for interviews
  • Researchers for surveys
  • Research managers for focus groups
  • Vice Chancellors and university leaders for qualitative research
  • Higher education professionals for usability testing
  • Participants for scholarly communications research

we would be delighted to discuss your requirements.

Email: [email protected]