Unlocking insights for meaningful change
COTA SA’s social enterprise The Plug-in, is a specialist market insights operation which connects older people with industry, government and researchers. We give older people an influential voice and enable clients to innovate and improve products, services and policies for the growing 50+ market.
If you’re an individual over 50, then we invite you to join our community ready to “plug in” to client projects – it’s free and simple to register. Or if you’re from an organisation that wants to understand your older customers at a deep level, then connect with us – we are ready to partner with you.
Join The Plug-in community
If you want the power to influence the future of ageing we invite you to join us and have the opportunity to work alongside industry, government and researchers to help create technology, products and services that will better meet the future needs of older people.
Join The Plug-in community and have access to information, training and opportunities to identify and solve the problems that matter most to you and others.
Are you looking to connect with older people?
Speak with us to find out how The Plug-in provides industry, government and researchers the ability to connect with older South Australians. We help harness lived experience to support the design, development and review of services and products that meet the diverse needs of older people.
The Plug-in offers support and guidance through:
- Full-service research activities, including surveys, workshops, focus groups and interviews complete with actionable insights reporting.
- Participant recruitment and relationship management of people aged 50+ placed into your own research project (including clinical trials).
- Recruiting people aged 50+ with lived experience, including niche segments for committees and advisory boards.
- Advice, support and development of community engagement strategies and public policy.
- Customer satisfaction, including benchmarking and tracking.
- Tailored research translation services including consumer facing resources and research summary videos.
Using innovative consumer engagement and market research methodologies, we provide our clients with actionable insights and recommendations to support decision making. No research project is the same! We adapt our service offerings to meet our clients’ needs and goals.
Read what our Community and Clients say about Our Impact, take a look at some of our past and present Projects or Contact The Plug-in team to discuss how we can work with you.
The Plug-in Team
Head of The Plug-in & Research and Engagement Manager – Rachael Nielsen BSSc (Hons)
Rachael is a Social Scientist with a background in both academia and market research. She is highly experienced in working with local and state government bodies on issues of social welfare and wellbeing and working collaboratively with universities to meet project outcomes. Through her leadership, The Plug-in designs and delivers end-to-end research and provides actionable insights for clients to meet their needs. She is deeply committed to ensuring that the voices and lived experiences of older people are central to the development of products, services, and policies that affect them.
Research and Engagement Officer – Sarina Subedi (MPH)
Sarina is an applied public health researcher with expertise in community engagement, and project management. She has led and supported interdisciplinary public health initiatives across academic, non-profit, and community-based settings, with a focus on participatory approaches and knowledge mobilisation. Sarina brings a strong academic foundation combined with practical experience to design and evaluate initiatives that address real-world public health challenges. She is passionate about co-designing evidence-informed interventions with communities and translating research into action for healthier, more connected, and equitable communities.
Research and Engagement Officer – Sharmilla Zaluski
Sharmilla is an original member of The Plug-in start-up team and now contributes her expertise on a project basis as an advisor, co-researcher and workshop facilitator. She has previous experience working in policy, community engagement and customer service roles in numerous Local Government environments. Sharmilla loves meeting people, hearing their stories, and bringing to life the lived experience of people to support better policies and service design. Her warm and enthusiastic manner makes her a natural at connecting with people and drawing out their stories.
Consultant – Pablo Gonzalez CertIntBus, BEc , MPubPolicy&Mgt
Pablo is a consultant who has worked with The Plug-in on major projects since 2018. Pablo’s toolkit has a wide collection of gadgets. His tools vary from economic development, public policy, journalism, and service design to project management, graphic design, and events management. With a sharp eye for innovation and community development, Pablo supports his approach with light humour, philosophy and practical depth.