Impactful memories: Reflections on Impact magazine from over the years

x Sponsored content on Research Live and in Impact magazine is editorially independent.
Find out more about advertising and sponsorship.

Brian Tarran, former editor, Research magazine and Impact, now senior research and statistics editor, British Film Institute

Creating Impact is easily one of the most memorable moments of my career. On delivery day for Issue 1, I felt elated at seeing this idea, this concept, finally become reality. An actual product, in my hands. What a rush! And then it hit me: the fear, the tick-ticking towards deadline on Issue 2, and the panic that we might have used up all our best stuff!

I needn’t have worried so much. As the Impact archive demonstrates, there’s never a shortage of fascinating trends, ideas, people and companies to write about in the research and insight space.

Of the five issues I worked on, I have fondest memories of Issue 3, and for an entirely gimmicky reason: the 3D printed magazine logo that features on the cover. Strolling back to the MRS offices one day, I happened to pass a 3D printing shop on Clerkenwell Road. Intrigued, I popped in, asked to interview the company founder, and he, in turn, offered to print the Impact masthead in bright, five-colour plastic.

I still have that piece of plastic to this day. A cherished memento of a magazine I’m proud to have helped create. What a rush it was.
What a privilege!

• The ‘making of’ video can be found at: moredetails.uk/impact46video

Jane Bainbridge, former editor, Impact, now head of content, Pumpkin PR

Editing Impact was an absolute joy and I have endless happy memories of working with my MRS colleagues and the CPL One team. I was lucky to work with two amazing deputy editors who made it all very easy for me.

My favourite articles to commission and write were the profiles, and it’s the final one I wrote that is my highlight – Frances O’Grady, then TUC general secretary and now a Baroness sitting in the House of Lords. She was smart, warm, funny and deeply insightful – what a wonderful combination. A delight to meet and to write about, successful in a predominantly male world, she seemed to have stayed true to herself. I was totally charmed by her natural and honest demeanour – she touched up her lippy before the photographs, was generous with her time for our photographer, Will (something that rarely happened), and showed us around the glorious Congress House – Jacob Epstein sculpture and all.

• ‘The principled pragmatist’ – Issue 28, January 2020

Christian Walsh, content and digital director, MRS

My choice among the many memorable articles in the Impact archives takes us back to Issue 1, spring 2013. The late Jeremy Bullmore, patron of MRS, wrote a piece for our business section titled ‘Happy never after’. It listed tried and tested ways to “get the least from an agency” and, in the fairness of balance, included 10 surefire ways of “pissing off your client”. In the former list, he suggested: “Change your main contact with the agency at least once a year”; and “Install a highly complex, hierarchical approval system”.

To annoy clients, he recommended that agencies should: “Be sure to leave every client meeting at least once to take another client’s call. On returning, do not fail to comment on the other client’s courage. You may also find it helpful to mention their generosity in the matter of remuneration.”

Funny, pithy and true, he wrote these lists as an antidote to the cosy and smug presentations that are usually made to celebrate the client/agency relationship. I’d love to see the reaction on LinkedIn if he was around today to publish them there. Thank you, Jeremy, and thank you, Impact magazine!

• ‘Happy never after’ – Issue 1, spring 2013

Debrah Harding, managing director, MRS

Impact’s professional standards features have always struck me, because of the relevance and forward-looking nature of the MRS Standards team’s contributions.

One important topic they have shone a light on has been diversity and inclusion in research. In 2016, ‘Gender identity’ expanded on MRS’s guidance to insights professionals on collecting sex and gender-identity information. This recognised participants’ right to express their gender with more flexibility and fluidity than binary options provide. This was a groundbreaking step – MRS was the first research association to codify standards that promote inclusion of a wide and diverse array of gender identities.

Impact has revisited this crucial topic regularly, as MRS standards have evolved – for example, in ‘How do you identify?’ and ‘Personal preference’. The authors’ analysis and recommendations have been a crucial part of MRS’s equality, diversity and inclusion programmes, particularly for the Representation in Research initiative.

I have to mention the team’s work on artificial intelligence (AI), too. It was in 2018 that they first flagged the ethical dimension to AI. Since then, they have continued to lead the way in highlighting the ethical considerations for technological applications, including the 2023 piece ‘Understanding biometrics in research’.

• ‘Gender identity’ – Issue 12, January 2016;
  
• ‘How do you identify?’ – Issue 25, April 2019;
  
• ‘Personal preference’ – Issue 37, April 2022;
  
• ‘Ethical dimension to AI’ – Issue 20, January 2018;
  
• ‘Understanding biometrics in research’ – Issue 40, January 2023

Liam Kay-McClean, deputy editor, Impact

Since joining Impact’s editorial staff in April 2020, I have been privileged to cover some fantastic research. I’d like to touch on three personal highlights.

Before joining MRS, my journalistic background had led to numerous encounters with evidence-based policy-making. In October 2022, I explored the roots of the shift towards evidence in government and how it could be improved.

The question of who is (and is not) included in research has been a perennial topic over the past four years. In January 2022, I examined nationally representative surveys, and questioned how ‘representative’ they truly are.

Finally, cricket is, for many, the quintessential English sport and – like the rest of the country – has its problems with inequality and diversity. In October 2023, I spoke to Marie-Claude Gervais about her report for the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, and considered what it showed about the state of the national game.

• ‘A question of evidence’ – Issue 39, October 2022;
• ‘Reflecting reality’ – Issue 36, January 2022;
• ‘Hit for six’ – Issue 43, October 2023

Jane Frost, chief executive, MRS

One of the things that makes a great insight professional, whether in an agency or a client, is curiosity. When I was a commissioner of research in a multitude of client-side roles, one of the things that always struck me was that the professionals I enjoyed talking to most were those with an eclectic breadth of knowledge, who could draw on information from diverse communities and around the world to enrich our insight development.

The World View section of Impact always feeds my insatiable curiosity. The April issue this year exemplified this perfectly, covering everything from the ballot box to B2B and from machismo to mushrooms. The variety of the contributions and the serendipity to be found in these pages has always illustrated how universal our profession is and the nature of the human problems we research. On a purely practical level, of course, there has always been something I can use for speeches.

I never forget the fact that this section, and indeed, the whole magazine, feeds my need to browse. I’m certainly going to miss my Impact fix.

• The ‘World View’ section – Issue 45, April 2024

Bronwen Morgan, former deputy editor, Impact, now associate content director, StudioID

One of the greatest privileges of working at Impact was the opportunity it gave me to learn and write about an incredible variety of fascinating topics. From unpacking the drivers of seemingly irrational human behaviour, to exploring the building blocks of brand loyalty, the world of market research is multifaceted, constantly evolving, and endlessly interesting – but there is one topic I covered that particularly inspired me.
In 2016, I wrote about a team of bioinformaticians who were struggling – physically and financially – to store the exponentially growing volumes of genomic data that its field was producing, when they realised that DNA itself could be used to store that data efficiently. I eventually lost track of whether data was the new oil, soil or electricity, but I’ll never forget when I learned that data might be the new DNA.

• ‘The DNA disk’ – Issue 12, January 2016

Katie McQuater, head of editorial, Impact

It’s hard to pinpoint just one moment from the many experiences that have characterised my time working on Impact, both as deputy editor and, later, as editor. From the bizarre (writing about ‘biohacking’ among Silicon Valley executives for my very first issue in January 2018 ) – to the slightly painful (hobbling to Henley, by way of several trains and a taxi, for an interview on a sprained ankle) – there has rarely been a dull moment.

For me, the personal highlight of the role has always been the opportunity to meet people, and one individual stands out in particular. In March 2023, I interviewed historian David Olusoga for a profile in the magazine, backstage at the first in-person MRS annual conference in three years. We also conducted a photoshoot in a very short space of time, ahead of his keynote session, and I found him utterly gracious, smart and compelling. He answered questions thoughtfully without obfuscation and with care, not talking for talking’s sake.

Of course, much of editing involves curating the best of others’ voices. For that reason, I must highlight our wonderful columnists: Rory Sutherland, for shrewd observations on marketing and life in general; Lorna Tilbian for her thoughtful views from the City; Crawford Hollingworth, for distilling the best of behavioural science; and Bethan Blakeley, for a data analytics column that always feels distinctly relevant to all in our sector beyond those in analytical roles.

• ‘Telling the truth’ – Issue 42, July 2023

This article was first published in the July 2024 issue of Impact; the magazine’s final issue. All previously published Impact content can be found on Research Live.