MRS, Insights Association and The Research Society sign partnership

Through the agreement, the organisations will produce annual joint research studies and share legal knowledge and compliance guidance, particularly relating to Covid-19, GDPR and domestic privacy developments.

A mental wellbeing industry study, initially developed by MRS in the UK, was subsequently adopted by the Insights Association and The Research Society.

The associations aim to mutually benefit from each other’s products and services, share expertise, resources and development costs, and work together on new initiatives. Reciprocal discounted member rates will be introduced for products and services.

The bodies will also seek to develop a specification protocol for organisations certifying to the ISO 20252:2019 standard for market, opinion and social research, using experts from the three associations.

Potential future areas for cooperation include the adoption of the MRS inclusion programme, which includes corporate targets for diversity, an annual survey and the MRS pride events network.

Jane Frost, chief executive of MRS, said: "As the world’s three largest national research associations, together we encompass a huge concentration of expertise and knowledge. The research and insight we share will be based on decades of experience working with governments and as regulators and, as such, will have clear practical applications.

"Specifically, we hope that MRS’ CEO pledge, which includes five commitments for increasing diversity and safety in the workplace, will now have a global reach. In turn, we’ll be looking to learn from the other two associations’ approaches to recent events, including the Insights Association’s work on the Black Lives Matter protests. Many of our members have branches across all three countries, and I’m certain there can only be benefits from this greater collaboration."

Melanie Courtright, chief executive of the Insights Association, said: "Each of our associations have the ultimate knowledge and network within our respective countries and welcome the opportunity to share this expertise and access more broadly."

Elissa Molloy, chief executive of The Research Society (formerly the Australian Market and Social Research Society), said: "As the insights and research industry pivots to deal with the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, global collaboration is more important than ever; it is the right time to be taking this next step to consolidate our relationship."