News 2020

Of necessity, a convivial Zoom get-together replaced our usual Christmas Drinks and AGM event this year.

This month’s NED Talk was given by Penny Mesure on the topic of comedy opera. She called the talk “From ‘La Triviata’ to Shakespeare and Sullivan”and the typo in the third word of the title was deliberate:

In the fourth of our series of online Network Evening Drinks (NED) Talks, Jane Bain gave an illustrated lecture on the families of Tawny Owls that she has been photographing for the last few years.

Regrettably, the Steering Group has concluded that it will not be possible to hold the traditional AGM and Christmas Drinks event this year. The AGM will go ahead on Zoom, however, on the date originally planned – Tuesday 8th December.

Nick Tanner gave our third successful Network Evening Drinks talk on 19th August, with a theme based on his professional translation work. He gave us an entertaining assessment of how German and Dutch translators dealt with the challenges of capturing Jamie Oliver’s individual style of recipes for their national markets.

In view of the ongoing COVID crisis, we have decided to cancel our planned Autumn Lunch at the Savile Club this year.

Another two new interviews have now been added to the list of those available in the Oral History archive.

Unable to run our usual social programme, the Research Network has launched a series of Network Evening Drinks talks – NED talks, for short. The latest of these took place on Wednesday 15th July when Jackie Dickens brought us her tips for finding good wine.

Jane Frost, chief executive of the MRS, has been appointed vice-chair of the Archive of Market & Social,Research (AMSR).

The first of our Network Evening Drinks talks – NED talks, for short – took place by Zoom on Wednesday 17th June when Nigel Spackman brought us the fresh and bracing air of the Scottish Highlands.

Because of the continuing COVID crisis, we have had to cancel this year’s Summer Party at Doggetts. Instead we will be holding a series of virtual Network Evening Drinks with speakers – NED Talks.

Two new interviews, with Bill Blyth and Roddy Glen, have been added to the Oral History archive.

Our colleagues at the AMSR suggested in a recent article on ‘Hoarders and Chuckers’ that if you unearth relevant material for the Archive during the lockdown, it could not be scanned until their ‘engine room’ at Ipsos MORI in Harrow was once again open for business. Since then, they have gone into a ‘lateral thinking’ mode. 

The COVID crisis is creating opportunities as well as threats in the market research industry.  The threats, of course, range from the very real personal health risks to the economic issues faced by the industry:

Research Network members John Downham and Liz Nelson have been appointed Founder Patrons of the Archive of Market and Social Research (AMSR) in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the charity.

In the light of the latest government advice and the situation with the COVID-19 virus, the Steering Group has decided, with regret, to cancel next month’s Spring Lunch, which was to be held at Ev.  Arrangements for the Summer Party at Doggett’s will be reviewed nearer the time.

On the recommendation of the Electoral Commission, which regulates elections in the UK, this year’s English local council elections have been postponed due to “serious concerns” over public health during the Covid-19 pandemic.

For those of you who are going to the MRS Impact 2020 conference on 10th and 11th March, the Network will be exhibiting on the Networking Trail

It’s that time again, the MRBA annual fundraising auction is now live.  The auction raised in excess of £9,000 last year an the MRBA hopes to d0 as well this year.

AMSR held its third prestigious Event at the IPA on 4 February, with a record attendance of 75 people. Once again, the amazing success story of the Archive was highlighted and as was how much has been achieved since it was founded.

The UK’s national statistician, Professor Sir Ian Diamond, has revealed that the 2021 census could be the last one ever to be carried out. Sir Ian said he was examining cheaper alternatives to the 10-yearly compulsory questionnaire delivered to every UK household.

At the recent AMSR annual event, Sir John Curtice, Professor of Politics at the University of Strathclyde, used data from the Archive (as well as research held in the UK data archive at Essex University) to compare the two referenda about membership of the EU from 1975 and 2016.

Just a couple of days before Iowa’s Democratic caucuses, the Des Moines Register was forced to cancel publication of an opinion poll conducted by Selzer & Co, because of the risk that a candidate’s name had been omitted from a list.

The AMSR has announced that Dr Liz Nelson OBE is stepping down as Chairman of its Board of Trustees.
Liz will be replaced Professor Patrick Barwise, Emeritus Professor of Management and Marketing at London Business School, and AMSR Vice-Chairman since 2018.