MRS President Jan Gooding addresses the statements made about the research and insight sector
15 February 2021

We understand that many of our members will be concerned regarding extraordinary statements made about our sector in relation to this UK Government procurement process. MRS President Jan Gooding has addressed those statements and other specifics of the case in her submitted evidence. 

That evidence also reiterated that it is best practice to procure work from MRS-accredited suppliers and that all our members and Company Partners uphold the MRS Code of Conduct and its core principles of honesty, transparency and independence.  

MRS immediately made its concerns known to the UK Government when these matters first came to light in a Guardian article from July last year.  We reinforced with senior civil servants the importance and rigour of many years of work with Government to develop a sustainable, effective and affordable approach to market, social and opinion research procurement. This includes the three reports on improving the public sector commissioning process that can be downloaded from the MRS website, as well as our Best Practice Guide to Buying Research and Insight.

There are many – often daily – examples of how our sector’s brilliant work has had a profound impact on critical Government projects, including those which have been recognised with MRS awards and high-profile Covid-19 testing.  To imply otherwise suggests a total ignorance of the facts. 

MRS will continue to work with the UK Government reinforcing the need for fair, accessible and transparent research and insight procurement practices.