World-leading organisations become first MRS International Affiliates
10 March 2021

Household names and global agencies are among the first organisations to sign up to the MRS International Affiliate, a cross-border mark of research excellence and best practice. Since it launched last year, the International Affiliate has now attracted organisations from countries including Belgium, Egypt, the Republic of Sudan and the US.

The first MRS International Affiliates include the global teams of major businesses – GSK, Mintel and Unilever – and international research agencies such as US and UK-based Behaviorally.  The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which represents 30 European and North American countries, and a number of multi-national companies including Savola Foods have also signed the quality commitment.

Based on MRS’ highly-acclaimed Company Partner Accreditation, International Affiliation demonstrates best practice in research and insight delivery. It allows a company to increase commercial opportunities and support the training and development of its insight and analytics teams, wherever they are based in the world. With the global insight and analytics market worth US$80 billion each year, it brings wider opportunities for research organisations and client-side research teams on the global stage.

Use of the International Affiliate logo (an international mark of excellence), access to online training and development programmes, and expert advice about data privacy and codes of conduct, are just three of the principal benefits of MRS International Affiliation. To be eligible, organisations must employ at least one MRS Certified Member and support their local research association to ensure standards in their national market are upheld and promoted.

You can find more information about the MRS International Affiliate here.

Jane Frost CBE, Chief Executive of MRS, comments: “One of the bright spots of this extraordinary year has been how scientific, insight and research communities have come together to find solutions to global challenges.  It has been a true testament to the power of international partnerships and what we can achieve when we co-operate.

“The MRS International Affiliate is a great example of our continued work to strengthen overseas ties and we are immensely pleased by the calibre and range of these first signatories.  We look forward to working with them all to exchange expertise across borders and promote excellence in our global research community.”

Alex Hunt, Chief Executive Officer at Behaviorally (Formerly PRS), comments: “Behaviorally is passionate about delivering the highest standards both methodologically and ethically. MRS International Affiliation re-affirms our commitment to the highest standards and gives comfort to our clients globally that they can trust Behaviorally to deliver to help them drive shopper growth.”

James Sallows, Head of Capability and Transformation at GSK Consumer Healthcare, comments: “We are proud to become the first international MRS Company Partner. As we look to drive curiosity and deep human understanding across our global organisation, MRS provides our teams with access to powerful resources and growth opportunities regardless of where they may be physically working from.”

Mark Brechin, Senior Vice President of Consumer Research and Data Analytics at Mintel, says: "Mintel is expanding into an ever-increasing number of markets and in the midst of an uncertain time for everyone, we want to provide our clients with certainty in terms of quality, trust and expertise. By becoming one of the first MRS International Affiliate Partners, we will benefit from the MRS' global network of research regulators, its knowledge bank and training opportunities for our insight teams around the world enabling us to continue to produce the highest quality consumer research.”

Rania Hegazi Zaher, Operational Excellence Head at Savola Foods, says: “Savola Foods has been operating its market research internal arm for more than 20 years. MRS International Affiliation gives us the opportunity to reflect to our internal clients the level of commitment we have to providing the best research solutions. This will also enhance the department image and give us the needed support in cases of having any concerns and questions. MRS is definitely a very well looked for and esteemed research entity and having an affiliation will be a source of trust to everyone.”