News 2021

Last year the Network decided to ignore the example of the cabinet by obeying the rules and holding its Christmas party online. This year we were back to a live event and some 30 members gathered in Westminster for an AGM followed by Christmas drinks.

The final NED Talk of the year was given on Wednesday 10 November by Danny Wain. Under the intriguing title Shouting in the Evenings, Danny gave us some thought-provoking, interesting and often amusing reflections on his ‘other’ career in amateur (and occasionally professional) theatre.

We celebrated our first real-life gathering for two years in style with lunch at the Savile Club on Thursday 14 October. And what a glorious event it was!

After a summer break, the Network’s series of NED Talks resumed on 22 September with a presentation by Ruth McNeil. Ruth is a Fellow of the MRS and after a career in MR is now, amongst other roles, Chair of the Friends’ Committee of the Heath Robinson Museum

The Network’s collection of Oral Histories has moved! Formerly to be found on the MRS website, it is now being hosted by the Archive of Market and Social Research (AMSR)

Two of our members – Gill Wareing, secretary/treasurer of the Research Network, and Bob Qureshi – are among 25 hitherto unsung ‘Research Heroes’ recognised by the Market Research Society. The 25 individuals were selected by a panel of judges following a call for nominations from the industry.

The final NED talk of the current series was given by Simon Chadwick on Wednesday 19 May. The talk was entitled ‘Through the glass darkly. What the hell is wrong with America?’ and was based on his book ‘For the People’, published in 2020.

Congratulations to Research Network member Phyllis Macfarlane, who has just been awarded the gold medal of the Market Research Society. The gold medal recognises significant contributions to the market and social research sector.

Our April NED Talk was given by Graham Woodham on the topic of ‘Non-Verbal Communication – The Subtleties of Social Interactions’. The talk proved to be both entertaining and highly informative – an interesting blend of psychological theory and practical observation.

Most of our members will remember Tony Cowling, architect of the Taylor Nelson business that grew from a small agency based near London into TNS, a global research business. The Tony Cowling Foundation has been created as a not-for-profit company. It aims to foster the values Tony encouraged throughout his career.

Peter Bartram’s new book ’The Life in Research’ is being published on 12th April and can be ordered from Amazon and leading bookshops. The book is mainly a light-hearted compendium of candid memories from across the last 50 years in research and should be of special interest to Research Network Members.

On 24th March it was the turn of Sheila Byfield to deliver our monthly NED Talk. She chose as her subject ‘The dark and the lighter sides of advertising’ and it proved to be a highly entertaining romp through some of the industry’s more questionable efforts.

A new e-book from the Archive of Market and Social Research (AMSR), entitled Post-War Developments in Market Research, is now available for download free of charge at the Archive’s website

It’s a sentiment that’s been oft repeated over the years and now the Archive of Market and Social Research (AMSR) has its own take on the matter. At a recent virtual event to celebrate its first five years of existence, speakers discussed ways in which the archive was being used by market researchers, research academics and, increasingly, modern historians.

The MRBA has launched its annual auction, which will this year be centered around the International Day of Happiness on 20th March. The auction will be held online and items are available to bid for now, and until 30th March 2021.

For February’s NED talk, Phil Barnard took us on a virtual trip to the village that he’s called home for many years now – Brompton Regis in Somerset, within the Exmoor National Park. It was an affectionate look at the many rewards and occasional frustrations that Phil discovered when he moved from Berkshire to the South West.

A fascinating article published on the AMSR website in December looks at US opinion polls in the run-up to November’s presidential election.

Our first NED talk of 2021 took place on Tuesday 19th January, when Neil McPhee took to the microphone on the subject: ‘Musicology as a Socio-Cultural Journey… A Personal Timeline’.