Jane Frost, CEO MRS I These have been weeks where decades happen am proud beyond measure of the agility, adaptability and resilience exhibited by the research sector from the core skills of the field forces to the application of digital technology in ethnography. MRS was proud to support you, making communications and guidance. Every government working directive and all the changes to lockdown regulations have been assessed, discussed and the relevant guidance provided. We have won the respect of civil servants and legislators. A huge thank you to those of you who have supported us in doing so much with so few resources. Your messages of appreciation have really sustained us the mountains upon mountains of advice we have provided on mrs.org.uk and via Codeline. We have all pulled together, and we need to continue to do so as the reverberations from the pandemic continue to be felt socially and economically for many months to come. In the midst of momentous change and disruption, this sector and, by sector, I mean suppliers and clients needs to continue to prove its relevance and build on the advances made in the past year. The demand has increased for advice at the C-suite and in policy on the attitudes and behaviours of the public. We need to stand up for ourselves especially in the face of some gratuitous criticism and shout about how good we are, and the importance of what we do. I am looking forward to some really imaginative entries for the MRS Awards this year that will help prove this case. MRS was first convened 75 years ago, in a restaurant in Soho (called Chez Auguste, for those who, like me, enjoy such long-lost details). An original Sector and MRS news International affiliates Household brands, including Unilever and Mintel, are among the first organisations to sign up to the MRS international affiliate programme. Since its launch last year, the mark has attracted research agencies market and social research sector, with former prime minister Harold Wilson becoming president of the society in the Whod have thought, so many years later, wed be welcoming such luminaries as those in our 75th anniversary cadre of honorary fellows (see right)? Just a glance at this years annual conference line-up delivered under such extreme circumstances is evidence of the extraordinary evolution of our sector. from countries such as Egypt, Belgium, Sudan and the US. Main board elections The 2021 MRS main board elections resulted in the re-election of Zo Ruffels CMRS, of GSK, and the election of Cecilia Patterson CMRS, of MTC Marketing Research Solutions. Main Board member Sinead Jefferies takes up the role of chair designate, a position she will Mallard, the entire conference is available on demand at mrs.org.uk/impact2021 Our memories of the development of the sector may be fading which is why the archive charity AMSR, and its work in capturing the change of the past decades, is so important to current and future social historians. The work this sector has undertaken in the past year will shape the way our future is remembered. hold in addition to her existing board responsibilities. Honorary fellows MRS is awarding 25 honorary fellowships in 2021, to mark its 75th anniversary as the UKs professional body for research. The first names include Sir David Spiegelhalter and Dr Camilla Pang. 71 Impact ISSUE 33 2021_pp70-73_MRS.indd 71 26/03/2021 10:22