Jane Frost, CEO MRS ector n MRS news Tripartite agreement MRS has signed a tripartite E use re ect n ct very autumn, MRS produces an annual review of the past year (you can see it at mrs.org.uk/annualreview). It was a useful exercise as it reminded me of how much we have done in the past few months to support the sector in this time of dire need. It also made me realise how much has changed, probably forever. In March, having delivered a hugely successful Annual Conference in a new venue, we rapidly pivoted to the digital delivery of all services. This from our new workstations in bedrooms and on kitchen tables, while bouncing babies on knees and, in some cases, as we shielded the vulnerable. Particular credit is due to our training team who, in just a couple of weeks, re-platformed a complex year-long programme of face-to-face training into a very successful virtual mode. By the end of the month, we had already started to lobby the chancellor Rishi Sunak and ministers plus relevant civil servants to support the research sector and highlighted the catastrophic impact that lockdown would have on face-to-face research. We rapidly built solid foundations that would stand us in good stead for the ongoing turbulence that we are still experiencing. When I say we, I am talking not just about MRS, but the research and insight sector as a whole that as our forthcoming Delphi Group report will show has created for itself a new reputation for delivering agile, pop-up research and insight in a way that we could never have anticipated. Even before the pandemic, the reporting year was already characterised by a large degree of caution in the market, driven in part by the Brexit transition. In spite of all this, MRS corporate accreditation has grown, especially among client organisations. We entered the second year of our diversity and inclusion programme and numbers in the CEO Inclusion Pledge continue to grow, and, with the support of our sponsor YouGov, we launched the MRSpride Award for Inclusive Research in January. The MRS apprenticeship work programme, which is so important for helping social and ethnic minority representation in the research and insight sector, has made good progress; were well on the way to finalising the scheme this year. MRS continues to build on the strong relationships we have with The Research Society (AUS) and the Insights Association (US), expanding our already considerable international reach into the future. I would like to thank all those who continue to support MRS in so many ways. Rest assured that MRS will continue to support our members and the sector as we struggle with the ongoing economic fallout from the pandemic. agreement with the Insights Association of the US and the Research Society of Australia. Collaborative activities will include the internationalisation of the CEO Pledge and a sharing of resources for improving diversity. MoU with CORe MRS has made a landmark agreement with the new network CORe to support its endeavours to improve the representation of ethnic minorities in the research sector. Government procurement New procurement opportunities are available wit t e abinet fice, which has launched a tender for all qualitative research over the next two years to suppliers on the Research Marketplace Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). The abinet fice is een to receive bids from across the sector, includin rom s See more at mrs.org.uk Post Covid-19 guidance MRS has published new guidelines for returning to wor , includin ace to ace research activity. These build on the governments safe working guidance setting out measures research professionals should take. 59 Impact ISSUE 31 20_pp58-61_MRS.indd 59 24/09/2020 12:25