Jane Frost, CEO MRS Sector and MRS news Diversity & Inclusion Best Practice guides The MRS Client Council has T Bringing the world together his July, the Market Research Society (MRS) is celebrating the international research community and the strong network of overseas members and customers we have grown over the years. We do this in the spirit of the International Day of Friendship, which the UN established in 2011, and which takes place on 30 July each year. Readers of this magazine will know that research plays a fundamental role in helping people understand one another, both within and across borders. But we all need to keep reminding those outside of our industry just how our work influences the real-world decisions around them; not just in the products they buy and the services they use, but in the geopolitical landscape across societies and cultures, people and places. Fostering this understanding has never been more urgent than it is now. Notably, to give voice to marginalised and oppressed people, and to help combat disinformation and fake news which is intended to create division and disharmony. As our many advertisers and commercial partners appreciate, MRS has built up strong communication channels that have been international in their reach for many years: the IJMR, the Research Buyers Guide and Research Live, to name just three. Web traffic to mrs.org.uk and developed and published three new Diversity & Inclusion Best Practice guides on sampling, methodology and language. The first of their kind in the UK, these comprehensive guides act as a framework for research professionals to help ensure diverse sampling Research-live.com is predominantly international, accounting for well over 50% of the 50,000 unique visitors we receive across both platforms every month. Our news, reports, case studies and guidance are eagerly anticipated and read by research, insight, data analytics and marketing professionals around the world. The volume of training courses delivered to overseas members and customers has more than doubled in the past year, with particularly strong uptake in Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates. We are also delivering training as far afield as Lebanon, Barbados, India and Saudi Arabia. The MRS International Affiliates programme is flourishing, and as well as renewing organisations such as NATO, weve just welcomed new affiliates Lovebrands (France, UK) and Diakob (Australia). Our annual celebration of Research Heroes (mrs.org.uk/heroes) included nominations from India, Vietnam, Australia, North America and Europe. This small snapshot of our international activities (see overleaf for more) demonstrates MRSs commitment to joining up the amazing work our colleagues around the world are doing. All our lives are inextricably connected, and research and insight should be understood within the context of our shared global existence. and inclusive methodologies. Prepare for ISO 20252: 2019 Certification LMRS has produced a Guide for Research Suppliers to prepare for ISO 20252: 2019 Certification 23 Steps to Certification, which is free to company partners. Although the ISO 20252: 2019 standard is not mandatory for members and company partners, MRS supports it. This guidance has been created to enable research suppliers to meet the requirements of the revised 2019 standard and to assist non-certified companies to achieve ISO 20252:2019 certification. www.mrs.org.uk/resources Biodegradable membership cards All members will now receive a fully biodegradable membership card when they renew or sign up to membership, in a small step towards making the research sector more sustainable. 55 Impact ISSUE 38 2022_pp54-57_MRS.indd 55 22/06/2022 16:26