Chris has always been a staunch supporter of benchmark quality standards and over the years has invested a great deal of time and energy to help develop data-collection quality and training standards throughout the research industry.
Chris became a Full Member of the Market Research Society in 1995, was voted onto the Council of the Interviewer Quality Control Scheme in 1998 and became and ESOMAR Member in 1999.
During his time on IQCS council, Chris has worked with Chairman Penny Steele and Council members to ensure the Standards were continually reviewed to reflect current working practices and methodologies.
Chris has worked closely with the MRS on a number of taskforces from early 2000s including the Respondent Interviewer Interface Committee. Through his involvement and input Chris helped to promote and raise industry-wide standards in data collection and interviewer training and developed the materials for the MRS benchmark Accredited Interviewer Training Scheme.
In 2002 Chris became Vice Chairman of the IQCS and a member of the inspection panel and in 2016 was awarded an MRS Fellowship in recognition of his contribution to industry quality standards, and is also a judge on the MRS Operations Awards panel.
She is also Secretary/Treasurer of the Research Network, the association for current and former researchers, which facilitates social and networking opportunities through regular lunches and events. Her other current industry involvement is as Administrator of the Association of Market & Social Research (AMSR) which is devoted to the preservation of historic market research material.
His professional journey has seen him hold senior roles within scripting, analysis, project management, and operations. David's distinctive forte lies with his flair for technology, seamlessly incorporating cutting-edge tools and methodologies into client-centric strategies. His unwavering commitment to excellence remains at the forefront, as he consistently ensures that his teams commitment to top-tier client service remains paramount.
Over the years, Dan has gained experience managing teams across a broad spectrum of methodologies including very large scale international CATI projects, 24h turnaround national in-venue surveys with cinema viewers, very hard to reach B2B recruitment for online qual, and cutting edge passive behavioural data collection.
Dan is a full member of the MRS and an IQCS Council Member. He has been an advocate of the IQCS standards for many years and has experience of working in a number of IQCS and ISO20252 compliant companies.
He is a huge advocate of technological innovation, integration, collaboration and creative problem solving. You are just as likely to see him at trade shows, looking for the latest exciting solution, as you are to find him at a music festival or running (slowly) around the tracks and trails of the Peak District where he lives.
His remit includes overseeing project delivery and compliance with quality standards to ensure operational excellence and high quality deliverables. He helped to develop a strong team ethos in the Face-to-Face team delivering in the process outstanding results on a key nationwide tracker and consistent response rates that helped the project win the inaugural MRS Best Data Collection Award.
Having started in the Research Industry as an IQCS trained Interviewer, Henri is passionate about implementing best practices and quality control measures as well as helping team members to develop by fostering a culture of growth, accountability, and collaboration.
In addition to seating on the IQCS council, Henri is also an MRS full member and accredited to the MRS and AQR RAS.
In 1993 I returned to the business as Field Manager for Marketing Sciences in Winchester, and there I stayed for more than 16 years until I retired in 2010, managing both face-to-face and telephone research. What a great job being a Field Manager is! Juggling all the balls, being asked for, and asking, the impossible and getting it, and having conversations with thousands of interesting people. The best part is the interviewers, as there would have been no job without them.
The very difficult side of a Field Manager’s job is maintaining quality standards of data collection, especially with a dispersed workforce. It requires endless vigilance, careful record keeping, a recognition of its importance by the field and supervisory teams, and an acceptance of its role, and cost, by the company. I wholeheartedly believe that for market research to have credibility each company must police itself thoroughly and continuously, setting and adhering to data collection standards in order to remain above reproach. Being inspected annually ensures that this does not slip to second place, and in my view the IQCS inspection is by far the most rigorous and satisfactory. I am delighted to be part of the IQCS inspectorate, making a continuing contribution to the maintenance of standards in market research.
Away from IQCS, I’ve recently moved to a brand new house and have developed my brickwork and path-laying skills to landscape the large garden! I love to grow plants (I’m a plantaholic, can’t go past a few plants without buying at least one, to my husband’s despair), walk, cycle and have holidays – don’t we all! – and I spend a bit, but not too much, of my time with my 4 grandchildren! Life is busy, and good!
Rachael has worked in qualitative market research recruitment since 2007 and is a Director at Criteria Fieldwork.
At Criteria, Rachael is responsible for project and account management and also managing a project team.
Rachael is experienced at working on projects across a range of sectors including consumer, business and social research.
She frequently manages studies involving group, depth, user testing and other online or app methodologies.
At AQR Rachael is passionate about representing the fieldwork side of qual, she regularly attends and helps organise AQR events.
Rachael is also involved in the continued development of RAS - the Recruiter Accreditation Scheme. The MRS and AQR training scheme is designed recognise the knowledge, skills and competence of professional recruiters.
At Transport for Greater Manchester, who are responsible for 5 million journeys per day across the region, Melanie co-manages the Survey Research and Analysis Department (SRAD), consisting of both field-based interviewers and planning and analysis staff. The department delivers a wide variety of transport related operational, monitoring, and customer focused surveys for internal and external clients. Melanie has a keen interest in ensuring that the SRAD interviewers maintain high quality interview standards, ensuring that reliable data is captured, analysed, and delivered to clients.
The IQCS Council comprises elected representatives from member companies as well as representatives from various industry bodies.
To be eligible, candidates should have significant experience in market research or data collection and demonstrate a strong commitment to upholding the values and standards of the IQCS.
If you'd like to nominate someone from an IQCS member company, please visit the 'Contact' section of our website and complete the online nomination form.
New council members are appointed annually following the AGM, and we look forward to receiving your nominations.