Colour of Research and the Importance of Representation in Research
2024-10-03 11:00 - 12:00 (Europe/London)
This webinar is generously sponsored by Yonder Data Solutions who are a trusted fieldwork and data collection company offering numerous services such as UK/International online data collection, advanced analytics, CATI, dashboards and visualisation, AI technology and omnibus services

Come and hear from Daniel Singham (Yonder Data Solutions) and ICG member Sonal Malkan, about:

Who and what Colour of Research (CORe) is
How CORe supports the industry and inclusive research.

A bit about CORe

CORe advocates for the inclusion of ethnic professionals in the market research industry. We aim to provide guidance and encouragement while forging meaningful connections to enable growth and development.
Daniel Singham

Daniel is the Commercial Director at Yonder Data Solutions, on the steering committee for CORe, and represents CORe on the MRS EDI Council. Daniel has been in the industry for 19 years and his specialism is in all things quant.
Sonal Malkan

Sonal is a qualitative researcher and behavioural science consultant with experience across private, public and third sectors. She’s passionate about using research to make a difference to groups considered to be marginalised in society.
Further info

CORe: https://www.colourofresearch.org/
YDS: https://yonderdatasolutions.com/
Daniel LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-singham-2288346/
Twitter: @DanielSingham

Register for this webinar here

Taking it apart, putting it back together: A brief introduction to semiotics and cultural research
2024-10-31 11:00 - 12:00
This webinar has been generously sponsored by Indeemo

The webinar will introduce and expand on semiotic analysis and cultural research techniques, and how they’re used in commercial research contexts – drawing on Canopy’s recent look at some of the changing cultural meanings of ownership in UK and US markets to illustrate what these methods look like in practice.
Why should you attend?
You’ll gain a clear introductory grounding in what semiotic analysis and cultural research look like in practice, why they’re valuable for clients… and how you can incorporate them into your own research projects.
Natalie Edwards

Nat Edwards is the co-founder and Managing Director of semiotics and cultural research consultancy Canopy Insight, where she works with clients to develop culturally meaningful and commercially viable product designs, innovations, market strategies and communications. She has a PhD in media, politics and cultural studies, and an enduring interest in the construction and evolution of meaning in cultures. She is also an ICG member.
LINKED – https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-edwards-106a8337/
WEBSITE – https://canopyinsight.com/
Register for this webinar here

Default Mode Network – the brain’s house of habit – what every researcher ought to know
2024-11-28 11:00 - 12:00
This webinar has been generously sponsored by Norstat

Whilst we’ve all been having our head turned by the latest in AI, we should be paying attention to neuroscience too.
Kath Rhodes from Qual Street will take you through her understanding of the ‘DMN’ and make the case that knowing about the DMN is foundational qualitative insight. You’ll learn what the DMN is, and how it’s important to our qualitative understanding of ‘what’s going on’.
Bonus offer – it’s pretty useful to know/ recognise the DMN in ‘real life’ too…
Kath Rhodes

Kath describes herself as a qualitative enthusiast and runs Qual Street. She loves to dip her toe into the latest learnings on neuroscience, psychology and social science – using them to evolve and improve qualitative methods and approaches.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/qualstreet/
www.qual-street.co.uk
Register for this webinar here

Insights Ignite: Cultivating a Growth Mindset
2025-01-09 11:00 - 12:00
This webinar has been generously sponsored by Norstat

Join ICG member Lara Meyer in this webinar designed to kick-start your new year.

In this session, we’ll dive into the power of a “Growth Mindset” and why it’s a game-changer for both work and life! Lara will reveal simple, actionable ways to nurture your growth mindset while uncovering those sneaky traps that can pull you back into a fixed mindset (without you even realising!). Get ready for inspiring case studies and real-world examples that will spark fresh ideas and show you exactly how to apply this mindset shift to supercharge your success.
Why you should attend:
If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in a loop of ‘I can’t’ or ‘I’m just not good at this,’ then it’s time to break free! Join this session to discover how you can transform obstacles into opportunities for learning and growth. It’s not magic – it’s science!
Lara Meyer
Lara is a researcher turned coach for leaders in the insights industry, helping them and their teams find the sweet spot between high performance and happiness. She offers 1:1 and team coaching, training and motivational talks to support positive wellbeing.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lara-biddiscombe-meyer/
Register for this session here

Award for Independent Consultants 2024: Finalists Share Their Submissions
2025-01-30 11:00 - 12:00
This webinar has been generously sponsored by Norstat

Come and hear from our 4 Award Finalists from last year about their submissions. Hear more about how they approached their work, the hurdles they overcame, what worked well and less well, and why they chose to enter the Award.
A great opportunity to learn from other consultants and ask them questions. Also an opportunity to find out more about the Award for 2025.
Our Finalists

AWARD WINNER: Futuresight: Rob Waddington:
Exploring experiences of communications services amongst consumers, citizens and microbusinesses in the UK.

Futuresight documented the experiences of these audiences in 3 ethnographic short films – from inner city estates to the wilds of the Shetland isles. The films helped the Communications Consumer Panel (CCP) connect the individuals and communities they represent more directly with industry, civil society and government, resulting in the CCP having to do less to initiate policy change.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-waddington-2348b04/

Citrine Research: Kate Turner and Julie Irwin:
Breakthrough Research Rapidly Enhances Customer Experience

Citrine Research undertook powerful, in-depth research that went viral across Legal & General. The results were actioned at unprecedented speed delivering an immediate positive impact on customer outcomes, as well as boosting the profile of the internal Legal & General insight team.
Kate Turner (CMRS) | LinkedIn Julie Irwin (FMRS) | LinkedIn

The Word Is Out: Dan Parker-Smith:
Customer Closeness Videos

Dan started working with Futures Housing Group (FHG) on a four-month customer closeness project, bringing to life existing segments of customers living in FHG properties. The project evolved into a near 20 month deep dive into peoples’ lives delivering our insight using a selection of short-films. The outcome was transformative for FHG, as the films got the emotion of living in social housing across, leading to positive change for their customers.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danparkersmith/
Wren Insight: Hannah Beech and Jude Terry:
The power of closeness-led insight to build influence in businesses

Wren use interactive experiences, events and customer story films to create big shifts in customer EQ, giving Insight teams wider reach and greater influence to create change. Their projects help clients give insights a louder voice, and have lead to greater investment in seasonal marketing and retail transformation at the John Lewis Partnership and changes to working culture at Penguin Random House.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-beech-9bb60752/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jude-terry-b68b6914/

Register for this webinar here

What are explainer videos and how can we use them to help activate insights?
2025-02-13 11:00 - 12:00
This webinar has been generously sponsored by Norstat

For researchers, it’s tempting to think that the project finishes with the debrief. But for our clients, the debrief is only the beginning. The hard work comes with getting the insights understood by the business and used to influence decision making. As a result, clients are looking for new and exciting ways to activate their insights – often asking agency or independent partners for help.
There’s a growing realisation that video is part of the solution – quallies will recognise how the energy increases in the room when clients see some group or vox pop footage of real consumers. But to date, that has been pretty much it for video content as part of the debrief – separate clips of qual research participants or, at best, a reel combining multiple respondents.
Outside of the market research sector, things are different. Explainer videos are everywhere – especially in journalism and marketing. For example, the Netflix series ‘Explained’ by Vox, or the short-form videos created by news outlets such as the BBC and The Guardian to help us understand complex news stories around politics, science and more.
In this webinar, the Explners team will explore the rise of the explainer video through some of our favourite examples, deconstruct what makes explainers so powerful, and share some case studies of how the market research sector can adopt the explainer video to help clients activate the research projects that they (and we) have put so much hard work and investment into.
After attending this webinar you will:

Understand the different types of explainers and how they differ from other video content
Be able to spot the types of projects that would benefit from this type of video output
Know what to propose when a client or a brief says “we are interested in innovative ways of activating the output of this project.

Judith Rose (formerly Staig):

Judith has worked in research for more than 25 years, initially agency side. For the last ten years she’s been a content consultant and insights storyteller, writing copy and long-form content to help researchers bring insights to life and get them to land effectively with stakeholders. In 2023 she co-founded EXPLNERS a business that helps brands, agencies and businesses activate insights using explainer videos.
Mark Whalley:

Mark is a food & drink strategist, specialising in long-term category vision and innovation. A former Head of Food & Drink at GlobalData Consumer, and Insight Controller at Greencore, he understands how things work on both the agency- and client-side. Mark also excels in insight delivery and impact. A huge believer in the value of storytelling, he runs presentation skills workshops and is a co-founder of EXPLNERS.
Dan Parker-Smith:

Dan is a specialist filmmaker with a research background who understands how to balance research project goals and high-quality, video production storytelling. He was recently shortlisted for the MRS ICG Award thanks to his video work. Dan is a co-founder of EXPLNERS which fuses his experience in market research with his skills in film making.
Register for this session here

EXPLNERS: Activate your insights

In the right ballpark
2025-03-13 11:00 - 12:00
This webinar has been generously sponsored by Choice Language Services Ltd. Unlock the power of global insights with Choice Language Services.

This webinar will be run by ICG member Dan Young and will focus on two things:
– how to be brave telling stories with incomplete commercial data
– how to engage a senior audience using a simple narrative arc
Car buying journeys have become less linear. The Close Brothers insight team wanted to engage its Executive Committee in new routes to market and help them understand how to reach new customers in the future. The team worked with Shed Research to make estimates and assumptions when synthesising a huge number of sources. We used Brent Dyke’s narrative arc to keep Exco engaged with the bigger picture rather than getting bogged down in micro details. And this put us in a strong position to have meaningful strategic conversations and drive decision making.
Dan Young

Dan runs Shed Research. As far as he’s aware, it’s the only customer insight agency focused solely on insight synthesis. Dan helps insight teams do more with their existing research – either synthesising their insight, or training them to do it themselves. In 2020, he was the proud winner of the MRS/ICG Independent Consultant award.
www.shedresearch.co.uk
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-young-shed/
Register for this webinar here
(Note that this session WON’T be recorded to attend it if you don’t want to miss out).

Clientside life in 2025: closing the empathy gap to work well together
2025-04-03 11:00 - 12:00
This webinar has been generously sponsored by Field Sauce

Consultation by AURA with insight clients, agencies and micro-businesses identified that lack of understanding for each others’ challenges can cause unnecessary pressure, waste and stress in research and insight work. Both clients and agencies referenced the ‘us and them’ culture as a barrier: partners on the supply-side don’t always have sight of clientside pressures; and clients often under estimate the impact on their research partners when projects change.
Following our webinar last year to introduce AURA’s Working Well Together campaign, AURA is returning to this topic, and this time focusing on understanding more about clientside life in 2025. Armed with this additional context, ICG members will be better placed to develop great relationships and collaborative approaches that truly support their clients.
Clients from AURA (the UK’s biggest community exclusively for clientside researchers) will share their experiences, plus the findings of a recent survey with AURA members – which can also give clues for when clients will or won’t be more open to working with independents; and ICG members will have the opportunity to ask questions or make suggestions. This discussion will feed into the Working Well Together Team, who continue to develop resources and content to support this campaign.
Our Speakers
Ruth Hinton – Group Head of Customer Experience & Insight

With a career in client-side consumer insight spanning over 20 years at a variety of major retail and hospitality brands, and a background in psychology, Ruth Hinton specialises in understanding the people behind the numbers and collaborating with colleagues to drive improvements for customers.
Ruth is currently Group Head of Customer Experience at Vue International, and also Chair of AURA, the UK’s biggest community exclusively for client-side researchers – providing content, events and peer-to-peer support, to inspire insight and drive impact within organisations.
Nick Bonney – Deep Blue Thinking (and ICG member).

Nick has been a member of the ICG since 2018 when he set up Deep Blue Thinking. As many of us can probably relate to, Nick has seen the research industry from many different angles. He has had roles as an interviewer, a field manager, an agency exec right through to MD and worked a client for nearly 20 years, serving on the AURA Council . Based on those experiences, he saw the AURA Charter as a chance to get the industry to work more effectively together and volunteered to get involved.

Register for this webinar here

Reframing the role of automation in data storytelling
2025-05-01 11:00
This webinar has been generously sponsored by YouScan, social media listening with visual insights. Lunch&Learn from YouScan recording available here .

When we think about automation in quant reporting, we often picture it handling repeatable reports—trackers, multi-market studies, and templated solutions. But automation has evolved. Increasingly, it’s being introduced much earlier in the research workflow, not just as a reporting tool, but as a way to explore data, uncover insights, and shape narratives more efficiently.
Join us to discover how automation can enhance—not replace—your research expertise, and how you can integrate it into your workflow beyond templated outputs.
This session is led by Adam Baker, who brings nearly 15 years of Market Research experience and now leads Customer Success at Indico Labs, helps research agency leaders and consultants significantly reduce the time they spend on manual report automation, combining a “done with you” approach to reporting efficiency with self-service reporting software. Adam has a deep understanding of researchers’ needs and is driven to solve the toughest operational challenges.

Includes a special offer for ICG members.
Indico Labs
Offer for ICG members
Register for this session here

Commercial semiotics - IN ACTION!!!
2025-05-22 11:00 - 12:00
This webinar is generously sponsored by InsightX Research Solutions , specialists in designing custom fieldwork and data collection strategies to meet the unique needs of each client. Whether it’s B2B or B2C, Quant or Qual, CATI/Online/Mixed-Mode, Locally or Internationally, their omni-channel approach fosters authentic participation and ensure the collection of high-quality, representative data.

We welcome ICG member Ashley Mauritzen to present this webinar.
Commercial semiotics – IN ACTION!!!
A hands-on guide to integrating commercial semiotics and cultural analysis into your research practise.
Semiotics and cultural analysis have so much to offer – but if you’re struggling to get your head round them, how do clients stand a chance? This webinar gives you the practical grounding you need to integrate this powerful methodology – with its unique capability to surface hidden meanings and make sense of the cultural noise.
How? We will be going low on theory and big on application. Getting beyond how it works to how it’s used. With a total absence of jargon, some interactive decoding and plenty of case studies along the way.
Come along if you’re curious to know:
⁃ When could semiotics add most to your project?
⁃ How can you sell semiotics to clients?
⁃ How can semiotics work alongside qualitative and quantitative research?
… and plenty more.
Ashley Mauritzen

Ashley Mauritzen has been helping brands decode consumer culture and future-proof their place within it since 2010, working across brand positioning, product innovation and creative development for some of the world’s biggest brands.
With a background in journalism, her practice is distinct for its emphasis on demystifying semiotics, producing clear, provocative and actionable strategic insight with plenty of personality.
A seasoned independent consultant, Ashley partners with big agencies and boutique outfits – from proposal right through to client presentation.
(12) Ashley Mauritzen | LinkedIn
Register for this webinar here

Click, connect, engage! Using cyberpsychology to motivate participants online
2025-07-03 11:00 - 12:00
This webinar is generously sponsored by InsightX, specialists in designing custom fieldwork and data collection strategies to meet the unique needs of each client. Whether it’s B2B or B2C, Quant or Qual, CATI/Online/Mixed-Mode, Locally or Internationally, their omni-channel approach fosters authentic participation and ensure the collection of high-quality, representative data.

Do you want to know why participants in an online community won’t engage with each other? Why online focus groups feel so much harder to get going than face-to-face ones? Or why your participant happily videoed himself in the shower for a pre-task? Cyberpsychology has the answers – and more! In this webinar, Dr Jo Meredith – who previously worked as an academic in the field of cyberpsychology – will talk through the high level theories that explain online behaviour, and give insight, tips and tricks into how to make sure you can get the most out of your participants online.
Dr Jo Meredith

Dr Jo Meredith is Associate Director at Magenta Research. With a PhD in Social Psychology and a specialism in cyber and media psychology, Jo has focused predominantly on understanding online behaviour and communication. She has published peer-reviewed academic papers in the specialist journals, and worked in the highly regarded Cyberpsychology Research Unit at the University of Wolverhampton. Since joining Magenta, Jo has made good use of her background in cyberpsychology, working on projects on high media literacy and AI.
About Magenta

Magenta is a multi-award winning full-service global consumer insight agency. Magenta is a team of passionate senior researchers with diverse expertise, from anthropology to AI, cyber psychology, semiotics and discourse analysis, using innovative approaches to push boundaries and access how people truly think and feel. We foster an environment of curiosity, challenging norms and brave thinking. Our mission is to bring real voices to the forefront, unbound by methods, choosing approaches that get closer to the consumer. Our visual storytelling will share a story you’ve never heard before.
(3) Joanne Meredith | LinkedIn
Jo@magentaresearch.co.uk
Register for this session here

A Whirlwind Tour of Claude Sonnet 4 and Notebook LM
2025-07-24 11:00 - 12:00
An interactive webinar presented by ICG member John Habershon.

This is an exercise in sharing my experience, starting with a look together at the GUIs of Claude Sonnet 4 and Google NotebookLM, both simple and accessible, but powerful tools for qualitative and quantitative research.
I began my AI journey early in 2024, collaborating on projects with two ICG colleagues using ChatGPT. I was also in the privileged position of having my own qualitative data, recently made into a report, so I was able to rerun the analysis and compare the process of creating output using Claude. I also collaborated on a huge quantitative project, discovering the power of Claude in analysing spreadsheets.
I later added NotebookLM to fill any gaps, notably importing audio and video files.

This will be a session with the aim of familiarising participants with each AI tool. (Incidentally NotebookLM is free, so the combined cost is £18 pcm).
The 45 minute session will consist of a 30 minute tour of the apps, with 15 minutes for questions (challenge John on anything in the research process that can’t be achieved with this combination).
John Habershon (PhD)
Throughout my research career I’ve been dedicated to doing research a little differently, as demonstrated by my analysis of non-verbal communication (one app and two ebooks) and more recently my embrace of AI. I have a PhD from Imperial College, London based on a thesis combining qualitative and quantitative data.
Register for this webinar here
www.momentumresearch.ai
Mobile 44 (0)7725 582093
Zoom: johnhabershon@icloud.com

Beyond Words: How Language and Culture Shape Credible Global Market Research
2025-08-07 14:00 - 15:00
This webinar has been generously sponsored by TTC wetranslate Ltd

Unlock the secrets to truly credible global market research in thisupcoming webinar, “Beyond Words: How Language and Culture Shape Credible Global Market Research.”
In today’s interconnected world, understanding your audience goes far beyond simple translation. Join us to discover how cultural nuance and linguistic expertise are essential for accurate data, meaningful insights, and research that resonates worldwide.
This session will empower you with practical strategies to navigate cross-cultural challenges, avoid common pitfalls, and deliver research that stands up to global scrutiny.
Our speaker – Levent Yildizgoren

Levent is one of the two co-founders of TTC wetranslate and has helped it grow from a single to multi-language vendor. Levent is an experienced English to Turkish translator himself and a PRINCE2® Qualified Project Manager.
Levent has over 30 years of industry experience; he is a mentor, speaker, charity fundraiser and visiting lecturer at Essex University. He was the winner of ‘Outstanding Contribution to Translation Industry in 2015’ award.
Levent also is a published author of ‘Good Business in any Language’ and host of ‘Thrive in Global Markets’ podcast. In his spare time, he enjoys skiing, bike riding and swimming, and is also a PADI rescue diver.
E: levent@ttcwetranslate.com
Register for this webinar here

Secure your small business: easy wins for information security peace of mind
2025-09-11 11:00 - 12:00
This webinar has been sponsored by Indeemo

Supply chain attacks are on the rise. Small and medium sized businesses are often targeted by attackers to either gain access into larger companies systems, or access information. End clients know this and therefore carry out extensive procurement activities on their suppliers (including research agencies). There is also an expectation for agencies to carry similar checks on their suppliers (e.g. freelancers, fieldwork providers) – this is to ensure client commercial and participant personal information is secured wherever it exists down the supply chain.
During this session we will cover some basic security hygiene items which you can apply to your devices and cloud services to help minimize risks when you are custodians of this information. We’ll also show you what to look out for from a risk perspective when selecting, suggesting and using cloud services (including AI tools) to assist you in your projects.
We will also be looking at a few examples of common attacks and what to do to help prevent a security breach.
Attendees can expect to leave the session with added knowledge on how to protect digital information on systems and devices as well as feeling empowered to confidently respond to client security questions and questionnaires.
Our presenter – John Rickets
John Ricketts has been working in the market research agency since 1997 – he now has grey hair. In that time he delivered technical and security support services to research agencies, freelancers, CATI centres, and viewing studios. John left the industry for 3 years to develop his cyber security skills further by assisting Enterprise and Government organizations with security governance , risk and compliance activities.
He came back to the insights industry in 2018 to establish InfoShelter Ltd – a company formed with the aim of helping market research businesses traverse the cyber threat landscape and meet client and regulatory requirements in information security, privacy, and now, AI Governance.

Web: https://www.infoshelter.co.uk
Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/infoshelter-ltd/
John R LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-ricketts/
Register for this webinar here

What's life really like inside clientside organisations and bigger agencies?
2025-10-14 11:00 - 12:15
This session is generously sponsored by The Lens

This session is for ICG members only.
Many of us have been working for ourselves for a very long time.
And the Insight world is changing – fast.
So how do you keep up with really understanding what life is like for our clients in all sorts of organisations?
And why does this matter?
We think it matters because a more accurate understanding of their working lives means having a greater chance of winning work with them and having a smoother working relationship.
We’ve put together a panel of ICG members who’ve recently been in those clients’ shoes. They cover a range of organisation types and will share more about how independent consultants featured in their lives and what they were looking for – and not looking for – from them.
They’ll each give an overview of their experiences and will then be available to answer your questions.
Our Panellists and the organisations they’ve come from
Nicola Charlton
Ramona Daniel – GroupM / Choreograph (now WPP Media)
Becky Lewis – Government departments
Neil Macfarlane – Pepsi Lipton
Ben Robins – Audible

1. TO HELP SHAPE THIS DISCUSSION, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING SHORT SURVEY
2. THEN REGISTER YOUR PLACE HERE

Behavioural science 2.0: Tackling complex goals using behavioural systems
2025-11-13 11:00 - 12:00
This webinar has been generously sponsored by StreetLife

Eating healthily. Exercising regularly. Having spare money left over at the end of the month.
These are all challenges we humans seem destined to struggle with forever – right?
Not necessarily. We’ve just been using the wrong tools.
Behavioural science 1.0 helped governments and businesses nudge simple, one-off decisions like when to pay a tax bill, or what product to buy.
However, it failed to help anyone tackle more complex goals.
In this interactive webinar we’ll explore how Behavioural science 2.0 helps achieve lasting change by applying systems thinking.
You’ll discover how you – and your clients – can best tackle complex challenges, from improving health and financial wellbeing to strengthening consumer engagement and loyalty.
Our presenter – Chris Harvey
Chris Harvey is Founder of Activate Research (www.activate-research.com), which inspires change and drives growth by enabling agencies and organisations to better understand, predict and influence audience behaviour.
Chris has 15+ years quantitative and qualitative research industry experience (working for agencies including YouGov, GfK, and Dunnhumby) and a Masters with Distinction in Behavioural Science.
Chris is also a regular behavioural science workshop trainer for the Market Research Society, and a member of the Global Association of Applied Behavioural Scientists.
Chris has been an ICG member for many years.

Register for this webinar here

Basic Compliances for SMEs
2026-01-08 11:00 - 12:00
Join us for this informative webinar run by Accountant Jai Haran (husband of ICG member Aakanksha Haran).
Based on the topic areas that many of you requested, Jai will talk about business compliance requirements for

Accounting and Corporation Tax
VAT essentials
PAYE basics
Company Secretarial.

He’ll then be available for questions.
A perfect start to the year – get your company and finances operating efficiently – and compliant with the law.
Jai Haran
Jai works at RNM UK – a firm of Chartered Certified Accountants, tax and business advisers. Their key focus is identifying opportunities that give our clients a meaningful business advantage. They provide a full range of accounting and business services to enterprises and individuals helping them to achieve growth and long-term success. Between them, they have decades of knowledge and practical experience.

Register here

State of the (Insight) Nation - A review of 2025 and some predictions for 2026
2026-01-20 11:00 - 12:00
This webinar has been generously sponsored by Liveminds

Join our esteemed industry panellists to discuss some key themes from 2025 and help predict 2026.
Come away from the session with a better idea of what those in other areas of the industry (field, larger agencies, clients) are experiencing, as well as an idea of what your fellow independent consultants are going through as well.
A perfect start to the new year.
Our Panellists
James Endersby – Panel Chair, Opinium and Chair of the MRS
James Endersby (FMRS), is CEO of insights agency Opinium, based in New York, London, Amsterdam and Cape Town, Founder of Significant Insights and the Global 30 Under 30, and Chair of the MRS.

Steven Darby: Leeds Building Society
Steven is responsible for the Leeds Building Society research department, over a decade of client-side industry experience across B2B and B2C. He works with leading partners and agencies across the industry to bring the needs and voice of customer to the heart of the organisation.
Steven became Aura Director of Events and Awards in 2018, and Vice Chair in 2023 where he is responsible for delivering the Aura program of webinars, seminars, conference content and the AURA awards. As well as working at LBS and volunteering with Aura Steven has used this experience to support the MRS and has been a judge for the MRS Awards since 2019.
Sam Grey: Managing Director, i-view London
Sam has 24 years’ experience across recruitment, qual and quant fieldwork, automotive clinics, interviewing and facility operations. As Managing Director of i-view London, Sam has helped shape a multi-award-winning, inclusive viewing facility known for high-end hospitality, technical excellence and seamless delivery. Sam is a vocal advocate for the unique value of face-to-face insight in an increasingly hybrid industry.
Dr Sarah Jenkins,
Dr. Sarah Jenkins, Founder and Director of Magenta
Sarah is an award-winning insight professional with a distinguished career spanning more than 20 years. Starting in academia, moving to a think tank then the Social Research Institute of Ipsos MORI, Sarah moved into commercial research when she became Head of Qualitative in the Ipsos media team. In 2016, she founded Magenta Research, growing it into a multi-award-winning agency known for actionable client insights and storytelling. As an active member of the research community, Sarah has judged awards, served as AQR Vice Chair, and delivered MRS training. As respected conference speaker and thought leader, Sarah continues to push the boundaries of research challenging others to think differently and not always take the easy path.
Register for this session

Award Finalists 2025 Submissions
2026-02-10 11:00 - 12:00
Come and hear from our 4 Award Finalists from last year about their submissions. Hear more about how they approached their work, the hurdles they overcame, what worked well and less well, and why they chose to enter the Award.
A great opportunity to learn from other consultants and ask them questions. Also an opportunity to find out more about the Award for 2026.
Our Finalists
AWARD WINNER: Wren Insight: Hannah Beech and Judith Terry
Reimagining the Students’ Union: transforming student life through a closeness-led segmentation

Wren Insight partnered with Reading Students’ Union (RSU) to revolutionise how a Students’ Union should operate in 2025 and beyond. Our ethnographic and closeness-led approaches informed and embedded a statistically rigorous and richly human segmentation, with students’ emotional needs at its heart. The research challenged outdated assumptions about student lives and directly shaped a new RSU in strategy, structure and services – including better targeted student provision and refocused commercial planning. This enabled RSU to secure increased University funding and deliver to its purpose of helping all students to live a happy and fulfilled life at University.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/reading-students-union/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-beech-9bb60752/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jude-terry-b68b6914/
Highly Commended: Open Questions: Joe Bonnell and Rachel Lewis:
XLH UK Patient Stories – How ethnographic research led to life-changing results for people living with XLH

This research was conducted by independent researchers Joe Bonnell and Rachel Lewis. It was commissioned by XLH UK, a charity that supports people living with X-Linked Hypophosphatemia (XLH), a rare genetic condition.
Our client had two research objectives:

Generate better awareness and understanding of XLH
Provide evidence to NICE / NHS England as they were appraising a game-changing new drug, Burosumab, to receive funding for use in adults with XLH on the NHS

This was a creative, sensitive and collaborative research project that combined excellence in the use of qualitative interviews and the innovative use of visual ethnography and co-production. Our work had major impacts for our charity client, XLH UK, and the people it supports. Our research contributed to a “life-changing” new drug being approved for funding on the NHS for use in adults living with XLH. Our key analytical theme, “navigating uncertainty”, became central to our client’s strategic vision, shaping the way they frame and oﬀer support, and guiding their communications. Our work also had a significant impact on our participants — feeling confident and empowered to share their personal stories publicly for the first time. This project highlights the impact that a small, specialist team of experienced, independent researchers, dedicated to working equitably and flexibly with our participants and our client, can achieve.
All outputs from the project are public domain, and you are welcome to view them here and here.
Joe Bonnell | LinkedIn Rachel Lewis | LinkedIn
Deep Blue Thinking: Nick Bonney:
Putting the Art Back into Artificial Intelligence

This submission was about harnessing the power of AI alongside rather than instead of sound qualitative research techniques. By using AI-driven sentiment analysis we were able to create structure around a large volume of customer feedback forms and open up the kind of modelling to our SME client (a regional security company) that previously would have been out of reach for a business of this size. However, we would not have got the same results if we’d simply been ‘slaves to the algorithm’ . By combining the machine learning with qualitative techniques such as call listening, spending days with engineers and customer depth interviews, we were able to develop a much more nuanced approach. Perhaps more importantly, we harnessed the power of face to face workshops to ensure we got buy into the results both from senior management and from team leaders. This has enabled the prioritisation of six key customer experience workstreams, each designed to address to a key underlying churn driver.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickbonney/
SMPL Research: Poppy Reece, Sean Marks, Maura O’Malley
Real voices informing real change for women’s safety

SMPL Research evaluated two women’s safety initiatives for MOPAC and TfL – an impact evaluation of the Women’s Night Safety Charter, and process evaluation of a safety audit programme led by members of the community trained as researchers. We used traditional research methods alongside creative digital ethnography to amplify lived experience. Our insights helped shape improvements to future safety audits and informed strategies to embed inclusive, community-led approaches to make London safer for women and gender-diverse people.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/smplresearch
Register for this webinar here
