Canadian MR Association 'CRIC' to Open Early Next Year

Canada's new MR industry association now has a name, the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC); and aims to hold its first open board meeting in Q1 of 2019. ESOMAR standards, which had already been the basis of industry standards in Canada, will be endorsed by the new body.

Members of the Interim Board established at the end of August have made good progress in setting up the association, following the sudden demise of its predecessor the MRIA, in July.

CRIC will add specific provisions to the ESOMAR code to address issues specific to Canada, for example around privacy, political polling disclosure and 'emerging concerns related to the use of data sources other than surveys'. Interim co-chair Barry Watson, who is President and CEO of Environics Research, met with ESOMAR leaders at the latter's recent World Congress in Berlin to discuss collaboration. He comments: 'Canada has always had close ties to ESOMAR, having actively taken part in developing their global standards. This decision aligns us with the global market and opens doors beyond Canada and onto the world scene'.

The Interim Board has also voted to support academic and MRIA Fellow Robert Wong in his efforts to continue the CMRP designation (Certified Marketing Research Professional) which he helped develop; and to ensure the continuation of the Survey Registration System, which allows members of the public to verify the legitimacy of research projects, and to make complaints. The latter is currently in the hands of the bankruptcy trustees, but will be financed by CRIC until proceedings are completed, and thereafter replaced with a more permanent solution after deliberations by CRIC.

The Board aims to open up the association to members early in the new year, and has engaged expert counsel Jim Pealow of AMCES to advise on key governance decisions such as bylaws and incorporation. Pealow worked on the merger of three associations to form the MRIA in 2004.

Details of the membership process will be announced soon, but this will require firms to undergo an audit process, to which the Interim Board members have all committed. The Board will remain in place until the association is formally established.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.