MRS and The Research Society, formerly the Australian Market and Social Research Society, have worked together for more than 10 years. The MoU will allow greater sharing of expertise, resources and development costs.

The MoU will increase access to training materials and tools for members of both organisations, with MRS’s foundation course in market research, launched in 2019, to be adapted for Australian members.

MRS also plans to implement the Fair Data Portal developed by The Research Society, following on from the MRS’s Fair Data scheme.

Jane Frost, chief executive of MRS, said: “The cementing of MRS’ partnership with The Research Society is a brilliant example of how our international community can work together – by sharing the best initiatives and expertise from around the world, we can enhance our existing services and deliver benefits for our members.

“We look forward to working closely with our Australian partners on this and identifying more avenues for collaboration in the future.”

Elissa Molloy, chief executive of The Research Society, said: “The research industry faces similar challenges and offers similar opportunities around the world and our ability to work together helps spread good ideas more broadly.

“Our members and company and client partners will benefit from the relationship with added opportunities for training and education, in particular. Collaboration also helps us improve best practice across professional standards, ISO and privacy legislation.”