The GRBN Building Public Trust Charter – More Needed Than Ever

In light of the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal, we argue that now more than ever we need to build trust in our sector. All four regional federations, as well as six national associations across the globe, have already endorsed the GRBN Building Public Trust Charter, demonstrating their strong commitment to building trust in our sector. Whilst industry and professional bodies certainly have an important role to play in building trust, at the end of day, our success will be measured by our actions “in the field” and not by our words. It is therefore vital that we get everyone with “skin in the game” on board, including end clients, agencies, data collectors and technology providers, and working together to build trust through their actions. Here are two key ways to start building more trust:

GIVE PEOPLE A BETTER EXPERIENCE

The user experience is the foundation upon which trust needs to be built, as it is a clear demonstration of the respect we have for the people who willingly share their opinions or give access to their data. Unfortunately, the user experience we give research participants today is too often a poor one. GRBN has set up ENGAGE MR, a coaching program which helps end clients, agencies and data collectors alike deliver great experiences whilst delivering brand value to end clients. The first group of Participant Engagement Champions is currently going through the program, but we invite you to join the second group. You can find out more about the program here.

give people GREATER TRANSPARENCY

This year we will be increasing our focus on the need for greater transparency, which is vital to building people’s trust in how their data is used. Too many people say that they do not trust market research companies to protect and appropriately use their personal data. This needs to change, so we will be building upon the great work which is already being done in this area, for example by MRS with their Fair Data initiative, in order to increase the level of transparency to research participants.