TNS BMRB Wins £17m 'Understanding Society' Study

In the UK, specialist social research agency TNS BMRB has won a £17m contract to deliver the next three waves of the 'Understanding Society' household study, which is claimed to be the largest social research programme of its kind in the world.

Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, and led by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex, the programme has followed the lives of people in 40,000 UK households since 2009. The survey was initially conducted by NatCen, and replaced the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), which ISER had been running since 1991 among a panel of around 9,000 UK households.

TNS BMRB will now move the programme to a mixed-mode design incorporating web, face-to-face and telephone interviewing. CEO Dr Michelle Harrison (pictured) comments: 'This is a unique programme of research, not just in terms of its complexity and scale, but its value to society and the investment that it represents. We are thrilled to be appointed by ISER to deliver this next phase of the programme. It is a testament to the quality of the team here at TNS BMRB and their on-going programme of methodological innovation.'

Web sites: www.tns-bmrb.co.uk and www.understandingsociety.ac.uk .