Making All Voices Count (MAVC) has been awarded this year’s prestigious Market Research Society’s (MRS) President’s Medal.

The President's Medal is awarded annually to an organisation that has made an extraordinary contribution to society through research.  MRS describes itself as the world’s largest research association, counting members from 60 countries serving all those with professional equity in provision or use of market, social and opinion research, and in business intelligence, market analysis, customer insight and consultancy.

This year's nominees were chosen by MRS’ President Jan Gooding, Co-Chairs Crispin Beale and Danny Russell and CEO Jane Frost CBE.

On Making All Voices Count winning the award Jane Frost said:

“We were particularly impressed by the inclusion of the significant Research, Evidence and Learning component – led by the Institute of Development Studies – which was integral to your programme”.

In accepting the award, MAVC Director Fletcher Tembo said:

“We are delighted to receive this MRS award which recognises the integral and innovative Research, Evidence and Learning component of the programme led by IDS. I would like to thank all the programme partners and funders including the UK Department for International Development, USAID, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and Omidyar network, as well as all the grantees who have been integral to the programme’s success, for making this possible.

About MAVC’s Research, Evidence and Learning (REL) component

Led by Rosie McGee and Duncan Edwards from the Institute of Development Studies, the Research, Evidence and Learning (REL) component of MAVC,  has two main purposes:

• Programme Learning: To contribute to improving performance and practice in the field of citizen voice, transparency and accountability, government responsiveness and accountability,and Tech4T&A.
• Evidence and theory building: To build an evidence-base and theory in the fields of voice and accountability, and specifically in the emerging fields of Tech4T&A and Open Government.

The REL component has a critical role to play in bringing forth lessons from earlier generations of accountable governance research and practice to reinforce the message that context is key, and in drawing other Making All Voices Count actors’ attention to relevant evidence inside and outside the programme.”

Read more about MAVC’s REL Strategy (PDF) and our diverse range of publications.