The History of the IQCS
Originally born out of the Interviewer Card Scheme (IQCS) which was formed in the 1970s as a response to a generally held view that fieldwork standards needed to be improved and regulated.
In 1986 with a name and remit change, the IQCS was formed and from these humble beginnings has grown into the internationally recognised fieldwork standard it is today.
Gill Wareing was appointed Administrator in 1987. The original council was comprised of: Anne Rigg, Janet Weitz, Janet Pottinger, Joan Pernet, Lesley Hill, Gillian Russell, Ivor Stocker and Michael Brooks.
In 1990 the standard was amended from accreditation for individual categories to approval for all types of research conducted by a company. The same year there was a major overhaul of the Standards Manual when it was deemed necessary to introduce guidelines for “computer-aided interviews”.
1990 Certificates were introduced. Core Interviewer and Supervisor Manuals drafted around this time.
With the rise of telephone data-collection fuller standards were developed for this category from 1993.
In 1994 Mystery Shopping requirements were developed from a specially held working forum and set down in 1994 when the manual was re-written to make it more concise and user-friendly. Also in 1994, under the chairmanship of Ros Morgan, the inspection forms were re-designed and inspectors’ performances reviews introduced.
Former council celebrating IQCS’ 10th Anniversary! That was in 1996!
In 1998 MRQSA was developed as a standard which aimed to set minimum standards for full-service market research agencies, and the decision was taken to use the existing IQCS standards as their fieldwork requirements.
In 2003 the MRQSA standards were reviewed and became the BS7911 British Fieldwork Standard for Market Research.
In April 2006, a new international standard, ISO 20252, was issued to replace the British standard, again with the IQCS standards firmly embedded in its fieldwork section.
There have been several key figures in our inspection team over the last 25 years, including Tilly Dancy, Daphne Eatwell and of course Daphne Steggals who was an inspector since the inception of IQCS until her retirement in 2008! The current team comprises of Gaynor Montague and Sue Curtis.
Previous IQCS Chairmen have been:
- 1986 – 1989 John Hanvey
- 1989 – 1992 Janet Weitz
- 1992 – 1994 Lesley Hill
- 1994 – 1997 Ros Morgan
- 1998 – 2001 Claire Harris
- 2002 – present Penny Steele
We are very proud of our successful journey over the last 25 years, and would like to thank all our membership, supporting clients and the professional bodies within the industry for their continued support and input into the ongoing development of contemporary UK fieldwork standards.
