AMSRO and ESOMAR are delighted to announce the Australian finalists for the Research Got Talent 2021 Award competition.

Launched in Australia last year, the initiative  encourages young professionals to use market research and insights to support local charities and NGOs overcome pressing social issues.

The finalists for 2021 (in alphabetical order by company) are:

• Sandra Kowalski from Bastion Insights for the entry Because No One Tells You in association with the Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE)  
• Samuel Carrick & Alice Harris from FiftyFive5 for their entry Project Panda in association with WWF Australia
• Samantha Liew & May Chantra from Lewers Research for their entry Courage to Care - Upstander Program Scoping in association with Courage to Care (C2C). 

Our finalists will go through to the next round of virtual judging on Thursday 29 April 2021. One winner will be selected and entered into ESOMAR’s global competition. Winners from the global competition will take to the stage at the ESOMAR Congress to present their work to an international audience.

Sally Joubert, AMSRO member and ESOMAR representative said: “The Research Got Talent Award competition is a great avenue for young researchers who want to make a difference. Our judges were looking for innovative projects that addressed a prominent social issue and had the potential to positively change the organisations they supported.  We had an exceptionally strong field of entrants and these young researchers have submitted excellent ideas. We look forward to the final round.”

The research aims to assist change in a range of areas including gender inequality, access to justice and education, integration and diversity, environmental issues and climate change. The young researchers were required to submit a project proposal about the issue facing the charity/ NGO and how they would conduct research to assist them in overcoming this issue. Entries were required to reflect a relevant, innovative, and impactful research design project that assesses the organisation’s specific issue.

Australian judges for Research Got Talent 2021 include: Katie Ferro, CEO, Stable Research; Dianne Gardiner, CEO, Bastion Insights; John Givens, Rotary Australia; Stacie Haber, Australian Red Cross; Nora Hungershoefer, Associate Director APAC, Luc.id; Sally Joubert, CEO, Luma Research; Lisa Lewers, CEO, Lewers; Rob McLachlan, former Chairman, Kantar Australia; Caroline Tomiczek, Director, Urbis and Lucas Wan, Sales Director, Giftpay. 

AMSRO and ESOMAR would like to acknowledge and thank all of the entrants for their outstanding submissions and their respective member organisations for supporting Research Got Talent.   

About AMSRO

The Association of Market & Social Research Organisations (AMSRO) is the peak body for the market and social research, data and insights industry. AMSRO works in partnership with its company members, plus privacy authorities, business, government and the community to protect and promote the industry and uphold the highest ethical and privacy market and social research standards. Since its establishment in 1989, AMSRO has grown to more than 90 members, who employ over 5,000 people, representing 70% of the industry’s annual (data collection) turnover.  In 2003, AMSRO pioneered its own privacy code for members, which won an Australian Privacy Award in 2009.  www.amsro.com.au 

About the ESOMAR Foundation

The ESOMAR Foundation is a charity representing the Market, Social and Opinion Research industry. Our industry has a wealth of knowledge and experience that can be applied to every aspect of society to ensure a more transparent, reliable and sustainable world. The ESOMAR Foundation believes that a fair, just and peaceful society is deserved by all and recognizes the immense promise that the research community offers to those striving to achieve these goals on a global level. The ESOMAR Foundation brings volunteers and resources together to execute projects to help and support charities and NGO’s to achieve their aims. Its aim is to encourage the usage of more insightful and inventive research and increase the overall impact of market research in building a better world.