Be prepared for 2025 and beyond
Editor's note: Juliana Wood is the managing director of CIRQ and Alisa Weinstein is the VP of marketing at Full Circle Research.
When P&G sets a July 2025 deadline for its quantitative online sample providers to be certified to ISO 20252, the industry listens – and questions. What is the ISO 20252 standard? Why does certification matter? And what exactly does the certification process entail?
In the simplest terms, ISO 20252:2019 defines best practices for how market research and insights organizations run their businesses. P&G established its requirement because compliance to ISO 20252 standardizes the identification and reporting of data quality – it is a direct response to the continued increase of market research fraud.
As data quality is increasingly becoming mission-critical for vendor contracts, new business and existing clients, it’s clear that ISO 20252 will be a key driver of success in 2025 and beyond. To learn how certification can be attained for your organization, read on.
“Achieving excellence requires a commitment to consistently apply best practices. Choosing the ISO 20252 standard as a foundation for our work has been instrumental in our delivery of insights and analytics our clients can trust.” – Jorge Restrepo, CEO, EurekaFacts, certified since 2016
What is CIRQ?
The Certification Institute for Research Quality (CIRQ) is a subsidiary of the Insights Association, and was established in 2009 to provide audit and certification services to MRX firms seeking certification to ISO 20252:2019 and ISO 27001.
Discovery
1. Purchase the standard
How do you know if you’re ready for the certification process? The first thing you’ll do is purchase the standard. ISO 20252:2019 International Standard for Market, Opinion and Social Research, including Insights and Web Analytics provides all the requirements for a compliant research process management system (Core Framework) and research methodologies (Annexes A-F). This document can be purchased from the ISO webstore for about $200 – a worthwhile investment, even if you do not move forward with certification.
2. Understand the standard
Your next step is understanding the standard. This is easier if you color-code (highlight) key concepts as you read:
- “shall” means you must do this – this is a requirement of the standard.
- “procedure” tells you which documented processes you need to have in place.
- "record" means you need to show evidence of performing a task/function.
- “document” means that a process must be captured in a written format.
“At first, I was intimidated by the Annexes, but after collecting team feedback on which ones applied to us, I realized the exercise was invaluable. Not only did I better understand the task ahead, I clearly saw the benefits we’d attain once we were certified.” – Chris Foley, Director, Data Operations and ISO Quality Manager, MedSurvey, certified in 2024
Most market research and insights firms already have about 80% of the standard’s requirements in place. It’s a matter of updating documentation, processes and procedures to the applicable requirements.
3. Establish team support
This level of understanding will help you secure C-level support for certification – essential for initial and ongoing success of your ISO 20252 compliance program (this is not a one-and-done; audits are completed annually to ensure your organization continues to adhere to the standard). You will also need an internal quality or compliance manager to lead an implementation team – this person does not need to be an ISO expert; the education comes as you move through the process.
4. Determine your Statement of Applicability
It’s also best practice to identify an “Annex owner:” a team member responsible for maintaining the procedures specific to the Annexes identified in your Statement of Applicability (SOA). (The instructions on how to create your statement are included in the standard.) Your SOA is an attestation of the services your organization provides to clients.
“Ensure that your entire team and management are fully aligned and supportive. Certification is not a burden, but an efficiency-builder that streamlines operations, enhances collaboration and ensures we speak the same language, worldwide.” – Angelina Yatsenko, Quality and Compliance Lead, USA, Oracle Life Sciences (formerly Cerner Enviza, formerly Kantar Health), certification maintained through transitions since 2014
5. Self-assess your readiness
Upon approval of the program scope and costs, a signed agreement is required for the establishment of a certification program. Once that’s completed, the self-/pre-assessment phase begins. CIRQ will send you a foundational document to complete, indicating compliance with each applicable section of ISO 20252:2019. CIRQ then evaluates your self-assessment against the components of the standard and prepares a pre-assessment (gap analysis) report that indicates your readiness to be audited.
“Maintaining the ISO 20252 certification proves the provider functions at the pinnacle of impeccable research standards. This helps drive new business, keep existing clients happy and ensure the health and longevity of our respondent panel.” – Elsa Andersson, Compliance and Quality Manager, M3 Global Research, certified since 2011
How much does ISO 20252 cost?
Your audit and certification program application will provide the information needed for program scope and estimated costs.
Audit
6. Conduct your audit
With a successful pre-assessment completed, CIRQ works with you to schedule your initial audit. This is also known as the Audit Planning process. Once all details are confirmed, an assigned CIRQ auditor will perform a full-system audit at your company’s headquarters and all other in-scope office locations.
7. Earn certification!
Upon completion of your audit and documentation review and based on audit conclusions outlined in your Audit Report, CIRQ grants certification. This means that your organization has provided sufficient evidence of conformity to the standard’s requirements. You’ll receive a Final Audit Report Certificate of Compliance; the certification information is also added to the CIRQ Registry – a quick and easy way for brands and other research clients to confirm current and valid certification details.
“We look forward to our auditors’ visits! Their role is to help you achieve a successful audit. The fact that the team is very friendly alleviates any stress throughout the entire process.” – Sanjeev Dixit, Vice President and ISO Quality Manager, Reason Research, certified since 2014
Compliance
8. Protect your certification
The ISO 20252:2019 certification is a three-year cycle, and two surveillance audits are performed annually as a system check and to ensure ongoing conformity with the standard. This is how you’ll maintain active certification. Then, every three years from your first audit, you’ll undergo a re-certification process. Upon every successful completion, an updated certificate will be issued.
“Maintaining certification creates an excellent, and necessary, motivator to continuously review and improve our internal standards regarding client and vendor relationships, project auditing, data management, sample processing, participant confidentiality, staff training and more.” – Eric Thomas, Senior Group Operations Director, Naxion, certified since 2012
9. Give feedback
Note that after each annual audit, CIRQ will collect your feedback. This is your opportunity to offer any observations on the management and performance of the annual audit activity. It’s how CIRQ identifies future improvements – and is highly encouraged and appreciated!
To learn more, contact Juliana Wood, CIRQ Managing Director, at juliana.wood@cirq.org or 202-370-6318.
“If you care about quality insights, you should care about the market research standard. ISO 20252 certification is the gold standard for ensuring consistent, reliable and high-quality research processes that enhance client confidence and competitive advantage.” – Alexandrine de Montera, CPO and ISO Quality Officer, Full Circle Research, certified since 2014 | CIRQ Board President
To read the full comments from these organizations and learn more about their experiences with certification, visit cirq.org and cirq.org/qualityforall.
