Vale of White Horse District Council (www.whitehorsedc.co.uk) have commissioned Plus Four to manage the Vale Citizens' Panel. The Panel typically consists of a representative sample of 1,000 Vale residents. Panel members are consulted on a variety of topics, primarily via postal surveys, but increasingly via an online survey option. The Council values the views and opinions of its residents, and incorporates research findings into future service delivery. If you live in Vale of White Horse and would like to be considered for membership to the Panel, please contact Cara Allan (cara_allan@plus4.co.uk)

The Government of Gibraltar is currently reviewing the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation which provides television and radio services in that area. A key part of this review is a large scale audience research survey. We have been chosen to organise 1000 face to face interviews with residents of Gibraltar plus an additional 500 interviews with English speaking residents on the neighbouring Costa del Sol. The results and analysis, led by Dr. Graham Mytton - formerly of BBC World Service – will feed into the wider enquiry being led by Allan King, CEO Group K Broadcasting Ltd, who was a main Presenter/Anchor with Sky News.

For more information about this project or other ‘International Connection’ services please contact Peter Allan

Leonard Cheshire Disability have commissioned Plus Four to conduct their annual survey of service users for 2009-2010. We are delighted to have jointly developed a new approach to the research, which will for the first time allow service users a choice of how to complete their personal questionnaire – for example, by telephone, in-person, on-line or by confidential post. Service users will be consulted during the Autumn in Care Homes, Care at Home, Supported Living and Day/leisure/resource centres, although there will also be an opportunity later in the year for other service users to participate by post only.

More information about Leonard Cheshire Disability can be found here or contact Peter Allan at Plus Four

A leading vehicle manufacturer has asked us to run a van clinic in early April. This will involve several hundred participants attending a research event at a convenient location in the Midlands, evaluating vehicle models and answeiring survey questions. To be eligible for the research, participants must be the owner/decision maker of a commercial vehicle purchased brand new no earlier than 2004 (other screening criteria may apply)

For further information please contact Peter Allan

Plus Four have been commissioned to help evaluate an exciting new book programme which aims to raise standards amongst children. Booked Up is a national programme aimed at encouraging Year 7 children (11 & 12 -year-olds) to read and is run by the independent charity Booktrust and supported by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Parent or guardians who agree take part in the research will be called by one of our trained telephone interviewers from our in-house interviewing facility ‘The Phone Unit’ in Wimbledon. We have been asked to conduct a total of 500 interviews across the country. All responses are confidential - but what parents tell us will help shape Booked Up if it is funded in future years. For further information please contact Colleen Norton

The London Borough of Southwark have commissioned Plus Four to carry out over 600 interviews with local parents and carers. Southwark Children's Services wish to collect evidence from parents themselves about parenting, work and childcare in order for them to design a more appropriate, better service for families in the future. Interviews are currently being completed in all areas of the Borough and results will be collated in October. For more information please contact Peter Allan

Peter Allan and Dave Ruston attended the ESOMAR conference held in Berlin on 16th-19th September. It was the third time that Plus Four had exhibited at the international congress following successful exhibitions in Cannes (2005) and London (2006). The evidence again suggests that there was a lot of interest in our varied client base and successful track record spanning over 17,000 projects and 30 years. We had the opportunity of meeting many new faces as well as meeting up with a number of our European clients and some familiar faces from the past.

To reflect our expertise in packaging and branding research, Plus Four have announced that they will be exhibiting at this years Total Processing and Packaging Show. The exhibition, to be held at the NEC between 15-18th May, is generally regarded as being the premier event for packaging designers, buyers, brand managers and communication experts. Plus Four staff will be on hand to explain the benefits of understanding what consumers think of packaging and what it takes to design an eye-catching product.

The London Borough of Waltham Forest has commissioned Plus Four to undertake a household survey of the Borough’s priority neighbourhoods. We are looking for local people to join our team and conduct interviews. The results will also inform a series of community workshops to be held later in the year.

The study is a pivotal element of the Better Neighbourhoods Initiative Programme and will allow the Council to measure improvements in quality of life for residents. As part of the project we are looking for local residents to become part of our interviewer workforce. Suitable candidates will be invited on a two day training course where they will learn about a range of interviewing techniques and be given the opportunity to carry out real-life interviews with the help of an experienced professional. If candidates reach the required standard they will then be offered the opportunity to work on the Better Neighbourhoods survey during March and April...and possibly more work in the future!

Plus Four were commissioned by the London Borough of Newham to conduct a qualitative study amongst its local residents. A series of focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted with British White and African-Caribbean residents - these groups are currently under-represented in terms of their library usage. A detailed presentation of findings was given to Council officers in August and the research is now being used to develop future service provision initiatives in Newham. The include the improvement of disability access to Canning Town library and an increase in the number of PCs in the same library. The research is also feeding into the whole regeneration programme being undertaken at Canning Town, which will include a new library.