20 August 2024

Some of you will be aware that Curia Market Research has resigned its membership of RANZ. The Chair of RANZ received a letter of resignation from Curia Principal David Farrar on August 10. David also outlined his reasons for leaving in a public blogpost he published the same day.

As mentioned in the post, RANZ is currently considering a complaint by a member of the public against Curia Research. The RANZ complaints process is set out in our Constitution, which can be viewed on the RANZ website.

The RANZ Professional Standards Group has made a recommendation to the Chair of RANZ in respect of this complaint. The complaints process allows that, when such a recommendation is made, the Chair can establish an independent panel to review that recommendation and to make a final decision. We were underway with this process when Curia tendered its resignation. 

In these circumstances, the Constitution allows the complaints process to continue at the discretion of the Chair. After consulting with David at Curia, the complainant, an external advisor and senior members of the RANZ Board and Executive, we have decided to continue the process and bring it to a conclusion. We think this is the fairest outcome for all the parties involved. 

Once the independent panel’s work is complete, the RANZ Board will release the panel’s decision. As this is the first time this aspect of the Complaints Procedure has been used, we will also consider what actions, if any, need to be taken regarding our processes to ensure they are fit for purpose going forward.

Nga mihi

Ian Mills
Chair,
Research Association of New Zealand

Geoff Lowe
Immediate Past Chair,
Research Association of New Zealand