Membership of the BPC is open to organisations that conduct published opinion polls using sampling methods and/or weighting procedures likely, in the view of the BPC, to provide an adequate distribution of the opinions of all people in designated groups (such as all adults, or all voters etc).
Initial enquiries concerning membership should be addressed to:
Nick Moontel: 07770-564 664
e-mail: nick@moonlightresearch.co.uk
Organisations wishing to join the BPC will be asked by the Secretary to provide an example of the information they propose to produce to satisfy the rules of disclosure. For an example please see: ICM Research Example (pdf)
An applicant may submit a draft or final version of the information they intend to provide under the rules of disclosure. If a draft is submitted, the Secretary will advise the applicant whether, in his/her view the disclosure of information will meet the requirements. In any event the applicant will have the right to submit a suggested form of disclosure and membership will be granted by a majority vote of the management committee.
Member organisations are entitled to include in any report that they are “members of and abide by the rules of disclosure of the BPC”. — Objects and Rules
Officers of the BPC may be nominated by each member survey organisation. In addition the President of the BPC will ask journalists involved in commissioning and reporting polls and academics to join the BPC as officers, serving on the Committee on Disclosure to investigate any complaints received and/or on the Public Affairs Committee. As officers, journalists and academics will serve in a personal capacity not as representatives of their organisations or institutions.
Costs of membership
Each organisation wishing to join the BPC will assign itself to one of the following three tiers of joining fee on the basis of its volume of business and the amount of its work that ends up in the public domain. An informal “honour system” shall guide this determination. For “large” organisations, the joining fee will be £750; for “medium” sized organisations, the joining fee will be £500, and for “small” organisations the joining fee will be £250.
Thereafter the “honour system” shall guide the determination of annual fees payable on the 1st January each year. For “large” organisations, the annual fee will be £200; for “medium” sized organisations, the annual dues are £150, and for “small” organisations the annual dues are £100.