IQCS — Interviewer Quality Control Scheme
UK quality standard · Roots since 1978 · IQCS since 1986

The British standard for trusted fieldwork.

IQCS is the independent, member-governed quality standard behind Britain's most credible fieldwork agencies — at home and on international projects. Every member audited annually. Every directory entry verified. Almost 50 years underpinning ISO 20252.

Why IQCS

What IQCS membership means in practice.

Five decades of fieldwork quality, written by the practitioners it applies to. Every member independently audited against it, every year. Not a badge. A standard.

Find a supplier who's been checked

Every agency in this directory has been inspected by an independent auditor against the published standard. Not self-certified. Not a paid badge. Audited, every year.

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Read the standard before you commission

The IQCS standard is published openly. Use it to specify suppliers, audit your own practice, or simply understand what good fieldwork looks like in 2026.

Read the standard

A standard that's lived, not just published

Member agencies write, review and update the IQCS standard every year. The people who deliver fieldwork are the people who define how it should be done.

How IQCS works
The directory

20 verified fieldwork agencies. One search.

From global research organisations to boutique agencies and specialist providers across B2B, B2C, healthcare, social research and transport — every company on this list has been independently audited.

The IQCS standard

A single, living standard for interviewer-administered data collection.

The IQCS standard covers every stage of fieldwork — from interviewer recruitment and training through briefing, quality control, back-checking and data integrity, to participant care and GDPR.

It's published openly, reviewed by our members, and freely available for any agency or research buyer to read.

New for 2025

The IQCS AI Framework

The first UK quality-standard guidance on how member agencies can responsibly use AI tools in interviewer training, quality control and data processing.

Read the framework
By the numbers

Almost 50 years of independent quality.

1978
Year the scheme began (IQCS founded 1986)
20
Verified member agencies
£595
Annual membership · audit fees variable
ISO 20252
International standard underpinned
Ready to join?

Put your agency on the list buyers trust.

Speak to Gill, our administrator. She organises every step — fees, audit, application, listing — and will give you all the information you need.