Home| MEL Research celebrates 20th anniversary |
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10th October 2005 Top government advisor Sir Michael Lyons led the tributes to M•E•L Research as the Birmingham-based research and consultancy firm recently celebrated its 20th Anniversary at Millennium Point with a host of special guests. Formed in 1985, M•E•L Research has steadily expanded at the Aston Science Park for 20 years and continues to grow from strength to strength. The celebratory party had the theme of ‘20:20 Vision’ where special guests looked at the major developments in public services over the past 20 years and gave their view of what they thought would be the major influencers in the next 20 years. M•E•L’s Chief Executive, Dr Robert Pocock, said ‘Whilst we wanted to celebrate the success of the company over the last 20 years we didn’t want to dwell on this too much at the event. We are a forward-thinking company and as such we wanted to take the opportunity to look at the developments that we believe will be key to the changing agenda in the coming 20 years.’ Amongst the guests speakers were Sir Michael Lyons, Strategic advisor to the Government and Director at the Institute of Local Government Studies at Birmingham University. He was accompanied by Dr Derek Harris, Chief Executive of Aston Science Park; Professor Chris Coggins, a principal associate of M•E•L and a leading figure in the Waste Management field, and Professor John Mawson, Director of the Local Government Centre at Warwick Business School. Sir Michael Lyons’ entertaining contribution to the evening was most topical, as he spoke of his experience that week of having his much vaunted review of the Council Tax overtaken by an even more challenging task of sorting out what role local government should have in future. Commenting on M•E•L’s record of success, Sir Michael said: “It is clear from the government’s published statements that consultancies like M•E•L have a lot to offer in helping the public services to become more responsive to the public’s needs”. When it was first set up, M•E•L was known as Midland Environment Limited, and specialised in research and consultancy in the Environmental field operating only in the midlands region. The company has steadily evolved over the years, now specializing in three broad areas of public service development: Environment and Wastes Management; Health and Social Care; and Citizens’ and Neighbourhood Development. Their client list includes Government offices, regional assemblies, local public services, Local Strategic Partnerships, neighbourhood and regeneration partnerships across the UK. The company now stands for Measurement, Evaluation and Learning – the three key qualities for evidence-based service improvement. The company’s founder and present Chief Executive Dr Robert Pocock said: “I believe our business now has tremendous prospects. We have, in effect been hand-built over the years for this very moment. We focus on the future aspirations of our clients’ needs rather than simply maintaining the status quo. Our clients face massive challenges stemming from the national ‘modernisation’ programme and we are uniquely placed to help them respond. It is a significant achievement for a local small business to reach 20 years – so many start-ups fail quite quickly. It’s a big tribute to everyone who has worked very hard to get where we are. There is an increasing demand for consultancy services that will help the public services do better at meeting the public’s rising expectations. That is our business aim, and I am very excited about the next 20 years of opportunities for M•E•L!” For further information contact: |