John Aitchison

John made an exceptional contribution to the market research industry over the years, initially with TNS (now Cerner Envisa), before setting up his own companies, First Line Research and SurveyScore Ltd. He was well known for his commitment to best practice, his desire to challenge the way we do things and the application of learnings from other disciplines to benefit healthcare market research.

John presented numerous innovative conference papers and training sessions for the BHBIA and he served on the Board. He was perhaps best known amongst BHBIA members for his work as Co-Chair of the Response Rates Task Force, which highlighted the threat that dwindling healthcare professional participation poses to the quality and sustainability of healthcare market research. 

John sadly passed away in May 2020, following a long period of living with cancer. The UK healthcare market research industry lost one of its leading lights and John is greatly missed. 

The Board have recognised John’s exceptional commitment to the BHBIA and the industry by dedicating the BHBIA Outstanding Contribution Award to John’s memory. This award is for someone who has ‘gone the extra mile’ for the benefit of the BHBIA and its members. We feel that this is a fitting tribute to John, who won the award twice himself. 

We are also keen to honour John’s memory by continuing to drive forward the Response Rate recommendations for improving the participant experience, ensuring the future credibility of our industry's work.