The Market Research Society (MRS) has launched an initiative designed to give small charities access to free research assistance.

Research Aid, which is launched today at an MRS event on Charity and Third Sector Research, is a network of market research professionals. There are currently 60 volunteer experts signed up to act as middle-men to connect charities with the appropriate market research partners.

The initiative is chaired by Geoffrey Roughton, a 'veteran' in the research industry, who said that many market researchers already offer pro-bono or discounted rates. Research Aid is not designed to replace paid market research, he said, but to help small charities make an in-road into its use:

"Larger charities know about us. But there are thousands of smaller charities who have never heard of how our skills can help them.

"Smaller charities are trying to become better at evaluating their outcomes. We can help them. Market researchers might not save the world, but we can certainly help others make it a better place," he said.

Macmillan uses market research to drive its donation initiatives, Drinkaware uses research to measure the effectiveness of its behavioural change campaigns, and Compaid uses research to spearhead strategic relationships with key stakeholders and partners, the MRS advises. All three charities are attending the conference in London today to tell of how they use the research.

Research Aid will help small charities which are not already active with a market research company identify their market research needs, develop a brief and understand the tools already freely available to them.

While the aim is to provide free assistance to small charities, those which are already active with a market research company will not be eligible and the level of unpaid support will be at the service provider's discretion and depend on the scale of the brief.