The PRS Effectiveness Award Winner 2003

The Association for Qualitative Research (AQR) has announced the first winner of the Prosper Riley-Smith Effectiveness Award as Luigi Toiati, chairman, Focus Research.

Mr Toiati received the prestigious Award for his development of Tao Collages, a new qualitative research technique based on Eastern philosophies. The Award recognises the innovative nature of this technique, as well as its important implications for the future evolution of qualitative research as a whole.

Presenting the Award, Anne Hastings, a member of the AQR committee and one of the Award's judges, commented, "This is the first time in a long while that we have seen something completely new developed for qualitative researchers. Tao Collages is not just an innovative tool, it is a thought-provoking research framework which ties in with a client's business objectives to bring better results all round."

Anne added, "The creativity behind this new technique perfectly captures the spirit of the Prosper Riley-Smith Award, which was established by the AQR in 2002 in memory of its former chairman, to encourage fresh thinking and stretch the boundaries of our profession. We were very pleased with the standard of the entries we received for the Award in its inaugural year, and Luigi Toiati is a worthy winner."

A number of international organisations, including Nestle and Unilever, have already expressed an interest in Toiati's new technique. Discussions are also currently underway between Toiati and the AQR to develop a series of workshops on Tao Collages.