Sir Robert Milton Worcester, (born 21 December 1933) is an American-born British

pollster An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...

who is the founder of

MORI Mori is a Japanese and Italian surname, and also a Persian pet name for Morteza. It is also the name of two clans in Japan, and one clan in India. Italian surname * Barbara Mori, Uruguayan-Mexican actress * Camilo Mori, Chilean painter * Ces ...

(Market & Opinion Research International Ltd.) and a member and contributor to many voluntary organisations. He is a well-known figure in British public opinion research and political circles and as a media commentator, especially about voting intentions in British and American elections.

Early life

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

native, Worcester graduated from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

in 1955, and following service in the US Army Corps of Engineers in Korea worked with management consultants

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

Career

In 1965, Worcester joined Opinion Research Corporation as chief financial officer before coming to Britain in 1969 to found

, then a joint-venture of ORC and National Opinion Polls, becoming the principal owner four years later. He was appointed chancellor of the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

in 2007 and retired from the role in 2014 and was succeeded by

Gavin Esler Gavin William James Esler (born 27 February 1953) is a Scottish journalist, television presenter and author. He was a main presenter on BBC Two's flagship political analysis programme, ''Newsnight'', from January 2003 until January 2014, and pre ...

. He is an emeritus governor of the London School of Economics and Political Science and visiting professor in the Government Department and is also visiting professor in the Institute of Contemporary British History at King's College London. He is also honorary professor in the Department of Politics and International Studies at

Warwick University The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

. Earlier he was visiting professor in the Graduate Centre for Journalism at City University and in the Department of Marketing at

Strathclyde University The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal c ...

. He is the Chancellor's Lecturer and adjunct professor of political science at the

. Worcester was principal investigator for the

World Values Survey The World Values Survey (WVS) is a global research project that explores people's values and beliefs, how they change over time, and what social and political impact they have. Since 1981 a worldwide network of social scientists have conducted r ...

in Trinidad and Tobago (2006, 2010) and United Kingdom (1998). For two years he served as the president of the World Association for Public Opinion Research. He became a Patron of the UK Market Research Society in October 2012. He is deputy chairman and trustee of the Magna Carta Trust and currently chairs the Magna Carta 2015 800th Anniversary Commemoration Committee, and is a governor of the

Ditchley Foundation The Ditchley Foundation is a foundation that holds conferences, with a primary focus on British-American relations. It is based at Ditchley Park near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. It was established as a privately funded charity in 1958 by phi ...

. He is also a former member of the Fulbright Commission and a former governor of the

English-Speaking Union The English-Speaking Union (ESU) is an international educational membership organistation. Founded by the journalist Sir Evelyn Wrench in 1918, it aims to bring together and empower people of different languages and cultures, by building skill ...

and co-chaired with Lord Watson the Jamestown 400th Commemoration British Committee (2005–07). He is immediate past president and former chair of the advisory council of the Institute for Business Ethics and has been on the Corporate Responsibility Advisory Board of Camelot. He was a member of the advisory council of the National Consumer Council and Forum for the Future. He is a vice-president of the

Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts The Wildlife Trusts, the trading name of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, is an organisation made up of 46 local Wildlife Trusts in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and Alderney. The Wildlife Trusts, between them, look after more than ...

, of the

United Nations Association A United Nations Association (UNA) is a non-governmental organization that exist in various countries to enhance the relationship between the people of member states and the United Nations to raise public awareness of the UN and its work, to promot ...

and of the European Atlantic Group and was president of ENCAMS (Keep Britain Tidy). He is currently a vice-president and was a trustee of

Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is an international wildfowl and wetland conservation charity in the United Kingdom. Its patron is Charles III, and its president is Kate Humble. History The WWT was founded in 1946 by the ornithologist ...

and was a

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

(WWF) trustee. He is a vice-president of Protect Kent, the Kent Branch of the

Campaign to Protect Rural England CPRE, The Countryside Charity, formerly known by names such as the ''Council for the Preservation of Rural England'' and the ''Council for the Protection of Rural England'', is a charity in England with over 40,000 members and supporters. Forme ...

. From 1993 to 2010, he was chairman of the

Pilgrims Society The Pilgrims Society, founded on 16 July 1902 by Sir Harry Brittain KBE CMG, is a British-American society established, in the words of American diplomat Joseph Choate, 'to promote good-will, good-fellowship, and everlasting peace between the Uni ...

. Worcester is a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and a Kent County Council appointed Kent Ambassador. He was a non-executive director of Kent Messenger Group and chairman of Maidstone Radio, CTR 105.4 fm, and was a non-executive director of the Medway Maritime Hospital NHS Trust until 2004. Following the sale of MORI to the French research company

Ipsos Ipsos Group S.A. () (an acronym of ) is a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 by Didier Truchot, Chairman of the company, and has been publicly traded on the P ...

in October 2005, he became chairman of the Ipsos Public Affairs Research Advisory Board and an International Director of the Ipsos Group. Subsequently, in 2007 he became senior advisor to Ipsos MORI.

Personal life

Worcester is described as a "staunch monarchist". He holds joint American and British citizenship. He and his wife, Margaret, live at the 13th-century Allington Castle, on the

River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a total distance ...

in Kent.

Awards and honours

He was appointed

Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(KBE) in 2005 in recognition of the "outstanding services rendered to political, social and economic research and for contribution to government policy and programmes".Sir Robert receives knighthood
kentonline.co.uk. Accessed 21 December 2022. He is an Honorary Fellow of the

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

and of King's College London, holds six honorary doctorates, and the Distinguished Graduate award of the

References

External links

*
LSE British Politics and Policy: Worcester's Blog
– Politics Blog by Robert Worcester

– talk by Robert Worcester at the 2001

Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973 principally by American banker and philanthropist David R ...

meeting
Interviewed on ANN TV 2015 about the Magna Carta and on democracy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worcester, Robert 1933 births Living people Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Voting theorists Businesspeople from Kansas City, Missouri Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom English businesspeople Chancellors of the University of Kent Fellows of King's College London American emigrants to England Deputy Lieutenants of Kent British management consultants British monarchists McKinsey & Company people Chief financial officers Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics