In 2005 while waiting for my broken leg to be pinned, for the first time in my career I had time to think and reflect, and in hindsight that collection of pins and bolts that still ache at night changed my journey. Until the break I'd hopped from one major university to another, running a clinical trial here, setting up a research institute there. Fulfilling sure, but also at times like adding unnecessary polish to an already shiny shoe. It was George Alagiah that pointed the way. Mr Alagiah in his autobiography described his work in Africa and it resonated. Eight months and one job change later I was making my home in Northern Tanzania. My work - setting up and running health research - hadn't changed, but in this beautiful new location where research infrastructure and resources were more limited, I learned that high quality research can be conducted with minimal infrastructure and that small changes, often at no cost to a project, can offer important improvements to the project, and (definitely more important) to the participants generously taking part. This insight - and I want to call it that for sceptics in academia would doubt the quality of research from the non-industrialised world - shifted my path again. I have gathered around me like minded souls (I hope you have time to read what they have to say on this page...); friends who believe in the creativity and collegial spirit of academia, but want the transparency and efficiency of a well run commercial organisation. Here at 4R we are committed to transparent social responsibility. And we are committed to providing creative analytical solutions  to intractable problems. We can't help it, it's in our blood. We work with a range of organisations to create important knowledge from their data, that we hope will ultimately lead to improvements in global wellbeing.

Typical academic really. A passing interest in the cause of this, or that, disease led to a career that meant, like Socrates before me, I must don my academic robes, pull out my begging bowl, and sit on the streets of Athens, waiting for society to pay me what it thought I was worth. Some of my work hit the target and society was pleased….but I was frustrated and, yes, I'll say it… bored. At 4R, my love of meaningful data, well-handled, well-lit, and well-spent, has rekindled my love affair with research. It can be wise or otherwise, big or small, but when it is packaged neatly and attractively and someone is actually waiting at the gate for it to come home, it can make those cold nights under the Acropolis worth it. If Socrates was in 4R he would have said: "Data - all data - is knowledge, embrace it!"

My earliest memories are of been surrounded by books. Interesting books, like "How Things Work" and encyclopedias to give me facts I didn't realize I should know. A little older, and I watched in awe as my father built things from scratch; a house, a boat, two airplanes.  Schooling continued the theme with teachers as interested in computing as me. We would linger after classes swapping assembly language tips and tricks. Debate was the norm: which is better, Z80 or 6502? An array or a linked list? How many dimensions? I am excited to be part of 4R. The team want to solve problems in the best way possible. It's that simple. We create client-specific teams that are driven by each other's abilities, and who leverage on these abilities to create something special for our clients. Importantly, I think, we include each client into our open debates, which (we hope) improves the solution still further.

Jakarta. Nineteen years old. A rucksack, 50 dollars to make it to Singapore and a body tired from dysentery. The solution: cold beer. While quenching my mental thirst I met another Brit, a NASA scientist. We chatted, exchanging anecdotes; his more interesting than mine. We moved on and never met again, but not before I had been fed, watered, and my financial status improved by this person who asked for nothing in return. His generosity was free. And this was an experience I have remembered and attempted to emulate. Here at 4R, we believe passionately that no matter the resources or limitations, any research study – in health or another field – can meet the highest methodological and ethical standards. We owe this to our clients and we owe it to ourselves.