A Colchester-based scholarly association, the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR), has chosen a Sudbury agency to support the commemoration of its 50-year anniversary in 2020.

The ECPR is an international organisation that represents academics and universities worldwide in the study and teaching of politics and international relations, encouraging training, research and cross-national co-operation among political science scholars.

It was established at the University of Essex in 1970 by a small group of scholars who aimed to create a joined-up approach to the study of politics and political institutions across Europe, and develop the academic discipline of political science.

The ECPR has appointed Mackman, a full-service branding and marketing agency based in Sudbury, on the Essex Suffolk border, to help it prepare for the fiftieth anniversary celebrations and to help it to rebrand.

The ECPR has been based in Colchester since it was established in 1970 at the University of Essex.

In 2014, the ECPR moved to its own headquarters at Harbour House on Hythe Quay, just a mile from its original home.