Development Cooperation Surveys are commissioned by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and study citizens' opinions, attitudes and information needs connected with development cooperation. The data collection has been conducted by Taloustutkimus. The survey series was launched in 1997.
The survey charts Finnish opinion on the objectives, resources, targets and policies of the country's development cooperation. Respondents were asked which geographical area of the world should be the main target of Finnish development aid, and why. Opinions on the most important goals and areas for development aid were surveyed. Respondents evaluated the importance of development cooperation to Finnish foreign policy. Further questions covered the main information sources on this issue.
Respondents were asked to estimate how much Finland spends on development cooperation annually (as per cent of the GNI), and how much should be spent. Views were probed on whether development cooperation of voluntary/non-governmental organizations is more successful than government-to-government cooperation. One theme focused developmental partnerships: is bilateral aid provided by the Finnish government more effective than multilateral aid channelled through the UN or other international organizations. Respondents were also asked where and what kind of development aid they would provide, if they themselves could decide.
Background variables included respondents' age, gender, economic activity, occupational group, education, household gross income, type of the place of residence, region of residence, and whether the respondent had ever visited developing countries.
An omnibus study: respondents were recruited on a door-to-door basis, until 1000 face-to-face interviews had been made in respondents' homes. The sample was representative in terms of gender, age and place of residence. Interviews were conducted by 62 interviewers trained by Taloustutkimus.