Authors

• Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Keywords

developing countries, development aid (international), development policy, disaster relief, information sources, international cooperation, public expenditure, social influence, the UN Millennium Project, voluntary aid

Abstract

The survey charted Finnish opinion on the country's development cooperation, its importance, content, objectives, and allocation. Some questions focused on the UN Millennium Development Goals.

The respondents were asked whether they considered development cooperation to be important, and why. Opinions on the most important goals and areas (e.g. education, health care, industry) for development aid were surveyed. The respondents' familiarity with the UN Millennium Development Goals was surveyed. They were also asked to tell where they had received information on them, and to select the most important goals. Views on whether development cooperation increased international security were probed.

Some questions pertained to whether there was enough information available on development cooperation, whether more information should be available on some topics, and from which sources the respondents had received most information. They also evaluated the reliability of the information given by the authorities, civil society groups, and the media. Views on the amount of funds Finland spends on development cooperation annually (as per cent of the GNP) were probed, as well as opinions on the percentage recommended by the UN. Those who thought the amount of funds allocated to development cooperation should be increased were asked how the increase should be funded. All the respondents were asked how effective and successful Finland's development cooperation was.

Views were explored on the greatest challenges of development cooperation, on the speed and amount of Finnish humanitarian aid, and on selecting aid targets. The respondents also gave their opinions on how individuals could best help the developing countries. Finally, the respondents were asked which they considered more important: the cooperation and increasing the effectiveness of the aid, or the fact that the aid comes from Finland is visible in Finnish development cooperation targets.

Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, occupation, province of residence, and household size.