Authors

• Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Keywords

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

Abstract

The survey charted Finnish opinion on and knowledge of 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 as well as where in the world it should be directed. The respondents' familiarity with the UN Millennium Development Goals was surveyed. They were also asked to select the most important goals. Further questions focused on development cooperation and its importance, the most important goals of Finland's development policy, and areas in which Finland has something to give to developing countries in particular.

Views on whether development cooperation increased international security were probed. Some questions probed the respondents' views on how Finland should take into account developing countries in climate change issues. Opinions on the relationship between Finland's trade and development policy were also queried. They were also asked whose responsibility it is to help developing countries to survive the financial crisis. Some questions pertained to whether there was enough information available on development cooperation and developing countries, 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. In addition, they were asked to choose five most important forms of development cooperation and to sort them in order of importance. Views on the amount of funds Finland spent on development cooperation in 2008 (as per cent of the GNP) were probed, as well as opinions on the amount of funds Finland should spend. The respondents were also asked whether Finland should increase the amount of funds allocated to development cooperation in the light of the current financial situation. Those who thought the amount of funds should be increased were asked how the increase should be financed. All the respondents were asked whether Finland's development cooperation was effective and successful.

Opinions were explored on the greatest challenges of development cooperation. The respondents' satisfaction on Finland's actions in relation to different crises and disasters was also investigated. They also gave their opinions on how individuals could best help developing countries. Finally, the respondents were asked how important they considered that the origin of development aid is visible in Finnish development cooperation targets.

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