2000 Highlights
• In 2000 Vitosha Research
conducted 45 social, economic, marketing, media and public opinion
projects. Work on these projects included conducting quantitative
and qualitative surveys: about 19 000 face-to-face interviews, 150
in depth interviews and 30 focus groups.
• The collected information has been
summarized in about 40 analytical reports, policy papers and
newspaper publications.
• For a third successive year Vitosha Research
conducted the Global Competitiveness Survey in cooperation with the
Center for Economic Development and the World Economic Forum at
Davos. Based on the survey results and officially published
statistical information, Bulgaria was included for the first time
in the official annual report of the World Economic Forum "Global
Competitiveness Report 1999".
• In a consortium with other agencies from
Central and Eastern Europe coordinated by Gallup-Hungary, Vitosha
Research won a European Commission grant competition for the
Eurobarometer survey and started its
implementation.
• The first phase of Southeast European Legal
Development Initiative (SELDI) included the development and
implementation of a Regional Corruption Monitoring System (RCMS) to
assess the level and scope of corruption in the region (Albania,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania and
Yugoslavia). RCMS is based on the Coaltion 2000 monitoring
methodology. Corruption monitoring training workshop was held in
December 2000.
• In December 2000, Vitosha Research and
Gallup-Hungary organized a conference "Crime Victims in Transition
Countries" focused on the results from international crime
victimization surveys of population and business persons in Central
and Eastern Europe.
5. Foreign Direct Investments in the Balkan
Countries: Alternatives to Reduce Existing
Barriers
Applied Research and Communications Fund (ARC Fund)
in cooperation with Vitosha Research have carried out this project
supported by Freedom House. It is currently being implemented in
Albania, Bulgaria and Macedonia and is aimed at:
• Evaluation of the overall environment for
foreign direct investments (FDI) in Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria
regarding barriers associated with weak and incomplete legislation,
tax barriers, corruption, competition and anticompetitive policies,
etc.
• Analysis and comparison of the legal
and institutional framework for FDI in these
countries.
• Analysis of the privatization policies
implemented so far in the respective countries as a key
prerequisite of FDI inflow.
• Analysis of the financial system (banking
and capital markets) and its role for fostering the FDI
inflow.
Survey data will be used to design appropriate
recommendations for the reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers
to FDI and to increase the public awareness of the positive
effects of FDI.
II. Social and Educational
Surveys
The social research projects included 4
quantitative and qualitative studies. Fieldwork
consisted in conducting over 2 900 face-to-face interviews, 60
in-depth interviews and 8 focus groups. The social and educational
research -projects of Vitosha Research were commissioned by the
UNDP, Regional Initiatives Fund, International Development
Law Institute, Rome and the East-West Management Institute,
Washington.
1. Infrastructure Micro-projects' Beneficiary
Assessment
Vitosha Research carried out the "ex post" survey of
the implementation phase of the Regional Initiative Fund (RIF)
infrastructure projects. The main objective of the study was to
explore beneficiary assessments of the results of the
micro-projects implemented by the Regional Initiatives Fund and to
compare them with the initial project effect expectations. A
combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used. The
main target groups of respondents in the quantitative survey were
local community members who benefited from the project results.
Qualitative methods were also used to obtain information from other
sources such as local authorities, RIF staff and local media.
The results of the assessment showed that all micro
projects financed by the RIF were evaluated as relevant to the
specific local conditions. In the majority of communities both the
ex-ante survey (Beneficiary Expectations and Assessment of the
Results of the Micro projects Implemented by RIF) and the ex-post
quantitative survey confirmed the initially anticipated match
between the priority infrastructure problem of the community and
the project implemented. The information collected showed that the
choice of project was highly consistent with the most pressing
problems and needs of the community residents. The overall
evaluation of the projects by local government representatives was
very high. The ex-post survey showed that the results are evaluated
very favorably mainly because of the positive impact on community
development and the improved infrastructure.
2. The Corruption Monitoring System of
Coalition 2000
Vitosha Research was extensively engaged in
conducting the surveys of the Corruption Monitoring System (CMS) of
Coalition 2000. The CMS includes a comprehensive set of
qualitative and quantitative techniques aiming at different
target groups (general public, businesspeople, public officials,
professionals, etc.). In 2000 a total of 5 quantitative surveys of
population and business elite were conducted. The major tasks of
the CMS itself ware the publication of the Corruption Indexes of
Coalition 2000 and the Corruption Assessment Report.
Corruption indexes summarized the most important corruption
indicator variables to evaluate/measure the level of proliferation
of corrupt practices in different spheres of society. They included
measures of the tolerance of various corrupt practices,
susceptibility to corruption, corruption pressure, levels of
practical involvement in corruption, spread of corruption among
institutions and socio-profes sional groups, etc. The Corruption
Indexes of Coalition 2000 were published four times in
2000.
The results of the CMS showed that in terms of
values and principles, public opinion essentially remained negative
to corruption but at the year end of 2000, a certain public
desensitization to the manifestations of corruption were detected.
Public opinion perceives corruption as a widespread phenomenon in
Bulgarian society and fairly consistently qualifies the sectors of
customs, police, ministries, the tax administration, the court
system (including judges, lawyers, court officials, prosecutors) as
corrupt. The stability of corrupt behavior suggests that the
capacity of Bulgarian society to cope with the problem of
corruption depends not only on a change in mass attitudes to this
phenomenon, but also on the emergence of new social practices.
There is a need for essentially new regulatory mechanisms that
should be both morally acceptable and practically effective.
3. Post-Conflict Stability
and Development in Southeast
Europe: Implementing a Corruption Monitoring
System
The main objective of this project supported by the
MacArthur Foundation and conducted in Bulgaria, Macedonia and
Albania was to further develop an anticorruption network in the
region, to facilitate the exchange of information on anticorruption
in Southeast Europe, to encourage cooperation among public and the
private and non-governmental sectors and to promote regional
cooperation and implementation of anticorruption
programs.
Vitosha Research conducted the research in
cooperation with the Albanian Center for Economic Research
(Albania) and Forum-Center for Strategic Research and
Documentation
4. Regional Corruption Monitoring
System
The Southeast European Legal Development
Initiative (SELDI) was launched in late 1998 as an effort of
leading not-for-profit organizations aimed at public-private
coalition building for legal development in the transition
countries of Southeast Europe. A network of organizations has been
established within SELDI to monitor the level and scope of
corruption in the region based on the implementation of the
Coalition 2000 monitoring methodology regionally. Surveys in
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia,
Romania and Yugoslavia were conducted.
Project partners produce a Corruption Monitoring
Report for the region in 2001. The Report includes the Corruption
Indexes (CI) present comparable overall measures of:
• Intensity of involvement in corrupt
behavior
• Public tolerance towards corrupt
practices
• Levels of proliferation of corrupt
practices in different segments of society
• Major forms of corruption
• Effectiveness of the efforts to
combat corruption.
IV. IT Projects
IT penetration and information society
development in Bulgaria have gradually evolved as priority areas
for Vitosha Research. In this respect the projects conducted for
UNDP and MTC made it possible to collect valuable baseline data
and to produce initial analyses.
1. Conditions, Trends and Problems of the
Development of the Bulgarian Information Society's Technologies and
Services
The main objective of the study commissioned by MTC
was to analyze the condition and the development of the information
society in the country on the basis of international indicators
(ESIS, ITU, UNESCO). The more specific aims of the project were to
collect information about:
• the condition and the tendencies of the
development of the information society;
• the level of public awareness of Bulgarian
information society development;
• IT industry (condition of the market, supply
and demand of services, etc.);
• public and private institutions in the
information society area; initiatives and projects;
• the main problems of the development of
information society;
• legal basis of the information
society;
A report "Conditions, Trends and Problems of the
Development of the Bulgarian Information Society's Technologies
and Services" was prepared. It analyzed the current level of the
IT society in Bulgaria and recommended on the future
development.
2.
Feasibility Study on the Establishment of Technological
Chitalishte
The overall objective of the UNDP commissioned
feasibility study was to assess the potential of the "Chitalishte"
(local cultural center) to become an Internet center or an Internet
provider (technological Chitalishte). A Feasibility Study was
carried out at national and local level. Two research methods were
used in carrying out this Study - desktop research and a
qualitative survey (in depth and group interviews).
The study helped assess the problems and possible
strategies for the development of "technological chitalishta" in
small towns. It outlined the status and trends of the Internet
market in Bulgaria and showed that in the current context of the
Bulgarian IT market, a niche for the development of technological
"chitalishta" exists in small towns. Based on the collected
information several strategies for the development of the
"Technological Chitalishte" have been proposed to the UNDP.
3. Internet Services in
Bulgaria
IT development was tracked on a regular basis in
the quarterly VR omnibus surveys. The main objective of IT
monitoring was to track the evolution of information society in
the country and to accumulate trend information that would make
possible a future in-depth analysis of these issues.
The basic subject areas included in the
quarterly monitoring are:
• Access to computers;
• Access to Internet;
• Development of Internet
services in Bulgaria;
• Use of e-mail, chat and etc.
V. Public
Opinion Surveys
A total of four public opinion research projects
were carried out in 2000. The basic topics covered were: public
opinion about politics and economy, NATO and the European Union,
opinions on the Government accountability. The projects were
commissioned by the Office of Research, US Department of State;
Gallup-Hungary, Romanian Academic Society, and the Romanian Center
for Public Policy.
1. Eurobarometer
Jointly with other agencies from Central and Eastern
Europe Vitosha Research won a European Commission grant
competition and started»the implementation of an international
survey entitled Eurobarometer and coordinated by Gallup-Hungary. It
is being carried out in 13 applicant countries for EU membership.
The first poll was conducted in January 2000. Its purpose was to
collect information about the general attitudes of the Bulgarian
public towards the EU, as well as public opinion and assessments of
the process of European integration in Bulgaria.
3. Developing Community and Corporate
Philanthropy in Bulgaria: from Strategic Partnerships to
Sustainability
The Urban Institute, Washington jointly with Vitosha
Research conducted an assessment of community philanthropy
development in selected municipalities in Bulgaria. In this USAID /
Bulgaria commissioned project Vitosha Research conducted survey in
six municipalities -Bourgas, Blagoevgrad, Gabrovo, Sevlievo,
Smolyan and Chepelare,which included:
• Desk research to inform the profiles of the
community as a whole and the three stakeholder sectors (local
government, the NGO community, and the business
community).
• Quantitative survey in four
municipality;
• In depth interviews with leaders of
the three sectors and representatives of the existing
funds;
• Focus group discussions.
Based on the research, a program to promote
corporate and community philanthropy will be designed. The
objective is to introduce models of community philanthropy and
strategic partnership among businesses, local governments and
NGOs, and to establish sus-tainable institutions, such as
community funds, and to ensure NGO sustain-ability in the long
run. The project "Developing Community and Corporate
Philanthropy in Bulgaria: From Strategic Partnerships to
Sustainability" provided recommendations on the issues of
developing corporate and community philanthropy, including some
observations on priorities for strengthening the overall enabling
environment and specific recommendations for structuring viable
initiatives under existing law.
VI. Media Research
In the year 2000 media research focused on foreign
radio station programming evaluation. A total of two quantitative,
one qualitative and radio monitoring projects were conducted. They
included focus groups, face-to-face interviews and desk research.
The media research projects have been commissioned by InterMedia
Survey Institute. The main objectives of the media surveys
were:
• Evaluation and trust in mass media by the
Bulgarian population;
• Evaluation and trust in mass media
by the Bulgarian population;
• Opinions and attitudes about international
and domestic TV .and radio channels;
• Role, image and relevance of international
and domestic radio broadcasters in Bulgaria; '
• Opinions and attitudes of Bulgarian
listeners towards the programs of the RFE, DW, BBC and
VGA;
"Accountable Government: Self and Public
Perception":
Key Findings
The survey showed that there is a
considerable divergence between the attitudes of the
Bulgarian public and the MPs on certain key aspects of
governance.
1. Level of satisfaction with governance in
Bulgaria
More than half of the MPs are satisfied with the
performance of the present government but barely 15% of the public
shares a similar view. Nearly 80% of Bulgarian citizens are
disappointed with the manner in which the country is governed.
2. Effectiveness of the institutions of the
legislative, judiciary, and executive, and the related
social and professional groups
In the opinion of Bulgarian citizens, most state
institutions do not function effectively enough. The performance of
MPs compared to other professional groups is characterized by low
effectiveness. MPs assess the effectiveness of the executive and
legislative powers as high and the effectiveness of their own
activity as very high.
3. Evaluations of the activity of Bulgarian
Governments in different historical periods.
According to 44% of the MPs, Bulgaria was governed
best between the two world wars. The majority of the citizens
however believe the country was governed best in the 1960-70s and
the 1980s.
4. Political
self-identification.
More than half of the citizens
are unable to define their political affiliation; among those who
can the leftist political orientation prevails. About 90% of the
MPs define their political position as right-wing.
5. Distribution of egalitarian and liberal
core values.
Among Bulgarian citizens, egalitarian values
predominate over liberal values. The opinion of MPs is radically
different - for nearly 90% of them personal freedom is more
important than equality between the people.
Sample size N = 1161 (general public) N = 163
(MPs) Source: Survey "Accountable Government: Self and Public
Perception'
VII. Marketing Research
Vitosha Research has conducted five
quantitative and qualitative market surveys in 2000. The basic
topics of marketing research projects
were:
• Non-carbonated soft drinks market
in Bulgaria;
• Blind Test of several new non-carbonated
soft drinks;
• Alcoholic drinks consumption and
brand tracking survey;
• Evaluation of advertising
designs.
VIII. Publications
Research findings have been widely
disseminated in the press. More than 30 newspaper articles have
been published in the papers with national distribution. The
following analytic reports and policy papers were also prepared in
2000:
• Conditions, Trends and Problems of the
Development of the Bulgarian Information Society's Technologies and
Services, November 2000;
• Accountable Government in Central and
Eastern Europe: Public and Self-Perception, October
2000;
• Feasibility Study on the
Establishment of Technological Chitalishte,
July 2000;
• Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and
Competitiveness, focus groups analysis, July 2000;
• Tax Policy and Economic Growth, focus groups
analysis, July 2000;
• Beneficiary Assessment of the Results of the
Microprojects Implemented by the Regional Initiatives Fund, June
2000;
• Assessment
of-the Training Needs of Bulgarian Judges, May
2000.
IX. Conference and Seminars
Vitosha Research staff members participated
in several international and national and conferences and
seminars:
• International Crime Victimization, December,
2000, Sofia, Bulgaria;
• The Future of the Chitalishta in Bulgaria,
October 2000, Bulgaria;
• Accountable Government in the East-Central
Europe: Self and Public Perception, September 2000,
Romania
• Business Views on Corporate Governance:
Building New Structures in Emerging Markets, September 2000,
Bulgaria;
• Foreseeing the Future of SEE One Year After
the Stability Pact - A Policy Outlook from the Region, June, 2000,
Macedonia;
• Southeast Europe E-Commerce
Forum, June 2000, Bulgaria;
• Workshop about National Integrity of
Transparency International, Moscow, May 2000;
• Strategies against Corruption in the Process
of Transformation toward Market Economy, Friedrich Naumann
Foundation, March 2000, Bulgaria;
• Consultations for Anticorruption Problems
and Regional Partnership, March 2000, Vienna, Austria;
• Southeast Europe Anticorruption Forum,
February 2000, Bulgaria
• Anticorruption in Bulgaria: Coalition
2000 Process and Results, January 2000, Vienna,
Austria.
