2006 Highlights
In 2006, Vitosha Research carried out 40 economic, social, marketing
and media surveys. Quantitative and qualitative methods
were used to conduct 28,000 face-to-face structured and semi-structured
interviews, 120 in-depth interviews and 28 focus groups discussions.
The results of the surveys were summarized in 15 analytical reports.
• Vitosha Research focused its surveys on the current economic problems,
related to the readiness of the small and medium-sized
enterprises (SME) in the country to absorb the EU structural and
cohesion funds, study of the innovation potential of the enterprises
in Bulgaria and national policy in the field of innovations.
• The social sphere was another priority research field in 2006. Several
studies of Vitosha Research were focused on the traffic of children and
its prevention. The studies included exploring the mechanisms of
trafficking, the real needs of the groups most at risk, the problems of
education and poverty among children, and public spending on children.
In 2006, Bulgaria joined the European countries in which the large-scale
international European Social Survey (ESS) is carried out. Vitosha Research
is part of the European survey team which conducts the research in Bulgaria.
• In 2006, Vitosha Research as partner of the Gallup Organization-led consortium started implementing the Flash Eurobarometer
survey (2006-2010). Flash Eurobarometer is the premier tool in
the work of European decision-makers. It is the one of the largest
ongoing survey research projects worldwide and tracks opinions of
European citizens on topical social, economic and political issues. The
Flash Eurobarometer covers 34 counties, including European Union
member states, candidate countries, and other European nations.
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I. Economic Surveys
1. Bulgarian Small and Medium-Sized
Enterprises and Their Participation
in the Absorption of the European
Union Structural Funds
In 2006, Vitosha Research and Applied
Research and Communications Fund
conducted a survey among 1,000 small
and medium-sized enterprises, commissioned
by the Ministry of Economy and
Energy. The overall project objective was
to produce an analytical report on the
status and development of SMEs in the
country, which should be used to improve
and fine-tune the Operational Program
Development of the Competitiveness of
the Bulgarian Economy by taking into
account to the utmost degree the specific problems of the Bulgarian small and
medium-sized enterprises. The main
findings from the survey include:
• Only a few months before the country’s
accession to the EU, Bulgarian SMEs
had a relatively low level of readiness
to fulfil the requirements regarding
the quality and safety of goods, the
internal organisation of production,
the introduction of new technologies,
protection of the environment, working
conditions and labour safety;
• The capacity of SMEs for participation
in the absorption of resources from
the European funds is still to be increased.
In 2006, the firms do not see
the European programs and funds,
open for Bulgarian participation, as
an important source of financing of
investment projects, new technologies,
establishment of in-house capacity
and innovation projects;
• Despite the improvement since 2004
both with regard to the development
of business plans and the extension
of their planning horizons, the Bulgarian
firms still plan for no more
than one year ahead, which is a
serious structural obstacle for the
synchronisation of their business
processes with the work of the
national operational programs and
Structural Funds of the EU;
• The dominating strategies of the SMEs
are reactive, rather than pro-active.
In this context it is recommended
to develop management consulting
schemes for SMEs with a view to
developing management capacity in
the field of strategic management and
planning.
Specific recommendations for efficient
European funds utilisation and the
Development of the Competitiveness
of the Bulgarian Economy program
implementation were outlined on the
basis of the analysis.
2. Innovation Potential and Needs of
the Bulgarian Companies
The main goal of this project was to
analyze the technological potential and
innovation needs of Bulgarian companies.
The existing technologies and the need
for the introduction of new technologies
were assessed. The results were summarized
in an analytical report; a
number of recommendations for the
improvement of the existing environment
for the technological development and
innovation were made.
3. Annual Report on the State and
Development of National Policy in
the Field of Innovations - 2006
This project was commissioned by the
Ministry of Economy and Energy in
order to analyse the state of research,
development and innovation activity in
Bulgaria. The main objective of the
project was to prepare an Annual Report
on the state and development of national
policy in the field of innovations in
2006. The specific aims of the project, as
defined in the National Innovation
Strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria,
were:
• Assessing the implementation of the
measures set down in the strategy
during the past year;
• Assessing the results of the activities
for implementation of the measures
envisaged in the strategy;
• Planning the necessary actions for
the next reporting period, backed
by the respective finances for their
accomplishment.
The summarized results of the survey
will help to identify the main problems
in the accomplishment of the goals of
the Innovation Strategy and the
improvement of innovation activity.
The analysis is a basis for the clear
prioritisation of the areas where
improvements are needed; recommendations
for concrete measures
regarding utilisation of the strong sides
and possibilities; liquidation of the week
sides and avoidance of threats. On the
basis of the analyses and identified
driving forces in the future development,
a vision will be elaborated of the place of
Bulgaria in European research and
innovation space. The analysis and vision
will form the basis for the development
of new measures, aimed at the implementation of the National Innovation
Strategy.
4. Business and Trade Union Leaders
Survey
The main goal of this elite survey
commissioned by Princeton Survey
Research Associates International (USA)
was to explore some basic problems
Bulgarian top managers are facing with
regards to their main activity, as well as
some interpretations from leading trade
union leaders. A quantitative research
method was used to accomplish the
objectives of the study. The owners,
managers and chief executive officers
(CEOs) of large and medium companies,
were the basic target group of respondents
for the quantitative survey. Additionally a
subset of trade union leaders was
interviewed. The following issues were
examined:
• The most important problems Bulgaria
is facing;
• Opinions about various aspects of
Bulgarian society;
• Opinions about various economic
policies and reforms;
• The biggest problems for the firms in
the country;
• Opinions about Bulgaria’s joining the
EU;
• Advantages/drawbacks for Bulgarian
firms from the membership of
Bulgaria in the EU;
• Attitudes towards the EU, its institutions
and policies, the euro;
• Opinions about immigrants;
• Expectations about the future financial
situation of respondents families,
etc.
5. Tax and Social Security Obligations
Compliance
In 2006, the National Revenue Agency
commissioned Vitosha Research to carry
out a survey aimed at studying the
motives of citizens and firms to observe
their tax and social security obligations,
as well as their opinions and assessments
of the tax and social security system in
the country. The analysis of the attitudes
and assessments of taxpayers and
insurers will enable to identify the
possible ways of stimulating the voluntary
observance of tax and social security
obligations, as well as the reasons for
evading them. The summarized results
of the survey will help to improve the
overall work of the National Revenue
Agency. The survey is conducted for a
third year and this allowed some basic
trends to be outlined.
6. Biggest Cities Review
In 2006, Vitosha Research and Industry
Watch started a new research project -
Biggest Cities Review. It provides for
the preparation of a regular report which
includes quarterly reviews on selectedtopics. The main aim of these analyses
is to provide reliable and up-to-date
information that can be used as a basis
for making investment decisions. The
main topics considered in the regular
reports are:
• Differences in the cost of labor by
cities;
• Average working salary and job
offers;
• Differences in the cost of living by
cities.
II. Social Surveys
1. European Social Survey
In 2006, Bulgaria joined the European
Social Survey (ESS). It garners information
about the attitudes, opinions
and models of behavior of people in
many European countries. Thirty-one
countries from Europe, including
Bulgaria, will take part in the current
third wave of ESS.
In November and December 2006,
Vitosha Research conducted the survey
in Bulgaria. The overall coordination
and financing was provided by the
European Commission, with the assistance
of the European Research
Fund. The field work in Bulgaria was
financed by the Scientific Research
Fund at the Ministry of Education and
Science.
2. Producing an Effective Answer
against the Traffic of Children
In 2006, the Partners Bulgaria Foundation
commissioned Vitosha Research
to conduct a survey which is part of an
international project, aimed against the
traffic of children in the countries of
the Balkan region. The project is
coordinated by the foundation Save the
Children. It aims to study in details the
mechanisms for the trafficking of
children, to verify the hypotheses of
the main risk groups and risk factors,
to identify the needs of the real and
potential victims, and to prepare a
reliable data base for the development
of adequate and effective countermeasures.
3. Survey of the Reasons for Dropout
from School
This project was commissioned by the
Ministry of Education and Science and
UNICEF. The main objective of the
survey is to outline, compare and study
in depth the reasons for children drop
out from the system of education in the
country. Survey results will support the
process of preparing more efficient and
effective government actions in the field
of education and, more specifically –
reducing the share of children at school
age who are dropping out of the system
of education. In general, the conclusions
of the survey were as follows:
• The application of inter-sectoral
policies in the field of prevention and reduction of dropout of school
is part of a complex coordination
mechanism for the protection of
the child, unique for the Bulgarian
conditions, which has yet to prove its
effectiveness. Indicators for monitoring
effectiveness and a working system
for public communication of what has
been achieved are needed.
• The statutory framework of intersectoral
policies in the field of
prevention needs to be simplified and
optimized. It is recommended that the
Integrated Plan for the Implementation
of the UN Convention of the
Rights of the Child (2006-2009) be the
basis of this optimization.
• National system for monitoring and
collecting data about the dropout
of children from school needs further
improvement. The nationally
gathered data, which are used to
elaborate inter-sectoral policies for
preventing and restricting dropouts
are still limited, and differ depending
on their source.
4. Study of Poverty among Children
and Public Spending on Children
The objective of the study, carried out at
the end of 2006, was to provide adequate
information about child poverty, expressed
in monetary and social terms.
The target of the study were 3,000
households with children aged under
18, selected in 30 municipalities (in 6
planning regions of the country) with
different level of economic development
and different capacity to deal with
poverty.
III. IT Surveys
The study of information society in
Bulgaria was commissioned by the State
Agency for Information Technology and
Communications. The project aimed to
assist managerial, control and supervisory
agencies of the state administration
in outlining policy priorities and key
measures for the development of the
information society providing a sequence
of data and analysis on the
information society development and
major trends for the period 2005-2006.
The project was based on an established
methodology making quantitative assessment
of the readiness of the Bulgarian
society to use new information and
communications technologies (ICT).
The survey evaluated the country’s
development based on a multitude of
indicators including:
• infrastructure and access to information
technologies;
• ICT application skills and capabilities
• encouragement of ICT application;
• e-business
• online public institutions;
• barriers for wider application.
The following conclusions are made on
the basis of survey data:
• Significant growth is registered in
the number of people with access
to computers. Monthly data for
2005 shows a stable uptrend in the
number of internet users. If this trend
is retained, the share of the total
population over 15 years is likely to
approximate 30% in end-2006;
• The share of home users of broadband
connection (10,6% as at October 2005)
is very close to the EU average (10,8%
as at July 2005);
• Internet costs have not changed
significantly over the last year. The prices of the most popular access
technologies remained mostly unchanged,
with only the price of ADSL
registering tangible change;
• The number of companies having
more than five computers with
internet connection remains low.
IV. Public Opinion and Media
Surveys
1. Flash Eurobarometer
In February 2006, the European Commission
chose the consortium led by the
Gallup Organization to run the Flash
Eurobarometer opinion polls in the
coming four years. The partner of the
consortium in Bulgaria was Vitosha
Research. Flash Eurobarometer is the
premier tool in the work of European
political decision-makers. It enables to
gather and analyse current information
about citizens in the European Union
and countries outside it on the most
topical social, economic and political
issues. The survey covers 34 countries.
In June 2006, Vitosha Research conducted
the first Flash Eurobarometer among
clustered firms. The opinion was studied
of the representatives of business, responsible
for management decisionmaking,
with regard to the main difficulties
and problems in Bulgaria which
their organisations experience at present.
In November 2006, Vitosha Research
ran the second Flash Eurobarometer –
a telephone poll among the citizens of
Sofia and Bourgas. The subject of the
study were people’s opinions and
assessments of the state of the city in
which they live, as well as other relevant
socio-economic and public issues. The
comparative data and summarised results
of the surveys in Bulgaria and in
the other EU candidate countries are
published by the European Commission.
2. Citizens and Recycling Waste
Vitosha Research agency and the
Institute of Sociology at the Bulgarian
Academy of Sciences conducted a survey
on ”Citizens and separate waste collection – tendencies for change in
ecological culture”. It was commissioned
by the Ministry of Environment and
Waters and aimed at assisting the
ministry to design and setup a campaign
encouraging separate waste collection
by citizens and at evaluating its expected
outcomes.
3. Attitudes of Bulgarian Citizens to
Games of Chance
The purpose of the survey conducted by
Vitosha Research was to provide information
about the attitudes of Bulgarian
citizens to the Bulgarian sport lottery
and to the other types of ”games of
chance”, to define the profile of the
participants and non-participants in
such games, to analyse the preferences,
views and evaluations of the games and
their characteristics.
4. Evaluation of Deutsche Welle
Radio Broadcasts in Bulgaria
The aim of this project was to study the
range of positive and negative reactions
to the content and presentation of the
program of Deutsche Welle in Bulgaria
and to determine the strong and weak
sides of this media in order to come up
with specific proposals for the improvement
of the programme of Deutsche
Welle for the purpose of widening its
audience.
5. Survey of the Media Audience,
Programme and Listeners Profile of
Hristo Botev Program
The main aim of the survey carried out
by Vitosha Research was to study the
profile of the listeners of the Hristo
Botev program and the potential groups
of the radio audience that might be
attracted, to study the genre of the
broadcasts in the program, the proportions
and possibilities for a balance
between the broadcasts on culture,
music and information broadcasts. On
the basis of the quantitative and qualitative
analyses detailed recommendations
were made regarding the positioning
of the broadcasts in the
program scheme, in conformity with
the possibilities and preferences of the
audience.
The marketing surveys carried out by
Vitosha Research in 2006 covered mainly
the following areas:
• rice market in Bulgaria
• automobile market in Bulgaria
• home improvement and repair
• consumption of alcohol and spirits
• security services market in Bulgaria
• popularity of the HIT hypermarket.
The results of the surveys conducted in
2006 were summarized in 15 analytical
reports, some of which were:
1. Information Society in Bulgaria -
2005-2006, May 2006
2. Bulgarian Small and Medium-Sized
Enterprises and Their Participation in
the Absorption of the Structural Funds
of the European Union, June 2006
3. Reasons for Dropout from School,
November 2006
4. Media Audience, Programme and Listeners Profile of BNR and Hristo Botev
program, July 2006
5. Rice Market in Bulgaria,
April-September 2006
6. Attitudes of the Bulgarian Citizens to
Games of Chance, April 2006
7. Deutsche Welle Programming (indepth
interviews with media experts),
November - December 2006
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