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The All-Russian (until 1992 All-Union) Public Opinion Research Center – VCIOM – is the oldest and the most widely known Russian company conducting public opinion surveys.
VCIOM was founded in December 1987 as part of the USSR Ministry of Labor and the Council of the Trade Unions (VTsSPS). In 1998 the Centre was re-registered as a state unitary enterprise (SUE) and in 1999 the Center was accorded the status of academic institution. In 2003 VCIOM was reorganized as an open joint-stock company with full state ownership.
The Board of Directors of VCIOM includes representatives of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, the Ministry of Property Relations, and the Presidential Administration. Direct management of VCIOM is conducted by the Director-General, who is aided by the Scientific Expert Council.
Currently VCIOM is the leading Russian research organization in the field of public opinion studies. The priority sphere of VCIOM is conducting socio-economic, socio-political and electoral studies to orders of federal and regional governmental structures.
VCIOM also carries out large number of market research studies, works in the field of trade mark expertise, corporate studies, real estate surveys, research in the field of sports.
VCIOM managers are members of ESOMAR. In its activities VCIOM follows the principles of academic objectivity, following the ESOMAR code of ethics.
VCIOM employs a wide range of research techniques, used in sociological practice. These include face-to-face interviews, telephones interviews, focus groups, in-depth interviews, expert studies, product, packaging and advertising tests, diary studies, retail trade audits and others. The Center provides a full technological cycle of research work - from planning research programs to presenting analytical reports.
VCIOM has a specialized sampling program which encompasses the whole of Russia. This is based on government statistical information for the present year and extensive archive of earlier research. In order to minimize sampling overlap, which inevitably arises in the course of fieldwork, a specially-worked out program of data weighting is used.
VCIOM maintains partner links with public opinion research centers in the CIS and Baltic countries. Cooperation is based on common research philosophy and research techniques, and close co-ordination of work. In close contacts with colleagues VCIOM conducts regular research projects in the three CIS countries, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and periodically – in most countries of the post-Soviet area.
At the present time VCIOM is solving tasks of maintaining dynamic development and growth, perfecting scientific methodological base, and enlisting best sociologists of the country, with an emphasis on promising young researchers. Along with traditional set of issues studied by the Center, namely, analysis of political situation and market research, we realize research programs of studies in socio-economic development, labor market, migration, and overcoming poverty.
We are glad to welcome you at the VCIOM’s new site, and we are open to cooperation in scientific and applied political, economic, and marketing studies. Shortly we are planning to increase the number of publications of the Center, announce new projects envisaged for the year 2007. An important step in our development would be sharing experience with Russian and foreign research institutions, increase of international cooperation of VCIOM.
We hope that our knowledge and experience will prove useful to you. |
