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Since 1995, the Biodiversity Project has commissioned, managed, and disseminated public opinion studies that have helped organizations develop smarter and more incisive education and communications campaigns. After each new research project, we have conducted dissemination meetings and workshops with key organizations to help them incorporate the research results into their communications efforts.
The Biodiversity Project works directly with public opinion polling firms to design focus groups and surveys that answer key questions about public awareness, attitudes and perceptions regarding particular environmental issues. We then translate the research results into communications recommendations for our partners and clients that help them identify target audiences, rather than focusing their energy on the "general public." We also use public opinion research to develop values-based messages, and to identify the messengers target audiences trust and the communications pathways (e.g. newspapers, public radio) that they are exposed to most often.
When working with groups that cannot afford to conduct original public opinion research, the Biodiversity Project mines and synthesizes existing research to provide grounded recommendations for our partners and clients.
To browse our different public opinion research reports please click here.
An Example of Our Work:
Canadian Public Opinion of Great Lakes Restoration
With funding from the Joyce Foundation, the Biodiversity Project teamed up with Great Lakes United in the summer of 2007 to commission public opinion research regarding Great Lakes restoration in Canada. We conducted a nation-wide search that resulted in the hire of the Canadian polling firm, McAllister Public Opinion.
Working closely with Biodiversity Project and Great Lakes United, McAllister Public Opinion planned focus groups and designed surveys for the public and for Canadian elected officials and decision-makers. The Biodiversity Project and Great Lake United disseminated the results from this research through a day-long meeting with Great Lakes organizations, and through a final report, which included a comparison of the Canadian data to similar U.S. data collected by Belden, Russonello & Stewart.
In 2008 Biodiversity Project incorporated the data collected in this study in a comprehensive communications strategy for Great Lakes United and their partner organizations. We then built upon this strategy by creating an online "message kit" for organizations working on Great Lakes issues in Canada. This message kit provides user-friendly recommendations and resources to help organizations communicate about the Great Lakes in a strategic and effective fashion.
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