Archived—Appendices—Public Opinion Research in the Government of Canada—Annual Report 2014 to 2015
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On this page
- Appendix I: Trends in contract values and number of projects
- Appendix II: Procurement methods for public opinion research in 2014 to 2015
- Appendix III: Listing of departments engaged in public opinion research in 2014 to 2015
- Appendix IV: Listing of contractors engaged in public opinion research in 2014 to 2015
- Appendix V: Standing offers for public opinion research
- Appendix VI: Public opinion research related Acts, regulations, policies and procedures
- Appendix VII: Glossary of public opinion research related key research terms
Appendix I: Trends in contract values and number of projects
In 2014 to 2015, 54 contracted public opinion research projects worth $4.1 million were coordinated by the Public Opinion Research Directorate.
| Fiscal year | Contract valueFootnote 1 | Number of projectsFootnote 1 |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 to 2015 | $4,136,404 | 54 |
| 2013 to 2014 | $4,932,349 | 81 |
| 2012 to 2013 | $4,304,177 | 72 |
| 2011 to 2012 | $6,513,824 | 100 |
| 2010 to 2011 | $7,902,871 | 163 |
Appendix II: Procurement methods for public opinion research in 2014 to 2015
The Government of Canada uses various procurement methods to contract public opinion research. Standing offers were established competitively for the three main approaches to custom research (qualitative, quantitative and a combination of the two). Appendix V includes a complete list of contractors on the standing offers that were in effect during the 2014 to 2015 fiscal year.
| Procurement methods | Contract valueFootnote 2 | % Contract valueFootnote 2 | Number of projectsFootnote 2 | % Number of projectsFootnote 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standing offers | $3,916,433 | 94.68% | 52 | 96.30% |
| Public tenders (BuyandSell.gc.ca) |
$199,999 | 4.84% | 1 | 1.85% |
| Other methods | $19,973 | 0.48% | 1 | 1.85% |
| Total: | $4,136,404 | 100% | 54 | 100% |
Appendix III: Listing of departments engaged in public opinion research in 2014 to 2015
A total of 19 departments were involved in public opinion research during 2014 to 2015.
| Government organization | Contract valueFootnote 3 | Number of projectsFootnote 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Canada Revenue Agency | $363,963.03 | 4 |
| Canadian Heritage | $161,406.85 | 3 |
| Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission | $56,287.65 | 2 |
| Canadian Transportation Agency | $168,078.47 | 1 |
| Citizenship and Immigration Canada | $375,794.76 | 3 |
| Employment and Social Development CanadaFootnote 4 | $404,805.07 | 3 |
| Finance Canada | $511,923.06 | 5 |
| Financial Consumer Agency of Canada | $215,352.23 | 2 |
| Health Canada | $287,857.59 | 5 |
| Library and Archives Canada | $49,388.59 | 2 |
| National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces | $57,700.88 | 3 |
| National Research Council Canada | $108,165.47 | 2 |
| Natural Resources Canada | $327,583.50 | 3 |
| Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions | $134,847.47 | 4 |
| Parks Canada | $99,096.41 | 1 |
| Privy Council Office | $553,594.12 | 4 |
| Public Safety Canada | $37,350.20 | 1 |
| Transportation Safety Board of Canada | $37,503.93 | 1 |
| Veterans Affairs Canada | $185,704.83 | 5 |
| Total: | $4,136,404.11 | 54 |
Appendix IV: Listing of contractors engaged in public opinion research in 2014 to 2015
A total of 17 contractors were involved in public opinion research during 2014 to 2015.
| Supplier | Contract valueFootnote 5 | Number of projectsFootnote 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Angus Reid Public Opinion, a division of Vision Critical | $24,860.00 | 1 |
| Corporate Research Associates Inc. | $171,708.63 | 2 |
| Ekos Research Associates Inc. | $217,930.63 | 2 |
| Elemental Data Collection Inc. | $19,972.75 | 1 |
| Environics Research Group | $573,486.59 | 6 |
| Gregg, Kelly, Sullivan & Woolstencroft: The Strategic Counsel | $99,524.19 | 2 |
| Harris/Decima Inc. | $1,105,267.25 | 17 |
| Ipsos-Reid Corporation | $153,208.77 | 4 |
| Léger Marketing | $461,108.56 | 4 |
| NRG Research Group | $643,826.48 | 5 |
| Opinion Search Inc. | $37,350.20 | 1 |
| Phase 5 | $59,990.78 | 1 |
| Phoenix SPI | $187,471.98 | 4 |
| R.A. Malatest & Associates Ltd. | $199,998.70 | 1 |
| Research Strategy Group Inc. | $70,714.61 | 1 |
| Sage Research Corporation | $62,093.43 | 1 |
| TNS Canada Ltd | $47,890.56 | 1 |
| Total: | 4,136,404.11 | 54 |
Appendix V: Standing offers for public opinion research
The standing offersFootnote 6 for public opinion research are made available for use by departments for research projects with a contract value of up to $200,000 (including Harmonized Sales Tax (HST)). These standing offers were established competitively for the period of April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2012 with a possibility of three extension periods of one year each. The standing offers were in effect during the 2014 to 2015 fiscal year as part of the third extension period.
The standing offers were designed to:
- encourage the participation of all types of public opinion research suppliers including small, medium and large businesses, joint ventures and businesses specializing in target populations (including Aboriginal people and ethnocultural populations) from various geographic locations
- ensure that the Government of Canada has access to a broad range of subject expertise and research specializations with various target groups in Canada (therefore no limits were placed on the number of firms that could submit a response to the Request for Standing Offer)
- react to a rapidly changing technological environment, allowing for the use of a variety of research methodologies
- include custom qualitative research, quantitative research and a blend of the two
Standing offers are used in the direct selection of suppliers for projects not exceeding $200,000 (HST included) in contract value. These contracting tools enable departments to obtain public opinion research services in an efficient and effective manner with qualified research firms, at predetermined prices, terms and conditions.
Firms on the Government of Canada’s standing offers for public opinion research
| Fieldwork and data tabulation |
Pre-testing of advertisment | Target populations | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series A: Qualitative research | Series B: Quantitative research | Series C: Qualitative and quantitative research | ||||||||||
| Standing Offer Holders | Telephone survey | Online survey | Online | General | Aboriginal | Ethno. | General | Aboriginal | Ethno. | General | Aboriginal | Ethno. |
| Ascentum | • | • | • | • | ||||||||
| Campaign Research | • | |||||||||||
| COMPAS Inc. | • | • | ||||||||||
| Corbin Partners Inc. | • | |||||||||||
| Corporate Research Associates Inc. | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||
| CROP Inc. | • | |||||||||||
| DataPath Systems | • | |||||||||||
| Ekos Research Associates Inc. | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||
| Environics Research Group | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |
| Gadd Research Inc. | • | |||||||||||
| Genesis Public Opinion Research Inc. | • | • | • | |||||||||
| Gregg, Kelly, Sullivan & Woolstencroft: The Strategic Councel | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||
| Harris/Decima Inc. | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||
| HRSG | • | |||||||||||
| Innovative Research Group Inc. | • | • | ||||||||||
| Insightrix Research Inc. | • | • | • | |||||||||
| Ipsos-Reid Corporation | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
| Jolicoeur & Associés | • | |||||||||||
| Léger Marketing | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||
| MacPhie & Company Inc. | • | |||||||||||
| Nanos Research Corporation | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||
| NRG Research Group | • | • | • | • | ||||||||
| Opinion Search Inc. | • | • | ||||||||||
| Patterson, Langlois Consultants | • | |||||||||||
| Phase 5 | • | • | • | • | ||||||||
| Phoenix SPI | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||
| Pollara | • | • | • | • | ||||||||
| Praxicus Public Strategies Inc. | • | • | • | |||||||||
| Probe Research Inc. | • | • | ||||||||||
| Quorus Consulting Group Inc. | • | • | • | |||||||||
| Research Strategy Group Inc. | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||
| Sage Research Corporation | • | • | • | • | ||||||||
| Saine Marketing Inc. | • | • | ||||||||||
| SOM Inc. | • | • | • | |||||||||
| Sylvain Laroche, consultant, Inc. | • | • | • | |||||||||
| The Logit Group Incorporated | • | • | ||||||||||
| TNS Canadian Facts Inc. | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||
| torontoinsights.com | • | • | ||||||||||
| Veraxis Research & Communications Inc. | • | • | • | |||||||||
| Vision Critical Communications Inc. | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||
| Walker Consulting Group | • | • | • | • | ||||||||
Note
The company names listed in this appendix are their operating names as they appear in the Government of Canada standing offers.
Appendix VI: Public opinion research related Acts, regulations, policies and procedures
Acts
- Financial Administration Act: prohibits verbal-only public opinion research reporting
- Library and Archives of Canada Act: requires departments to provide written reports to Library and Archives Canada (LAC) within six months of completion of data collection
Regulations
- Public Opinion Research Contract Regulations: standardizes the form and content of contracted public opinion research reports
Policies
- Common Services Policy: identifies Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) as a mandatory common service organization for the coordination and contracting of public opinion research
- Archived—Communications Policy of the Government of Canada: outlines mandatory requirements to ensure coherent, cost-effective management of public opinion research throughout the government
- Contracting Policy: requires departments to notify PWGSC when a public opinion research project may require a contract
Procedures
- Archived—Procedures for the Management of Public Opinion Research: supports and facilitates implementation of the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada
Appendix VII: Glossary of public opinion research related key research terms
- Audience
- Used to refer to the population of interest or target population for a survey. Also referred to as the population.
- Custom survey
- A survey commissioned by a single client, as opposed to shared-cost surveys, such as omnibus surveys.
- Data collection
- One of the key elements of the research process, this involves obtaining information from the research population.
- Discussion Guide
- Outline of the topics to be discussed during group discussions or interviews. The objective of the guide is to anchor the discussion.
- Focus group
- A group of individuals selected according to specific criteria to participate in a discussion about a particular topic introduced by a discussion leader called a moderator. Participants are encouraged to offer their opinions about the topic of interest and to react to comments from others in the group. For in-person focus groups, 10 to 12 participants are usually recruited to ensure that 8 to 10 take part in the actual group. See also Online focus group.
- In-Depth Interview
- Questions asked to one person at a time, to get in-depth information with often hard-to-reach experts or to obtain information on more sensitive topics. Interviews can be conducted over the telephone or in-person depending on the sensitivity of the subject and geographic scope.
- Interview
- A conversation between two or more people where questions are asked by the interviewer to elicit information from one or more persons.
- Moderator
- Qualitative researcher who leads focus group discussions according to the client's needs and objectives. The moderator's responsibility is to ensure that the participants give rich responses by adapting the discussion guide to yield useful information.
- Omnibus survey
- Refers to a survey where questions on a variety of subjects are included together, typically paid for and created by multiple research clients. Clients can include a question or several questions on an omnibus survey, reducing the cost for each client individually.
- Online focus group
- Refers to a group of participants who access a virtual facility through a user name and password. The participants reply to questions posted by the moderator and interact with other respondents, either in real-time or over the course of several days.
- Participant
- Refers to individuals from whom information is sought in qualitative research. Typically, it is the term used to designate a member of a focus group.
- Population
- The target audience or group of interest to be investigated for the study (e.g., all Canadians, 18 years and older; men between the ages of 18 and 30 years who listen to the radio).
- Post evaluation
- Refers to the evaluation of the effectiveness of an advertisement or other communication product after it has been launched to its intended audience.
- Pretest
- In quantitative research, a pretest is a trial run to assess how well a questionnaire flows, is understood by respondents, and whether it elicits the required information. It may also be used to assess how long the questionnaire takes to administer, as well as the proportion of the target population that meets the survey eligibility requirements.
- In qualitative research, a pretest usually refers to the evaluation of advertisements or other communication products still in development or before they are released to the public.
- Public opinion research
- Public opinion research in the Government of Canada is the planned gathering, by or for a government institution, of opinions, attitudes, perceptions, judgments, feelings, ideas and reactions or views intended to be used for any government purpose, whether that information is collected from persons (including employees of government institutions), businesses, institutions or other entities, through quantitative or qualitative methods irrespective of size or cost.
- Qualitative research
- This refers to information obtained about some members of a target population through unstructured or semi-structured procedures, such as discussions, observations or interviews. No projections of results to the target population can be made from this type of research.
- Quantitative research
- This refers to information obtained about some or all members of a target population through structured procedures, such as a census or a survey, allowing conclusions to be made for the total target population.
- Respondent
- Refers to individuals from whom information is sought in quantitative research (i.e., the person chosen for the survey interview).
- Segment
- In public opinion research, segments refer to subgroups of the target population that share some characteristic relevant to the research purpose. Subgroups can be organized by age, income, education, occupation, lifestyle, media habits, product use, etc.