Since 2005, the Observatorio de la Democracia of Universidad de los Andes (OD-Uniandes), through the USAID project Americas Barometer-LAPOP (Latin American Public Opinion Project), has been conducting and disseminating the research for the Colombia portion of the regional Americas Barometer study. The LAPOP study is widely recognized as the gold standard in public opinion surveys

Program objectivesmeasuring citizens’ democratic values and attitudes. Under a new, direct award to OD-Uniandes, the Public Opinion Activity (POA) will continue this important work, producing reliable data, rigorous analyses and insightful interpretations of public opinion and democratic governance in Colombia. POA will continue using a core subset of the questions included in the studies conducted over the past 11 years within Americas Barometer. Therefore, the results obtained in the new surveys will be comparable with both the results obtained in previous years in Colombia (2004-2014) and the results from over 26 countries in the Americas Barometer. POA will also coordinate with future iterations of Americas Barometer to ensure comparability.

Through POA, OD-Uniandes will conduct biennial, nationally representative surveys of voting-age adults aimed at measuring citizen behavior, perceptions, experiences and attitudes toward democratic values and institutions. In particular, the issues included in the surveys are:

• Attitudes toward democracy and political institutions

• Political participation and civic engagement

• Political tolerance

• Interpersonal trust

• Perceptions of and experiences with crime and corruption

• Public service provision

• Voting behavior

• Prevalence of social discrimination

• Local governance

• Political ideology

• Social values

Special attention will be paid to attitudes toward gender equality and female empowerment, poverty and inequality, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and victims of the armed conflict. In addition, and of special importance, the surveys will address citizen attitudes toward the ongoing peace process, political participation of ex-combatants, transitional justice and reconciliation, and reintegration of ex-combatants in a post-conflict scenario.

POA will provide permanent, user-friendly access to data, analyses and interpretations to target audiences, including the USG, GOC, academics, civil society, international donors and the media.

Related Links

USAID/Colombia