ASSA - M

Registration and Status
Fields of Activity
Background
Resources for Effective Work
Characteristics of the Samples
Methods of Registration
Specific Social Surveys
Specific Marketing Surveys
Specific Politological and Electoral Studies
Specific Management Counseling and Services
ASSA-M Level

Registration and Status

     ASSA-M is a private agency for social surveys and analyses.
     Legal registration: November 1993 as Ltd, in Sofia.
     It is owned by Mihail Mirchev.

     ASSA-M is constantly working more than 20 years - in a period of dynamic political and social transformations in Bulgaria, in conditions of strong competition and under the pressure of various power milieu.

     ASSA-M keeps working in accordance with the professional scientific standards despite its market orientation and the relevant financial dependence.

Fields of Activity

     ASSA-M works in the sphere of:

sociological and politological national and regional representative surveys and analyses;

electoral attitudes and behavior, election prognoses;

election campaigns, image manufacturing, political marketing;

marketing surveys, advertising and counseling;

management counseling;

recruitment and training of personnel, team training, human resources;

publishing.

ASSA-M carries out:

empirical surveys and analyses;

systematization and publication of information and analyses;

prognoses and counseling for optimization;

training of personnel.

Background

various research, analytical and counseling experience - lasting for 25 years;

specific contribution to the theoretic research as well as to the wide range of empirical sociological research - quantitative and qualitative surveys;

diverse experience in the functioning of political structures and the exercising of power - from the high state level to the level of regional structures and administrations, of firms and non-government organizations;

experience with the formation, functioning and development of different firms, social and state institutions;

fruitful partnership with experts in the sphere of politics and management, sociologists, economists, psychologists, socio-linguists;

various methodical experience and rich experience with the interpretation of the research data and the weighing of the profiles and the proportions according to the dynamics of the current situation and accounting for the latent factors, which are not indicated by the survey.

Resources for Effective Work

     ASSA-M has its own network of interviewers, which covers reliably the entire territory of Bulgaria - villages, towns and cities and all the sections and zones in them.

     The interviewers are selected, instructed and controlled in accordance with professional standards. The teams are refreshed periodically.

     The network is concentrated in the district centers of the country including the town of Kazanlak. It is capable of carrying out national as well as regional representative surveys. It maintains reliable primary empirical information and it is motivated to work quickly and accurately.

     In some of the centers there are two teams working together in parallel. When regional surveys are carried out, the two teams work independent of one another - the overall information is compared as a means of extra control of the authenticity and observation of the instructions.

     ASSA-M cooperates with a wide range of specialists and experts - sociologists, statisticians, economists, politologists, jurists, administrators, psychologists, sociolinguists, journalists, publishers.

Characteristics of the Samples

     ASSA-M uses samples based on voters lists stochastic two-level name address sample in national representative surveys (omnibus type).

     Sample size: planned and realized - 1100 to 1400 subjects.

     Cluster size: 6-8 persons, plus reserves, plus possibility for quota substitution for supplement of the cluster.

     Number of clusters: 180-220 clusters.

     ASSA-M uses quota samples. We carry out probing and typology surveys.

     ASSA-M carries out thorough surveys in case the population is small sized and localized.

Methods of Registration

     ASSA-M uses approved qualitative and quantitative methods of registration - standard face-to-face interview; telephone interview; focus group discussion; intensive in-depth interview; observation and case studies; socio-linguistic analysis of names, texts and advertising appeals; press clipping; tests for personality and functional profiles; expert evaluations; etc.

     ASSA-M performs desk research, based on state statistics, expert evaluation, content-analysis of documents, data from empirical studies.

     ASSA-M collects and systemizes its own empirical information, official statistical information, as well as data from surveys, carried out by different institutions. We possess operational database of information and indicators.

Specific Social Surveys:

     "The Contemporary Marriage and Family in Bulgaria, the State Policy towards the Family, Marriage and Birth-rate"; "Reproductive Attitudes and Behavior of the Bulgarian Population, Forms of Contraceptive Practice"; "Drug Habit among Children, Teenagers and Young Adults in Bulgaria"; "Professional Realization and Social Problems of the Officers and Sergeants in the Bulgarian Army"; "Public Opinion on the Initiation of Religion Education in Primary School", "Professional and Social Profile of the Contemporary Bulgarian Businessmen"; "Social Dimensions of Criminality"; "The Emigration as a Social and Economic Problem"; "Effectiveness of the Educational and Healthcare System"; "Corrupt Attitudes and Practices and Effectiveness of the Administrations"; "Dynamics of the Material Standard - Social Stratification and Polarization"; "Dynamics of the Occupational Status, Employment and Unemployment"; etc.

     The surveys were ordered by:

Ministry of Education, Science and Technologies; Ministry of Health; Ministry of Labour and Social Policy; Committee for the Youth;

non-government institutions - municipalities and non-government organizations;

Phares Program, UNDP, Foundations: "Fridrich Ebert", ACCESS etc.;

firms and corporations;

political parties;

media.

Specific Marketing Surveys:

rating of the national daily and weekly newspapers, audience profile;

electronic media - radio stations, TV channels; National and regional newspapers - daily and weekly; Effectiveness of the different advertising forms in media;

state and segmentation of the civic bank and insurance market; Specialized finance products market;

engine oils;

computer and office equipment;

household appliances;

white cosmetics and shampoos;

detergents;

beer and alcohol drinks;

soft drinks, natural juices;

cigarettes.

Specific Politological and Electoral Studies:

social and political context of president, parliament and municipality election campaigns;

initial potential for successful election campaign of political parties and persons. Testing of the nominated candidatures;

political parties configuration preview, structure of the electoral groups, dynamics of the reorientation, motivation for participation, possibilities the real election result to be manipulated and falsified;

strategy and tactics of the political advertising and marketing in an election campaign, testing of the advertising and informational forms;

election result prognoses and relevant public reactions to the result.

Specific Management Counseling and Services:

organizational development and effectiveness, organizational standards;

personal potential of personnel, conflicts risk, human resources development;

recruitment, introduction to the team and the work, new personnel adaptation;

team effectiveness, development potential of the human resources, human resources investment;

research and analysis of the competitive market environment - threats and risks, opportunities for development;

monitoring of the development and risk taking control, training, development criteria, evaluation criteria, attestation criteria.

ASSA-M Level

ASSA-M prefers working on analytic-expert level on the problems, set by the contracting authority and according to the objectives of the contracting authority. We can work loyally as sub executors.

ASSA-M carries out (1) general research, revealing background attitudes and evaluations, non-situational scale of values, choice criteria and motivation of behaviour, dimensions of involvement and activity patterns in the main social spheres and activities, (2) specific in-depth research on particular and situationally-determined problems.

ASSA-M uses methods and standards for sociological and marketing surveys and analyses and in particular - methods for public opinion research, which are approved by the International Sociological Association and by E.S.O.M.A.R.

ASSA-M observes the Ethical code of the researchers and the rules for publication of empirical surveys data as well as the loyalty standards to the contracting authority. ASSA-M respects the property right of the contracting authority - the overall information and analytical reports are owned by the contracting authority.

ASSA-M methodically guarantees that the data are objective and authentic and the information is representative. ASSA-M guarantees objectivity of the prepared analyses.

ASSA-M has a database of empirical indicators, research instruments and dynamic data rows on all of the main problems of public life in the last decade.