Our company is involved in many research projects. "Of course, most of them are “traditional” ones, focusing on brand image, opinions on new services or general attitudes towards certain products. We love helping clients improve their portfolio or the configuration of their services. Thanks to our research, they can gain a competitive edge and have an idea of how their products and services are perceived. But beyond that, we occasionally get a research project that is by no means standard. But we can handle those as well", says Vojtech Hündl, Research Director at ppm factum research.

For example, we were asked to find out, through a questionnaire, what kind of experience with drugs Czech prisoners have. This field research project was very interesting and, of course, also quite complex. Just getting our interviewers into heavily guarded premises required a lot of administrative work. And the interaction with prisoners that was needed to fill out the questionnaires wasn’t quite what we’re used to, either. In another project, a major Czech transport company asked us to carry out a satisfaction survey on trains. In total, we managed to survey more than 3,000 passengers on 400 trains. This wasn’t easy either. We had to get an interviewer on board each train and make sure they returned home at the end of their “shift”. We also explored how people perceive the issue of sexism. In this case, it was difficult to define our questions correctly to ensure we were gathering valid data. Questions concerning the perception of gender or the gender pay gap need to be worded very carefully to avoid repeating unnecessary clichés or deepening existing stereotypes.

We also deal with important social issues – we focused, for example, on children from divorced families. We wanted to know how parents who have divorced and do not have sole custody of their children perceive childcare. We also carried out several case studies focusing on vulnerable children in the EU Operational Programme Employment+. We also regularly analyse the situation in addictology services, i.e. services that help people struggling with addictions. Another research study focused on people at risk of poverty from Prague and its immediate surroundings. We even carried our research among the homeless and among Ukrainian immigrants. The results of these surveys are not intended to improve product sales or gain a competitive advantage. They help understand the difficult life situations of various groups of people. Our outputs enable the state or local authorities to set up assistance systems better or amend the legislation to better serve the needs of the people concerned. It’s a great honour to have the opportunity to have a positive influence on the current system and be part of the change process that follows after field research. That’s also why we strive to make sure that the data we deliver is of the highest possible quality so that the responsible persons can make the best possible decisions on the basis of our data.