Global development and financial assistance programs demand a broad range of research and analysis to insure that work is structured to serve the needs of aid recipients and that resources are applied appropriately and most effectively.
NORC has a history of work in the international arena beginning shortly after its founding in 1941, when it began to look at research issues outside the United States. In the 1960's, NORC led a five-nation study of public attitudes toward various political systems, and a national study of Canadian youth on their attitudes toward biculturalism and bilingualism. Two decades later, NORC worked with researchers in Japan and the Soviet Union to create comparability between variables used in surveys abroad to those used in the U.S. NORC’s international subject matter expertise includes agriculture, democracy and governance, roads and infrastructure, international finance, microfinance, investment climate, and poverty alleviation. From Millennium Challenge Account projects in Burkina Faso, Honduras, Morocco, and Namibia to housing finance projects in the West Bank and Gaza, Azerbaijan, and Rwanda, NORC approach is culturally sensitive and uses technology appropriate to each study environment. NORC brings the skills and experience gained in conducting the Survey of Consumer Finances for the Federal Reserve Board to the landmark Bank of Spain Survey of Family Finances.
Today NORC’s international team works on projects around the globe—in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, the Middle East, and Australia. Its work encompasses technical assistance, surveys, program evaluation and impact analyses, and other kinds of analytical work. Even in remote parts of the world, NORC strives to use the most advanced and appropriate technology in the service of greater and more accurate data collection.
Specific areas of expertise include: