Data Collected: April 13-18, 2004
Survey Population: 1000 registered voters

Background:
As part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) campaign research program, Public Opinion Strategies (POS) and Talmey-Drake conducted focus groups and a national survey to gauge how receptive the public would be to increasing US international assistance and humanitarian support.

Key Facts:

• A plurality of the American public (33%) says it wants our leaders and the leaders of other countries to focus first and foremost on terrorism. Ranked against other possibilities, only 1% say poverty and only 1% say hunger should be the top concern.
  
• When respondents were asked to name the next most important issue after terrorism (or their top priority), an overwhelming 48% said leaders should focus on the economy and jobs
  
• Most Americans (58%) support giving $25 billion in non-military international assistance if they know the funds will go to support MDGs
  
• After hearing convincing arguments, the demographic groups most likely to increase their support for increased non-military international assistance are younger voters, democrats, moderates, women, and voters with a religious affiliation
  
• The public does not feel as confident in the UN as it does in other international institutions. The public is more likely to support the allocation of $25 billion to reach the Millennium Development Goals if the Red Cross, World Health Organization, and/or UNICEF take a leading role in overseeing these goals rather than the UN
  
• Out of a list of eight goals Americans would be likely to support, 23% put ensuring that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary education first; 20% believe it is most important to halt the spread of major diseases like HIV and malaria; and 16% prioritize reducing by one-half the number of people without safe drinking water

Key Advice:

• Among messages arguing for increased non-military foreign assistance, respondents found the following message by far the most convincing: “It is important for developing nations to learn how to provide for themselves. Investing today in helping people in poor areas of the world develop the tools they need to provide for themselves will go a long way to help ensure their ability to be self-sufficient in the future.”
  
• Americans generally view to UN unfavorably and would rather have private NGOs allocating and in charge of their funds/projects. There is, however, a demographic split between those who favor the UN and those who oppose it, the ones in favor tending to be democrats, women, and voters with a religious affiliation.
  
• The American public is generally uninformed about the MDGs and therefore wary about spending more money on them or non-military international assistance, however, when the goals are explained to them, increased support is evident. Within specific goals, Americans support education foremost followed by disease prevention and water safety.

Methodology:
Public Opinion Strategies and Talmey-Drake conducted 10 focus groups on behalf of the Better World Campaign in Tampa, Florida; Boston, Massachusetts; Portland, Oregon; New York, New York; and Dallas, Texas. Two groups were conducted in each city. The groups were conducted among the following target constituencies: College Students; Corporate/Business Community Leaders; Faith Based Americans; Labor/Union Members; Swing Voters; and Republicans and Democrat Influentials/Opinion Elites. Incorporating the findings from the focus groups, POS and Talmey-Drake then conducted a national survey April 13-18, 2004 among 1000 registered voters. The margin of error is + 3.1%.

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