Public opinion can play a critical role in political and electoral development in a country and research in this area highlights the complex collection of opinions that impact the political process. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) understands the tide of public opinion becomes more crucial during elections and has developed research tools to gauge these sentiments, using them to inform project activities and better understand the political context of individual nations.

Through the Center for Applied Research and Learning, public opinion research approaches are developed for each country context, with no one-size-fits-all approach. This method has unearthed findings across the globe on voter education, elections, government, social status and much more.