Research and Publications

The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) conducts innovative applied research to identify socio-political and programmatic factors that impact the development of robust democratic institutions and processes, which informs the development of effective programming in the democracy and governance sector. IFES’ research addresses emerging issues in the democracy and governance sector and utilizes research data to inform and evaluate programming that supports the democratization process.

Topical research on technical electoral areas addresses critical issues such as electoral integrity, the appropriate use of technology in elections, and conflict in elections in order to highlight key factors impacting electoral processes and to identify best practices for effective programs to sustain electoral and democratic development. IFES’ long-standing opinion research programs are focused on providing data on citizens’ voices to inform and evaluate IFES programs of support, as well as to provide reliable data on the electoral and political environment impacting these programs.

With an array of experts on electoral and political processes, IFES regularly produces white papers, books, reports and manuals on topics such as election security; political finance; gender equality; standards for conducting election audits and ensuring electoral integrity and transparency; public opinion on elections and democracy; and providing equal access for persons with disabilities to electoral and political processes. IFES also provides informative Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on elections, offering comprehensive primers of important electoral processes.

With more than 30 years of experience in conducting applied research, IFES is an industry leader in using evidence-based approaches to address critical issues and advance innovation in democracy and governance programming.