Duration of assignment: 3 months
Narrative description of Project:
Organized by the joint European Union and Council of Europe CyberEast Project – in cooperation with the CybersecurityEast project funded by the European Union – the surveys and overall research effort in the Eastern Partnership region primarily contribute to National action plans or similar strategic documents of the CyberEast project, as well as they simultaneously impact on Improved public communication and transparency on cybercrime action and Reinforcing mechanisms for trusted cooperation through the further assessment of reporting mechanisms. The study uniquely tailors both quantitative and qualitative research methods aiming to get a richer and more comprehensive understanding of cybercrime and cybersecurity incidents as perceived by the general public. The research provided first-hand information about the perception of the citizens towards security in cyberspace, an issue getting immense attention during the COVID-19 pandemic following the increased activity online. Furthermore, the research aimed at understanding the institutional capacities to address the issues of concern and mapping those challenges to facilitate the creation of tailor-made policies as well as to strengthening the capacity and policies of the institutions to respond to the citizens’ concerns. The representative sample size for Armenia consists of 1,200 permanent residents aged 18 or older and eligible to vote.
Within the scope of the project data was collected throughout Armenia through face-to-face interviews (or phone, depending on the circumstances created by COVID-19 pandemic) in respondents’ homes. Following the survey which provided the quantitative data, the qualitative part of the research includes seven focus groups (FGs), designed to get qualitative feedback from the relevant stakeholders. The focus groups served to further understand the quantitative data collected through surveys. Furthermore, focus groups are designed to collect insight and inputs from the more targeted audience which includes also the institutional aspects of cybercrime and cybersecurity. There are two sets of objectives for the qualitative research: one for professionals and one for the general population.