Since opening its doors in August, the MassINC Polling Group (MPG) has quickly gained a statewide and national audience for its unique brand of independent, issue-oriented polling work. Steve Koczela, President of MPG, sees this strong entrance into the opinion research marketplace as an encouraging sign for the start-up subsidiary of MassINC.
On Friday, November 5th, Koczela joined CommonWealth editor Bruce Mohl and political reporters, Scot Lehigh and Alison King for “What Just Happened: First impressions of the state-wide elections.” On Thursday, December 2nd, MassINC will hold a special breakfast to introduce Koczela and MPG at 18 Tremont Street.
The results of MassINC Polling Group’s first two polls have been widely cited, both in local at state publications including the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, the Cape Cod Times, the Quincy Patriot-Ledger, The Daily Hampshire Gazette, and others; and in national publications such as Roll Call and Congressional Quarterly. Key to MPG’s early success has been its affiliation with MassINC, which assures readers of the data’s reliability and independence.
“We started this organization with the belief that people want to hear more about the issues, and that people want polls from an unbiased source,” said MPG President Steven Koczela. “The reception we have gotten so far has been very encouraging.”
In mid-September, an MPG poll found that just 20 percent of Massachusetts adults believe the next generation will be better off, a key component of the American Dream. Greg Torres and economist Andy Sum cited this statistic in a Boston Globe op-ed they co-authored entitled, “The Income Gap: the middle class and the middle ground is disappearing.” MPG’s polling on the Tea Party showed a surprising level of favorability for the movement here in Massachusetts, strongly considered one of the country’s most left-leaning states.
In mid October, WGBH commissioned the MassINC Polling Group to conduct the first public polling on the hotly contested race in 10th Congressional District. The results showed a very close race, an assessment shared by other public polling done after MPG results were released. That same week, Koczela made several appearances on WGBH radio and television to analyze the results.
As election season ends, MPG will renew its focus on issues oriented polling and corporate marketing research surveys.
In early 2011, MPG will survey Massachusetts citizens on their views on climate change as part of a larger MassINC research project commissioned by the Barr Foundation. “We couldn’t be more pleased with where this project will take us” Koczela said. “Given our focus on issues polling, this project is a great fit for us.” Later in the year, MPG will conduct a major study on the state of the American Dream in Massachusetts, in partnership with MassINC and the Northeastern University Center for Labor Market Studies.
Offering a full suite of quantitative and qualitative methods, MPG is also working to attract corporate clients who seek to take advantage of its strong brand. Koczela carries extensive corporate market research background in addition to political polling.