VIENNA, Virginia, May 14, 2010- ABC World News has received the Policy Impact Award from the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR). The award recognizes outstanding research that has had a clear impact on improving policy decisions, practice, or discourse, either in the public or private sectors. The award recognizes ABC News reporting of a six-year series of polls In Iraq and Afghanistan, for which D3 Systems, its subsidiary ACSOR Surveys in Kabul, and its partner KA Research Ltd in Istanbul provided the majority of data and oversight.

The most recent research was used in the ABC World News broadcast, “Afghanistan: Where Things Stand” with Diane Sawyer this past January. Results were also presented at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in March. This was the fifth installment of the broadcast for Afghanistan, all supported by ACSOR and D3. The research was sponsored by ABC News , the BBC and the ARD German TV. Coverage of the survey results was reported in the Associated Press, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Canadian Press and Die Welt, and many other outlets. ABC News’ 2005 broadcast of its “Afghanistan: Where Things Stand” poll was recognized by the University of Iowa / Gallup Award for Excellent Journalism Using Polls and the 2005 National Council on Public Polls Excellence in Media Coverage of Polls Award. It was the first news-sponsored survey ever completed in Afghanistan.

The AAPOR Policy Impact Award will be presented at the 65th Annual Conference of AAPOR in Chicago on May 15th. D3 Systems staff members are presenting research findings on this and other topics at the conference. Papers include original research on the impact of military operations on Afghan public optimism, the status of women’s rights in Egypt, Sudan, Syria and Lebanon, Internet news use in Iraq, and mitigating maternal mortality in Afghanistan.