The mobility behaviour of the Swiss population has changed significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On behalf of the Statistical Office of the Canton of Zurich, the Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force, the Swiss Federal Statistical Office and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology’s (ETH) Business Cycle Research Unit, we conducted a mobility tracking of the Swiss population. The focus is on the developments of the daily distances travelled, the use of means of transport and the purpose of mobility. The study was completed in July 2021.

• Commissioned by: Statistical Office of the Canton of Zurich, Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force and KOF Swiss Economic Institute of the ETH Zurich
• Research institute: intervista AG
• Objective: This tracking study traced the mobility behaviour of the Swiss population during the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus was on the daily distances travelled and the daily movement radii.
• Method: Analysis of tracking data from the intervista Footprints Panel.
• Population and data processing: People aged 15 to 79 years who live in Switzerland. In the course of data processing, persons who were abroad or who had travelled by air were excluded.
• Sample size: 2,583 persons (average daily data basis)
• Study period: 01.01.2020 to 04.07.2021

We are delighted and proud to have won the international research prize GOR Best Practice Award 2021! A total of six institutes were nominated in tandem with their clients for the GOR Best Practice Award 2021. In a top-class field of participants, intervista prevailed with the study Mobility Monitoring COVID-19 commissioned by the Statistical Office of the Canton of Zurich, the Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force, the Swiss Federal Statistical Office and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology’s (ETH) Business Cycle Research Unit.

The GOR Best Practice Award is part of the programme of the General Online Conference. Case studies in which online research methods have been successfully used in companies were eligible to apply. The conference is organised by the German Society for Online Research (DGOF) and the HWT Berlin.

• „Eine ETH-Studie zeigt, wie gut sich die Schweizer an die Massnahmen des Bundes halten“ in: watson (25 March 2020)
• „Bewegungsradar zeigt: Der Lockdown funktioniert!“ in: Blick (25 March 2020)
• „206 Corona-Tote in der Schweiz“ in: 20 Minuten Live-Ticker (27 March 2020)
• „Handydaten ausgewertet: Schweizer sind massiv weniger unterwegs“ in: Facebook profile of Energy Bern (27 March 2020)
• „Auch die Jungen bleiben zu Hause“ in: NZZ Panorama (27 March 2020)
• „Coronavirus: Das schöne Wetter und der Appell zu Hause zu bleiben“ in: 10vor10 (3 April 2020)
• „Coronavirus: Bleiben die Leute zuhause, halten sie Abstand?“ in: 10vor10 (5 April 2020)
• „Corona-Update zu Ostern“ in: Twitter profile of NZZ Visuals (12 April 2020)
• „Was die Mobilität der Schweizer Bevölkerung während der zweiten Corona-Welle verrät“ in: KOF Swiss Economic Institute website (4 December 2020)

With the app “Footprints Research” and our mobile tracking panel, we continuously record the whereabouts of participants and can create exact movement patterns of different target groups. In addition to triangulation via mobile and WiFi networks, we also use technologies such as geofencing and beacons. Learn more about geolocation tracking at intervista.