.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} In one room, 10 people who have considered living downtown but currently don’t sit around a table to discuss their thoughts on dwelling in Des Moines’ urban core. Behind a giant one-way mirror, a crowd has gathered to hear what they have to say.

Just down the hall, in a much more relaxed room filled with couches, sit eight people who currently live downtown, ready to talk about what they love or hate about their chosen lifestyle. Again, on the other side of a mirror sits a group hanging on their every word.

From those discussions and the analytical work that follows will come a position paper laying out some of the things the city can do to lure more people downtown.

This isn’t your typical open-house activity, but for the crew of Harvest Research Center, there is no better way to show the public what they’re all about.

“It’s easier to show people what we do than try to explain it to them,” said Paul Schlueter, Harvest Research’s director of operations. “So that’s what we did.”

Harvest Research conducts consumer research for corporations, advertising agencies, nonprofit organizations and political clients, and was created by the owners of Flynn Wright Inc. advertising agency. The goal, Schlueter said, was to create a facility “by research professionals, for research professionals.” And in his estimation, they succeeded.

“This is a state-of-the-art facility, and the staff has years of experience,” Schlueter said. “There is nothing like this in Iowa.”

The facility opened last month, but its staff brought along a long list of clients from all over the country from their previous years of work in the research field. The center has been in the planning stages for the past four years, Schlueter said, after the need for this type of facility was identified.

Many companies want to get the “pulse of the Midwest,” Schlueter said, and they need someone to turn to for objective data about the opinions of those living in America’s heartland.

“We can give companies that Midwestern perspective on issues,” he said. “In the Midwest, people’s opinions are not as affected by trends as they are in other parts of the country.”

The center will also focus on applied research, such as statistical analysis.

“There is nothing quite like this in the Midwest,” Schlueter said. “And it’s totally unique in this market.”

With a presidential campaign in full swing, the center’s research could also be valuable to political groups wondering what people living in Iowa are thinking.

“That’s definitely part of our plan, but not a huge portion of our business,” Schlueter said.

Teresa Grantham, the center’s manager, said in her 20 years in the research industry she has never been a part of a facility so dedicated to technology.

“It is way ahead of most facilities,” she said.

Schlueter said he hopes the center will be a “very open research facility,” with universities, nonprofits and other organizations utilizing its services.

“We want to greet those groups with open arms,” he said. “We want this to be a center of education.”

The staff has put thought into, and done research on, every portion of the new facility, down to how many chairs should be in certain rooms or what should be in the center’s test kitchen.

“Everything we’ve put in place has been researched and determined to be relevant,” Schlueter said. “It’s very well thought out.”

Schlueter said he feels that with so much information readily available on the Internet, and so much of it being bad, facilities like Harvest Research will become much more popular with companies around the country.

“It could be the launch of a new product or a new ad campaign,” he said. “It could be customer satisfaction surveys. There are lots of ways we can benefit a business.”