Tapping into the silent majoritys voice: The use of sample surveys in community engagement programs

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Tapping into the silent majoritys voice The
use of sample surveys in community engagement
programs
Presented by Libby Paholski
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Overview

• For Community Engagement Programs
• Why use quantitative research?
• What are the benefits?
• Types of research
• Case Study - Maroochy 2025 (M2025)
• Methodology
• Other tools Resident Feedback Registers
  Community Juries

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Why use quantitative research?

• Community engagement programs focused on
  qualitative research methods to obtain
  information
• Workshops
• Meetings/forums/focus groups
• Public displays
• Submissions
• Interviews
• Self complete surveys

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Limitations Community engagement

• Programs/outcomes often criticised as not being
  representative enough
• Representing the views of the vocal minority
• Question - Have you ever attended a community
  meeting, workshop or forum about an issue in your
  region?
• 17 of respondents had attended a community
  meeting/forum about a community issue in their
  local region.

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Why use quantitative research? 

• Validate key aspects of qualitative
  research/community consultation (and be
  statistically reliable)
• Hearing the views of the silent majority
• Quantify community opinions how important are
  social issues compared to economic and
  environment?

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Types of Research

• Community Awareness
• Community Attitudes
• Community Satisfaction

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Methodology

• Random Telephone Surveys NOT mailout out /self
  complete surveys
• 10-15 questions (mainly closed ended questions)
• 10 minutes
• Sample size dependent on population usually
  with Probable Error 4.5 (95 Confidence Level)
  

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Example Questions

• Project Awareness
• Have you heard of the XYZ Strategy/Plan?
•  Can you tell me where or how you first heard
  about the XYZ Strategy/Plan?
• Project Understanding
•  Thinking about the differences between grey
  water and recycled water. Just so we can
  gauge the communitys understanding of the
  topic..
•  How would you describe grey water?
• How would you describe recycled water?

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Example Questions

• Priority Setting
• What do you think should be key priorities for
  improving transport in your region?
•  How important are the following issues to you as
  they relate to transport planning in your region
  (5 Point Scale Crucial Not Important At All)
• Framing Communication Strategies
•  How do you generally learn about local community
  issues?

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What are the benefits?

• Cost effective
• Time efficient
• Proactive in communicating issues - not
  reactive!

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Types of Projects

• Road construction (Tracking Communication
  Awareness/Education)
• Road/transport option studies (Environment Impact
  Studies etc.)
• Strategic Land Use Planning (Local Government
  Plans/Strategies)

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Maroochy 2025 Community Vision

• A process in which the community of Maroochy
  developed its own vision and action plans for the
  future of Maroochy Shire
• Each part of the community visioning process was
  conducted by and through the community
• www.maroochy2025.net or www.maroochy.qld.gov.au

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Maroochy 2025 Community Vision

• 3 Key Stages
• 1 - Current Scenario - Where are we now and where
  are we heading?
• 2 - Communitys Vision Where do we prefer to be
  in 2025?
• 3 - Communitys Plan of Action How will we get
  there?

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Methodology

• Market Facts developed survey instruments to
  validate each phase
• Random Telephone surveys of Maroochy residents
• Sample size n484 (44 respondents from each of
  Councils eleven divisions)
• 95 Confidence Level - Probable Error 4.45
•  

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1 - Current Scenario - Where are we now and where
are we heading?

• Community Survey 1 (November 2003)
• Community Awareness of M2025
• Reasons for living in Maroochy Shire
• M2025 Core Value Statements
• Strength Weaknesses of Living in Shire
• Key Community Issues Facing Shire
• Community Expectation for the Future

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Respondents were first asked to rate whether
Maroochy Shire had become a better place to live,
worse place or stayed the same.
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2 - Communitys Vision Where do we prefer to be
in 2025?

• Community Survey 2 (May 2004)
• Core Values extent of agreement with key
  statements about environment, leadership and the
  economy
• Goals (6 Key Focus Areas e.g our natural
  environment)
• Key initiatives 24 key ideas were provided and
  the survey measured community perception about
  how important these were
• Ongoing tracking of project awareness

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Key Findings

•  Most Key Vision ideas were well supported by the
  community.
• A large increase in community awareness about the
  project had occurred between November 2003 and
  May 2004 (20 awareness to 69 awareness)
•  The community is not confident (cynical) about
  the vision becoming a reality or way of life in
  community governance.

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3 - Communitys Plan of Action How will we get
there?

• Community Survey 3 (November 2004)
• Measured level of support for the 30 strategies
  developed by the M2025 Community Action Planning
  teams
• Ongoing tracking of project awareness

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Key Findings

• Generally very high of support for the
  strategies. The highest recorded support was 94
  for
• Provide innovative solutions for our communities
  to reduce water and energy consumption levels

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Respondents were asked to provide the Maroochy
2025 Team with some feedback about how confident
they were that the community vision would be
achieved. They were asked how confident they
were that the strategies they just rated could be
achieved.
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Conclusions

• For M2025
• Provided information about how
• the community deal with the future
• to engage with communities about the future
• Validated all stages of the project
• Defensible Community Engagement program

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Learnings

• Misunderstood science
• Community/client education required about
  reliability issues.
• Need to simplify the presentation of results to
  gain community confidence

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The Future New Tools

• Citzen/Community Juries
• Resident Feedback Registers

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• THANK YOU