Laserfiche WebLink
Community Su�-vey – Purpose, Advantages and Disadvantages <br />While having varied uses, the primary purpose of a community survey is to: <br />1) Measure the needs, wants, and desires of the community <br />2) Gauge the level of satisfaction in the services currently being provided <br />3) Ensure that we provide high-quality, cost-effective services <br />4) Understand the community better <br />5) Demonstrate we care and value public opinion and input <br />6) Validate that our resource allocation is appropriate <br />Clearly other sources of information, including some of the ones listed above, would allow the <br />City to accomplish some of the stated purposes. But in Staffs judgment, only a community <br />survey can accomplish all of them simultaneously. Advantages of a community survey over — <br />alternative information sources include: <br />1) It's both qualitative and quantitative <br />2) Greater efficiency in measuring the public's interests <br />3) A representative sample can be obtained <br />4) It engages a portion of the population that doesn't normally participate <br />5) It's Proactive <br />6) Can be broadly or tightly focused <br />7) Identifies public interest in future opportunities <br />8) Issues are addressed on an equal basis rather than in a vacuum <br />9) It preserves anonymity <br />10) Allows for the capture of positive feedback as well negative <br />The Council should be aware that community surveys do have some disadvantages. Potential <br />drawbacks include: <br />1) Greater one-time costs <br />2) Time commitment on the part of Council and Staff <br />3) It presents a snapshot in time <br />4) Potential for design flaws <br />Certainly it's fair to acknowledge that other information sources share many of these same <br />drawbacks. <br />One of the biggest criticisms of community surveys is that they are either: 1) 'fluff pieces, or 2) <br />don't really produce useful information. While it's easy to condemn community surveys for <br />these reasons, the criticism is misplaced. Keep in mind that a community survey is an <br />information tool that has no life of its own. The value that is derived from this tool depends on <br />how you use it. Speaking plainly, if you don't want 'fluff answers; don't ask 'fluff questions. <br />And if you determine that the eventual answers aren't particularly useful, don't blame the <br />community survey; blame whoever allowed the question to get asked in the first place. <br />� <br />