Surveys

by Wendy Raikes

Councils find out about their communities
With the increasing emphasis on planning services that meet community needs, local government authorities find that they need to regularly survey their communities and customers to establish preferences and attitudes. The Local Government and Shires Associations recognised this need and approached Twyford Consulting to design a training program to develop skills for local government officers. A range of local government personnel including strategic and town planners, customer service staff, and community consultation specialists have been developing their skills in undertaking community research including survey methodology, survey and questionnaire design, and interpreting and analysing results.

Tips and Hints for Conducting Effective Surveys

• Be clear about what you want to achieve and what you want to decide as a result of the survey
  
• Find out what the “real” problem is
  
• You may need to educate your stakeholders first
  
• Use a survey questionnaire that will allow comparisons to be made over time
  
• Avoid survey questions that are not related to the problem
  
• Identify information that is already available
  
• Ensure interviewers are well trained
  
• Ask only relevant demographic information.
  

Twyford Consulting Newsletter May 2001