Public opinion research represents a form and extension of public involvement. The traditional forms of public involvement (e.g., town halls, open houses, farmer’s market booths, etc.) are prone to poor attendance, self-selecting participants, the usual suspects, unrepresentative findings, and at times, hijacked meetings. Opinion research can assure that public participation really means hearing from a broad cross-section of the community by involving a random pool of citizens. DHM has used telephone and online survey research, focus groups, and large group studies to serve as a complete project or to supplement more conventional forms of public involvement, including:
  • Conducted a large group study to help a suburban community with planning and communications. Participants were contacted at random and selected to assure they represented the city’s residents. Topics discussed included their awareness of current use and ideas about future use of city facilities. Three 3-hour sessions were held with 25-27 people each. An online survey was also developed with a link on the City’s website in order to provide residents with yet another opportunity to be involved. The findings from both projects supplemented information gathered at open houses and town halls.
  • Interviewed 3,600 randomly selected residents for a multi-state regional energy authority and completed seven large group studies in urban and rural areas using the Scaled Comparisons Technique (tradeoff methodology). This research, which provided elaboration on earlier survey findings, was part of a public involvement project to determine customer values, priorities, and concerns related to energy generation and natural resources in the Tennessee River Valley. The information was used to improve customer service and assist with government relations.
  • Conducted a baseline telephone survey of 1,800 Oregonians, benchmark telephone surveys, online surveys, and focus groups with students, parents, administrators, and teachers across the state to determine Oregonians’ attitudes, values, and beliefs about K-12 education. The research is ongoing and is a major part of The Chalkboard Project’s public involvement efforts to help improve Oregon’s K-12 public schools.
  • Conducted a large group study in a large city to supplement information gathered at neighborhood meetings and public hearings designed to inform policy makers about program and budget priorities. A cross-section of city residents was randomly selected to participate in three-hour facilitated discussions. Participants completed budget exercises for five city service areas (Public Safety, Transportation, Parks and Recreation, Community Development, and Legislative/Administrative/Support Services), and a Scaled Comparison survey that forced trade-offs among services, resulting in a priority ranking among 32 city services. The research also consisted of a random sample telephone survey of city residents.
  • Conducted a statewide online survey to provide a baseline about Oregonians’ values, beliefs, and priorities about public health. The survey respondents, selected randomly from an established representative panel of Oregonians, were asked about the relative importance of different services and budget priorities. A smaller telephone survey validated and supplemented the online survey research findings. The Northwest Health Foundation and its partners are using this information, along with other public involvement and research efforts including focus groups and ongoing benchmark surveys, to identify community health priorities and to develop and promote specific initiatives to improve the public’s health.
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