HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-01-07; Annual Resident Satisfaction Survey; Chadwick, ScottCity Manager’s Office
City Hall 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive Carlsbad, CA 92008 760-434-2820 t www.carlsbadca.gov
Memorandum
Jan. 7, 2019
To: City Council
From: Scott Chadwick, City Manager
Re: Annual Resident Satisfaction Survey
Community engagement and involving the public in civic decision making are hallmarks of great
communities. In recent years, as technology and communication preferences have changed, the
City of Carlsbad has begun to incorporate a wider array of community engagement tools, while
continuing to use more traditional methods, such as the annual resident satisfaction survey.
This memo will focus on the current state of our community engagement approach and how we
are adapting the annual resident survey to best support that approach.
Background
City staff gather feedback from the community through a variety of methods, with the goal of
getting as clear a picture as possible of current levels of satisfaction, areas of interest, priorities
and concerns. Some of the recent and current tools include:
•Annual resident satisfaction survey
•Surveys – In person, online, telephone, mail and mobile
•Public meetings and workshops
•Focus groups
•Online and mobile engagement platforms
Since all methods have strengths and limitations, best practices recommend a mix of tools to
obtain both qualitative (detailed and descriptive) and quantitative (statistically valid) input. To
maximize participation and ensure the full range of voices are heard, staff strives to match the
appropriate tools with the communities affected, the type of project or initiative, level of
impact and a variety of other variables. In other words, our goal is to maintain a robust set of
tools that can be combined and tailored to each public engagement opportunity.
Annual Survey
Since 2002, the City of Carlsbad has conducted an annual resident satisfaction survey to gauge
community sentiment about a range of city services and issues. The survey is conducted by
professional researchers and generates data that is statistically valid and representative of the
entire adult population of Carlsbad, within a defined margin of error.
Changes Considered
Survey results for most metrics fluctuate just a few percentage points from year to year. For
those measures where sentiment has changed, several years of data are required to identify
Memo ID #2019002
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Jan. 7, 2019
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trends. For these reasons, in 2017, staff began to consider the following changes to the survey
timing and approach to ensure it continues to provide the greatest value to the city:
• Time of year: Move the survey to early summer so the results can be more easily
considered in the city’s annual planning cycle (goal setting and budget development).
• Frequency: Conduct the survey every two years to better identify trends in data, rather
than focus on year over year fluctuations.
• Election cycles: Conduct the survey in “off election” years so results are less likely to be
influenced by local, state and national political campaigns.
• Survey topics: Consider the survey as two parts: 1) Core metrics that are tested in every
survey and 2) a portion reserved for special topics, chosen based on upcoming projects
or initiatives.
• Data collection methodology: As telephone response and cooperation rates continue to
decline, add new methods of collecting data, while retaining the rigor needed to
produce statistically valid results.
• Overall engagement program: Determine how a citywide survey could best be
integrated with a more comprehensive strategic community engagement program that
takes advantage of new technologies and communication preferences.
The 2017 survey began to incorporate these changes:
• Reduced the number of core metrics being tested.
• Focused the survey report around long term trends rather than small, year over year
fluctuations in data.
• Expanded the data collection methodology to include a broader mix of mobile phones
and email.
In 2018, the city focused on developing its community engagement strategy, with the goal of
relaunching the resident satisfaction survey in mid-2019. This would put the survey schedule in
a better time of year to help inform the city’s annual planning.
Community Engagement Strategy
The annual survey provides valuable feedback, but is just one part of a comprehensive strategy
to ensure community input is understood and considered in city decision making.
City staff are in the final stages of developing a framework that will enable the city to enhance
its community engagement efforts, resulting in a more satisfying experience for the public and
input that is more easily incorporated into city decision making. Elements of this strategy will
include:
• The ability to involve community members in a way that is most convenient and
meaningful for them.
• A consistent approach across all city departments to deciding how and when to involve
the public, based on common principles and best practices.
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• Increased transparency in the process so community members know how their input
affected the decision.
• A nimble and diverse set of engagement tools at the ready, including a robust digital
platform.
I anticipate sharing this comprehensive strategy with the City Council in early 2019. If you have
specific ideas or questions before then, I would be happy to arrange a briefing with Chief
Innovation Officer David Graham and Communication Manager Kristina Ray, who are heading
up this effort.