Title
2014 Second Community Wide-Survey - Approval
History
On September 19, 2011, the Board of Trustees approved staff proceeding with making preparations to conduct its first scientific community-wide survey to approximately 3,000 households with a margin of error of +/- 3%.
As was previously discussed, the survey enabled the Village to actively seek the input of residents. Information that was being sought included but was not limited to the following areas: Community quality, community design, recreation and wellness, civic engagement, environmental sustainability, community inclusiveness, public safety, and public trust. This survey gave great insight to the Village to help set future policy. The results were very favorable with the Village either receiving above the benchmark or much above the benchmark in nearly every category. All of the results of this first community-wide survey can be found on the Village's website.
It was also determined by the Village Board and staff that we would conduct this type of survey every two years, in order to ensure that the Village continues to address any concerns the community may have.
Once again staff is recommending to utilize the National Citizen Survey (NCS), which is a premier survey instrument and was collaboratively developed between the International City and County Management Association (ICMA) and the National Research Center (NRC).
As discussed before, the NCS has been conducted in over 500 cities nationwide in nearly every state. The survey is specifically tailored to the needs of communities in gaining valid, statistically significant data pertaining to an array of public services and attitudes.
The NRC would once again mail approximately 3,000 surveys to residents that would produce a margin of error of +/- 3%. These residents would once again be divided into different demographic and geographic subgroups. The surveys would also be available to those selected on the Village’s website. Once the surveys are returned, NRC will analyze the data collected and present its findings in a Village Board presentation.
The 2014 survey will be very similar to the proposed 2012 survey. The 2014 survey and reporting will emphasize on community livability. The changes between the two were based on feedback from participating communities. It was determined that a number of questions were not deemed as helpful to decision-making and other key areas. The attached table outlines the changes that have been made.
The cost of the survey will be $26,600 with the selected options. Staff is recommending to go with the survey template as attached. However, staff will tweak some of the questions that more accurately define the Village. The survey will still contain several customized questions, but will not contain any open ended questions.
In addition to the scientific survey, the Village will once again open this survey up to all of our residents via our website. Due to self selection considerations, this survey will be non-scientific, and the data collected will not be part of the scientific survey results. The survey will be available on our website once the scientific survey has been closed.
Attached are the following documents:
• 2013 enrollment form, with current pricing (there will be a price increase after December 31, 2013) for the 2014 survey.
• A sample time-line, the attached is on a mid-December start date, with a February mailing date.
• The 2013 NCS survey template (will be the same template for 2014). As mentioned above, this is a revised version from the 2012 NCS. The updated survey and reporting emphasizes community livability.
• Copy of previous 2012 community-wide survey questionnaire.
• Comprehensive changes to the National Citizen Survey.
On December 2, 2013, this item was reviewed by the Economic Development Strategy and Community Engagement Committee, recommened for approval and referred to the Village Board of Trustees for consideration.
Recommended Action/Motion
I move to approve accepting the proposal from National Research Center to conduct a community-wide survey utilizing the National Citizen Survey (NCS).
And
Approve the Village Manager to execute an agreement with the National Research Center to conduct the survey in an amount not to exceed $26,600.