DCC: 2014 Residents’ Opinion Survey (ROS)

Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Tell Us What You Think!

This item was published on 20 May 2014

Letters will be sent out this week to 4,500 Dunedin residents, inviting them to take part in the DCC’s annual Residents’ Opinion Survey (ROS). DCC Acting General Manager Services and Development Nicola Pinfold says, “The ROS provides a host of useful information and helps us gauge the views of residents who may be less likely to tell us what they think in other ways, such as the Annual Plan process.”

Last year, the residents randomly selected from the electoral roll were invited to complete the ROS online using a unique code, rather than receiving a hard copy of the questionnaire. A hard copy was made available on request. This was successful in raising the response rate and cutting costs so the same approach is being taken this year.

The survey is also open to all residents online at www.dunedin.govt.nz/ros and will be sent to all members of the Dunedin Peoples’ Panel. To ensure the statistical validity of the ROS results, the responses from the people who were selected are used as the official results.

“We have been using this Survey for 20 years and it has become a key tool for us to assess how well we are doing, and ultimately guiding our planning and decision-making. ROS focuses on how well we deliver our services, and asks questions about residents’ perceptions of our performance. Some of the results are used as official measures of the Council’s performance for audit purposes. But equally importantly, the feedback is used by staff and the Council to guide our thinking about how we might best deliver services to better meet the needs of Dunedin’s residents.” –Nicola Pinfold

█ The Survey is open until 18 June. A reminder letter and hard copy of the questionnaire will be sent to those who haven’t responded about two weeks after the initial letter, a practice that has proved successful in increasing the response rate. The results are expected to be publicly available in late July.

█ Responses from residents who independently chose to complete the Survey online are analysed separately but still provide the DCC with valuable feedback about how it can improve its services.

For the second year, all respondents will have the opportunity to enter a draw to win a prize. Each prize is worth about $150 and three winners will be drawn who will be able to choose from a range of prizes, including vouchers, swim passes or a donation to a charity of their choice. The Survey, which costs about $40,000, will be undertaken by independent research company Key Research. The results of last year’s ROS can also be viewed at www.dunedin.govt.nz/ros

Contact DCC Acting General Manager Services and Development on 03 477 4000.
DCC Link

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
 

Residents’ dissatisfaction (2013) with elected council and mayor —increase!

2013 Residents’ Opinion Survey —DCC webpage
● Residents’ Opinion Survey 2013 Report (PDF, 3.1 MB)
● Residents’ Opinion Survey 2013 Summary (PDF, 261.4 KB)

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Comment received.

Calvin Oaten
Submitted on 2013/09/04 at 8:11 pm

A bit of a perusal of the survey outcomes is a bit of an upturn in almost all categories since 2012. Excuse the cynicism but could this possibly be due to it being election year? I did notice one category which hasn’t been mentioned in the media, or anywhere else for that matter. But it is there in the summary and it is the fact that ‘satisfaction with the elected council and mayor’ is way down on last year. Funny that.

Satisfaction with Council Activities (Summary, page 4)
[click to enlarge]

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Meanwhile, only the good news via DCC Spooks and Allied Press…

### ODT Online Sun, 8 Sep 2013
Satisfaction may hit vote
By Dan Hutchinson – The Star
The Dunedin City Council’s just-released resident opinion survey suggests its residents are a relatively satisfied bunch – but what do the results suggest for democracy? It appears most Dunedin residents are satisfied with their council but that might not necessarily be a good thing with an election less than three weeks away. The Dunedin City Council Resident Opinion Survey released this week shows 54% of the 1212 people surveyed were satisfied with the council’s performance – up from 39% last year.
Associate Professor Janine Hayward, of the University of Otago’s Department of Politics, said high satisfaction levels were one of two main reasons for low voter turnout at elections. […] She said the other main reason was when people felt they could not change anything because they did not like the status quo.
The possible lack of interest in local government was highlighted again on Monday [last] week when the council’s six-weekly public forum was cancelled because no-one wanted to speak.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr