Quarterly survey helps City keep finger on pulse

City of Newcastle this week launched a rolling quarterly Community Survey to provide feedback on the facilities and services it provides.
 
The quarterly questionnaire will cover multiple topics and replace the biennial Community Survey to increase the effectiveness of the city's engagement program.
 
This approach will see more frequent reporting with the results produced and published on the City's website.

"The new quarterly survey will provide the community with the opportunity to provide valuable customer and ratepayer feedback when it is most needed," Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said.
 
“Receiving regular and consistent feedback is a crucial part of our decision-making processes and demonstrates how deeply we value community input into our key projects and policy development.”
 
Data collected through the biennial Community Survey has previously been used by to understand key issues, community needs and priorities, and gauge levels of importance and satisfaction with services and facilities.
 
But it typically contained outdated questions and offered no flexibility to inform decisions between survey periods.
 
Core and consistent operational questions can now be included every three months to allow the measurement of trends in organisation performance or community views over time. Surveys might not have a subject focus but may contain questions with an overarching theme.
 
Surveys once every two years were susceptible to influence from contemporary events or issues and weren't always an accurate measure of community views over the term of delivery.
 
Quarterly surveys are conducted by many reputable organisations including the Australian Bureau of Statistics and various state health and research agencies, such as Queensland Health, South Australia Health and the Hunter Research Foundation Centre.
 
Adoption of a more regular survey aligns with a priority in the City's long-term strategic plan to create a strong local democracy with an actively engaged community and effective partnerships.
 
To take the chance to have your say, go to newcastle.nsw.gov.au and look for the link on the home page.