2022 COMMUNITY NEEDS SURVEY FIELD WORK TO START IN FEBRUARY
Dubbo Regional Council (DRC) will commence a Community Needs Survey across the Local Government Area on Monday 14 February 2022. Council have engaged independent research company Taverner Research (previously Iris Research) to conduct the three-week survey.
Over the three weeks, researchers will call 600 adult residents throughout the region via a mix of mobile phone (around 60 per cent), and landline (around 40 per cent). Taverner Research will use publicly available contact information purchased through a commercial third party and not provided by Council. Data will also be collected via an online survey, developed by Taverner and available through Council’s website. The data from the phone survey and the online survey will be compiled separately with two reports provided to Council once the survey field work is completed.
Dubbo Regional Council Mayor Mathew Dickerson said the survey will provide invaluable insights for new and existing Councillors. “The timing provides an ideal opportunity for a fresh Community Needs Survey. “The new Council and Councillors have begun working with the CEO to develop new strategies and plans for Council as an organisation, so hearing and understanding what the community needs is critical to this planning,” said Councillor Mathew Dickerson.
The Community Needs Survey had been run every two years but this one was postponed from 2021 to 2022.
“While the survey had been postponed, it’s pleasing we now have the opportunity to run the survey early in 2022 and a schedule of biennial surveys will be set for the future. This will ensure the Council can hear feedback from the community and gauge the overall performance of Council in the eyes of the community. I encourage people who are contacted by the researchers by phone to have their say, give your feedback on your Council and the services provided,” said Councillor Mathew Dickerson
Researchers will begin calling household and mobile numbers throughout Wellington, Dubbo and the surrounding villages in the Dubbo Regional Council LGA from Monday 14 February through until Sunday 27 February. The online survey will be available and open throughout the same period.
Dubbo Regional Council CEO, Murray Wood said the Community Needs Survey is a great tool to evaluate what the community expects from their Council. “ The Community Needs Survey is an incredibly powerful and personal way of checking the pulse of the community in regard to Council’s overall services, performance and outcomes, and is a way of seeing if the organisation is meeting the expectations of the community,” said Mr Wood. “I certainly view the Community Needs Survey as a way of measuring and collecting important data from the community to help inform Council’s future strategic planning and gather invaluable community feedback.”
“Data from the survey assists Council with its planning, it assists to review our services and deliverables, and it is one of the ways the community has an opportunity to really put forward their needs, what they want for our community and our region into the future,” said Mr Wood.
The phone survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete with researchers asking a series of questions covering a wide range of services and topics relevant to Council and the needs of the community. The survey is anonymous and the raw data collected by researchers is then compiled to produce overall scores on a series of topics. The online survey takes around the same time.
Anyone with questions regarding the community needs survey can contact Council’s Customer Experience team via (02) 6801 4000.
Last Edited: 17 Jul 2023