3.5 PUBLIC OPINION SURVEYS

One of the methods used to define the public need for stormwater services is the public opinion survey. Public opinion surveys provide the community acceptance team information on public interests. Methods to obtain such public opinions range from telephone surveys, mailed questionnaires, and specific questions on an election ballot to comments obtained in public meetings. Elected officials often request that public opinion surveys are conducted prior to selection of an action because such surveys are believed to reflect widespread consensus. However, as stated by Dr. Scott Paine in a speech given at the 1998 FASU Annual Conference, public opinion research actually provides "what a particular group of people said in response to particular questions asked in a particular way on a particular day." That is, the opinions provided can be limited in scope and this limitation must be considered before the information obtained is used. Public opinion can be conflicting at times and changes depending on multiple factors such as seasonal weather changes, "El Niño," other governmental activities (e.g., recent increases in other utility fees), and upcoming elections. The opinion can also be swayed by the questions asked just as much as the timing of the survey.

Dr. Paine pointed out that there are five uses of public opinion surveys, even with the limitations identified above:

1. To Gage the Direction of Public Opinion - Recognizing that public opinions change and evolve, the opinion survey can help define the direction and changes in direction on particular subjects. To do so, of course, the survey must be administered more than once.
2. To Gage the Intensity of the Opinions - The opinions provided in response to a survey can be weak, moderate, or intense and heart-felt. Opinion surveys can identify issues that are important to the public in this manner.
3. To Demonstrate Support - Opinion surveys can identify initiatives for which there is a measure of public support. Such initiatives, if feasible, can become the foundation of the community acceptance program and the measure of program success.
4. To Force Decision-makers to Reevaluate - Surveys can identify programs which are not well received by the public or which are poorly introduced. The survey instrument can even present initiatives or programs in different ways to gage various presentation methods.
5. To Identify Issues for Further Public Information Efforts - The survey can identify areas where additional information is required, and misinformation or incomplete information is being supplied by outside sources. Also, perspectives are often provided to help understand how issues are received by the public.

Public information surveys do, therefore, provide useful information to the community acceptance team and elected officials as long as the survey limitations are understood. Such surveys need to be administered early in the overall program to help develop the public information program, and more than once to measure the effectiveness of educational efforts.