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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESPONSE - RFP - 7226 SURVEY SERVICES - MISC PUBLIC OPINION SURVEYSSubmitted by • NATIONAL RESEARCH C E N T E R INC. April 14, 2011 3005 30tn 3L1,ee., 3oulder, CO 80301; :: 303-444-7863; f: 303-444-1145; e: nrc@n-r-c.com; w: www.n-r-c.com City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys NRC Organization Chart and Key Personnel NRC is a team of 10 staff members working in the areas of research and evaluation. All of our senior staff members have PhDs or Masters' degrees in areas of social science, public health or educational assessment Beyond academic training, our staff members have significant experience conducting research outside of academia, providing a competence and grounding in the real world of survey research and program evaluation. We not only are strong methodologists, we have a strong appreciation of the mission of program staff whose first allegiance is to their constituents and users, not measurement. Brief descriptions of the four staff members who will do the bulk of the work for the projects contained in this proposal are provided below Figure 1. Figure 1: NRC Organization Chart XAssociate r, PhD Michelle Kobayashi, MSPH nt Vice President Erin CShannon Hayden, MA � Senior RSenior Research Associate Damema Mann,BA Lee Tyson, BA The National Citizen Survey'"' Sonya Wytinck, MS Research Associate/ Director Senior Research Associate Senior Manager Noelle Vaillancourt, BA Chelsey Stackhouse, BA Laurie Urban, BA Project Coordinator Research Associate ) I Research Associate Key Personnel NRC has an in-depth understanding of the time and logistical requirements for all steps involved in the survey process and we also are knowledgeable about the obstacles that can throw a project off course. We have encountered and solved many problems over the years without adding cost or delay. Brief descriptions of the personnel to be assigned to the projects are shown below. Erin Caldwell would be the project manager for the Natural Areas Survey, while Sonya Wytinck would be the project manager for the Air Quality/Solid Waste Survey. Laurie Urban would assist both these project managers as needed during the project The number of hours they will work on the project is shown in the project -specific budgets in the next section on Proposed Approach. Thomas I Miller, Ph.D.. President of NRC. earned a Ph.D. in research and evaluation methods from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has worked in state and local government and as a consultant to government for more than twenty years. With Michelle Kobayashi, he wrote, Citizen Surveys: How to do them, how to use them, what they mean, published in 2000 by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), Washington, D.C. and Citizen Surveys for Local Government: A comprehensive guide to making them matter, published in 2009 by ICMA. Dr. Miller founded National Research Center, Inc. in 1994. He has designed, overseen and written results of hundreds of research and evaluation projects and presented his findings to a wide variety of audiences, both academic and lay. Has he written about survey National Research Center, Inc. r City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys research in journals and books devoted to public management, including Public Administration Review, Journal of the American Planning Association, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Planning Commissioners Journal, American Journal of Evaluation, The Ideas Quarterly Report, Management Science and Policy Analysis, Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation, Handbook of Social Intervention, Performance Matters, Governing and Perspectives. He also has been a journalist and acting director of communication for local government. Erin Caldwell, MSPH. Senior Research Associate. Erin earned a master's degree in public health with an emphasis in research methods and statistics. She has over 10 years experience as a senior researcher and project manager and has designed and conducted scores of surveys, needs assessments, policy studies and program evaluations for public and non-profit sector clients. Erin has a wealth of analytic experience and can conduct statistical analyses both simple (such as descriptive statistics and cross tabulations) or more complex (such as hierarchical linear modeling, reliability and validity testing or factor analysis). At NRC, Erin manages survey research and focus group projects on a variety of topics including parks and recreation, transportation, water, health and other government services; manages large, multi -site, multi- year projects; develops project design and survey instruments; writes reports with focus on meeting client information needs; makes presentations of project results to clients, including management staff and elected officials; conducts and attends client meetings; provides trainings; designs new business proposals; mentors and supports co-workers in various capacities; performs multi-variate statistical analyses such as multiple linear regression, logistic regression, hierarchical linear modeling, factor analysis and cluster analysis; and provides evaluation technical assistance to nonprofit agencies. Erin has managed scores of community resident survey projects, including those for Homer, Alaska; Oxnard, California; Boulder, Colorado; Oak Park, Illinois; Rockville, Maryland; and Clearwater, Florida. As project manager for the NYC Citywide Feedback Survey (the largest citizen survey ever conducted), developed and implemented a stratified sampling plan for five boroughs and 59 community boards and multi -component survey administration including mail and Web, crafted the questionnaire with input from a team of stakeholders from the City, provided comprehensive analysis and reporting. Erin has managed many of NRC's parks and recreation studies, just a few are described here. The City of Boulder Open Space Mountain Parks (OSMP) resident survey gauged the public's attitudes about the OSMP program, including community service delivery and land management, and their opinions about public policy issues faced by the Department. The City of Boulder was developing a master plan for the Boulder Reservoir. Erin managed an intercept survey of users of the Reservoir, the results of which were used in creating a plan to establish management goals and objectives for Parks and Recreation Department land and activities at the Boulder Reservoir (including open space and trails on the north shore of the Reservoir) that will guide long-term investment strategies and programs. The St. Charles, MO Parks and Recreation Survey asked residents to rate the quality of parks and recreation facilities in the city, identify additional facilities or improvements they would like to see, and provide feedback on issues surrounding the possibility of building a new community center (including potential funding mechanisms). A survey was developed in both English and Spanish and mailed to 3,000 Boulder residents. The survey outlined several planning options each with specific amenities (such as flat fields, baseball fields, indoor ice rink, swimming facilities and a disc golf course) and asked residents to rate the important of the amenities and to choose their favorite planning option. The results are being used to finalize the City of Boulder's Parks and Recreation Department concept plan for Valmont City Park. The City of Wildwood Parks and Recreation Survey provided residents the opportunity to participate in the planning process for future parks and recreation developments. The City was provided with a report that included descriptive analyses of the results as well as a market segmentation analysis to better understand how groups of citizens differed in their responses. She has managed numerous multisite, multi -state research studies including a 5-year study measuring the effectiveness of 18 community -based programs aimed at meeting the Surgeon General's Healthy People National Research Center, Inc. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys 2010 goals of increased physical activity, increased consumption of fruits and vegetables and decreased obesity; the project included the evaluation of the outcomes for youth, as well as school and community supports for increasing healthy behaviors. She collaborated with Aquacraft, a water engineering and consulting firm, to evaluate the effectiveness of submetering and billing allocation programs for the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), the effectiveness of a weather based irrigation controller program in California and water use levels of new homes for the EPA Water Efficiency Benchmarking Study. These projects used a variety of data collection techniques including surveys of residents and business owner/managers, key informant interviews and water use data provided by public utilities. Sonya Wytinck. MS. Senior Research Associate. Sonya earned a master's degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Alberta and is a SAS Certified Professional. She has an extensive amount of survey design, sampling, testing, implementation and analysis experience. Her professional background spans the gamut, including work with rural student transportation issues, tribal and non -tribal fisheries in the Great Lakes, recreational damages on the Kalamazoo River, water distribution in the Mae Taeng Irrigation Project (Thailand), health care issues at end -of -life, and the benefits and costs of preventative heath care. Sonya crossed the US-Canadian to join NRC after serving as a research economist supporting the Policy Division of Alberta Health and Wellness. Since joining NRC Sonya has managed a wide variety of projects from the survey design phase through to data analysis and report writing, including: in -person surveys of municipal water customers in Tamil Nadu, India, an online survey of Freeman Foundation seminar and international study tour participants from across the USA, a mail survey of residents of the City of Northglenn, a study using hierarchical linear modeling to assess the effectiveness of clickers used as teaching tools in middle school classrooms in the Boulder Valley School District, and a study of drought and water conservation planning by municipalities through out Colorado. Sonya completed a multi year project evaluating the effectiveness of the Child Welfare Mediation program used in family court in 15 New Jersey Counties. She is just completing a 2 year study of residents, businesses and employees in transit -oriented development (TOD) areas around rail -transit stations in Denver. From 2008 to 2010 she provided project management survey development, interview training, data analysis and report writing for a multi -year survey of multiple cities in Afghanistan that were rebuilding their infrastructure and governance capacity through the Afghan Municipal Strengthening Program (AMSP) funded by USAID and implemented by the International City -County Management Association (ICMA). In 2010 she began project management of two new three year projects in Afghanistan; RAMP UP East and RAMP UP West. The Regional Afghan Municipalities Program for Urban Populations (RAMP UP) projects for Eastern and Western Afghanistan are funded by USAID and implemented through Development Associates International (DAI). She has also assisted long term clients in their annual evaluations of programs such as the Rural Recruitment and Retention Network (3RNet), whose member agencies use 3RNet resources to recruit healthcare workers to rural areas and I Have A Dream of Boulder County whose program provides mentoring, tutoring and after - school programs for low-income children to help them achieve the goal of attending college. Laurie Urban, BA. Research Associate, has a degree in Speech Communications with a focus in Public Relations from Miami University. As a project manager at NRC, Laurie's excellent communication skills are used daily in interactions with clients and have fostered strong customer satisfaction and long-term relationships. In her nine years with NRC, Laurie has conducted numerous research projects, managing all facets of the projects. Laurie has cultivated strong quantitative skills, along with her body of qualitative work, conducting focus groups and stakeholder interviews. Laurie has managed scores of citizen surveys, including Fort Collins, CO; Centennial, CO; Parker, CO; Lone Tree, CO; Aspen, CO; Rockville, MD; Westminster, CO; Wheat Ridge, CO; Louisville, CO; Dublin, CA; Edmond, OK; Montgomery County, MD; and Honolulu, HI. She has collaborated with other project managers on numerous other survey projects, including the Lakewood, CO Citizen Survey, Minnesota Counties Citizen Surveys, Minneapolis, MN Resident Survey, San Francisco Aging and Adult Services Telephone Survey, South Daytona, FL Utility Survey and Long Beach, CA Community Survey. National Research Center, Inc. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys Proposed Approach Project Partnership Below we outline our proposed approach to the two different survey efforts outlined in the RFP. However, we believe that any successful project must start with good communication and collaboration between ourselves and our client. Simply being experts in content or research methods does not guarantee that an organization can produce a research or evaluation study that is useful to clients. We know that we need help from our clients. NRC staff understand that planning for the best deliverable will begin with close collaboration with City staff. Right at the outset of a project, NRC staff will seek to clarify the purposes of the project, restate intended outcomes, identify the key contacts and stakeholders and learn the contingencies that will influence the work. NRC supports an organizational and project management structure that creates clear lines of communication and a single point of contact while encouraging our clients to contact any staff with questions at any time. We propose for NRC to take the lead in each project task, soliciting input and feedback from the City. We will prioritize regular, informative communication to ensure that broad and specific goals and timelines are understood by all and are met. We have experience coordinating input from staff, elected officials and other stakeholders, whether that is working with just one contact in your organization and/or setting up structures and timelines to communicate with several people and organizations. When input is needed from many people or groups, we have used methods such as conference calls, in -person meetings or workshops, key informant interviews and Web surveys of stakeholders to gather feedback in a quick, but thorough way to ensure that everyone has a chance to chime in. We will use our survey research expertise to provide guidance, including pros, cons and recommendations to Fort Collins staff to facilitate decision making. We are accustomed to making such technical information accessible and clear in discussions and in writing. Throughout the project, NRC will check in with our City contact to test our direction, work on solving problems should they arise and plan for the final product. Collaboration with you vastly improves our work and assures that you get what you expect and what is most helpful to achieve the City's goals. We believe that it is our responsibility to be quick and thorough in our responses, whether to general project questions or in producing a new survey draft, as examples. We find that our clients appreciate maximizing their own time reviewing study materials and options, so we aim to respond as quickly as possible. National Research Center, Inc. w-,TomaE,w,tims City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys Survey 1: 2011 Air Quality/Solid Waste Survey Task A: Project Initiation It will be important to start this project with clear expectations, explicated barriers and incentives that could motivate potential respondents and understood resources, including time and personnel. We recommend, and note that the RFP requests, that we have a project initiation meeting to discuss the overall scope of the project, and to begin refining the questions for the survey This meeting also will serve to spell out the desired communication processes between NRC and the City of Fort Collins for the duration of this project (e.g., points of contact, types and frequency of updates to be provided throughout the project, intermediate timelines, etc.). Shortly after this meeting, we will produce a timeline for the City that indicates project milestones and tasks, with dates. We have provided a preliminary timeline in this proposal, but would work with the City to determine what the important deadlines are, and craft a project schedule to meet the City's goals. Task B: Choosing a Survey Administration Method Based on NRC's experience and that of other leading researchers, we have created a table that compares the strengths of various survey administration modes. A previous version of this table was included in the book Citizen Surveys, How to do them, how to use them, what they mean (1CMA, 2000). Comparison of administration methods for Reneral population survevs" Issue Phone Mail Web Expense per completed survey Moderately Moderately expensive i inexpensive Moderately inexpensive* Speed of administration Moderately Moderately fast slow Moderately fast Typical response rate Fair Excellent Poor Ability to obtaining candid responses Fair Excellent Excellent Elimination of interviewer bias Fair Excellent Excellent Ability to get at in-depth topics Good Good Fair Use of visual aids Poor Good Good Enforcement of question order Excellent Poor Good Inclusion of illiterate respondents Good Poor Poor Inclusion of young adults Poor Poor Fair Inclusion of respondents of lower socioeconomic status Fair Fair Poor Specifying sub -geographic locations (districts etc) Poor Excellent Poor © National Research Center, Inc., 2011 'As a stand-alone data collection method with recruitment via mailed postcard, the response rate for Web is surprisingly low. The large mailing size required to achieve the desired number of completes significantly increases the cost of data collection via Web. Web is more economical when paired with a mailed survey (permitting responses via either method) or when a complete list of email addresses is available for the population of interest, as often is the case for members of organizations. Some of the advantages of a mailed survey, especially for sampling within geographic areas, include: • Mailed surveys garner higher response rates than phone surveys. ■ Mailed surveys are more efficient for sampling within geographic boundaries. (Precise household locations can be identified in advance.) ■ Mailed surveys have less "coverage" error than phone surveys. (No loss of cell -phone only households.) ■ Mailed surveys are less expensive than phone surveys per completed interview. National Research Center, Inc. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys Mailed surveys elicit more candid responses than do phone surveys. In particular this is true for questions that may be considered "sensitive' like crime victimization or participation in socially un/desirable behaviors (such as making trips by driving alone), but even for service evaluation questions. Mailed surveys permit more thoughtful responses than phone surveys. Mailed surveys will not disturb residents during their dinner hour (or any other time). Advantages of phone surveys include: • Faster completion of the study. (Time is not needed to print and mail the surveys, or wait for surveys to be returned by mail.) • Inclusion of residents who do not have facility with a written language. • Greater credibility from stakeholders used to receiving poll data from telephone data collection. For this project, we would recommend mailed survey data collection because of it's advantages and because it was the method used in the previous implementation in 2007. This will allow comparisons over time without worries about differences due to mode effect Mailed surveys have a lower cost while allowing for both more respondents and a longer survey; they have higher response rates which reduces concerns about bias; they facilitate geographic comparisons (if desired), they permit more efficient oversampling of populations who tend to respond at lower rates (younger and lower income residents who are more likely to be in multi -unit housing) and they engender more candid responses. The tasks outlined below and our cost estimate assumes a mailed survey methodology; we are happy to provide information on conducting a telephone survey, if desired. Task 1: Development of Survey Questions It is our experience that, to achieve the best results, time must be invested up -front to craft the right survey instrument and to tie survey design to the overall goals and objectives of the project. We regard the questionnaire development process as an iterative one, with drafts being reviewed and revised by a project oversight committee or point person and our team. NRC will work with the City to develop a comprehensive questionnaire that covers the objectives of the study. The obvious starting point will be the 2007 survey instrument, but we have conducted a number of air quality and solid waste surveys and can draw on our own library for example surveys. If desired, we can also look for other similar questionnaires used for other jurisdictions. We will work with the City so that we fully understand the use to which the data collected from this effort will be put. NRC will ensure that each question is easily comprehended by respondents and contributes to the overall analysis goals. For a mailed survey, we would recommend that the survey be no longer than S pages in length, and this is the assumption we have used in crafting our cost estimate. Task 2: Sampling Selecting survey recipients In survey research, it is desirable for every household (or every adult person living in a household) to have a known and equal chance of participating in the survey. A sample of all households is selected to be given an opportunity to participate. Sampling is based on probability theory; the idea that if respondents are chosen randomly from the larger population, the results from that random sample will be very close to what we would get by interviewing every member of the population. National Research Center, Inc. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys The challenge is to find a list of all households from which survey recipients can be randomly chosen. For a mailed survey, mailing lists exist from the United States Postal Office which include all households with a mailing address. All households located within the boundaries that define the City of Fort Collins, or whatever boundaries the City determines are appropriate for this study, would be eligible for the survey. We will geocode the location of each address to assure it is within the study boundaries (as well as any desired subareas within the overall boundaries, if desired). We will use systematic sampling from the list of eligible households to select the sample of households. Systematic sampling is a procedure whereby a complete list of all possible addresses is culled, selecting every Nth one until the appropriate number of households is sampled. Not only will NRC scientifically and randomly sample households, but we also will select without bias the household member to participate. In cases where more than one household member is 18 or older, a procedure called "the birthday method" will be used to select the survey respondent without bias. The birthday method requests that the respondent be the eligible adult in the household who most recently had a birthday (irrespective of the year of birth). This methodology helps ensure the attitudes expressed by our respondent "sample" closely approximate the attitudes of all adult residents living in Fort Collins. Without this step in survey research, it is likely that results will be biased towards those who are more sedentary and those without jobs (who may have different opinions about some services). Choosing the number of completed surveys ("sample size") The relationship between sample size and precision of estimates (the 95% confidence interval or margin of error) is shown in the adjacent table. The margin of error or 95% confidence interval is determined solely by the number of completed surveys, and not the size of the population from which the sample is drawn, as long as the Sample Margin of Erro The table can be interpreted as follows: If 61% of 400 respondents said they would support a mandatory vehicle emissions program in Fort Collins even though it is not Federally required, we can be confident that, had we gotten ratings from all residents, somewhere between 56% and 66% would have supported mandatory vehicle emissions. In the 2007 survey, surveys were sent to 1,500 households, r from which 577 completed surveys were returned. As response rates have been declining over time, we would recommend that surveys be sent to 1,600 households, for a likely final completed sample size between 550 and 600, which would provide a 95% confidence interval of plus or minus 4 percent. Task 3: Survey Administration Below is outlined our survey administration procedures. We encourage our clients to inform the public about the survey through local newspapers, newsletters, community meetings and any other appropriate media. The publicity provides an opportunity to inform them about the purposes of the survey and the uses - for programming and policy - to which it will be put. The publicity, furthermore, will assist the survey process by increasing willingness of potential respondents to participate. National Research Center, Inc. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys Mailed Survey Data Collection As described above, a sample of addresses from within Fort Collins will be selected to be part of the survey. This database of addresses will be processed for certification and verification. NRC vendors use CASS'/NCOA software that relies on the USPS National Directory information to verify and standardize the address elements and assign each a complete, nine -digit zip code where possible. In addition, the software will sort and barcode the addresses, allowing significant postage discounts. We propose mailing all materials pre-sorted first class. This ensures a fast delivery time of the materials, but provides an opportunity for a discount on the full first-class postage rates. Our mailhouse will oversee the printing and preparation of the prenotification postcards, survey packets and reminder postcards. As a part of the quality control process, proofs of the survey materials are reviewed by NRC staff before the Final job is printed. We will include a point person at Fort Collins as a "seed" in the mailing list, so they will receive the mailing materials at the same time as the sampled recipients. We propose three contacts with each sampled household: 1) A prenotification announcement, informing the household members that they have been selected to participate in the community survey will be sent to each household. This announcement should be scheduled to arrive about a week before the survey packet 2) Approximately one week after mailing the prenotification, each household would be mailed a survey containing a cover letter (ideally signed by the mayor) enlisting participation. The packet would also contain a postage paid return envelope that would send all completed surveys directly for data entry. 3) A reminder letter and survey, will be scheduled to arrive 1 week after the first survey. The second cover letter asks those who have not completed the survey to do so and those who have already done so to refrain from turning in another survey. We mail the survey twice because anonymity is promised in the cover letter to enhance the likelihood of honest responses. We take this implicit contract with respondents as a serious principle of the survey trade, which, if violated, harms the survey research industry no less than the client or respondent. We can also check for duplicates if we include a survey code for later mapping of responses. Generally we find only one or two duplicates in our responses. When the survey administration mode has been chosen, a sample size selected, and the survey materials finalized, NRC will produce a memo for the City outlining the survey protocols and containing the final survey materials. Task 4: Data Tabulation Survey processing Mailed surveys will be returned to an NRC affiliate directly via postage -paid business reply envelopes where staff will assign a unique identification number to each survey. Additionally, each survey will be reviewed and "cleaned" as necessary. For example, a question may have asked a respondent to pick two items out of a list of five, but the respondent checked three; NRC staff would choose randomly two of the three selected items to be coded in the dataset. We have found that very little cleaning is needed on most surveys due to our expertise in question construction and survey formatting. However, extensive cleaning tends to be needed in surveys containing complicated question structure or skip patterns. Once all surveys have been assigned a unique identification number, they will be entered into an electronic dataset. This dataset will be subject to a data entry protocol of "key and verify," in which survey data are entered twice into an electronic dataset and then compared. Discrepancies are evaluated against the National Research Center, Inc. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys original survey form and corrected. Range checks as well as other forms of quality control will also be performed. Weighting the Data The last step in preparing the data for analysis is to weight the data to reflect the demographic profile of the Fort Collins population. Weighting is an important method to adjust for potential non -response bias. In general, residents with certain characteristics (for example: those who are younger or rent their homes) are less likely to participate in surveying, whatever the data collection mode. Weighting allows us to look at the demographic profile of residents who returned the survey compared with the US Census profile. We consider these disparities along with others and accordingly increase or decrease the weight of each respondent to mimic as closely as possible the population demographics. The weighting variables to be considered will be all those demographics included on the survey, as well as any geographic variable used for sampling. NRC has extensive experience with complex weighting schemes required with stratification. Basics of Data Analysis and Reporting It is paramount that the result of this study be more than a nice looking report that sits on a shelf, and as such we will work with the City of Fort Collins to ensure that we ask the right questions to feed into an actionable analysis plan. For quantitative analysis, we rely on the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). We believe that analysis must be replicable and leave a clear path. To this end, we keep every label and command run in SPSS in a syntax file available for audit and re -running, as necessary. We also have trained clients on SPSS analysis and, for small recurring analyses, how to use Microsoft® Excel. We will code open-ended responses using both an emergent approach, where themes are revealed through the analysis, combined with a deductive approach, where a scheme or codes are predetermined and applied to the data. Techniques include word counts, content analysis, comparative analysis, componential analysis and taxonomic analysis, among others and codes are applied based on the unit of analysis. Our qualitative analysis of verbatim responses will be done using Microsoft® Access, Microsoft® Excel or QSR qualitative software, depending on the types and complexity of the open-ended questions. The data and report will undergo a thorough quality assurance review. We will audit the original data files, our syntax/analysis files, compare automatically generated output to the formatted output in the report and data check all numbers and text prior to submitting the report. We will provide basic descriptive statistics such as frequencies and means summarizing the responses to the survey questions. If it makes sense to create scales or indices that summarize information from a number of survey items, we can use factor analysis and other psychometric testing to create valid factors. Additionally, NRC staff often have employed other advanced data analysis techniques to transportation survey findings to determine what the key drivers of respondent satisfactions are (using linear or logistic regression to demonstrate the factors that are most important in respondent satisfaction), cluster analysis (market segmentation) to identify groupings of respondents whose members share characteristics but whose clusters differ in important way. For example, in a study we did for the Regional Air Quality Council on ground level ozone pollution, we found there were four clusters or segments of the population in regards to attitudes towards and behaviors to ameliorate ground level ozone, ranging from the "Negative Normans"(comprising 12% of the population) who did not feel ground level ozone was a problem and were unlikely to make any behavior changes to decrease ground level ozone to "The Eager" (comprising 22% of the population) who reported already making lifestyle changes to reduce ground -level ozone pollution and who were ready to be influenced to change behavior. Upon completion of the data analysis, NRC can provide an electronic copy of the dataset to the City of Fort Collins in a variety of formats. Typically, clients prefer to receive the data as an Excel worksheet, but we can National Research Center, Inc. a. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys also provide an ASCII dataset, an Access dataset, or an SPSS dataset. We will provide information about the layout and value labels of the data so that you will have no trouble accessing the raw data. As a note of caution: while we can provide the dataset in Excel, including the appropriate weight for each case, applying the weights in Excel is quite difficult. SPSS or another statistical application may be required to apply the statistical weights and derive the identical results to what would be displayed in the report of results. However, we keep all the data files on our own server, and will be happy to run additional crosstabulations for you (at no additional cost) as questions come up as you use and disseminate the report. Task 5: Reporting the Results Report of Results NRC understands that most readers want to understand the broader patterns and interpretations of data, so our professionally designed graphics are engaging and pop with clear information. Our reports are comprehensive and include technical and detailed numbers and information, but not at the expense of the day-to-day usefulness of the documents. We are careful about our communication. You will not need a degree in statistics to understand the survey results. All the technical details are in appendices for those who wish to read them (and so that the survey can be repeated by any vendor you choose), but we make sure the report body tells the story of the survey results in a stylish, colorful, informative way. For further ease, we also include an executive summary that gives a quick overview of results while highlighting key findings. We will prepare the report in Microsoft's Word (as well as convert documents into a PDF format). Drafts of the report will be provided to the City and the final report will incorporate any comments we receive from you. We will meet with you to review the draft report, and answer any questions or comments you have. We will provide an electronic copy of the report in Microsoft Office Word® format along with a version in PDF format (readable by Adobe Acrobat). We will also provide a hard copy of the report. Letter of Recommendations In order to best use the resources available for this project, we are proposing not to provide recommendations, but to devote the resources to conducting the research and analyzing the results. Our expertise is in research methods, analysis and facilitation. The best recommendations are likely to come from the City's own review and discussion of the results. For an extra cost, we could provide a half day "next steps" workshop, facilitated by Dr. Miller. In this workshop, he will work with up to 20 key staff, elected officials and/or resident decision -leaders to describe survey results and to plan for next steps that the City of Fort Collins should take. The workshop will result in identification of key findings and an action plan for moving forward with each. The cost of such a workshop is $1,800. Consulting and Continued Support We know that an effective report will be reviewed and discussed by many people in Fort Collins after we have completed the survey projects, and that new questions may arise. We commit to supporting these discussions by offering crosstabulations and other additional analyses of results when needed. And, though we will not abandon you with your data, we always will provide you with the electronic dataset of your responses for your future reference and use. National Research Center, Inc. • LCi NATIONAL RESEARCH C E N T E R iNc David Carey, CPPB Financial Services Purchasing Division 215 N. Mason St. 2nd Floor PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 April 14, 2011 Dear Mr. Carey and evaluation team: On behalf of National Research Center, Inc. (NRC), I am pleased to submit this proposal to the City of Fort Collins for Public Opinion Survey services. NRC has significant history and experience with comprehensive resident surveys that focus on Colorado's Front Range (and the City of Fort Collins) and our clients' unique needs - carefully crafted questionnaires, innovative analyses, professional reporting, reputable and documented methods, all accompanied by knowledgeable project managers who guide a responsive process. NRC is proud to be among the few nationally recognized survey consultancies with staff that can assure the strongest, most useful survey methods and results. We will collaborate closely with Fort Collins on each decision, from putting the finishing touch on the methodology and a careful review of prior surveys to finalizing the report and presenting the results. Our team offers a depth of experience unparalleled by any competitor; NRC staff assigned to this project have provided in-depth consultation to local government leaders across years of experience and hundreds of jurisdictions, including Fort Collins. NRC's strong reputation, attention to methods and experience with survey results as performance metrics in local government will serve you well. We have attached the Report of Results for the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks 2010 Resident Survey for your reference; we would be happy to provide any other examples of work, if helpful. Please feel free to contact me or Erin Caldwell (p_ri n lum-r-r.(i un), the project manager for the natural areas survey, with any questions you may have. We look forward to speaking with you about this important project. Best regards, Tom Miller President 303-226-6986 tomC�n-r-c.com 3005 30th Street, Boulder, CO 80301; t: 303-444-7863; f: 303-444-1145; e: nrc@n-r-c.com City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys Timeline The RFP requests that the final deliverables be available by June 30, 2011. This is a fairly tight timeline for a mailed survey, which requires time for surveys to be returned by respondents. Below we present a timeline that will allow delivery of the DRAFT report by June 30, with final delivery occurring a couple weeks later. If this timeline will not meet the City's needs, we can discuss with you the pros and cons of conducting the survey by telephone, which would allow for a more rapid data collection. Developing a survey instrument is a process than can take from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the needs of the client, how well the questionnaire topics and research questions have been defined, and the amount of review required (e.g., by elected officials, boards or advisory groups, staff teams, etc.). However, since the City has done this survey before, we are assuming that a questionnaire can be quickly finalized. Task Date Contractawarded ........ _.... _........... _.............................................................................................................April 29, 2011 Finalize prenotification postcard................................................................................................................ May 6, 2011 Other survey materials and questionnaire finalized....................................................................... May 13, 2011 Mail prenotification postcard.................................................................................................................... May 13, 2011 Mailfirst wave survey.................................................................................................................................. May 20, 2011 Mail second wave of surveys..................................................................................................................... May 27, 2011 Allow surveys to be returned..._ ............................................. _.............................................. through June 10, 2011 Electronic data entry._................................................................................................................ through June 17, 2011 Data analysis and report writing........................................................................................... through June 29, 2011 Draft report and letter for review by City June 30, 2011 Review by City, meeting with NRC...............................................sometime the first two weeks of July, 2011 Final report and letter delivered................................................................................ approximately July 22, 2011 ........................(this depends on the time needed by the City for review, and the extent of revisions needed) National Research Center, Inc. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys Budget The table below displays the cost estimate for the 2011 Air Quality/Solid Waste Survey, based on our proposed approach. Staff Person/Service Rate Task is Development of Survey Questions Task 2: Sampling Task 3: Survey Administration Task 4 and 5: Data Tabulation and Summary Report TOTAL Hrs/Qtyr Cost Hrs/Qty Cost Hrs/Qty Cost Hrs/Qty Cost Hrs/Qty Cost Tom Miller, President $18o 2 $36o o $0 0 So 4 $720 6 $1,o8o Sonya Wytinck, Sen for Researc h Associate $130 15 $1,950 4 $520 10k1,301 30, 53,900 59 $7,670 SUBTOTAL NRC Staff 17 $2,310 4 $520 w $1,300 34 $4,620 65 $8,750 Mailing List: Purchase $250 1 $250 t $250 Mailing List Geocodin $250 t $250 t $250 Printing: Prenotification Postcard $0.05 i,600 $8o 1,600 $80 Printing: Wave i Survey Packet $o.65 i,600 $bo4o i,600 $1,040 Printing: Wave 2 Survey Packet $o.65 1,600 $1,040 i,600 $1,040 Mail Preparation: Prenotification Postcard- $0.10 1,600 $16o I 1,600 $16o Mail Preparation: Wave i Survey Packet $0.15 i,600 $240 1,600 $240 Mail Preparation: Wave 2 Survey Packet $0.15 1,600 $240 1,600 $240 Postage: Prenotification Postcard $0.23 t,600 $371 1,600 $371 Postage: Wave t Survey Packet $0.37 1,600 $594 1,600 $594 Postage: Wave 2 Survey Packet ;0.37 1,600 $594 i,600 $594 Postage: Completed Surveys So.54 56o $302 560 $ 02 Data Entry $t.8o _ 560 $1,008 56o $1,008 SUBTOTAL Hard Costs $6,i6y 1 $6,169 TOTAL Mailed Survey,-550 to 600 completes t7 $2,310 4 $520 10 $7,469 34 $4,620 65 $14,919 National Research Center, Inc. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys Survey 2: 2011 Natural Areas Survey Summary of Tasks The RFP requests a number of tasks for this project, but specifies that proposers should prioritize which tasks they believe should be focused on. Below we outline what we understand the various tasks to be, and our recommendations for how we could best help to accomplish these tasks given the limited budget available. 1) Learn about best practices and peer practices in visitor studies D Research and use the 'lessons learned" and preferred methods used by other open space and natural resource agencies, prepare written summary of background information on visitorstudies. We believe this is an important task where we can provide value. However, our cost estimate assumes that Natural Areas Program (NAP) staff or volunteers will provide some help with this task - perhaps talking to other agencies and collecting their reports and/or protocols. It would be ideal to complete this task before finalizing the visitor intercept survey and visitor count protocols, but as those are due to begin in June, time may not allow for that We can definitely glean the most important information before crafting those instruments and plans, but the write-up may have to happen afterwards, to allow crafting of the data collection tools and protocols for these other efforts to begin in a timely manner. 2) Implement a visitor intercept survey Work with the NAP to revise and finalize the visitor survey instrument, using previous surveys and the background research to guide the process. We believe this is an important task where we can provide value. Our cost estimate assumes that we will work with NAP to revise and finalize the survey instrument. We have created a number of intercept surveys, for open space and parks, as well as for other situations (most recently, for airport visitors). We can help craft a questionnaire that will capture information most useful to NAP in an unbiased manner. ➢ Work with NAP to devise data collection protocols for the visitor survey. We believe this is an important task where we can provide value. Our cost estimate assumes that we will work with NAP to devise the surveying schedule and data collection protocols. We have designed numerous intercept surveys, and can help craft a plan that will meet your objectives with the resources available. We will work with you to understand all the various areas to be included, what the data entry points are, and any issues that may arise during observation counts and intercept surveying. We will help to devise a data collection schedule to allow the most efficient use of interviewer hours to capture the most data, but to ensure representation from both high and low use areas. ,;�- Work with NAP to implement the visitor survey. Given the scope of tasks desired for this project, and our belief that volunteers and/or NAP staff can be used for this particular task, our cost estimate assumes that we will work with NAP to train those collecting the data, but that our organization will not do the data collection. If NAP feels that this task is too big to be accomplished by NAP volunteers and staff alone, we can provide a cost estimate for this data collection. ➢ Enter the visitor survey data into an electronic dataset, analyze and summarize the results and methods in an interim report and include these results in the final report. We believe this is an important task where we can provide value. Our cost estimate assumes that we will analyze and summarize the results and methods. We have extensive experience in complex weighting National Research Center, Inc City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys schemes, and can weight the survey dataset using visitor count information to ensure that the results are representative of all visitors to these natural areas. We can prepare a report that summarizes the data in an informative way, and includes interpretive text, as well as information on the survey methodology. However, taking time to reflect on the data and provide recommendations would take extra time. Our expertise is in the area of research methods and analysis, not open space matters. We would place a low priority on crafting recommendations to NAP. The best recommendations are likely to come from the City's/NAP's own review and discussion of the results. For an extra cost, we could provide a half day "next steps" workshop, facilitated by Dr. Miller. In this workshop, he will work with up to 20 key staff, elected officials and/or resident decision -leaders to describe survey results and to plan for next steps that should be taken. The workshop will result in identification of key findings and an action plan for moving forward with each. The cost of such a workshop is $1,800. 3) Implement a visitor count study ➢ Work with NAP to understand the complexities of the natural areas and their points of entry; develop a visitor count protocol to capture seasonal variation in visitation. We believe this is an important task where we can provide value. Our cost estimate assumes that we will work with NAP to devise the observation schedule and data collection protocols. We will work with you to understand all the various areas to be included, what the data entry points are, and any issues that may arise during observation. We will help to devise a data collection schedule to allow the most efficient use of observation hours and other tools such trail/ vehicle counter and other previously collected data. We will want to capture the most data, but to ensure representation from both high and low use areas. We have designed such studies for the City of Boulder's Mountain Parks and Open Space departments, which have been used over time by these agencies. ➢ Implement the visitor count study. Given the scope of tasks desired for this project, and our belief that volunteers and/or NAP staff can be used for this particular task, our cost estimate assumes that we will work with NAP to train those collecting the data, but that our organization will not do the data collection. If NAP feels that this task is too big to be accomplished by NAP volunteers and staff alone, we can provide a cost estimate for this data collection. ➢ Tabulate the visitor counts, calculate estimates of total visitation, summarize the results and methods in the final report. Provide a spreadsheet of the count data to NAP. We believe this is an important task where we can provide value. Our cost estimate assumes that we will analyze and summarize the results and methods. We have extensive experience in complex weighting schemes, and can use the available data to create the most accurate estimates possible of total visitation, and visitation by site and season. 4) Implement a non -visitor survey i Work with NAP to understand what they would like to learn from non -visitors; develop a survey instrument and data collection protocols for non -visitors (or the general population, that could include non -visitors). We can work with you to understand what you would like to learn from the non -visitors, help you understand the pros and cons and resources needed for various survey administration methods, and National Research Center, Inc. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys develop a survey instrument and data collection protocols for a non -visitor or general population survey. However, we have chosen not to include this as a high priority task to be accomplished with the $15,000 budget If you would like to work with NRC to develop a survey instrument, choose a survey administration mode and design data collection protocols, we would be happy to do so. The estimated cost for this task would be about $3,610. 1, Work with NAP to implement the non -visitor survey. r Enter the non -visitor survey data into an electronic dataset (if necessary - online and phone surveys result in electronic datasets without extra data entry) , analyze and summarize the results and methods in a report. Our cost estimate does not include implementing this survey, or for the analysis and reporting. Depending on the type of survey administration method chosen, the cost could vary greatly. We can provide a cost estimate for the survey administration method and sample size chosen for this survey, once determined. National Research Center, Inc. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys Budget The table below contains our cost estimate for our proposed approach to this project outlined above. Cost Estimate for 2011 Natural Areas Survey Hours Rates Cost Collect background information on visitor studies; review other Open Space visitor counts and studies Sz 600 Tom Miller, President o $780 $o Erin Caldwell, Senior Research Associate zo $1 0 $2,600 Fiinalizevistorsurvey materials $8 0 Tom Miller President 1 $780 180 Erin Caldwell, Senior Research Associate ; $1 0 $6 o Finalizevisitor survey data collection protocols $t o Tom Miller President 1 $180 18o Erin Caldwell, Senior Research Associate 12 $1 0 $1, 6o Implement the visitor survey rain those doing the data collection $6 o Tom Miller President o $180 ;o Erin Caldwell, Senior Research Associate 5 $1 0 >Ow Analyze and reort visftorsurvey results $3,4301 Tom Miller, President 1 $180 $180 Erin Caldwell, Senior Research Associate 25 $1 0 $ ,z 0 Develop plan and protocols for visitor counts $z o0 Tom Miller, President 2 $180 $ 6o Erin Caldwell Senior Research Associate 18 silo $2 0 Implement the visitor count study rain those doing the data collection $6 0 Tom Miller President o ISo so Erin Caldwell Senior Research Associate 5 $1 0 $6 o Tabulate the visitor counts, calculate estimates of total visitation, include results and methods in report Sz 0 Tom Miller, President o S180 $o Erin Caldwell, Senior Research Associate r; 31301 S2,340 Develop nonwisitor survey and data collection protocols $o Tom Miller, President ;180 $o Erin Caldwell Senior Research Associate o $I o $o Implement, analyze and report the non -visitor survey Tom Miller, President unknown $18o Erin Caldwell, Senior Research Associate unknown $130 Subtotal, NRC Staff Costs 514,940 National Research Center, Inc. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys Future Surveys In addition to the two projects described above, we also are very interested in the opportunity to partner with the City to conduct different types of surveys as needed in the future. National Research Center, Inc. April 14, 2011 1 City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys Contents About National Research Center.............................................................. 4 BriefHistory of NRC..............................................................................................4 Statement of Qualifications.....................................................................................4 Similar Projects and References................................................................................6 WorkSample.......................................................................................................9 NRC Organization Chart and Key Personnel................................................................ 10 Proposed Approach............................................................................ 13 ProjectPartnership............................................................................................. 13 Survey 1: 2011 Air Quality/Solid Waste Survey............................................................ 14 Survey 2: 2011 Natural Areas Survey........................................................................ 22 FutureSurveys................................................................................................... 26 Appendix A. Complete List of NRC Projects Since 2007 ............................... 27 Appendix B. Work Sample.................................................................... 32 National Research Center, Inc. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys About National Research Center Brief History of NRC National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) is the well-known and highly regarded citizen survey research firm that operates worldwide, with its focus on local government research. NRC principals have been leading the strategic use of surveys for local governments since 1991, when the principals of the company wrote the first edition of what became the classic text on citizen surveying: Citizen Surveys: How to do them, how to use them, what they mean. We have pioneered the citizen survey industry, creating new and innovative tools and analyses that provide our clients with the most useful information so they can take action and implement new policies or programs or modify existing ones. We recently wrote a second book to help jurisdictions understand how to use survey results effectively: Citizen Surveys: A comprehensive guide to making them matter (published by ICMA in January 2009). Over the past 15 years alone, NRC has conducted more than 1,000 surveys of residents for local governments, ranging in population size from approximately 1,500 residents to over one million, including, in 2008, the City of New York City (population over seven million). We have designed and managed large samples and data collection, up to 136,000 households in a single jurisdiction (stratified by several geographic groupings). We know what it takes to do a complicated project right and we commit to complete it with rigorous methods and accurate results. We have in-house capability and expertise to meet all survey project development, analysis and reporting needs, and we manage project resources responsibly. We assign dedicated project staff, and take advantage of an expanded staff network to support all projects through collaborative idea -generation to enhance productivity and ensure the best process and product for our clients. We also are part of a larger community that includes our local government clients, organizations that support local government (ICMA, the American Society of Public Administration and the American Evaluation Association), survey research firms and associations of professionals interested in innovative quality research methods (American Association of Public Administration - AAPOR - and the Council of American Survey Research Organizations - CASRO ) - and we take seriously our responsibilities to this community. Statement of Qualifications Extensive Knowledge of Colorado's Front Range NRC works successfully with clients across the US and internationally, using a combination of remote and in -person communication. When we work just down the road, we appreciate the flexibility that proximity offers to be on site as needed. Our connection to Colorado and previous experience in Fort Collins will maximize our effectiveness and credibility among stakeholders. Unbiased Consultation on Research Methods We understand the limitations of government budgets and we have vast experience working with organizations on research projects as small as a few thousand dollars and as large as more than a million dollars. NRC purposefully has avoided the weight of carrying a telephone call center as an in-house resource because we do not want to be anchored by the financial pressure to recommend telephone surveying when other methods - mail, Web and in -person - can yield better data, higher response rates and at lower costs. By avoiding ownership of a telephone field service, we are able to provide a dispassionate perspective about the best data collection method for our clients. National Research Center, Inc. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys Accurate and Precise Sampling Sampling may be simple or complex depending on the group you need to hear from. We have designed very basic and very sophisticated sampling plans to meet the needs of our clients; our thoughtful sampling plan for the Fort Collins surveys is shown in the Proposed Approach section. Results are meaningful only if the sampling process is handled correctly. We take seriously the distinctive aspects of each community's profile and survey needs in creating the sampling design. We are attentive to issues of geographic precision in sampling, as well as the importance of increasing opportunities to participate for traditionally lower - responding populations. Surveys with Meaning Because we have crafted custom -crafted questions for more than 1,000 survey projects that we have conducted across America, we have the background and instinct to develop concise and effective questions for your unique concerns. The First and Best Benchmarking How large is large, how small is small? Services such as road repair tend always to receive the lowest marks while fire prevention is always on top. Comparing your results to other jurisdictions gives you a better sense of how these services are performing. To facilitate this comparison, we maintain an up-to-date database of over S00 citizen surveys from across America. We integrate the results of these surveys controlling for differences in data collection mode and question characteristics. We have described our methods thoroughly in Public Administration Review, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management and in our books on conducting and using citizen surveys. Our database contains evaluations of over 250 services provided by local governments and is intended to represent the opinions of more than 30,000,000 adults living in the United States. Because the database contains results that are reliable for each jurisdiction (typically with no fewer than 400 responses from each), we can parse the data for a NRC client such that a cluster of jurisdictions similar in size, located in the same part of the U.S. or with a similar ethnic mix of residents can be identified for comparison. For Fort Collins, we propose multiple comparison sets in the Proposed Approach section of this proposal. Reaching the Hard to Reach Populations The U.S. is ethnically and economically diverse. NRC has extensive experience bringing in the voice of these hard to reach populations. Our citizen surveys often include data collection in languages other than English. To date we have collected surveys and/or conducted focus groups in Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Hmong, Oromo, Somali, Laotian, Japanese, Tagalog and Korean using native speakers or native translators. We propose multiple options for Fort Collins in the Proposed Approach section. Geocoding Geocoding pinpoints the latitude and longitude of each household in a sample. We initially use geocoding to ensure that all the households in our sample are within the study boundaries, and in the appropriate geographic subarea of the community. Survey results are displayed in jurisdiction maps. Helping Put Results to Use NRC provides a range of consultative services, including survey research, meeting and workshop facilitation, qualitative approaches like focus groups and stakeholder interviews, as well as strategic planning to connect all of the pieces to ensure that organizations understand their results and can make the survey work for them. We work closely with ICMA's Center for Performance Management and train local government staff on the uses of survey research in performance management systems. Last fall, we conducted a training on survey research methods and uses (Citizen Survey Basics: Using Surveys to National Research Center, Inc. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys Improve Performance: the people are speaking... can you hear them?) at the ICMA conference in San Jose, as well as a special session, "STILL Using Citizen Surveys to Make Tough Budget Decisions' that included a panel of city managers who discussed, with NRC as session lead, how using resident surveys helped them cut budgets to conform to resident values. We also facilitated a round table discussion among city managers, "How to Win Support and Influence Public Opinion," that focused on what jurisdictions can do to move public opinion. We do not approach citizen surveys naively. With years of experience as local government employees, including the project lead's work as an interim communication director for a municipality, we are intimately aware of the value and, frankly, even the challenges of resident survey results. This experience permits us to give insightful guidance to our clients. Similar Projects and References Below we list a few of the clients for whom we have performed work that is similar to that desired by the City of Fort Collins. These projects serve not only as references for NRC as a whole, but also for some or all of the staff who will be assigned to your project. We have listed the client's main contact for the project (and additional contacts, if applicable). City of Fort Collins, CO Citizen Survey (2008, 2010) The City of Fort Collins, Colorado conducts residents surveys on a regular basis to provide residents the opportunity to rate the quality of life in the city and their satisfaction with community amenities and local government. The survey also allows residents to provide feedback to the City government on what is working well and what is not, and their priorities for community planning and resource allocation. The initial baseline Fort Collins Citizen Survey was conducted in 2001 with subsequent iterations in 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2010. National Research Center, Inc. was contracted to conduct the 2008 survey as well as the 2010 survey. The 2010 survey will be mailed to 1,800 randomly selected residents within city boundaries and 200 randomly selected Colorado State University (CSU) dormitory students. The overall response rate was 38%. Survey results were weighted so that the respondent gender, age, housing unit type and tenure (rent, own or living in group quarters) were more closely represented in the proportions reflective of the entire city. Comparisons to previous years and to other jurisdictions in NRC's benchmark database were provided. City of Boulder, CO: Mountain Parks and Open Space Survey (2010), Valmont City Park Survey (2007), Recreation Plan Survey (2009), Reservoir Intercept Survey (2009) Mountain Parks and Open space Survey: The City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) Department commissioned NRC to conduct a telephone survey of resident registered voters regarding the public's attitudes about the OSMP program, including community service delivery and land management, and their opinions about public policy issues faced by the Department. Survey results were compared by select respondent characteristics. A presentation of the results was made to the Advisory Board and staff. Reservoir Intercept Survey and Focus Groups: The City of Boulder was developing a master plan for the Boulder Reservoir. The purpose of the plan is to establish management goals and objectives for Parks and Recreation Department land and activities at the Boulder Reservoir (including open space and trails on the north shore of the Reservoir) that will guide long-term investment strategies and programs. As a part of this process, the city contracted with NRC to conduct a survey of users of the Reservoir. Interviews were conducted over a four day period in August 2009 and were conducted at three entrances to the Reservoir. A total of 375 interviews were conducted. The total number of parties approached was 477, for a response rate of 79%. As a follow up to the intercept survey of users of the reservoir, a series of three focus groups were held with specific user groups to gather more in-depth information about the look, feel and National Research Center, Inc. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys appearance of the specific area; rules and regulations; balancing needs of the different user groups and the natural environment; and resource allocation. Valmont City Park Survey: As part of the City of Boulder's Parks and Recreation Department preparation for the development of a 10-year master plan, the City decided to revisit the concept plan for the Valmont City Park. The original concept plan was completed in 1998. From it, a multipurpose field, greenway trails, soft surface trails, a temporary dog park and an irrigation pond were built. While the majority of the property is still undeveloped, it has become a much -used destination. NRC conducted a survey of 3,000 residents that was mailed in both English and Spanish. Survey responses were used to develop a draft plan to present to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and City Council for review and feedback in November 2007. Recreation Plan Survey: The City of Boulder Parks and Recreation Department was developing a Recreation Program and Facilities Plan as part of a recommendation from the 2006 Parks and Recreation Department's Master Plan and the City Manager's Work Group on Recreation Financing. This plan was to include an assessment of recreation trends and issues; local demographics; and recommendations for recreation programs, services and facilities. The goal of this plan was to help guide future decisions and resource allocations for Boulder's recreation division. As a part of the public input process for the plan, a survey of a representative sample of Boulder Valley residents was commissioned. A randomly selected sample of 3,000 residential addresses within Boulder Valley were mailed the 2009 Boulder Recreation Plan Survey. About 4% of these addresses were vacant. A total of 622 completed surveys were received, for a response rate of 22%. Survey results were weighted so that respondent age, gender and type of residence (rent or own, detached single-family housing unit or attached housing unit) were represented in the proportions reflective of the Boulder population. Mark Gersh man Bev Johnson Sarah DeSouza Environmental Planning Supervisor Planner Administrator City of Boulder City of Boulder City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Planning Department Parks and Recreation P.O. Box 719 P.O. Box 719 Iris Center, 3198 Broadway Boulder, CO 80306 Boulder, CO 80306 Boulder, CO 80304 303-441-3440 303-441-3272 303-413-7205 Sarasota County, FL: Water Survey (2009, 2010, 2011); Solar Hot Water Survey (2010); Natural Resources Survey (2008); Solid Waste Survey (2007, 2008) Sarasota County contracted with National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) to conduct a series of citizen surveys to be decided by individual departments within the County. Water Survey: Residents living in unincorporated areas of the county are surveyed to assess their level of satisfaction with and priorities for utilities services provided to them. The survey also helps identify future needs of residents living in those areas. The results help make decisions about and plan for future utility services for residents of Sarasota County. The 2011 survey is in the final stages of data collection. The 2009 survey was administered by telephone in April to randomly selected households known to be located within the unincorporated areas of Sarasota County. A total of 400 telephone interviews were completed; the response rate was 18%. Survey results were weighted so that respondent age, gender and housing tenure (rent or own) were represented in the proportions reflective of the entire adult population of Unincorporated Sarasota County. National Research Center, Inc. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys Solar Hot Water Survey; Residents living in unincorporated areas of the county to gather information about solar hot water and related energy topics. The results were used to help make decisions about and plan for future solar hot water and other energy efficient services for residents of Sarasota County. The survey was mailed in September 2010. Participating unincorporated county households were selected at random. The response rate was 21%. Survey results were weighted to reflect the entire adult population of unincorporated Sarasota County. Natural Resources Survey: This survey permitted residents the opportunity to communicate their priorities for natural lands planning and resource allocation. The focus on the quality of characteristics of Sarasota County, the use residents make of natural lands and the level of support for various choices for resource allocation helped staff and the public set priorities for budget decisions and lays the groundwork for tracking community opinions about the core responsibilities of Sarasota County Natural Resources to assure maximum use of resources over time. A random sample of 1,200 residential addresses within Sarasota County was mailed the survey. With 327 completed surveys received, the response rate was 33%. Survey results were weighted so that respondent age, gender and housing tenure were represented in the proportions reflective of the Sarasota County. Solid Waste Survey: The most recent Sarasota County Solid Waste Survey was administered by mail during April and May of 2008 to 1,000 randomly selected households within unincorporated areas of the County. Of those households receiving the survey, 346 residents responded to the mailed questionnaire, giving a response rate of 40%. Questions asked residents about their satisfaction and use of solid waste services. The survey also asked residents if they would be willing to have the annual solid waste assessment increased if they would not be required to properly prepare yard waste for pickup and could "just pile it at the curb." Cindy S. Riggs, Business Planner Sarasota County Government Environmental Services Business Center Water Core Service 1001 Sarasota Center Boulevard Sarasota, FL 34240 941-232-6239 Kim Kelleher Sarasota County Government Environmental Services -Natural Resources 2817 Cattlemen Road Sarasota, FL 34232 941-861-6227 Lee Hayes Byron Sarasota County Government Sustainability 1660 Ringling Blvd, 5th Floor Sarasota, FL 34236 941-256-4811 Larry Alexander, Manager -Solid Waste/Collections Sarasota County Government Environmental Services 8750 Bee Ridge Road Sarasota, FL 34241 941-861-6731 Regional Air Quality Study (RAQC) 2005 The Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) contracted with National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) to conduct a public awareness survey before and after the implementation of a ground -level ozone awareness media campaign, which began in the summer of 2005. The RAQC Public Awareness Survey provided residents the opportunity to express their understanding of and opinions about ground -level ozone pollution. To evaluate the impact of the public awareness campaign, several questions tested change in resident attitudes and tested recognition of campaign messages. Awareness of the problem of ground -level ozone pollution was higher post -campaign than it was pre -campaign; more than 4 in 10 respondents (44%) on the post -campaign survey said they were "somewhat" or "very" familiar with the problem of ground -level ozone, while a third (32%) of pre -campaign respondents reported that they were "somewhat" or "very" National Research Center, Inc. City of Fort Collins Public Opinion Surveys familiar with the problem. However, when asked how much of a problem they believed ground -level ozone pollution to be, 63% felt it was a "major" or "moderate" problem post -campaign which was similar to the pre -campaign survey where 66% felt it was at least a moderate problem. Sara O'Keefe Regional Air Quality Council 1445 Market Street, Suite 260 Denver, CO 80202 303-629-5450 Colorado Clients NRC has conducted resident surveys for these CO cities, counties and other organizations: • Arapahoe County • Archuleta County • Aspen • Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado • Aurora • Boulder (City) • Boulder County • Broomfield • Castle Rock • Centennial • Clear Creek County • Colorado Springs • Craig • Crested Butte • Crowley County • Denver • Douglas County • DRCOG • East Central Council of Governments • Englewood • Estes Park • Evergreen • Fort Collins • Golden • Gunnison County • Highlands Ranch • Hyland Hills • Jefferson County • Lafayette • Lakewood • Larimer County • Lone Tree • Longmont • Louisville • Loveland • Montrose • Northeastern Colorado Association of Local Governments • Northglenn • Northwest Colorado Council of Governments • Parker • Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging • State of Colorado • Steamboat Springs • Summit County • Summit County • Thornton • Weld County • Westminster • Wheat Ridge • Windsor Work Sample We have attached the Report of Results for the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks 2010 Resident Survey for your reference in Appendix B. Work Sample. A few other of our reports can be found online, at: http:/hvww n-r-c com/ExampleReports/Boulder Composting Survey Report 2009-11-30-final Wit' http://www.n-r-c.com/ExampleReports/Boulder Reservoir Intercept Survey Report 2009 09-24.pdf htt�)://wwi.v.n-r-c.com/ExampleReports/GV Report of Results 2010-05-26.pdf We would be happy to provide any other examples of work, if helpful. National Research Center, Inc. '