Submitted by: Laura Reams
Submitting Department: Communications
Agenda Section: Consent
Item Title:
title
Resident Satisfaction Survey Firm Selection
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Suggested Action:
recommendation
I move the Mayor and Council authorize the City Administrator to enter into a contact with Probolsky Research for a resident satisfaction survey at a cost not to exceed $35,000, upon the review and approval of the City Attorney for legal sufficiency.
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Summary Background:
In June 2024, the City issued a request for proposals by firms to conduct a resident satisfaction survey this fall/winter. The City’s last resident satisfaction survey was conducted in 2018. Previous surveys were conducted in 2011 and 2015. City staff would like to conduct an updated survey of a broad cross-section of City residents. The survey will evaluate how the City’s services are perceived by residents to identify areas of importance to City residents, as well as areas for improvement and/or improved education and outreach. Data collected from the current survey will be compared against past results as a baseline to monitor progress and identify areas for improvement.
The scope of work for the survey includes:
• The development of statistically valid survey instruments, work plans, and schedules, in consultation with City staff;
• Structure of the survey questions, using the 2018 survey questions as a baseline;
• Selection of a representative sample of households across Hyattsville’s five Wards;
• Recommendation of appropriate methodologies and strategies for providing the best data samples, objective results, and valid findings;
• Conduct the survey with an option for English or Spanish responses;
• Tabulation and analysis of results, including benchmarking the results against past Hyattsville survey results and comparable communities throughout the US;
• Identify potential areas of concern and/or top priorities for future work;
• Provide data for GIS mapping;
• Presentation of survey results at a Council meeting in early 2025. Additional public presentations may be included in the scope of work at the City’s request.
Five firms submitted proposals. A panel consisting of Deputy Administrator Reams, Communications Manager Zork, Equity Officer Louimarre, and Councilmember Redmond evaluated the proposals based on the respondents' proposed project design and methodology, the vendors' qualifications and experience, pricing, and references. Upon completion of review of the submissions, the panel selected Probolsky Research as the recommended firm.
Probolsky Research has extensive experience with municipal surveys, is able to meet the requirements of the project scope, provided pricing within the City’s budget, and received very positive references from past clients. Probolsky Research proposes a sample size of 600, reflective of the City’s census demographics and ward distribution. The sample size will ensure a statistically valid survey with a margin of error of +/- 4.1%, at a 95% level of confidence. The proposed survey will use a fully printed survey with City branding. Online and text message invitations as well as call-in telephone options may also be utilized to ensure the survey meets the demographic requirements.
The Probolsky team will conduct the survey in English and Spanish and the firm employs an in-house equity officer to help ensure the research process is sensitive to ADA and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues in design and data collection methods. Data from the survey will be provided in a variety of ways including a comprehensive written report with full survey responses, an interactive dashboard for the City’s website, and GIS mapping of results. Probolsky will present the survey results to City Council in early 2025 and are open to additional presentations as needed.
Next Steps:
Upon Council approval, staff will enter into a contact with Probolsky Research and begin work on the resident satisfaction survey.
Fiscal Impact:
The FY25 communications budget has $35,000 budgeted for the resident satisfaction survey.
City Administrator Comments:
Recommend support.
Community Engagement:
The communications team will work with the vendor to develop a communications plan for the survey.
Strategic Goals:
Goal 4 - Foster Excellence in all City Operations
Legal Review Required?
Pending