Who are all those
people, anyway?
Most successful companies focus accurately on customer needs through a customer orientation. Since park and recreation agencies are supported by tax dollars, it is important that their mission reflect community needs and interests. This may be referred to as a taxpayer orientation.

By Nick DiGrino and Chuck Balling

Many public agencies are finding that increased reliance on fees and charges has resulted in expansion of potential markets to include various organizations, groups and individuals residing outside of the community. This expanded perspective places the recreation and parks practitioner some place between the taxpayer and the general customer.

Receiving feedback that is representative of the entire community or service radius is not something that just happens, nor is it something that comes without considerable investment of time and expertise. Limited operating budgets and increased citizen demand for accountability prohibit local governmental agencies from taking "hit and miss" approaches to providing service. They cannot bend to the pressures of highly visible individuals and special interest groups. The attitude and interest survey is one method of profiling constituents and minimizing the influence of pressure groups.

A well-developed and administered survey is not limited to profiling actual participation patterns, program wants, and capital development preferences of users and nonusers. The survey can also help determine how voters feel about bond issues, tax levies or other significant issues. It provides constituents with a sense of control over the way their tax dollars are spent, and offers a sense of pride and good will toward the agency. The information gathered will enable staff and elected officials to update their organization's master plans, capital development plans and long-range goals. The survey can also be a reliable tool for market research by providing a necessary, reliable data base for demand-related decisions — location of facilities, pricing of services, promotional strategies, staffing decisions, and, ultimately, the specific programs and services offered. Recent survey research completed by the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District contributed to the purchase of a private swimming pool, the building of a racquet club and ice arena, the development of the District's fees and charges policy, numerous program offerings, the opening of the first community-wide senior citizen center, the proposed construction of an indoor lap pool and the development of an ordinance prohibiting alcoholic beverages on Park District property.

Some basic marketing questions that can be addressed with community surveys are:

• the probable response to one or more of the agency's programs,
• the extent of consumer support for "other organization" services,
• the actual number of potential participants in the agency's service radius,
• the characteristics of participants and nonparticipants (age, income, occupation, area of residence, education, gender, size of family, etc.),
• the relationship of the preceeding characteristics to volume and /or frequency of use,
• the time people use specific programs and facilities,
• people's preferences about the availability of specific programs and facilities,
• motivation for people to participate in the agency's or organization's programs and
• the influences on various program participation decisions within a household.

The survey is a powerful tool, but it is not a panacea. As with any tool, it is only effective if the user possesses

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Nick DiGrino, former coordinator of graduate studies in the Department of Recreation and Park Administration at Western Illinois University, is currently an associate professor and coordinator of the leisure studies curriculum at Iowa State University. Chuck Balling, a graduate of Eastern Illinois University's Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, is superintendent of recreation for the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District. He was actively involved in the development and implementation of Homewood-Flossmoor's attitude and interest survey. DiGrino Balling

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the necessary level of competence. Bad information derived from poorly administered surveys, aside from the wasted time and expense, is more detrimental than no information. If the agency lacks confidence in the validity or reliability of research data, it will be manifested in the quality of management decisions.

Survey Goals

One of the first things to be determined is purpose; that is, what questions are to be answered through the survey effort? The Homewood-Flossmoor Park District developed the following goals:

• Attain community feedback that would serve as a reference guide for future planning and goal setting.
• Assess resident attitudes and levels of awareness regarding agency accomplishments over the past ten years.
• Determine the leisure behaviors of community residents, and compare and contrast results with data collected a decade earlier.
• Assess community attitudes toward the management of recreational areas, facilities and programs. This allowed staff to identify strengths and weaknesses, as perceived by the community.
• Assess the needs of various homogeneous segments of the community.
• Determine the effectiveness of the agency's public awareness program, including dissemination of various program information.
• Supplement census data in order to strengthen the demographic profile of the community.
• Cross-reference findings associated with the above goals in order to examine the interrelationships between demographics, attitudes awareness, preferences and actual participation/nonparticipation patterns.

The Sampling Plan

In order to obtain information regarding the community, several questions must be addressed. Knowing that limited human and financial resources are available for the task, the agency must decide the quantity and quality of information to "buy." The size of the sample has much to do with the inferential capability of the researcher. Since the information received from the sample population is only an estimate of the total population, increased sample size normally results in heightened precision and greater assurance that results truly represent the actual population.

Only the agency can decide if a precision level of +5 percent is enough, or if 95 percent assurance of representing the population within prescribed precision levels is acceptable. If a + 2 percent margin of error and 99 percent level of confidence is preferred, then the agency must be prepared to expand additional resources in order to expand the sample size.

The size of one's sample selection is also dependent upon the heterogeneity of the community and the number and size of subpopulations being studied, compared and contrasted. Because of these factors, agencies are encouraged to consult with a community survey specialist in determining size of sample. The final decision will rest with the agency, but a consultant can assist in defining alternatives. A 10 percent sample size is often considered sufficient. Such oversimplification should be avoided for obvious reasons.

The sample should give every person an equal chance of being selected. For community surveys, the household is often identified as the sampling element. Utility listings, county/municipal directories and even telephone directories are common sample frames (comprehensive list of population members). Any time members of the actual population are absent from the sample frame, bias is introduced.

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Data Collection

Once the sample has been introduced, individual subjects must be accessed. Again, agency resources must be taken into consideration. The personal interview is a relatively slow and costly method, but usually results in a very high response rate. If not well trained, the interviewer can easily bias response. However, the personal interview can result in more substantive inquiry while providing clarification when needed.

The mailed questionnaire is the cheapest method of data collection and avoids the problems associated with interviewer bias. Low response rates are common to mailed surveys. This leads to speculation that subjects electing to file their questionnaires in the trash might be characteristically different from those who respond. Whatever technique is used, and however good the response rate is, a conscientious effort should be undertaken to characterize nonrespondents.

The third population method of data collection is the telephone interview. Telephone interviews, especially at the local level, can be fairly inexpensive. This is especially true if telephone interviewers consist of well-trained volunteers. The sample frame problems associated with telephone directories (unlisted numbers and non-telephone owners) can be avoided by using randomly generated numbers in determining who will make up the sample population.

Instrumentation

Development of the survey instrument should be a shared process. Whether the agency staff assumes direct responsibility or the survey is contracted to a specialist, community participation in identifying survey content should be insisted upon. It is wise to review surveys from other communities after completing your first draft. This will minimize the tendency to over rely on what "worked" for a neighboring agency.

Length of the survey, especially mailed questionnaires, should be minimized as much as possible. Tests indicate that surveys over four pages are rarely returned. Questionnaires that take more than 20 minutes to complete run the risk of being returned inaccurately and/or incompletely. For each question, the agency must determine how the data will be used when it is received. Attractive surveys, accompanied by an introductory letter or paragraph on the instrument itself, consistently result in higher response rates. Make the respondent feel honored to take part in the survey.

The survey should be devoid of leading questions such as; "Do you think our leaky run-down pool should be renovated?" Questions on which the public is likely to be poorly informed should also be avoided. Remember, data will eventually have to be transcribed, processed and interpreted. Questions should be located to enhance this process while at the same time contributing to a healthy and unbiased response. Try to generate the most precise response without jeopardizing or biasing it. Why ask a parent if she has four to six children living at home or less than four children living at home? She would probably feel comfortable providing the exact number of children living at home. Questions relating to more sensitive subject matter, such as age and income, often must be asked with broad categorical questions. Keep in mind that lengthy open-ended responses are cumbersome and very difficult to process.

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If a personal or telephone interview procedure is being used, timing is an extremely important factor. Conduct the interview at a comfortable place with minimal distractions. Questions should be asked in the same sequence, and each question should be asked exactly as it is worded on the interview schedule. Interviewers should be dressed in a presentable manner and conduct themselves in a "neutral" manner that will not reflect bias. While the interviewer should not be a passive listener, he or she should not openly agree or disagree with the interviewee.

Lengthy books have been written on the subject of questionnaire and interview design and procedures. Thorough investigation (and training in the case of interviews) is warranted when determining the "dos" and "don'ts" of effective instrumentation. No survey should be implemented without first pre-testing it on a small sample of the population. All the professional insight in the world cannot guarantee a flawless instrument. In fact, it is rare that the pre-test does not result in constructive changes.

Analysis

The lengthiest and probably most costly part of the survey process is now becoming the fastest and least expensive, thanks to the computer. There are several "canned" programs on the market that give persons with limited computer literacy the opportunity to process data easily. College and university resource people are also usually willing to assist with analysis.

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Application

After completing the survey, the agency should use the information in a beneficial manner. There should be a complete narrative report which describes the survey results in detail. Where appropriate, graphs and tables should be used. The report should be made available to the entire community and be utilized as a foundation in making future agency decisions.

It may seem that there are a few risks or liabilities involved when undertaking a community-wide survey. Nothing could be further from the truth if one fails to devote adequate time and resources. This can only be accomplished through utilization of experts in the field of survey development and research. Many local government agencies lack the staff expertise to independently develop a technically sound survey.

The Homewood-Flossmoor Park District found that a qualified consultant brought the quality results it was looking for. An outside firm or consultant will be able to design and develop the instrument, pre-test it, select an appropriate sample, oversee data collection, edit and process the data, insure confidentiality of individual respondents and provide the agency with a professionally prepared document. The survey should be completed within six months. Done in-house, the same project would probably take a minimum of 12 months.

Furthermore, it may not be cost effective to use staff members for such a project. Recreation supervisors' time is much more valuable when used in a capacity for which they have been trained. Most graduates in the recreation and parks field have received professional preparation relative to needs assessment and survey techniques, but such training is limited in comparison to that of an accomplished specialist. Lastly, when an outside interest is employed to develop a survey, it often carries more creditability within the community.

Many agencies doing surveys without outside help often run into problems meeting deadlines. In some cases, there was an eight to 12-month period before the survey was completed, thus making the results somewhat outdated.

Concerns about hiring a consultant for a community survey vary. The better and more reputable a firm is, the fewer the problems you can expect.

The major advantage of completing a survey in-house is that existing staff and community resources can be used. In most cases, actual cost can be cut by 50 percent. This allows the agency to have complete control over the outcome of the project. However, before attempting this method, it is recommended that you have the adequate resources such as staff time, computer time, clerical and administrative support and a project director who has an extensive background in surveys and research. Without the above, you may be wasting your time and your taxpayers' dollars.

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