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1. Why is the City surveying City residents?

The City wants to know how City residents feel about the quality of services they receive from City government and what areas need improvement.

2. What is in the survey?

The survey includes general questions about perceptions of Winston-Salem as a place to live and work, and in-depth questions about satisfaction with various City services, ranging from how well the City communicates with the public to opinions about:

• Fire
• Police
• Public transportation
• Recreation
• Sanitation
• Streets
• Other City functions

3. What is the last time the City conducted a survey?

The city surveyed its residents in 2018 and 2019. Collecting repeated surveys provides timely feedback to management and elected officials and helps then detect trends.

4. What will the City do with the results?

The results will be presented to the City Council, so that council members can take this information into account as they set City priorities. Council members and City staff also will use the results to identify areas for improvement and direct City resources, as needed, to assist in making improvements. Because this year’s survey is very similar to the 2018 and 2019 surveys, the City will be able to compare results year-over-year. Additionally, the information will allow the City Council and City staff to compare our performance with other cities in North Carolina and throughout the southeast region.

5. How many surveys were distributed?

Approximately 10,000 surveys were mailed to randomly selected City residents.

6. How did the City determine who received a survey in the mail?

The City retained an outside firm, ETC Institute, to put together the sample size and come up with a random mailing list that would be representative of the City population by geographic area and other demographic factors.

7. How will the City ensure that the results reflect the views of all City residents?

The survey firm will track the responses and then weigh the results to ensure that the survey is representative of the overall City population. If necessary, the firm will conduct follow-up surveys in the event that some demographic groups are too underrepresented to provide a valid sample.

8. If the City wants the survey results to reflect the City population, why is it allowing voluntary participation?

The City wants to be as inclusive as possible in soliciting input from City residents, which is why is it allowing voluntary participation through the https://20winstonsalem.etcmain2.com/index.php/845412/newtest/Y/lang/en/845412X4285X44561/welcome/845412X4285X44573/CU/.

9. Is the survey for voluntary participants the same as the surveys that were mailed?

Yes, the survey for voluntary participants is the same as the mailed surveys.

10. Why do I have to provide such information as gender, race, income bracket, age, etc. on the survey?

For the surveys that are mailed, this information will enable the survey firm to make sure the results are representative of the City as a whole. For online surveys completed by voluntary participants, it will help the City better understand the results and identify trends. In either case, information on specific individuals is not made available to the City. The vendor uses it to identify trends but does not provide the City the information about individual respondents.