Why are you doing mailed surveys and online surveys?
The survey issued via U.S. mail is a scientific survey with recipients selected at random to ensure a scientifically valid result. The same survey is available to anyone else interested in voluntarily participating in the survey to ensure their thoughts are considered. The data results will be separated from the scientifically valid survey data, but all results will be analyzed and researched anonymously.
How will you assure that you’re surveying a cross-section of the community?
Polco’s National Research Center, which is conducting the survey, uses all best practice methods in survey research, including over sampling multifamily units to decrease non-response bias, using a multi-contact method to improve response rates, and statistical weighting of the survey data. The five-page survey sent to 4,500 Marin households will have an approximate margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.
Why should I participate in the survey? What is the value of the survey? We are committed to engaging our community. By taking time to complete the survey, you will help the County to set priorities that inform decisions that could affect everyone. The County’s decision makers, including the Board of Supervisors and the leaders who run our 22 departments, will review the results and use them as a guide for creating plans to improve services and ensure they are provided where they are needed the most.
How long will it take to fill out?
Approximately 20 minutes.
If I participate in the mailed survey, how long will I have to send it back?
Your completed mailed survey needs to be received by June 6. The online survey opens for all individuals living in Marin County not randomly selected for the scientific survey will also be open through June 6.
When will we find out the survey results?
The survey results will be available to the public in late summer 2023.
If we respond, will you have our private info and use that later on?
No, survey responses are completely anonymous, and the data will not be used for other purposes unless you choose to complete the online survey and register for updates or future surveys.
I doubt that you are interested in my opinion, since I rarely leave my home. Should I really complete the survey?
Yes, we are here to serve all individuals and it is important to us that we get feedback from a complete cross-section of our community members.
Why is “Hispanic” separate from “Race”?
We want to compare the demographic profile of those responding to the demographic profile of Marin as presented by the U.S. Census Bureau. To be able to do this, we asked our race and ethnicity question the same way the census does. The census designates Hispanic as an ethnicity, not a race.
Why did you select Polco’s National Research Center to do the survey?
National Research Center was selected in 2018. Selecting the same vendor provides benchmark data that allows us to compare results with the 2019 survey, as well as to compare ourselves to other communities nationwide. National Research Center does this in affiliation with the International City/County Management Association.
How accurate will the survey be?
The survey will have a confidence interval of 95 percent and an approximate margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.
How will you assure that the online responses come from local people?
National Research Center geocodes the sample to ensure that all addresses are within the limits of Marin County for the five-page survey to 4,500 households.
How much is the County spending on this?
The County has contracted with the National Research Center to conduct the comprehensive, scientific survey. It will be paid $43,000 for this service. That figure is in line with what we’ve paid for other resident surveys over the past 15 years.
Did your previous surveys result in tangible changes in County policy or services?
Yes. The most recent resident survey was conducted in 2018. One area of clear feedback was the county’s need for additional wildfire prevention activities. Building upon what we learned from respondents about the public’s high interest in emergency and wildfire preparedness, the Board brought forward Measure C to voters in March 2020, a special tax charged to all parcels of real property located in Marin County, to fund the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority, a multi-jurisdictional agency focused on preventing and mitigating wildfires throughout Marin.