Dumfries and Galloway - Council Survey Software
Overview
The Planning & Environment Services Directorate is organised into two Strategic Groups:
• Economic Regeneration
• Sustainable Development
Planning and Environment Services are working towards achieving the Customer Service Excellence standard set by the Cabinet Office. As part of this journey, the Directorate highlighted a need to review the consultation methods in use to ensure they continued to be effective, wide reaching and accessible.
Problem
Planning and Environment Services had historically relied mainly on paper based surveys. The paper based surveys were not engaging all of the council's customers and were therefore limiting the feedbackfrom certain hard to reach and minority groups.
Consequently, surveys were rarely completed in full, results were inconsistently reported and the campaign spend was disproportionately high for the level of useable response data.
Solution
CRT’s ViewPoint Touch Screen and ViewPoint PDAs'.
Using the ViewPoint Touch Screen, Planning and Environment Services have seen improved response rates, particularly from hard to reach groups. The ViewPoint touch screen has also been used at annual events within the region including the ‘Muckle Doo’ in August. It was found that children readily used the unit and added comments which would otherwise have been difficult to gather.
Whilst the touch screen and PDA hardware has been effective in improving response rates and engagement with different groups, the survey software has had the biggest impact on the organisation.
Previously, responses were manually collated and added to spreadsheets and databases. This took a substantial amount of staff time and often resulted in a significant delay between the survey being completed and results being made available.
The ViewPoint RCS software, which manages all the devices through an easy to use interface, has provided a means by which surveys can be created far more quickly and consistently, and the results reviewed and analysis instantly - driving down costs and improving efficiencies.
"Overall the system, planned and used properly, will bring a consistent, low cost, high return approach to consultation, which will bring significant benefits to our Service Planning and Delivery.”
Bruce Aitken, Business Support Manager
Benefits
• Improved consultation ‘out in the field’
• Easier to engage with children
• Administrative efficiencies gained
• Improved accuracy of data
• Increased options for data manipulation and reporting
• Reduced costs
• Increased return on investment
• Enhanced service development
