21 June 2012

Younger voices and boundary change residents required for Email Panel

The Palmerston North City Council is keen to increase the number of younger residents on its Email Panel and include representatives from the boundary change areas.

The Email Panel is made up of 400 randomly selected residents who answer monthly surveys. The surveys are emailed to panellists who respond by clicking on appropriate buttons and typing in responses to open ended questions.

The information gathered gives Councillors and Council mangers information from the ‘silent majority’ that we would not otherwise get. This improves the quality of Council’s decision making, helps with policy and plan development and also assists monitoring community outcomes.

Questions are asked about a whole range of topics, including rates options for the Draft Annual Plan, how safe people feel and how prepared people are for civil defence emergencies. All responses are kept anonymous.

Rock Research administers the monthly surveys and keeps the panel membership up to date. Rock Research is an independent Online Market Research company based in Lower Hutt.

Andrew Boyle, Head of Community Planning, says that over the next week or two the research company will be contacting randomly selected Palmerston North residents in a bid to find more people who are willing to partake in the anonymous Email Panel. “I want to reassure those who receive a phone call that that this is a bona fide project,” Mr Boyle said.

ENDS

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