Client:Pinellas County

Industry: Government

Challenge: Pinellas County needed to better understand their residents in an effort to make appropriate decisions for their fiscal budget.

Solution: Given the company’s extensive background in market research and development studies, HCP was commissioned by Pinellas County to help refine, execute and analyze citizens’ research studies. The topics of the research reflect topics of concern or interest held by the County.

The most recent survey conducted by HCP for Pinellas County centered on the topic of budget cuts for 2012. The County was approaching a deadline for finalizing its 2012 budget, and the only information at hand was feedback from county representatives and a handful of residents that attended town hall meetings. A representative sampling of citizen feedback was the missing element to help the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) make important budgetary decisions.

This study was designed as a telephonic survey, and was devised to gather feedback from Pinellas County residents regarding their perceived priority and preference for various county services.Pinellas County would soon use the data in conjunction with online survey results, town hall meeting feedback and BCC priorities, to adjust the 2012 Budget.

Responses were collected telephonically to yield a timely reflection of County resident sentiment. A Random Digit Dialing (RDD) methodology was used to include both landline and cell phone numbers within the study footprint. The number of residents surveyed made the survey statistically valid, and reflects a comprehensive sampling of Pinellas County residents.

Results were thoroughly analyzed and reported to Pinellas County Communication. The report was then published online and reviewed by HCP with the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners.