1 A client proposed a mixed-use real estate development and conducted a survey of residents in the community prior to any public announcement of the project.
Questions included: What were the most important problems residents thought the community faced? Did residents support or oppose growth? Did they think development provided financial resources to solve community problems? What new problems would development create? What kind of development was appropriate and what was not? Where in the community did they think new development should occur? What opinion leaders did they respect and not respect? With the answers to these questions, information describing the project was prepared and distributed with emphasis on the solutions it provided to community problems.
2 A company had been a sole provider of services in a community for many years. A local government agency then enacted an ordinance that specifically encouraged a second provider to enter the local market.
The company needed to know immediately how the public felt about the ordinance so it could decide whether to gather signatures within 30 days and launch a referendum campaign or pursue other remedies. A questionnaire was quickly drafted, fielded and the results tabulated within a three-day period. The company was able to make its decision in a timely manner.
3 Several businesses were attempting to prevent local government from increasing taxes and wanted to enlist public support for their point of view.
A survey was developed to help decide how to accomplish these goals. Residents were asked how well they thought the government was doing and how the government should balance its budget. The respondents were asked about trade-offs between levels of public services and levels of taxation paid by residents and businesses. Attitudes toward the role of business in the community also were explored in depth. Out of this, the group developed and implemented a communications strategy that prevailed on a number of key public policy issues.
