About the DirectionFinder® Survey
About the DirectionFinder® Resident Satisfaction Survey
What Is ETC Institute’s DirectionFinder® Resident Satisfaction Survey?
In 1999, ETC Institute developed a core set of questions, called DirectionFinder® to help local governments objectively assess satisfaction with and priorities for local governmental services. Since then, more than 900 cities and counties in 49 states have used ETC Institute’s DirectionFinder® survey.
In 2016, ETC Institute began developing more surveys that were tailored to the needs of specific departments, such as our DirectionFinder® Parks and Recreation Survey and our DirectionFinder® Library Survey. For this reason, the name of the original DirectionFinder® survey was changed to ETC Institute’s DirectionFinder® Resident Satisfaction Survey.
What Is the Source of the Data for This Dashboard?
The data presented in this dashboard comes from two sources:
A National Survey of U.S. Residents. The national and regional results in the dashboard come from a national survey that was administered by ETC Institute to a random sample of 9,457 U.S. residents in all 50 states during January and February 2022. The sample was managed to ensure that the demographic composition of the sample would be similar to the U.S. Census Bureau’s estimates for the U.S. population with regard to age, race, and gender. The sample was also designed to ensure that at least 400 surveys were completed from each of 10 geographic regions. The overall results of the national survey have an accuracy of at least +/-1.4% at the 95% level of confidence. The results for each of the 10 regions have an accuracy of at least +/-4.9% at the 95% level of confidence. This survey will be repeated on an annual basis and trends will be provided in future years.
Individual Community Surveys. The performance ranges that are shown in “Top Performers” section of the dashboard are derived from surveys that were administered by ETC Institute in more than 300 communities since 2015. The results for the “Top 10% of Communities” and “Top 25% of Communities” reflect the rating needed to rank in the top 10% or top 25% of all communities that have been surveyed by ETC Institute during the past three years. The top 3 communities in each category are listed by name (in some cases more than three are listed if there was a tie). Communities that rank in the top 10% of the composite score for the (1) overall quality of services, (2) overall value for local taxes and fees, and (3) overall quality of customer service will receive ETC Institute’s prestigious “Leading the Way Award” for excellence in the delivery of local governmental services.
How Can I Get More Information?
For more information, please contact Jason Morado, Director of Community Research, at Jason.Morado@etcinstitute.com or 913-829-1215.
Data within ETC Institute’s DirectionFinder Dashboard Series cannot be published without written consent from ETC Institute
For consent to publish any data from ETC Institute’s DirectionFinder Dashboard Series, please contact Jason Morado, Vice President of Community Research, at Jason.Morado@etcinstitute.com or 913-829-1215.