Activating opinion survey

Activating opinion survey

An activating opinion survey is

• a citizen participation method;
• a method to determine risk, culture and ethics aspects in urban environments;
• helps to identify the security culture of the specific city/town/urban environment;
• supports security related urban planning;
• a method to reach participation in planning process.

An activating opinion survey aims for gaining information on residents’ views, attitudes and perceptions. I can be applied to issues on risks, ethics aspects and on cultural factors informing security culture. The methods further allows for encouraging the citizens to stand up for their interests and to participate in general and security related developing plans and urban development.

It is a good instrument in the light of

• the designing out approach
• the designing in concept
• etc.

Process

Key individuals and residents are interviewed, material is evaluated and observations are made. Residents are informed in writing about the actual survey in advance; trained interviewers use an interview skeleton with open questions to do one-to-one interviews. In contrast to most conventional surveys, an activating opinion survey is not a one-off event, but the kick-off to a fairly long-term process; so it involves a good deal of organization in advance and subsequent work.

The survey is evaluated and the results presented to the residents, with the aim of defining steps toward realization. Interest or action groups are formed with a view to this.

Help in addressing cultural/ethics aspects in planning of secure public spaces

The aim is to identify the residents’ fears, wishes and worries. They further are asked what solutions occur to them, and how interested they would be in taking part in implementing the ideas in question. The method is in particular suitable for finding out the interests and needs (in general and in cultural and ethical terms) of people living in a particular area.

Further reading

• Different participation methods and their use - Working document for the natreg-handbook: http://www.natreg.eu/uploads/podobe/NATREG_%20participation%20techniques_overview_trainingmaterials.pdf [last access: 2012-08-21];
• Participation & sustainable development in Europe: http://www.partizipation.at/activating-opinion.html [last access: 2012-04-10];
• Standards of Public Participation - Recommendations for Good Practice: http://www.partizipation.at/fileadmin/media_data/Downloads/Standards_OeB/oebs_standards_engl_finale_web.pdf [last access: 2012-08-21]

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