Councils and Consultation
Policy drivers
Under severe pressure to deliver 'more for less', local
government is at the forefront of the re-shaping landscape of local
public services. The continuing obligation to inform, consult,
involve and empower is likely to remain a government expectation,
while centrally directed regulatory and performance frameworks such
as the Local Area Agreement and Audit Commission inspection are
likely to give way to opportunities for more locally-derived
performance goals to be set by the authority itself.
This reinforces a growing requirement for authorities and
Strategic Partnerships to research their own consumer-based
performance indicators, much as M·E·L Research has done over recent
years for the West Norfolk Partnership. The new policy setting
means less demand for standard, costly, off-the-shelf mass-market
surveys beloved of the conventional market research firms, and a
greater need for the more customised, research and
intelligence-driven information in which we specialise at M·E·L
Research.
To meet these new, more cost-effective requirements M·E·L
Research is re-vamping its local authority service offer. While
continuing to provide standard surveys if required, we are
upgrading and tailoring our capability to create high quality,
specialist customer insight research. In particular, using social
segmentation mapping and GIS techniques for ACORN and Mosaic
projection, helps target service development, communications and
specialist service access. Our enhancements also include developing
conventional Citizens Panels into more pro-active customer feedback
systems, with more empowered citizens giving high quality service
user intelligence; offering a specialist 'council reputation'
survey capability; boosting online citizen engagement interface
opportunities; and in particular, developing qualitative techniques
involving deliberative research, workshop and focus group panels
based on the 'expert resident' role.
Our expertise
- Resident surveys
- Research on access to services
- Council Reputation surveys
- Citizens Panels
- Staff surveys
- Evaluations
- Customer Services consultation
- Mystery Shopping
- Training residents to be community researchers
- GIS mapping
Case Studies
Birmingham City Council Nectar Incentive Scheme Evaluation
Community
Interviewers Training
Coventry Healthy
Lifestyle Project
Kings Norton NDC
PCSO Project Evaluation
Low
Income Families Consultation
Oxford City
Citizens Panel
People and Places
Customer Insight Guide
Sandwell ASB Survey
Sandwell
Childcare Consultation
Telford
and Wrekin Mystery Shopping
Tracking
Reputation Survey
Walsall Libraries
Consultation
West
Norfolk Quality of Life Survey
Account Manager: Helen Bryce
For further information on any of our Councils and Consultation
services or to speak to someone informally about your requirements,
contact Helen Bryce (0121 604
4664)
Team: Click here to see
our team structure