Market Research Award

Presented to a local government market research strategy that has enabled the authority to better understand the needs of its citizens, through the use of ad-hoc surveys, regular consultations and new delivery methods/technologies.

Winner: Westminster City Council

Westminster City Council's Research and Customer Insight Team helps drive the performance of one of the most successful and well regarded council's in the country.  Market research helped it to deliver a rapid response to the threat of recession, reductions in the fear of crime and an improved reputation for the council. 

In the 2008 Place Survey, Westminster was one of only 16 authorities out of 351 to deliver an improved satisfaction rating with the work of the council. This continual improvement is a direct result of the tracking nature of Westminster's research approach. Every quarter 500 residents are interviewed by telephone as part of the Reputation Tracker.  By constantly tracking resident opinion, councillors and senior managers are aware of what is working and can make quick, informed decisions to change policies and tackle issues arising. 

Research data allowed the council to make a swift policy decision and initiate a City Recovery programme in August 2008, before the recession fully materialised. The programme has now helped over 1,000 residents and 1,000 businesses deal with the impact of the economic downturn. During this time the number of residents who think Westminster provides value for money has gone up, despite the worst recession since the 1930s.

Since 2005 the number of people who say their life is affected by fear of crime has dropped by a third from 38% to 24% in 2010. This substantial drop, in the heart of London, has been driven by close working with the police and Safer Neighbourhood Teams to focus on local issues and local community communications. Underpinning this is a large scale telephone survey of residents which delivers quarterly data on concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour.

The research identified the fear; the communication team developed the right message and the police and local community workers delivered real world change and community engagement.    
At the end of 2008 satisfaction with the council rose to 85%, as shown by its large scale residents' survey - the City Survey - where annual data goes back to 2003.  In 2009 and into 2010 satisfaction has been consolidated above the 80% mark. This was possible because the council understood what delivered the initial rise and how to maintain it.

Commended

London Borough of Hillingdon
Merseyside Road Safety Partnership
West Sussex County Council