Questions for a community survey should be designed as a combination of closed and open-ended questions. Closed questions provide an opportunity to track changes in stakeholder responses during subsequent survey events, whilst open-ended questions provide opportunities for stakeholders to provide insight into issues/concerns or positive aspects of a project/activity.
Example questions that may be included in a community survey include:
- Have you heard about the company?
- How would you characterise your level of trust in the company? [use a Likert scale]
- How would you rate your current attitude towards the company? [use a Likert scale]
- What impact do you think the company has on your community? [use a Likert scale]
- Are there any aspects of the project/activity you are concerned about? If yes, please select your concerns [provide multiple options]
- How do you currently receive information
related to the project/activity? [provide multiple options] - How would you like to receive information related to the project/activity in the future? [provide multiple options]
- Have you attended any community events or engagement sessions conducted by the company?
- Are you satisfied with the current level of engagement carried out by the company? [provide multiple options / use a Likert scale]
- Do you believe your feedback made a difference to the way the project/activity was carried out?
- Have you used the company’s grievance mechanism? Do you know who you can contact if you have an issue or concern about the company’s activities?
- How would you characterise the company’s approach to managing community concerns? [use a Likert scale]
- What improvements do you think the company could make to managing community concerns associated with the project/activity?