Niagara Region Residents Survey

A presentation to the Niagara Region

June 27, 2018
 Methodology and demographics
• Using the 2012 survey as a base, PRA worked closely with representative
from the Niagara Region to design a questionnaire that addressed current key
issues.

• Survey was pretested and averaged 15 minutes.

• The sample included a mix of landlines and cellphone numbers

• In total, 1,200 interviews were completed between April 16 and May 18, 2018.

• Overall results are accurate to ± 2.9%, 19 times out of 20, with the margin of
error increasing for sub-populations (i.e., age groups) as the sample size
decreases.

• Data has been weighted by region, gender, and age, based on 2016 Census
figures so that it is representative of Niagara Region’s adult population.

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Satisfaction
 Quality of life in Niagara Region
• Almost 9 in 10 say their quality of life is good (32%), very good
(36%), or excellent (19%).
• This is up significantly from 2012.

Overall quality of life: Over time

3% 7%
9%
13%

32%

38%

55%
42%

2018 (n = 1,200) 2012 (n = 1,202)

Excellent/Very good Good Fair Poor/Very poor

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 Service Satisfaction
Service satisfaction
(n = 1,200)
Q7-23. How satisfied are you with the Niagara Region when it comes to...

Garbage/recycling collection 48% 41%

89%
Ambulance/paramedic services 45% 38%
84%
Water/sewer systems 34% 45%
79%
Public health programs/services 32% 44%
76%
Info on health inspection results 23% 46% 69%
Info about regional government services 14% 51% 65%
Road construction/maintenance 11% 45% 55%
Care/support for seniors 18% 37% 55%
Planning/managing development 10% 42% 52%
Economic development 11% 39%
49%
Childcare services 14% 32% 46%
Homelessness shelter/prevention 9% 35% 44%
Public transit 11% 29% 40%
Affordable housing 8% 30% 38%

Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied

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 Satisfaction with services
• Many of those services where a majority are not satisfied,
respondents said they simply did not know.
– child care services (38% did not know),
– public transit between municipalities (24%),
– providing shelter and programs to prevent homelessness (21%), and
– affordable housing (19%)

• There are seven services for which a large proportion of residents

are dissatisfied. This ranges from:
– 30% for information about regional government services to
– 43% for road construction and maintenance.

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 Dissatisfied with service
Service satisfaction
(n = 1,200)
Q7-23. How satisfied are you with the Niagara Region when it comes to...

Road construction/maintenance 11% 45% 2% 25% 19%

Affordable housing 8% 30% 19% 24% 19%

Economic development 11% 39% 10% 23% 18%

Planning/managing development 10% 42% 10% 22% 16%

Public transit 11% 29% 24% 18% 18%

Homelessness shelter/prevention 9% 35% 21% 22% 13%

Info about regional government services 14% 51% 5% 20% 10%

Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied Don't know Somewhat dissatisfied Very dissatisfied

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 Most are satisfied overall
– 8 in 10 are very (24%) or somewhat (57%) satisfied
– Younger residents (93% of those 18 to 29) are more likely to be
satisfied than older (77% of those 45 to 64).
Overall satisfaction with services: Over time

18%
21%

81%
76%

2018 (n = 1,200) 2012 (n = 1,202)

Very/somewhat satisfied Very/somewhat dissatisfied Don't know

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Communications
 Information from Niagara Region
• Having asked them about their satisfaction with services that some did not
know much about, many residents also felt they had too little information
about government services or programs in the Niagara region.

Amount of information from Niagara Region

(n = 1,200)
Q36. Generally, do you receive too much, too little, or about the right amount of information
about government services or programs in the Niagara Region?

51%

44%

3% 3%

Too little About the right amount Too much Don't know

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 Information sources
• In 2018, to get information on programs and services provided by Niagara Region,
residents said they would go to: the Region’s website, newspaper articles or the
computer, Internet, or Google in general (which likely takes them to the Region’s
website).

• These sources have changed overtime.

Source of information: Over time
76%

53%

44%

24%
18%
16%
13%
9%

0%

2018 (n = 1,200) 2012 (n = 1,202) 2009 (n = 2,499)

Region's website Newspaper articles (print or online) Computer/Internet/Google

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 Experience with contact
• Those who have contacted Niagara Region tend to report being
satisfied with their experience.
• Satisfaction appears to be higher in 2018 than six years ago when
contacting the region by:
– Telephone
– In person
– E-mail
• Satisfaction remains high and unchanged when visiting the
Region’s website to get information

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 Overall satisfaction with contact
Telephone In person

81% 72% 26% 83% 30%

18% 67%
14%
1% 2% 2% 2%
2018 (n = 255) 2012 (n = 288) 2018 (n = 48) 2012 (n =156)

Very/somewhat satisfied Very/somewhat dissatisfied Don't know Very/somewhat satisfied Very/somewhat dissatisfied Don't know

Website E-mail

91% 90%
78% 33%
22% 64%
9% 9%
1% 3%
2018 (n = 107) 2012 (n = 252) 2018 (n = 35) 2012 (n =108)

Very/somewhat satisfied Very/somewhat dissatisfied Don't know Very/somewhat satisfied Very/somewhat dissatisfied Don't know

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 Trust information from Niagara Region
• 8 in 10 residents report that they trust information from Niagara
Region.
Trust information from Niagara Region
(n = 1,200)
Q39. How much do you trust the information you receive from the Niagara Region? Do you...

58%

22%

11%

4% 3% 2%

Completely Somewhat Somewhat Completely Depends on the Don't know

trust it trust it distrust it distrust it information/issue

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 Interest in participation methods
• Only 1 in 4 would definitely participate in even the most passive activities:
read an electronic newsletter, use a directory of services, read info ads in
local newspapers.

Interest in methods of participation

(n = 1,200)
Q45-Q52. Please rate how likely you would be to personally participate in each using a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 means you
definitely would not and 10 means you definitely would participate.

Read an electronic newsletter 26% 26% 47%

Use a directory of services sent in the mail 25% 28% 46%

Read information ads in local newspapers 24% 23% 52%

Read online information ads on local newspaper websites 20% 27% 51%

Attend in-person public meeting 17% 26% 57%

Use social media websites to discuss initiatives 15% 15% 70%

Participate in online discussions 9% 16% 75%

Watch online Regional Council meetings 7% 12% 80%

Would participate (9 or 10 out of 10) Might participate (7 or 8) Not likely to participate (0 to 6)

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