Citizen participation: the importance of questionnaire design in public consultations

Abstract

This research investigates the significance of the first question and its complexity level together with the questionnaire length when designing questionnaires for implementation in urban public spaces. Two survey processes were conducted in the city centre of Leuven, Belgium, utilizing two different surveys deployed through the Citizen Dialog Kit (CDK, www.citizendialogkit.org ), an interactive digital tool that enables the development of surveys on interactive screens to collect the opinions of passers-by. The CDK is recognized as the only operational digital tool that facilitates citizen participation through cable-free public displays, featuring battery-powered, high-resolution e-paper screens that consume less energy and remain readable in direct sunlight. It facilitates the presentation of responsive surveys and enables real-time tracking and remote content updates to accommodate changing requirements. The survey used during the first deployment included eleven questions, with the first one being more complex: "Bottom-up urban areas can be understood as places where citizens feel empowered and they make their voices heard. Do you think there are bottom-up urban areas in Leuven?". In contrast, the survey used during the second deployment comprised eight straightforward questions, with the first one being, "Do you think there are cultural and creative places in Leuven where citizens feel empowered and can make their voices heard?". This study aimed to compare the level of participation between deployment 1, which featured a simple questionnaire displayed on the CDK, and deployment 2, which included a more complex questionnaire in terms of conceptual depth and number of questions. The surveys were conducted between Wednesday, June 14, and Thursday, June 15, for deployment 1, and between Wednesday, June 21, and Thursday, June 22, for deployment 2. The results obtained revealed significant differences in participation rates. In deployment 1, 87 individuals interacted with the CDK, with 72 (82.76%) completing the questionnaire. Conversely, in Experiment 2, 58 individuals interacted with the CDK, and only 38 (65.52%) completed the questionnaire. These findings suggest a substantial decline in survey participation as the complexity of the questionnaire increases. While a more complex survey may yield data with a deeper meaning, it necessitates more time for development and compromises the representativeness of the results. The choice between questionnaire complexity and participation level is each researcher’s choice, and depends on the specific requirements of the study.