Nov 16, 2010
Community Decision-Making Process: when will it begin?
With the History of Membership meetings behind us, I was curious about the next step in the Community Decision-Making Process (CDMP). Last week, I spoke with Interim Membership Registrar Rodney Thomas to get an update. You can listen to the interview in the audio section of the site.
Thomas mentioned that independent consultant, Lori Jacobs, is carrying out a random telephone survey on behalf of the Social Development Unit. The survey is the same one that was handed out during September’s History of Membership meetings.
The reason for the phone survey? Low participation at September’s meetings. Approximately 50 questionnaires were collected and MCK needs nearly 400 responses to represent an accurate cross-section of the community, said Thomas.
There were only a handful of people at the meeting that I attended. We were given an information package with a questionnaire, copy of the membership law and a copy of the membership PowerPoint presentation. Completing this kind of questionnaire over the phone can prove challenging. It’s not a simple customer satisfaction survey. I had to read the questions several times and think about the possible outcomes provided by each option. At the meeting, I was informed to include any additional comments in cases where my responses didn’t fit into the choices provided.
The comments portion is prolonging what was initially expected to be a 3-week phone survey. “The questionnaire may take 20 minutes but it’s the conversation that ensues afterwards,” said Thomas.
The good news about the surveys is that they are open to youth, 16 years and older. “In the end, anybody who’s under 18 is going to have to live with these decisions for a long time. We want the input of the youth,” said Thomas.
The information from the surveys needs to be compiled and presented to the community before the CDMP can begin. The CDMP is postponed to the new year.
Have you been contacted for a phone survey?
Do you plan on attending the CDMP? What would you like to see included in the meetings?