Understanding local opinions

The importance of localised research

The views of local people sit at the heart of effective decision-making. Effective community engagement and planning necessitates understanding the views of local residents and businesses.

By enabling our clients to understand the views of particular local populations, we support them in achieving key organisational objectives.

Traditional methods of engagement, such as public consultations, are an important tool for local engagement. However, these only capture the opinions of the most engaged people and can lead to the silent majority being overlooked in favour of a more vocal minority.

Savanta’s ability to engage with a representative cross-section of the local population allows you to understand the true nature of local attitudes. This allows you to design plans that have the support of the community and create communications strategies that will resonate with local people.

Localised research lets you understand attitudes among a precise geographical area, which is essential to:

Inform local plans, initiatives or developments

Working effectively at a local level requires an understanding of the population in that area. Any decision-making process should be informed by robust evidence of what the local population think and want.

Develop and inform communications

Effective local engagement requires an understanding of the channels that people are receptive to, and the messages that will cut-through with them.

Measure change over time

Tracking research means you can assess the progress of initiatives or developments, and whether these are delivering on their objectives. This in turn enables course-correction as circumstances or opinions change.

Demonstrate local people’s attitudes

When engaging with decision-makers and senior stakeholders, it is essential to have reliable evidence of community support for your proposals.

We will engage the people that matter most to your organisation, and provide you with the critical insights needed to take positive decisions. Whether your organisation is looking to develop a new local plan, improve the provision of services or deliver a new development, we will tailor the audience, discussions and reporting around your needs. Find out how by downloading our full localised research overview here.