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City hires DHM Research for statistically valid community survey; questionnaire and field dates set
Summary
The council heard a briefing from DHM Research on a statistically valid municipal survey (hybrid phone/text) paired with an open community engagement survey; staff and DHM outlined questionnaire length, sampling approach (n≈250), a 95% confidence interval and a timeline beginning in early May with final combined results due in late June.
City staff and DHM Research briefed the council on April 15 about a planned two-track community survey: a statistically valid sample of Tumwater residents and a broader community-engagement (opt-in) survey. The city selected DHM through an RFP process; DHM staff said the firm specializes in representative survey work for Pacific Northwest local governments.
Devin (DHM director of research) and Kara Kornochik (DHM research manager) described a hybrid outreach approach (phone calls and text messages) intended to produce a representative sample across age, gender, race/ethnicity, income, and education. DHM said the statistically valid sample goal is roughly 250 respondents, which they estimated would produce a margin of error around ±6.3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. They explained that the statistically valid effort is separate from an open community-engagement version (QR codes, online, event-based collection) so the city can compare the representative baseline with feedback from more engaged constituencies.
DHM summarized proposed questionnaire themes: overall community mood; government performance and priorities; public safety; economy; growth and development; homelessness; and city communications (what residents know about city work). Staff and DHM said the questionnaire will target a 12–15 minute completion time and rely primarily on closed-response items with a limited number of open-ended questions.
Key dates presented: council to receive the draft questionnaire April 18; comments due April 24; final questionnaire approval April 30; statistically valid survey fieldwork beginning May 2 for about 12 days; community-engagement survey to follow with roughly a month in-field; and a combined full report due June 23 (with top-line results provided earlier). DHM said it will produce cross-tabulations and visualized data and will deliver both top-line and full reports. Councilmembers asked about youth representation, outreach to non-residents with local ties (businesses, workers, tribal entities), and ways to encourage participation (signage, QR codes, partner outreach); DHM said those items will be included in the community-engagement track and staff outreach.
Why it matters: The survey is intended to provide a statistically representative baseline of community opinions and a separate avenue for more engaged constituencies; staff said the results will inform strategic planning and communications work.
