Staff liaison (identified in meeting materials as Fernanda) updated the commission on the community needs assessment, the city’s consulting arrangement and the proposed data‑collection approach.

Fernanda said the city is working with a subcontractor (referred to in agenda materials as Evertu/Evitarus) to design data collection and that the assessment timeline was extended to 12 months while the contract and sample size are finalized. “I think we are looking at 400 responses at this point,” Fernanda said, and said the consultant’s subcontract portion of the budget is expected to be not more than 10 percent.

Commissioners pressed for clarity about representativeness. One commissioner warned the sample could be skewed if outreach channels are not monitored during collection and asked for an explicit backup plan if the first wave proves unrepresentative. The commissioner urged staff to “still record either the nonresponse or meaning people chose not to respond…Nonresponse is a response.”

Staff said the city will consult on whether the sample should represent the full Sunnyvale population or registered voters, and emphasized plans to use trusted community partners — library and recreation services, school district contacts, faith‑based organizations and business networks — to reach undercounted groups. Staff also noted the current political climate could reduce response rates and that qualitative interviews and targeted outreach will be used to supplement the survey.

Fernanda said the consultant will deliver a data‑collection methodology and be responsible for securing the target number of responses; staff committed to presenting finalized sample‑size and procurement details at the December meeting.

Commissioners recommended staff require the vendor to document sampling checks during collection and to include a contingency plan (additional waves or targeted outreach) if the dataset proves nonrepresentative.