Have questions that need answers? Institute’s survey can help

If your agency or organization would like an affordable, reliable way to gauge public opinion and attitudes, the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute’s annual survey of Mecklenburg County residents is available for your survey research needs.

For more than 30 years, the institute’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg Annual Survey has been a resource for local governments and nonprofit agencies to affordably assess community attitudes about issues important to their work.

For instance, a spring 2013 survey sponsored by the Community Building Initiative found that while most people in Mecklenburg agreed the community is a welcoming place, the survey found a lower level of agreement with that view among Hispanics/Latinos. (See “Survey: Mecklenburg seen as generally welcoming.”) The Community Building Initiative is a Charlotte nonprofit that promotes inclusion and equity among ethnic, racial and other groups.

Using a collaborative approach, participating agencies share the cost of conducting the survey; each agency pays only for the questions it wants to ask. That cost includes key demographic questions, such as gender, age, race and ethnicity, income and employment status.

The institute can assist with question design, data analysis and presentation of the results, such as data visualizations.

The next survey is scheduled for October. Questions are being accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Interested local governments and nonprofit agencies can submit their questions at any time during the year for consultation, but should submit their questions at least 45 days before the survey is scheduled to begin.

More detailed information about the survey, including schedule and pricing is available here or by visiting /programs/annual-survey.

Staff contact: Claire Apaliski at capalisk@charlotte.edu or at 704-687-1189.