Grand Rapids seeks residents’ opinions through brief surveys

Grand Rapids seeks residents’ opinions through brief surveys
<strong>Photo by iStock</strong>

The city of Grand Rapids wants residents to make their voice heard through responses to quick, anonymous surveys sent directly to their inbox or phone.

Through a partnership with FlashVote, the city plans to issue periodic short-form surveys that will collect timely resident feedback on current municipal topics of concern. City staff is now encouraging residents to sign up so they can share their opinions on a variety of subjects.

Assistant City Manager Doug Matthews said FlashVote enables the city to distribute short, three-to-five-question surveys on timely city issues through email, phone call or text message — depending on the method the participant chooses. Matthews said surveys will cover a wide range of topics like public safety concerns, budget formation, housing, recreation, upcoming city events and more.

After a resident signs up to be part of the survey pool, they will quickly receive a notification whenever a survey is launched by the city of Grand Rapids. Participants will have up to 48 hours to complete the survey before it closes. Once the survey closes, FlashVote immediately tabulates all the responses and provides the results to Grand Rapids City Hall staff, the city commission and the public.

The initiative is aligned with the city’s engaged and connected community strategic priority. It calls for residents and stakeholders to be aware of and have a voice in decisions that affect them and to receive culturally responsive and proactive communication.

“We continue to stress and strive for enhanced communication with our residents, and engagement is at the core of effective communication,” Matthews said. “FlashVote allows us to engage with residents in a nontraditional way that reduces barriers for participation. The feedback can help shape city policy and operations.”

City officials confirm that all results are anonymous and FlashVote does not share your personal information with anyone.