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#WeAreDevon Community Survey 2016

This quick ‘temperature check’ survey was conducted during June and July 2016 to ask about people’s general perceptions on various aspects of life of in Devon. The survey also asked about the health and resilience of local communities.

The survey was designed to complement and build on other community consultation such as Tough Choices and the Community Insight Survey (last conducted in late 2015).

The feedback provides valuable insight into the issues affecting people and communities and will help to influence and inform decisions about local services and future priorities.

Results

About the survey

The #WeAreDevon Survey provided an opportunity for residents to tell us how they feel about a range of important issues affecting people’s lives in Devon today. It also gave an opportunity to tell us about what people think about their own particular community.

1,321 people participated in the online survey which was promoted via traditional local press, social media, and via e-mail through our community-based networks including elected members, town and parish councils, voluntary sector contacts, etc.

The short survey took respondents just five to six minutes to complete and was also available in a range of alternative formats on request.

Who took part?

This online survey was accessible to anyone on the internet and is therefore a self-selected ‘opinion poll’ of those who wished to take part and not a randomised sample of the population.

However, the respondents did offer a reasonable geographic and demographic spread although young people under 20 and certain specific communities were under represented whilst working age adults (45 – 64) were over represented.

Of those who took part:

  • 55% were women (Devon average 51%)
  • 49% were aged 45 – 64 (Devon average 28%)
  • 29% were aged 20 – 44 (Devon average 27%)
  • 21% were 65 and over (Devon average 25%)
  • Only 1% were under 20 (Devon average 21%)
  • Only 9% identified as having a disability (Devon average 20%)

Responses were received for all geographic areas but whilst Exeter appears slightly over-represented, some other communities including Dartmouth, Lynton and Lynmouth and Seaton are under-represented. The low number of responses in some areas means any breakdown of data by area must be treated with caution.

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Resilient, Connected, Healthy, Prosperous and Safe are themes in Better Together, the Council’s Strategic Vision for 2020 and beyond. They also overlap with the council’s ‘Purposeful Thinking’ wor

k to improve systems and customer ‘journeys’ and create better joined up working. The key themes identified are: I can live my life well, become and remain independent, get the best start in life, stay healthy, learn, prosper, keep safe, get from A to B, keep my environment safe and looking good, and see that good decisions are being made.

The survey questions have been designed in line with Better Together the County Council’s Strategic Vision to 2020 and beyond and are intended to inform our current thinking about our core purpose and how we can improve our key systems.

The key broad themes are:

  • A place to live well
  • A place to grow and prosper
  • A place where caring matters
  • A place to make the most of the environment
  • A place where communities flourish

A separate set of questions were specifically to test people’s views on community life and to test how active people thought their community is on a range of issues.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to everyone who participated and helped raise awareness of the survey. Special thanks to County Councillors and Town and Parish Councils for helping to promote locally through their own networks.


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