research for a sustainable future Murray Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey Report 2016 - Groups and Organisations Report No. 99 Michael Mitchell & Catherine Allan Murray Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey Report 2016 – Groups and Organisations Michael Mitchell and Catherine Allan Institute for Land, Water and Society Charles Sturt University PO Box 789, Albury, NSW 2640 [email protected] [email protected] Research commissioned by Murray Local Land Services with funding from the National Landcare Programme Cataloguing in Publication provided by the Institute for Land, Water and Society (ILWS) – Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW 2640. Mitchell, M. & Allan. C. (2016). Murray Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey Report 2016 – Groups and Organisations. Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW 2640. 1 volume, ILWS Report No. 99 ISBN: 978-1-86-467288-6 Acknowledgments Our most profound thanks go to all the respondents who took their time to provide such useful feedback to Murray Local Land Services. We also thank all past and current Murray Local Land Services staff involved in initiating and designing this project, especially Gill Earl, Juliet Cullen, Andrew Cooper, Chris Cummings and Matt O’Connell, as well as Edwina Hayes from Murray Landcare Network. Gail Fuller from CSU’s Spatial Data Analysis Network (SPAN) went above and beyond the call of duty in designing the SurveyMonkey version of the questionnaire, and Simon McDonald, also from SPAN, deserves praise for his statistical advice, speedy analysis, and graphical expertise. Finally we acknowledge funding support from the National Landcare Programme. Disclaimer The views expressed in this report are solely the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Charles Sturt University, Murray Local Land Services, or any other individual or organisation consulted or involved in the research. 1 Table of Contents Executive summary ................................................................................................................................. 3 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 4 2. Criteria used to assess stakeholder satisfaction ................................................................................. 5 3. Survey design ...................................................................................................................................... 6 4. Survey administration and analysis .................................................................................................... 7 5. Baseline survey results ........................................................................................................................ 8 5.1 Distribution of survey and response rate ..................................................................................... 8 5.2 Overall numerical results .............................................................................................................. 9 5.2.1 Preference for email and face-to-face communication ......................................................... 9 5.2.2 Feedback on Murray LLS communication strategies overall ............................................... 10 5.2.3 Feedback from Murray LLS project partners ....................................................................... 13 5.2.4 Feedback on Murray LLS’s communication about strategic planning ................................. 13 5.2.5 Feedback on other aspects of Murray LLS performance ..................................................... 14 5.2.6 Feedback on types and level of interaction across Murray LLS sectors .............................. 18 5.3 Analysis of written comments .................................................................................................... 21 5.3.1 Suggestions for improving Murray LLS communication strategies ..................................... 21 5.3.2 Themes derived from respondents’ other written comments ............................................ 21 6. Conclusions and recommendations .................................................................................................. 24 7. References ........................................................................................................................................ 25 8. Appendices ........................................................................................................................................ 26 Appendix 1: Survey Questionnaire ................................................................................................... 26 Appendix 2: Detailed notes on survey administration and analysis ................................................. 40 Appendix 3: List of survey recipients ................................................................................................ 44 Appendix 4: Detailed listing of key comments and requests ........................................................... 45 Appendix 5: Further data analysis to help address Murray LLS key performance indicators .......... 49 2 Executive summary This report presents results from a Murray Local Land Services (LLS) survey to obtain feedback from its stakeholder groups and organisations on its performance. The survey was conducted in early 2016, eliciting 51 responses: 37 from community groups, 6 from state government departments, 6 from local governments and 2 from private organisations. The high response rate of 66% was secured through flexible delivery and regular follow up. Stakeholders considered communication with Murray LLS as important, and were in general very satisfied with their interactions with Murray LLS. While satisfaction was highest for the modes of phone, email and face-to-face, results showed that over 30% of respondents were not making use of face-to-face interaction. Comments from community groups suggested a desire for greater face-to-face interaction, especially through increased attendance by Murray LLS staff at group events, meetings and activities. A number of groups raised specific issues, listed in an appendix. These should be addressed. Communication about funding opportunities was considered most important, especially among Murray LLS project partners. We recommend that Murray LLS focus on improving communication with community groups on funding and training opportunities, and on forthcoming events. Communication about Murray LLS strategic planning was comparatively less important, and results suggested a lower level of awareness about Murray LLS strategic planning than other services Murray LLS provides. However, respondents also indicated a high level of confidence in Murray LLS’s strategy, and a belief that the strategy was well- aligned with their goals and working well for stakeholder needs. If Murray LLS considers it important for its strategy to be understood and co-owned by its stakeholders, additional efforts may be required to communicate this strategy and its basis in systems thinking. Analysis of levels of satisfaction with the different service areas provided by Murray LLS suggest groups and organisations are satisfied with their level of interaction across all aspects of Murray LLS service delivery, with slightly lower levels of interaction and awareness about Murray LLS programs related to biosecurity and Travelling Stock Routes. Murray LLS could therefore consider the benefits of deepening engagement with its stakeholders on these two program areas. Results also indicated that stakeholder groups and organisations had a high level of satisfaction with Murray LLS’s overall performance in delivering benefits to the community, improving the environment, and its responsiveness. Most group respondents agreed that Murray LLS had activities that helped increase the activity level of their members, and helped them learn to improve what they do, but a significant minority of groups expressed disagreement with these two statements (14% and 23% respectively). It is therefore recommended that Murray LLS use the results of the concurrent capacity needs survey to determine each group’s specific needs for support, and consult with these groups on how these needs could be addressed. 3 1. Introduction Murray Local Land Services (Murray LLS) commissioned Charles Sturt University’s Institute for Land, Water and Society to develop and administer a survey to assess satisfaction with Murray LLS among the groups and other organisations that might have reason to interact with Murray LLS. The purpose of the survey was to create an opportunity for these stakeholders to provide feedback to Murray LLS on its performance and services, and offer suggestions for improvement. This is the first such survey undertaken since the formation of Murray LLS through the merger of a number of prior organisations, including the former Murray Catchment Management Authority. The survey enables stakeholder assessment of Murray LLS’s devolved decision making model. This model has been Murray LLS’s aspiration for several years, and compels Murray LLS staff to work closely with community-based groups across the region, respond to their needs, establish collaborative arrangements, and devolve funding and responsibilities to these groups wherever possible. The research project behind the survey has the following aims: 1. Provide a baseline measure of the level of satisfaction with Murray LLS’s devolved decision-making model in meeting the needs of stakeholders.