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Foreword This guide helps officials use perception surveys to evaluate and communicate the results of reform processes. While the guide draws on examples from the regulatory field, it is also useful for other policy areas. In non-technical language, the guide clearly explains the challenges involved in the design and use of business and citizen perception surveys – and ways to overcome them. It also helps officials get the most out of survey results, whether conducted internally or by external experts.
Policy Conclusions Perception surveys are an increasingly integral component of a business- and citizen-centred approach to regulatory reform, as a means to assist governments with better results in an open, democratic system. This guide helps officials planning perception surveys or engaging external expertise to use perception surveys for evaluating and communicating progress in regulatory reform. It explains the challenges involved in the design and use of business and citizen perception surveys – and ways to overcome them. It will also help officials responsible for writing and evaluating tenders for surveys judge the quality of consultants’ work and get the most out of survey results. The guide is written in non-technical language for a broad audience, drawing on examples from the regulatory field.
Introduction As OECD countries continuously strive to improve the quality of their regulations, significant resources have been invested in regulatory policies and reform. In line with the rise in resources allocated, there is increasing pressure for greater accountability and the use of performance information to demonstrate the effectiveness of regulatory programmes.
How OECD Countries Use Perception Surveys in the Regulatory Policy Cycle Perception surveys are a powerful tool that can be used for a variety of purposes. This chapter provides an overview of the ways OECD countries use perception surveys in the regulatory policy cycle. This chapter also presents how perception surveys used by OECD countries differ in terms of survey design and how they are conducted.
Understanding Pitfalls in the Design of Surveys There are a surprising number of potential pitfalls in survey design and, if ignored, survey results can become unusable for policy makers. This chapter provides an analysis of the most common pitfalls, as well as signposts to where information can be found to address them, both within this guide and from external sources.
Good Practices in Survey Design Step-by-Step Good practice methodologies considerably improve the quality of results and help avoid pitfalls. This chapter explains good practice through sequential, step-by-step guidance that can be used to design a perception survey. It provides advice on how to define survey objectives and the target group, draft survey questions, pilot and re-adjust a questionnaire, select respondents and data collection methods, run the survey, and analyse the results.
Understanding the Drivers of Perception to Improve the Use of Survey Results This chapter explains what factors drive perceptions of the quality of regulatory reform programmes (Section 1) and provides guidance to highlight these factors for a specific survey (Section 2). Policy makers will gain an understanding of the factors that drive survey results to maximise the survey’s policy utility and use. This chapter draws on research on perceptions as well as on country experiences and applies those to the field of regulatory policy.
Policy Lessons for the Use of Perception Surveys for Evaluation, Diagnosis and Communication This chapter discusses the strategies used by OECD countries in order to benefit the most from stakeholder surveys for evaluative and diagnostic purposes (Section 1) and to better communicate reforms (Section 2). It provides policy makers with policy lessons to address the complexity of perceptions and the risks entailed in the interpretation, use and communication of survey results.
Bibliography
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Overview Table on Perception Surveys
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