Get documents about "Proposal _Community Survey_, Hercules 2009
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September 8, 2009
Ms. Doreen Mathews
City Clerk
City of Hercules
111 Civic Drive
Hercules, Ca 94547
G. Gary Manross, Ph.D. Re: Proposal for Community Survey
Chairman/CEO
Dear Doreen,
G. Gary Manross, Ph.D.
Political Communications
& Media Effects
The intent of the present letter is to serve as a formal proposal for
STRATEGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE (hereafter referred to as SRI) being commissioned to
Richard R. Miller, Jr., Ph.D.
Urban & Regional Planning partner with the City in the design and implementation of a Community Survey
and Needs Analysis.
Michael D. Cozzens, Ph.D.
Communication Research &
Organizational Communications
1.0 Situation Analysis & Scope of Services
Debra L. Schultz, Ph.D.
Speech Communications The intent of this research effort is two-fold.
& Persuasion
1.1 Measure public opinion in the City of Hercules in 2009
Mary Ann Williams, M.A.
Sociology and compare it, on specific dimensions, with four (4)
Senior Research Associate prior points in time: 2007, 2003, 1999, and 1996…with
the idea being to secure the “intelligence” needed for
identifying useful and instructive trends and patterns,
over time.
1.2 Determine likely support among local property owners
for authorizing an increase in the City’s LLADs (one
Citywide LLAD and nine Zones of Benefit).
Research & 1.3 In addition, the study will be designed to determine if local
Consulting for property owners will support a standardized CPI, in order to
Strategic Planning control for normal inflation with respect to keeping the public
landscaped areas throughout the community — and street
lighting — properly maintained, thus protecting property values
throughout the City, while addressing a key public safety issue
by maintaining good street lighting throughout Hercules.
WWW.SRI -CONSULTING.ORG
In effect, this is the “next step” toward CONSENSUS BUILDING among
Northern California Southern California registered voters and property owners in the City with respect public policy, in
925♦372-3788 714♦447-4884
Toll Free general; and, more specifically, the need to maintain public landscapes and
800♦224-7608
lighting throughout the community.
Corporate FAX 714♦447-4537
P.O. Box 6548 Fullerton, CA 92834 An Institute for CONSENSUS BUILDING
City of Hercules Prepared September 2009
2.0 Deliverables
2.1 Research Instrument.
SRI researchers and strategic planners will work closely with Francisco & Associates and
representatives of the City of Hercules (e.g., professional staff, elected officials, other
members of the consulting team) in developing a Research Instrument (questionnaire)
for gathering the precise form of “intelligence” desired by the Client.
We will employ the appropriate question formats and response scales (from both the
scientific and applied perspectives) that are needed in order to address the research
question(s) in the respective survey.
Given a “team” approach between SRI researchers, Francisco & Associates, and City
officials, the research design(s) being advocated here by SRI holds special promise in
terms of achieving the precise goals and expectations that underlie the on-going needs
of the project at hand.
2.2 Administer survey: Once we have an approved Research Instrument, SRI will administer the
scientific survey; this will include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following:
2.2.1 Data collection. Trained callers will conduct telephone interviews until the
requisite number of respondents have completed the entire survey.
2.2.2 SRI will clean the dataset, then administer data analysis, employing BOTH
descriptive and advanced statistical analysis, where appropriate.
2.2.3 Create graphs, charts, and tables in which the “findings” are presented in a USER
FRIENDLY fashion.
2.2.4 DEBRIEF the Client and the City’s Consultant(s) regarding: (ii) matters that could
impact public policy and (ii) preparing for moving forward with securing approval
from local property owners regarding matters having to do with the Citywide LLAD
and the various Zones of Benefit, as well as incorporating a permanent CPI in all
zones of benefit.
2.2.5 Prepare and submit to the City a formal report which, at a minimum, will include
the following:
• Key findings
• SRI’s interpretations of the findings
• SRI’s conclusions
• SRI’s recommendations for how best to move forward.
Strategy Research Institute Page 2
City of Hercules Prepared September 2009
Message Strategies, Ballot Language: SRI will partner with Francisco and Associates in
developing MESSAGE STRATEGIES and BALLOT LANGUAGE for whatever funding mechanism is
ultimately brought forward to Hercules property owners through the appropriate noticing and
balloting procedure.1
3.0 Research Design & Methodology
3.1 Research Design: Telephone Survey
3.2 Sample Size: N=400 registered voters in Hercules2
3.3 Sample Characteristics: Stratified Random Sample of Registered voters;
will accommodate a true random sample representing the community-at-large
(including the communitywide LLAD); plus, approx. 50 completed interviews in
each Zone of Benefit.
3.4 Pre-test: N=20 Respondents. The instrument
(questionnaire) will be pre-tested on 20 respondents. Any and all necessary
adjustments will be made, then we will enter the field full force.
3.5 Length of Survey: Not to exceed 20 minutes
3.6 Level of Statistical Analysis: Descriptive and Advanced Statistical Analysis
Telephone surveys conducted by competing research firms are often limited
to “descriptive” statistical analyses that include frequencies, percentages, and
cross-classifications (known as “cross-tabs”). Clearly, these analytical procedures
are “necessary”; seldom are they “sufficient”.
In other words, if you wish to have benefit of a comprehensive
interpretation and understanding of the findings, you should normally call for
applied advanced statistical analysis of the data (also called “inferential
statistics”). These statistical procedures may include, but are NOT necessarily
limited to, the following:
• correlation analysis,
• regression analysis,
• discriminant analysis,
• factor analysis,
• structural equation modeling (testing for cause and effect relationships
between predictors of behavior and desired outcomes),
• and other tests deemed appropriate for the situation at hand.
1
These professional services will be compensated through SRI’s monthly retainer fee and are NOT calculated into
the Pricing Matrix that will be presented elsewhere in this proposal.
2
At 95% confidence level, an N=400 yields sampling error, 4 to 5%; therefore, the “findings” from the present
scientific survey will be robust and highly representative of the population being surveyed. It might be interesting
to note here that the present population of the United States as a whole exceeds 300 million people; a typical
survey of the entire nation typically ranges between N=1,000 and 1,500.
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City of Hercules Prepared September 2009
SRI researchers will conduct both descriptive and advanced statistical analysis
on the data set, as needed. This is the only way to ensure that our predictions of
“actual” voting behavior will be as definitive as humanly possible.
3.7 Cost: $19,0003
Because SRI is under contract with the City of Hercules and, as a result, is
compensated based upon a monthly fee, we are granting Hercules a DEEP discount
in the fee for the present scientific survey. The fee for designing and administering
the present study will be $19,000.
Those costs associated with SRI’s professional staff crafting the Research
Instrument, conducting statistical analysis, preparing charts & graphs, DEBRIEFING
the Client, report writing, et al. will be covered through our monthly retainer.
To place this deep discount into perspective, we are providing a cost matrix
below that shows the NORMAL fee structure associated with six different research
designs. As you can see, the cost for the present scientific survey would normally be
$24,500; thus, we are discounting the present voter survey by $5,500 (which
represents nearly 2months of SRI’s retainer fee).
17 minutes 20 minutes
N=300 Option 1-A Option 2-A
Sampling error
±4.5 to 5.8% $19,500 $23,500
Option 1- B Option 2-B
N=400
Sampling error
±4.0 to 5.0% $20,500 $24,500
Option 1- C Option 2-C
N=500
Sampling error
±3.5 to 4.5% $21,500 $25,500
95% confidence level
Sampling error varies with size of sample
3.8 Payment terms: It is SRI policy to be paid one-half of the fee (in this case, $9,500)
upon signing of the contract; one fourth (in this case, $4,750) when data collection is
completed; and the final one-fourth (again, $4,750) when the Final Report is submitted
to the Client.
3
In 2007, Hercules paid $22,000 for a 17-min survey of N=400 completed interviews; thus, before accounting for
normal inflation in SRI’s fee schedule, the $19,000 fee represents far more than a $3,000 discount based even
when comparing 2007 rates. Why? Because the present survey is a 20-minute survey; the 2007 survey was a 17-
minute survey. The extra three (3) minutes are essential in order to provide the additional “intelligence” needed
for testing the various combinations involving the City’s LLADs, the CPI, and other dimensions that were NOT part
of the 2007 Community survey.
Strategy Research Institute Page 4
City of Hercules Prepared September 2009
3.9 Time Table: The final report is normally delivered within four weeks of the final
version of the instrument (questionnaire) being approved by the Client. In the present
case, we will expedite the study as much as possible, but with NO ADDED COST to the
Client.
4.0 Staffing
The lead consultant will be SRI’s Chairman/CEO, Dr. G. Gary Manross, Ph.D. He will be
supported by other senior consultants and strategic planners, as well as by SRI’s administrative
staff support personnel.
In particular, Dr. Manross will be assisted by two or three members of SRI’s professional
team. These will include, but not necessarily be limited to, Dr. Richard Miller, Dr. Debra Schultz,
Ph.D., Ms. Mary Ann Williams, M.A.; and perhaps Dr. Michael Cozzens, Ph.D. All of these
individuals have extensive experience in specific elements of the Plan of Action being proposed
herein. Their bios are included as Addenda ‘A’ to the present proposal.
5.0 Unique Qualifications
SRI is uniquely qualified to partner with the City of Hercules for four (4) specific reasons:
(1) For the past two decades, we have been assisting public Agencies in California with
projects virtually identical to the one being undertaken by the City of Hercules; in fact,
more often than not, our research and consulting Institute is commissioned to conduct the
benchmark voter surveys (and necessary tracking polls); and, remain with the respective
Agency in a consulting capacity until the funding measure is successful at the polls.
(2) SRI was commissioned to partner with the City in designing and administering the
benchmark survey for this very project. Clearly, no one is better positioned to have a
comprehensive understanding of the “intelligence” that comes out of this scientific
survey; and, no one knows more about how to employ this form of “intelligence” in a
fashion that maximizes the likelihood of success when the measure is placed before voters
in the relatively near future.
(3) Having SRI’s on board on a monthly retainer fee makes it possible for us to significantly
DISCOUNT both our consulting fees, as well as any research that may be needed or desired, such
as the present study.
(4) We have a long-standing relationship with Francisco and Associates; we’ve worked with most (if
not all) Engineering firms that are in this business. Clearly, Francisco and Associates stand out
among the other firms. We work well together, and (more importantly) they know how to
employ the form of “intelligence” that comes out of an SRI survey. As a result, the likelihood of
success is maximized when our respective firms are working together on the same project.
I’m also providing professional references in Addendum B; feel free to contact any of
them for a referral. However, since we’ve been working with you for some time, now,
Strategy Research Institute Page 5
City of Hercules Prepared September 2009
combined with the fact that we brought Francisco & Associates to the proverbial table, it may
not be necessary to spend time contacting our professional references. That said, you are most
welcome to do so.
I hope this proposal provides you with the information you need; assuming it does,
please advise and I’ll have my support staff prepare a formal contract for our joint signatures;
and an invoice for the 1st installment. If not, please advise and we will provide any additional
information you deem to be necessary and/or useful.
Because we have a long-standing relationship with the City, we will NOT wait to secure a
formal contract for this study before moving forward; indeed, with this Proposal, I’m including
the 1st draft of the Research Instrument (questionnaire) for your review. I’ll look forward to
receiving your feedback.
Warmest regards,
800-224-7608 office
909.239.8757 cell
Cc: Ms. Michelle Harrington
Strategy Research Institute Page 6
City of Hercules Prepared September 2009
Addendum ‘A’
Biographical Sketches
Dr. G. Gary Manross , Ph.D.
Chairman/CEO
STRATEGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Dr. Manross is a behavioral scientist with more than two decades of experience in
communication management, political communications, and marketing communications.
Prior to founding STRATEGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, he held executive-level positions
with the largest Public Relations agency in the world, Hill & Knowlton, Inc., and the largest state
trade association in America, the California Association of Realtors®. He began his career as a
reporter, and later Business Editor, of a Mid-West daily metropolitan newspaper.
He has taught political communications at UCLA and mass media effects at the
University of Southern California; for eight years, he was professor in the California State
University system, where he held a joint appointment in Advertising and Public Relations.
When he left academe, he was Chair of the Advertising Sequence in the Communications Dept.
His publishing record includes numerous scholarly works that have been published in
refereed academic and professional journals alike. His research is routinely cited in both the
scholarly and popular press, and in classic textbooks, such as Diffusion of Innovations. He is the
senior author of a paper that will submitted to the Harvard Business Review within the next few
weeks, in which he will be introducing a new diffusion model to corporate America. He is the
author of a book entitled: The Impact of Theory-driven Public Opinion Research in Strategic
Planning for Winning Campaigns.
His academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Communication Research, with an emphasis
in Political Communications and Media Effects, from the Annenberg School of Communications
at the University of Southern California. He also holds two MA degrees (one in Communication
Management and one in Communication Theory), and two undergraduate degrees, one in
Journalism and one in Public Relations from U.S.C.
Strategy Research Institute Page 7
City of Hercules Prepared September 2009
Dr. Richard Miller, Jr., Ph.D.
Senior Consultant/Strategic Planner
STRATEGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Dr. Miller began his career as a planner for the Honolulu Department of General
Planning, where his responsibilities included evaluating Development Plan changes based upon
population distribution and land use policies, as well as forecasting growth on the island of
O’ahu by aggregate and discrete geographic areas.
He earned his doctorate is in Geography, with an emphasis on economic geography and
spatial analysis, and an M.A. degree in Urban and Regional Planning, both from the University
of Hawaii.
Immediately prior to joining SRI, Dr. Miller was Business Planning Manager for Health
Net, Inc., where he was responsible for all business development, including the HMO’s
marketing research, new product development, and competitive analysis
While with Kaiser Permanente Medical Care, he held the following positions: (a) Senior
Market Research Analyst, (b) Land Use/Real Estate Manager for southern California, where he
was responsible for all real estate transactions and securing land use entitlements; and (c)
Director of Facilities Planning and Property for the HMO’s Hawaii medical facilities.
Dr. Miller is an award-winning planner, earning the Exceptional Contribution Award
from the Society of American Institute of Architects.
Strategy Research Institute Page 8
City of Hercules Prepared September 2009
Debra L. Schultz , Ph.D.
Director of Qualitative Research
STRATEGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
As SRI's Director of Qualitative Research, Debra L. Schultz, Ph.D., is an expert in
advanced interviewing techniques, strategic planning, persuasion, business communications,
and multi-cultural communications. Prior to joining SRI, Dr. Schultz was a professor of
communications at UCLA; prior to that, at New York University (NYU).
While in New York, Dr. Schultz was a member of the research staff of ABC's
Goodnight America and Good Morning America; she also headed her own literary agency
representing screenwriters, playwrights and other artists.
Her academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Communication, Arts and Science from New
York University.
Dr. Schultz oversees the qualitative aspects of the Institute's research projects. These
activities include, but are not limited to, field research (involving person-to-person interviewing),
facilitating in focus group research (including in-depth probing strategies), descriptive research,
library research and other secondary sources of information gathering.
Strategy Research Institute Page 9
City of Hercules Prepared September 2009
Dr. Michael D. Cozzens , Ph.D.
Senior Consultant/Strategic Planner
STRATEGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Michael D. Cozzens earned his doctorate in Communications Research, with an emphasis
in “Organizational Communications,” from the Annenberg School of Communications at the
University of Southern California. In addition to a B.A. in psychology from U.C. San Diego, he
holds an M.A. in communication theory and research from U.S.C., and an M.A. in rhetoric from
U.C. Berkeley.
Dr. Cozzens is a senior consulting and strategic planner for SRI. He routinely facilitates
Town Hall type meetings, meetings of Community Advisory Committees, and focus group
research, which SRI is commissioned to design and administer.
Dr. Cozzens has more than six years experience teaching research and communication-
related courses in both the University of California system (U.C.L.A., U.C. Santa Barbara and
U.C. Berkeley) and in the California State University system (Cal-State Fullerton), as well as at
U.S.C. He teaches both the undergraduate and graduate level courses.
He is a “reviewer” for such noted academic journals as: Communication Research. and
Human Communication Research; as well as for the prestige National Science Foundation
(NSF).
Strategy Research Institute Page 10
City of Hercules Prepared September 2009
Mary Ann Williams, M.A.
Senior Consultant/Strategic Planner
STRATEGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Mary Ann Williams is COO (Chief Operating Officer) for STRATEGY RESEARCH
INSTITUTE (SRI); she oversees the administrative support services for every Client project.
Ms. Williams has nearly two decades of experience in communication management,
administration (including human resource management), and related areas of responsibility. She
is an expert in data management and data collection. Ms. Williams earned her M.A. and B.A.
degrees in Sociology in the California State University system; California State University at
Los Angeles and Cal-State University, Fullerton, respectively.
Mary Ann is responsible for Client services. In so doing, she works personally with
virtually every SRI Client to ensure that all of their needs are being addressed in a
comprehensive and timely fashion.
As such, Ms. Williams functions as a primary contact person for the Institute's Clientele
Strategy Research Institute Page 11
City of Hercules Prepared September 2009
Addendum ‘B’
SRI References
Marc S. Grisham
City Manager
Matt Rodriguez
Asst. City Manager
City of Pittsburg
65 Civic Avenue
Pittsburg, CA 94565-3814
925♦252-6900
Pat O’Brien
General Manager
East Bay Regional Park District
2950 Peralta Oaks Court
Oakland, California 94605-0381
510♦635-0138 Ext. 2000
Bob Overstreet
City of Sacramento
1231 “I” Street, Suite 4000
Sacramento, CA 95814
916♦ 264-1190
Kirk Hunter
Chief Executive Officer
Southwest Transportation Agency
(JPA for busing half the school children in Fresno County)
16644 S. Elm Ave.
Caruthers, CA 93609
559♦ 644-1019
Tony Borin
Deputy Director
Fresno Council of Governments
2100 Tulare Street, Suite 619
Fresno, CA 93721
559♦ 233-4148
Strategy Research Institute Page 12
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