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Proposal - True North Research - 2021-08-09
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Table of ContentsiCosta Mesa Sanitary District True North Research, Inc. © 2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T ABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i Submittal Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 What Sets True North Apart?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Firm Description (C) & Proposals (D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Company Specifics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Personal vs. Firm-Level Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Surveys for California Cities, Special Districts, & Counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 organizational Structure (E). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Resumes and Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Licenses & Permits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 References (F) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Mesa Water District. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 San Diego County Water Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Otay Water District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Sacramento Municipal Utility District. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Santa Margarita Water District. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 City of Lake Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 City of Mission Viejo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 City of Thousand Oaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 City of Oceanside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 City of Manhattan Beach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Project Overview (G) & Work Plan (H). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Project Understanding in Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Innovative Methods for a Changing Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Background Research & Stakeholder Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Questionnaire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Pre-Test, Programing & Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Sample Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Three Methods of Recruiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Mixed-Method Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Telephone Interviewing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Data Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Initial Analysis & Toplines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Survey Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Presentation & Consulting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Project Schedule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Focus Group Approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Recruiting & Incentives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Design & Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Analysis & Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Cost Proposal (I). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Distinguishing Characteristics (J). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Unmatched Experience & Expertise Conducting Customer Satisfaction Surveys for Public Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 A Well-Earned Reputation for Neutral, Scientific Surveys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 How We Manage Your Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Innovative Methods for a Changing Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Deep Orange County Experience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Public Utility Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Submittal LetterTrue North Research, Inc. © 2021 1Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S UBMITTAL LETTER True North Research, Inc. (True North) is pleased to present this proposal to the Costa Mesa San- itary District (District) to design and conduct a statistically reliable survey and focus group of its residential customers (RFP: Citizen Survey Services). Based on the RFP, as well as our experience conducting hundreds of similar studies for special districts, utilities, and municipalities, True North understands that the District is interested in measuring customer awareness, knowledge, perceptions, opinions, and satisfaction as they relate to the District and the services/programs it provides. In addition to profiling customers’ service-related opinions and behaviors, the survey also presents an opportunity to better understand customers’ communications practices and preferences, including the methods they feel would be the most effective for future District com- munications. By analyzing the results of the proposed research in conjunction with past survey results (where applicable) and other secondary data, the proposed study will provide the District with informa- tion that can be used to make sound, strategic decisions in a variety of areas—including plan- ning, program development/evaluation, policymaking, rate setting, marketing, and customer engagement. WHAT SETS TRUE NORTH APART? True North has the expertise, experience, resources, and dedication needed to successfully overcome the challenges of the proposed study. Although we elaborate on our unique strengths later in this proposal (see Distinguishing Characteristics (J) on page 18) as instructed in the RFP, its worth noting at the outset that we have designed and conducted over 1,000 surveys for public agencies in California for perfor- mance measurement, customer satisfaction, planning, and marketing/communications pur- poses. We have a well-earned reputation for providing objective, non-partisan, statistically reliable research and data-driven insights to municipalities, special districts, utilities, and others in the public sector. We are also very familiar with Orange County, having designed more than 80 studies for a wide variety of public agencies in the region including Mesa Water, OCTA, OC Fire Authority, the County of Orange, and the cities of Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Brea, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Dana Point, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Palma, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Lake For- est, Mission Viejo, Placentia, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, and Yorba Linda. The True North team is excited to partner with the Costa Mesa Sanitary District on this important project. We think that you will find our qualifications, our attention to client service, and our interest in this study to be exceptional. Should you have any questions about this proposal, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at mclarney@tn-research.com or by phone at 760.632.9900. I will serve as the District’s point of contact and Project Manager throughout the entire project, and am available to begin work immediately according to the District’s preferred time line. Please consider this proposal valid for 180 days from submittal. Sincerely, Timothy McLarney, Ph.D. President True North Research 1592 N. Coast Highway 101, Encinitas CA 92024 p: 760.632.9900 | mclarney@tn-research.com Firm Description (C) & Proposals (D)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 2Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F IRM DESCRIPTION (C) & PROPOSALS (D) True North is a full-service survey research firm that is dedicated to providing California public agencies with a clear understanding of the opinions, perceptions, priorities and behaviors of their residents and customers. Through designing and implementing scientific surveys, focus groups and one-on-one interviews, as well as expert interpretation of the findings, True North helps its clients to move with confidence when making strategic decisions in a variety of areas— such as performance measurement, planning, policy evaluation, establishing budget priorities, passing revenue measures, and developing effective public engagement/communications strate- gies. Designing and implementing custom survey research studies that adhere to rigorous method- ological standards is both the purpose and the passion of True North Research. In addition to being nationally recognized experts in survey research methodology,1 Dr. McLarney and Mr. Sar- les have also personally designed and conducted more research studies to assist California pub- lic agencies in meeting their planning and performance goals than any other individual researchers in the State. The advantage of working with True North is that this experience is par- ticularly helpful not only in the design of the research, it also enables our team to provide reli- able benchmarking information and meaningfully interpret (and provide context to) the results of the survey. Company Specifics True North Research was co-founded in 2002 as a two-person research consulting firm by Dr. McLarney and Mr. Sarles and is an S-Corporation in good standing with the State of California. Although we have had many opportunities to expand our business during the past 19 years, we have chosen to maintain True North as a two-person firm. Dr. McLarney and Mr. Sarles still manage every aspect of every True North project from our offices in Encinitas, Cal- ifornia. We are an extremely efficient, collaborative team of two—and we have chosen to keep it that way so that our clients continue to receive exceptionally high quality customer service and research insights. Dr. McLarney and Mr. Sarles are committed to working with the Costa Mesa Sanitary District for the duration of this project—there will be no staff turnover or changes. PERSONAL VS. FIRM-LEVEL EXPERIENCE Before discussing our experience in more detail, we feel it is important to note the difference between personal experience and firm-level experience. It is very common for research firms to provide a long list of projects in their propos- als in an effort to demonstrate that they are both well-qualified and highly experienced in con- ducting surveys of this type. The reality, however, is that this firm-level experience is often a game of smoke-and-mirrors. What they don’t tell you is that their list of projects was managed by dozens of different project managers over many years, many of whom no longer work for the firm and only one of whom will be assigned to your project (along with lower-level support staff). The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter how many projects or clients a firm has worked with over the years. Nor does the experience of the Principals or others at the firm matter if they aren’t going to be the ones rolling-up their sleeves to work on your study. What matters is the 1. For example, Dr. McLarney has served as an expert witness in survey research methodology for legal cases, has published research methodologies in peer-reviewed academic journals, and on the basis of his research has been honored as a Visiting Scholar at U.C. Berkeley’s Institute for Governmental Studies. Firm Description (C) & Proposals (D)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 3Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . experience and expertise of the specific individuals who will be working directly on your project and handling each of the key research tasks. For this reason, we take a different approach. The experience discussed throughout this pro- posal—and the projects referenced below—are the personal experience of the individuals who will be working on all aspects of the study for the Costa Mesa Sanitary District: Dr. McLarney and Mr. Sarles. We encourage the District to take this difference into account when reviewing firms and proposals. SURVEYS FOR CALIFORNIA CITIES, SPECIAL DISTRICTS, & COUNTIES During their careers, Dr. McLarney and Mr. Sarles have designed and conducted over 1,000 citizen sur- vey research studies for public agencies—including more than 500 surveys for municipalities, counties, utilities, and special districts in California. The following tables list our past and pres- ent clients, the vast majority of which have partnered with True North for multiple research stud- ies. For a list of references, please see References (F) on page 8. TABLE 1 CALIFORNIA MUNICIPALITIES Agoura Hills East Palo Alto La Verne San Anselmo Alhambra Eastvale Lemon Grove San Carlos Aliso ViejoEl Cajon Lompoc San ClementeAnaheim Encinitas Long Beach San Diego Apple Valley Escondido Los Angeles San Gabriel Arroyo Grande Folsom Los Gatos San JoseAtascadero Fontana Madera San Luis Obispo Atherton Fremont Malibu San Marcos Azusa Gilroy Manhattan Beach San Marino Baldwin Park Glendale Menifee San MateoBanningGlendora Mission Viejo Santa Barbara Barstow Goleta Moorpark Santa Clarita Beverly Hills Grand Terrace Murrieta Santa MonicaBrea Half Moon Bay Norwalk Signal Hill Buellton Hemet Oceanside South Lake Tahoe Burbank Hesperia Oxnard South PasadenaCampbell Huntington Beach Palmdale Temecula Cerritos Indian Wells Petaluma Thousand Oaks Chino Irvine Pico Rivera TruckeeChula Vista Kerman Placentia Upland Claremont La Canada-Flintridge Port Hueneme Ventura Clayton La Palma Rancho Cucamonga Watsonville Costa Mesa Laguna Beach Rancho Palos Verdes West HollywoodCudahyLaguna Niguel Rancho Santa Margarita Westlake Village Cypress Lake Elsinore Redlands Whittier Dana Point Lake Forest Redondo Beach Yorba LindaDel Mar La Mesa Riverside Yucca Valley Diamond Bar Lathrop Rocklin Firm Description (C) & Proposals (D)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 4Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TABLE 2 SPECIAL DISTRICTS, UTILITIES, COUNTIES & COUNCILS OF GOVERNMENT Alameda Hospital Novato Sanitary District Antelope Valley Hospital Oak Valley Hospital Bay Area Air Quality Management District Orange County Council of Governments Bay Area Open Space Council Orange County Fire Authority Bay Area Rapid Transit Orange County Transportation Authority Bear Mountain Recreation and Park District Palomar Health Bear Valley Healthcare District Petaluma Healthcare District Big Bear Fire Department Placentia Library District California Air Resources Board Placer County Caltrans Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District Plumas Healthcare District Conejo Recreation and Park District Port of Long Beach Contra Costa Clean Water Program Port of San Diego Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Rancho Simi Park and Recreation District Contra Costa County Roaring Fork Transportation Authority Cucamonga Valley Water District Rodeo-Hercules Fire Protection District East Contra Costa Fire Protection District Sacramento Area Council of Governments Eden Health Sacramento Municipal Utility District El Dorado Hills Community Services District SamTrans Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District San Diego Association of Governments Fair Oaks Recreation and Park District San Diego County Fairfield and Suisun Transit San Diego Unified Port District Feather River Recreation and Park District San Diego Workforce Partnership Foothill Transit San Gorgonio Health Care District Fresno Area Express San Joaquin Valley Air Quality Management District Fresno County San Jose International Airport Goleta West Sanitary District San Luis Obispo Council of Governments Healdsburg District Hospital San Mateo County I-15 Interregional Partnership San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Foundation Imperial County Transportation Commission Santa Barbara County Kaweah Delta Healthcare District Santa Barbara County Association of Governments Kern Valley Healthcare District Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority Los Angeles Metro Authority Santa Margarita Water District Marin County Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Marin General Hospital Solano Open Space Coalition Metropolitan Transit System Southern California Association of Governments Metropolitan Transportation Commission SR-91 Interregional Partnership Mission Oaks Recreation and Park District State of California Monte Vista Water District Tahoe Forest Hospital District Monterey Peninsula Regional Park and Recreation District Tri-City Hospital District Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority Truckee-Donner Recreation and Park District Mountains Restoration Trust Trust for Public Lands Nevada County Washington Hospital New York State Department of Transportation West Basin Municipal Water District Nipomo Community Services District West Valley Water District North County Transit District Western Riverside Council of Governments North Kern-South Tulare Hospital District Valley Transportation Authority North Sonoma County Healthcare District Ventura County organizational Structure (E)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 5Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE (E) Most research firms manage survey projects through division of labor and a lot of delegation. Although the Principals may appear for the interview and for client meetings, their involvement beyond that point is generally negligible. The Project Manager’s role is to be the point of contact and help design the study, but even they only handle about 20% of the workload. The unfortu- nate reality is that most of the important research tasks—data processing, data analysis, report writing, presentation building—are delegated to junior-level staff. And the bigger the firm, the more projects they manage, the more they rely on junior staff to get the work done. We do things differently at True North. In fact, one of the main reasons we founded True North 19 years ago was because we recognized that there is a much better model for managing a research project—have the person with the most experience and expertise in the firm roll up his/ her sleeves and actually do the work. At True North, who you see is who you get. Dr. McLarney will not only serve as the Project Manager and the day-to-day contact for the District, he will per- sonally perform about 75% of the research tasks on the survey project including all design, anal- ysis, report writing, and presentations. We have purposely kept True North as a single office, two-person consulting firm because of our commitment to this project management model and the many benefits it provides to our clients. FIGURE 1 PROJECT ORGANIZATION & TASKS BY TEAM MEMBER Figure 1 presents the organizational chart for the proposed study, as well as the tasks to be per- formed by each member of our team. True North Research will serve as prime contractor at the direction of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District. Dr. Timothy McLarney (President of True North) will be the Project Manager for the study and will perform all key design, analysis, and reporting tasks. Richard Sarles (Principal Researcher at True North) will assist with data processing and graphics production for the report. Data Collection Costa Mesa Sanitary District Report Writing Presentations Strategic Consulting Timothy McLarney, Ph.D. President & Principal Project Manager Day-to-day Contact Questionnaire Sample Design Data Analysis True North Research Dynata Data Processing Graphics Principal Researcher Richard Sarles, M.S. Dameon Travis, B.S. Director of Data Collection Programming organizational Structure (E)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 6Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The telephone interviews will be conducted by the same high quality, professional data collec- tion firm that True North has teamed with to complete more than 800 community and voter sur- veys—Dynata. Dameon Travis (Director at Dynata) will manage the day-to-day interviewing schedule and quality control procedures in close consultation with Mr. Sarles and Dr. McLarney. RESUMES AND ROLES For the District’s reference, the following paragraphs provide addi- tional information about Dr. McLarney’s, Mr. Sarles’, and Mr. Travis’ respective roles on this proj- ect, as well as their education and research backgrounds. Project Manager Timothy McLarney, Ph.D., will serve as the Project Manager for the pro- posed survey and the District’s point of contact on all matters related to the study. Dr. McLarney will lead all design, analysis, reporting and pre- sentation tasks. Approximately 75% of the research tasks will be per- formed directly by Dr. McLarney. Dr. McLarney has more than 25 years of experience in research method- ology, statistics, public opinion analysis, and providing data-driven stra- tegic advice to public agencies. During his career, Dr. McLarney has occupied a lead role in over 1,000 research studies, more than 90% of which have been for public agencies in California. Dr. McLarney is a nationally recognized expert in survey research meth- odology, sampling theory, weighting and the use of statistical methods to generalize survey results. His research has been recognized at numer- ous national and state conferences, has been published in academic journals, and has earned him honors including the title of Visiting Scholar at the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley. He has also served as an independent expert witness in survey research meth- odology for California legal cases. Dr. McLarney earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in Government from Cornell Uni- versity with an emphasis in survey methodology, sampling theory and public opinion analysis, as well as a Bachelor's degree in Politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Principal Researcher Richard Sarles, M.S., will assist Dr. McLarney with managing data collec- tion, data processing, and graphics production for the report. Mr. Sarles will manage approximately 20% of the research tasks. As Principal Researcher and co-founder of True North Research, Mr. Sarles applies his expertise in statistics, sampling, weighting and analysis to a wide variety of research studies. A veteran of over 1,000 research studies, public and private clients throughout the country rely on Mr. Sarles' research to help them meet their performance and planning goals. Prior to co-founding True North Research in 2002, Mr. Sarles was employed as the Associate Research Director at a different west coast research firm. One testimony to Mr. Sarles’ expertise is he authored a organizational Structure (E)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 7Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . primer on survey research methodology and customer satisfaction stud- ies for the California Library Association that was published to all institu- tional members in the state. Mr. Sarles received his M.S. in Experimental Psychology from Illinois State University with magna cum laude honors. He also received his B.S. in Psychology from Illinois State University, graduating with summa cum laude honors. Data Collection Manager Dameon Travis, B.S., is the Director of Account Management at Dynata and will serve as the Data Collection Manager for this study. As he has for more than 500 of True North’s survey projects, Mr. Travis will man- age the data collection process and interviewing team and will report directly to Dr. McLarney and Mr. Sarles. Mr. Travis has extensive experi- ence in managing all aspects of telephone interviewing, including sam- pling designs, CATI stations and programming, interviewer training, daily reporting procedures, and quality control processes. In the past five years alone, Mr. Travis has managed more than 400 studies such as the one proposed here. With a B.S. in Communications and Economics and more than 10 years experience at Dynata working closely with Dr. McLarney and Mr. Sarles on similar studies, Mr. Travis will be an invalu- able asset to the project. LICENSES & PERMITS Unfortunately, there are no professional licenses, permits, or certifi- cates that apply to the survey research industry to assure organizations like the Costa Mesa San- itary District that the individuals they hire are true experts in the field. For this reason, we encourage the District to pay close attention to the formal education, degrees, training, and experience of the individuals who are proposing to conduct the study to ensure they are highly trained and qualified in the fields of survey methodology, statistics, sampling, and research methods in general. Although membership in organizations such as the American Association for Public Opinion Research suggests a certain level of interest in public opinion analysis, the truth is that anyone can join these organizations and membership does not indicate proficiency in survey methodology, statistics, or related topics. References (F)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 8Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R EFERENCES (F) The following are references for similar studies designed and conducted by True North’s team of Dr. McLarney (lead) and Mr. Sarles (support). We encourage the District to contact our references and ask about the quality of our work and customer service. Please note that we chose a mix of references to highlight our experience with research for special districts, utilities, and municipal- ities for performance measurement, program design/evaluation, and marketing/communica- tions. In addition to our general experience conducting citizen surveys for public agencies, we bring to the table extensive experience working with special districts and utilities on a wide range of research topics including customer needs assessments, customer satisfaction/perfor- mance measurement, pricing and rate plan studies, program design/evaluation, product design/ evaluation, branding and customer perceptions, marketing, and building customer support for various initiatives. The advantage of working with True North is that our experience will not only allow us to be a very active, insightful collaborator with the Costa Mesa Sanitary District when designing the survey, it will also enable us to provide reliable benchmarking information and meaningfully interpret (and provide context to) the results of the District’s research. Mesa Water District In 2019, Mesa Water District selected True North through a competitive RFP process to design and conduct the District’s annual customer awareness, brand tracking, and satisfaction surveys. We updated the District’s research to a mixed-method design to improve the overall response rate, reduce response bias, and improve the overall statistical reli- ability of the study. We have conducted statistically reliable surveys for the District in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Contact: Paul E. Schoenberger, P.E., General Manager. 1965 Placentia Ave., Costa Mesa CA 92627: 949.631.1206; pauls@mesawater.org. San Diego County Water Authority In 2019, True North was selected by the Authority through a competitive RFP process to design and conduct the Authority’s bi-annual customer survey. In addition to updating the study methodology to improve question validity, reduce measurement error, and improve the overall statistical reliability of the survey, we were able to deliver 263 additional completed interviews above and beyond the contracted sample size (800) at no addi- tional cost to the Authority. Contact: Craig Balben, Public Affairs Representative. 4677 Overland Ave., San Diego CA 92123: 858.522.6726; CBalben@sdcwa.org. Otay Water District In 2019, True North was selected by the Otay Water District to design and conduct the District’s periodic customer surveys. By updating the survey methodology to a mixed-mode design and combining two surveys that were previously conducted separately, True North was able to increase the statistical reliability of the research and conduct the studies in a more cost-effective manner. We also delivered 800 completed interviews, which was 200 more than the contract goal. Contact: Tenille Otero, Communications Officer. 2554 Sweetwater Springs Blvd, Spring Valley, CA 91978: 619.670.2256; totero@otaywater.gov. Sacramento Municipal Utility District On an ongoing basis for the past 11 years, True North has served as the Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s primary research consultant for market research. We have designed and conducted dozens of studies for the purposes of measuring customers’ product and service needs, program design/evaluation, profiling customers’ media habits, developing advertising campaigns, and measuring the effectiveness of SMUD’s outreach and communications. Our work for SMUD includes multiple studies each year between 2009- References (F)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 9Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2021, including two active studies (2021). Contact: Anya Suneson, Principal Researcher, 6201 S Street, Sacramento CA 95817: 916.732.6341; Anya.Suneson@smud.org. Santa Margarita Water District In 2017, True North assisted the Santa Margarita Water District with research to profile customers’ awareness of water reliability issues facing the District, as well as their support for various programs and initiatives designed to reduce the District’s reli- ance on imported water and improve the long-term reliability of water services in the area. Con- tact: Jim Leach, Director of External Affairs. 26111 Antonio Parkway, Rancho Santa Margarita CA 92688: 949.459.6601; jiml@smwd.com. City of Lake Forest Dr. McLarney and Mr. Sarles designed and implemented both resident and business satisfaction surveys for the City of Lake Forest in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2021. The focus of the surveys has been on measuring the City’s performance in meeting the needs and priorities of its residents and the business commu- nity, guiding budgetary decisions, and prioritizing capital improvement projects. Contact: Debra Rose, City Manager, 100 Civic Center Drive, Lake Forest, CA 92630: 949.461.3414; DRose@ci.lake-forest.ca.us. City of Mission Viejo True North has completed nine surveys for the City of Mission Viejo, including four for performance measurement and strategic planning purposes. Contact: Dennis Wilberg, City Manager. 200 Civic Center, Mission Viejo CA 92691: 949.470.3000; DWil- berg@cityofmissionviejo.org. City of Thousand Oaks True North has designed and conducted four community priorities and resident satisfaction surveys for the City of Thousand Oaks, as well as two surveys of employees and a revenue measure feasibility study. Contact: Andrew Powers, City Manager, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, CA 91362: 805.449.2148; APowers@toaks.org. City of Oceanside True North assisted the City of Oceanside with survey research to identify community opinions and priorities with respect to city services and provided strategic advice that led to the successful passage of a sales tax to fund general city services in 2018. Contact: Deanna Lorson, City Manager. 300 North Coast Highway, Oceanside CA 92054. 760.495.3055. City of Manhattan Beach Dr. McLarney and Mr. Sarles have designed and conducted 11 sur- veys for the City of Manhattan Beach since 1999, including multiple resident satisfaction sur- veys, a survey to help guide the City’s Community Facilities Plan, and revenue measure feasibility surveys. The most recent surveys were conducted in 2020. Contact: Bruce Moe, City Manager, 1400 Highland Ave, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266: 310.802.5552; bmoe@citymb.info. Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) Over the past 10 years, True North has designed and conducted multiple large-scale survey studies for the Orange County Transporta- tion Authority (OCTA) to measure community needs and priorities, develop/evaluate programs and services, inform long range planning efforts, and improve marketing and communications strategies. Our experience includes two surveys for OCTA in 2021. Contact: Alice Rogan, Strate- gic Communications Manager at OCTA. 714.560.5577; arogan@octa.net. Project Overview (G) & Work Plan (H)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 10Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P ROJECT OVERVIEW (G) & WORK PLAN (H) PROJECT UNDERSTANDING IN BRIEF True North understands that the District is inter- ested in measuring customer awareness, knowledge, perceptions, opinions, and satisfaction as they relate to the District and the services/programs it provides. In addition to profiling custom- ers’ service-related opinions and behaviors, the survey also presents an opportunity to better understand customers’ communications practices and preferences, including the methods they feel would be the most effective for future District communications. By analyzing the results of the proposed research in conjunction with past survey results (where applicable) and other sec- ondary data, the proposed study will provide the District with information that can be used to make sound, strategic decisions in a variety of areas—including planning, program develop- ment/evaluation, rate setting, marketing, and customer engagement. INNOVATIVE METHODS FOR A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT If the ultimate goal of this study is to enable the Costa Mesa Sanitary District to make sound, strategic decisions based upon the data that is collected, it is critical that the data be collected according to rigorous meth- odological standards. Indeed, although it may be easy to conduct a 'survey', it is quite challeng- ing to design and implement a survey that A) produces valid2 and reliable3 measures of the opinions and behaviors of interest, and B) produces data that is representative4 of the popula- tion of individuals that is the focus of a study. Only by satisfying each of these conditions will the proposed study produce data that is trustworthy and thus a sound basis for making decisions. Meeting the aforementioned conditions has become more difficult in recent years. Much has changed in terms of how the public receives information, the accessibility of residents through traditional recruiting methods, and their willingness to participate in citizen surveys. Caller-ID, SPAM filters, habitual call-screening, and busy lifestyles have made it more difficult to reach respondents in general, leading to lower response rates and greater response bias when relying on a just one or two recruiting methods. The bottom line is that in order to continue producing statistically reliable measures of their residents’ opinions, priorities and behaviors, the research methodologies that public agencies employ for citizen surveys must adapt to these new chal- lenges. The methodology that we recommend in this section is designed to do just that—adapt to these challenges by employing innovative techniques that will ensure statistically reliable results. As discussed in greater detail later in this section, we propose to use a stratified random sampling methodology that ensures a representative sample of the District’s rate payers regardless of whether they use land lines, cell phones, both, or neither. We also recommend using three recruiting methods (email invitations, text invitations, and telephone calls) to recruit participa- 2. Validity refers to the degree to which a question actually measures the underlying attitude or construct that it was designed to measure. For example, asking people whether they own “stock” to measure their financial savings behavior is sufficiently ambiguous such that it has low validity. Research has shown that people in farming communities are more likely to interpret “stock” to mean livestock—not financial stocks. 3. Reliability refers to the degree to which the observed results for a survey question are free of measurement errors and thus accurately measure the true value among the survey participants. 4. In this context, representative refers to the degree to which the results found among the survey participants match what would have been found if all rate payers participated in the survey. A probability-based sample free from the many possible sources of selection bias is the key to obtaining representative results. Project Overview (G) & Work Plan (H)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 11Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . tion in the survey and a mixed-method data collection methodology that allows sampled respondents the flexibility of participating by telephone or online at a password protected web site. Designed, tested and refined by True North over the past eight years, our recommended survey approach has proven to increase participation rates, reduce response bias, better engage traditionally hard-to-reach subgroups, and increase the overall accuracy and reliability of com- munity survey results when compared to using fewer recruiting methods. The following sections describe the main elements of the proposed methodology, which includes several value-added methodological and project management features likely not found in the proposals submitted by other firms. COMMUNICATION At the outset of the study, True North recommends having a kick-off meeting with all individuals who will be actively involved in the study (or will be an important stakeholder) in attendance. The kick-off meeting is a great forum for talking about past research conducted and the District’s needs, expectations, and concerns for the upcoming study and deliverables. The meeting will also provide an opportunity for Dr. McLarney to clarify any ques- tions about the proposed methodology, ask questions of District staff, and identify changes to the methodology (as proposed) that may better serve the District’s interests. In short, the pur- pose of the kick-off meeting is to make sure that everyone is in agreement about the details of the study, identify areas that need further clarification, share materials, and establish a more detailed work plan for the project. After the kick-off meeting, Dr. McLarney will keep in regular contact with the Project Manager identified by the District through telephone, email, video con- ferences, and in-person meetings. BACKGROUND RESEARCH & STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS Following the kickoff meeting, we will carefully review relevant background documents (surveys, staff reports, strate- gic plans). As part of this background research phase, if the District is interested we will conduct up to six one-on-one interviews with key District staff, board members, and/or important com- munity stakeholders. The optional informal interviews will allow us to explore perceptions of the District and its services among those who may have diverse opinions, and can help identify key issues, themes, and concepts that may be worthwhile addressing in the survey. QUESTIONNAIRE Dr. McLarney will work closely with District staff and/or representatives (Board and Citizens Advisory Committee) in designing and revising the questionnaire. The ques- tionnaire design and revision process will begin at the kick-off meeting and will take about two weeks to complete. Dr. McLarney will take the lead in creating an initial draft after the kick-off meeting and receiving input that may be submitted by staff and representatives. Staff and repre- sentatives will have the opportunity to then review and comment on the draft questionnaire, and Dr. McLarney will update the draft based on the provided feedback. This process is repeated, as needed, until all parties are satisfied with the questionnaire. Throughout the design process, Dr. McLarney will work closely with the District to develop a questionnaire that covers the topics of interest to the District and avoids the many possible sources of systematic measurement error including position-order effects, wording effects, response-category effects, scaling effects and priming. Although Dr. McLarney will take the lead in drafting and revising the questionnaire, the content of the questionnaire will be driven by the Project Overview (G) & Work Plan (H)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 12Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . District’s research interests. We also anticipate that the District will be interested in tracking spe- cific performance measures from past customer surveys, and we look forward to advising the District on how best to incorporate these questions into the 2021 survey to allow for apples-to- apples comparisons over time. PRE-TEST, PROGRAMING & TRANSLATION Once the District has approved the draft survey instrument, it will be pre-tested internally and with at least 20 rate payer households prior to actually fielding the survey to ensure that respondents can easily understand the point of each question, the response options match what respondents want to answer, the skip patterns and CATI logic are correct, etc. After any final adjustments are made in consultation with the District, the instrument will be programmed for both telephone (CATI) and online versions and profes- sionally translated into Spanish.5 SAMPLING The sampling design for this study is in many respects the most important stage of the survey research project. Only through carefully designing the sample to meet the many theoretical and logistical challenges associated with conducting citizen surveys will the results of the interviews be representative of residential rate payers in the Costa Mesa Sanitary District’s service area. Telephone-based sampling techniques (such as random digit dial) that in past years worked well for generating representative samples of residents are no longer effective on their own due to abandoned land lines, Caller-ID, and habitual call-screening for a sizeable percentage of resi- dents. Rather than choose phone numbers at random, our recommended solution is to use an address-based approach and stratified sampling methods to select a random sample of rate pay- ers who live in eligible housing units (single family, condominium, townhome). This will ensure that all eligible rate payers have an equal probability of being selected for the survey—not just those that have land lines or published cell phone numbers. Building the sample from a compre- hensive list of eligible households will enable True North to append contact information and recruit adult residents using an effective combination of email, text and telephone calls, as dis- cussed below (see Three Methods of Recruiting on page 13). We will also set quotas to ensure that the resulting sample matches the District’s demographic composition on key characteristics including age, ethnicity, and gender. SAMPLE SIZE By using the aforementioned stratified random sampling design with adjust- ments as needed, True North will ensure that the sample is representative of the District’s rate payer population. The results of the sample can then be used to estimate the opinions of all rate payers in the District. Because not all customers will participate in the survey, however, the results will have what is known as a statistical margin of error due to sampling. The margin of error refers to the difference between what is found from the sample of respondents and what would have been found had all rate payers been surveyed. 5. The District’s 2019 Citizen Survey found that just 2% of respondents preferred to take the survey in Vietnam- ese. Methodologically, the results would be the same with or without Vietnamese translation, and there are not enough Vietnamese speakers in the sample to be able to estimate their opinions in a statistically reliable way. For these reasons and to reduce the costs of the survey, we are proposing to conduct the survey in Eng- lish and Spanish. However, if the District prefers, we can translate into Vietnamese and conduct the survey in three languages. Project Overview (G) & Work Plan (H)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 13Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FIGURE 2 MAXIMUM STATISTICAL MARGIN OF ERROR DUE TO SAMPLING IN DISTRICT: 95% CONFIDENCE LEVEL This is where sample size becomes important. The larger the sample, all other things being equal, the smaller the margin of error and the more confidence one can have that the survey results accurately reflect all rate payers in the District. To provide the District with a sense for how the statistical margin of error is related to sample size, Figure 2 plots the relationship between sample size and the maximum6 statistical margin of error for the proposed survey. A sample of 1,000 will produce results with a maximum statistical margin of error due to sampling of +/- 3.1% for rate payers as a whole, and will also allow the District to segment and analyze the data at the subgroup level (e.g., by length of residence, age, home type, etc.) with a high degree of reliability. THREE METHODS OF RECRUITING Once individuals have been selected for the sample, they will be recruited to participate in the survey via email, text, and telephone calls. The email and text invitations will include a unique hyperlink for each respondent to ensure that only resi- dents in the District’s service area are able to take the survey and limit the number of completed interviews per resident to one.7 Using three recruiting methods in combination (emailed invita- tions, text invitations, and telephone calls) allows us to reach a substantially higher percentage of residents when compared to using only one or two recruiting methods, and has proven to be particularly effective at engaging traditionally hard-to-reach subgroups. MIXED-METHOD DATA COLLECTION The reliability of survey results depends, in part, on having a high participation rate. One of the most productive ways of encouraging participa- tion (and minimizing response bias) in a survey is to make it as convenient as possible for an individual to participate. Although some individuals find it most convenient to participate via telephone, others may have responsibilities and schedules that are simply not conducive to spending up to 20 minutes on the phone at a particular time. For this reason, we recommend a 6. The margin of error will vary depending on the distribution of responses to the question. The maximum margin of error occurs when the results are evenly split (50-50) between two response options. 7. Once a link has been used to complete a survey, it can’t be used again. However, if a respondent should be interrupted before completing the survey, they can use the same link to access the survey site again and it will pick up where they left off. Sample of 1,000 Customers ± 3.1% 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 Sample Size (Number of Respondents)Margin of Error Project Overview (G) & Work Plan (H)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 14Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . mixed-method design that will allow respondents maximum flexibility in choosing when and how they participate in the study. The mixed-method approach involves allowing respondents the option to participate in the sur- vey by telephone or online through a secure, password protected web-based application designed and hosted by True North. Respondents can access the online survey from a computer, tablet, or smart phone and the screen will scale accordingly. By providing respondents with flex- ibility as to when and how they participate in the survey, a mixed-method approach (especially in combination with three recruiting methods) will deliver higher participation rates, minimize response bias, and ultimately deliver more reliable results when compared to using fewer data collection methods. Telephone Interviewing Quality telephone interviewing will be an important element of the proposed survey. Using a ‘bargain’ phone facility is rarely a bargain, as the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the results depends on the knowledge, experience and professionalism of the interviewers and supervisors. In the end, it is critical that the research team and the District can trust the data that were collected. For this reason, True North will team with Dynata, a pro- fessional interviewing company that has partnered with Dr. McLarney and Mr. Sarles on more than 800 community survey projects in the past and has a proven track-record of professional interviewers, quality data collection, and competitive pricing. Interviewing for a resident survey is typically conducted in the evenings (5:30PM to 9:00PM PST) during weekdays, and 10:00AM to 6:00PM on weekends. True North works closely with Dynata to manage quality control procedures during data collection, which will include a training ses- sion with interviewers and supervisors to ensure that telephone interviewers understand the pur- pose of all of the questions in the survey, thoroughly testing the CATI and web programs prior to fielding, active and remote supervisor monitoring of interviews, quality control checks on a ran- dom selection of interviews to identify any discrepancies that may occur (and need adjusting), and daily monitoring of the sample characteristics to ensure that data collection is adhering to the sampling plan. DATA PROCESSING Once the interviewing is complete, True North will process the data. This consists of checking the data for errors or inconsistencies, coding and recoding responses, categorizing open-end responses, weighting, and preparing frequency analyses and cross-tabu- lations. INITIAL ANALYSIS & TOPLINES Once the data processing is complete, True North will analyze the results and prepare an initial topline summary for the District’s review. The topline summary consists of the aggregate percentage responses for each question asked in the survey. SURVEY REPORT The survey report prepared by True North Research for the District will include a thorough question-by-question analysis of the survey findings, an executive summary of the key findings and recommendations, a detailed discussion of the methodology used to complete the study, a copy of the questionnaire, full-color graphics of the overall results and those of among specific subgroups (e.g., by geographic subareas, length of residence, age, home type, gender, etc.), and a complete set of crosstabulations for reference that display the results broken down by various subgroups of respondents. True North believes that the quality Project Overview (G) & Work Plan (H)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 15Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . of the final report and presentation reflects directly upon the quality of the study as a whole as well as True North Research, so Dr. McLarney and Mr. Sarles take great care in developing a report which is thorough, insightful, free of mistakes, and presents the information in an eye- catching, full-color display. True North's reports are the most thorough and insightful in the industry. We don’t just provide graphics and numbers—we put the findings into context and explain their meaning based upon related questions in the survey, the District’s goals, relevant secondary information, the results of prior surveys, as well as our experience working with California public agencies on hundreds of similar studies. We encourage the District to compare True North’s reports to those produced by other firms to appreciate the value-added that the District will receive from partnering with our team, and have included two example reports with our proposal for this purpose. PRESENTATION & CONSULTING Once the final report has been completed, True North will prepare a PowerPoint presentation of the survey results and deliver the presentation to the Board of Directors and Citizens Advisory Committee, as desired. The Powerpoint will consist of the most important findings/key graphics from the larger survey report and a summary of the key conclusions. Moreover, after the study is complete, we will continue to be a good partner for the District. As issues or questions arise for which the survey may provide some guidance, we will be happy to consult with and advise the District at no additional charge. PROJECT SCHEDULE True North will work with the Costa Mesa Sanitary District to estab- lish a project schedule that meets the District’s needs for the survey. Figure 3 presents a typical time line for a customer survey, showing the number of days that we generally recommend devoting to each stage, as well as the key research tasks that are completed in each stage. The proposed schedule meets the milestones established on page 4 of the RFP. We have the availabil- ity and resources needed to meet this time line, as well as the flexibility to accelerate this sched- ule, if desired, to best meet the District’s needs. FIGURE 3 PROPOSED PROJECT TIME LINE Aug 16-25 Aug 26-Sept 15 Sept 16- 30 Oct 1-15 Oct 16-21 Oct 22-31 Nov 10 & 22 Kickoff Meeting Background Research Share Plans & Documents Questionnaire Design, Review & Approve Pre-Test Sample Language Translation CATI Program & Test Web Program & Test Interviewer Training Invitations Email, Text & Telephone Recruiting Online Surveys Telephone Interviews Monitoring Data Processing Coding Weighting Crosstabs Topline Summary Statistical Analysis Initial Report Report Review Final Report Powerpoint Summary Board Presentation Committee Presentation Project Initiation Design Prepare to Field Data Collection Data Processing Analysis & Reporting Presentations Ongoing Strategic Consulting Project Overview (G) & Work Plan (H)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 16Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FOCUS GROUP APPROACH In addition to designing and conducting a statistically reli- able survey of rate payers, True North will lead all of the tasks needed conduct a focus group with rate payers that focuses on the District’s curbside mixed-waste recycling program—includ- ing the design of the discussion guide and recruiting scripts, recruiting participants, moderating the group, reviewing the findings, and preparing a report that summarizes the findings of the study. Additional details on our approach are provided below. Recruiting & Incentives True North will recruit a cross-section of rate payers to participate in the focus group. We recommend an incentive of $125 per individual to participate in a focus group in order to encourage thoughtful, engaged participation. To cover for potential no-shows, a select number of ‘floaters’ will also be recruited to be on-site for a longer period of time and will have somewhat larger incentives ($150). We recommend that all participants be residents in the District’s service area for at least one year in order to qualify for the study, that way they will have had sufficient time to familiarize themselves with the District and its services. Design & Implementation In close consultation with the District, True North will design, revise, and finalize a discussion guide that will include a number of structured questions for key metrics, but otherwise will be loosely structured to allow participants to elaborate in their own words on their understanding, opinions, and reactions the topics addressed during the groups. Dr. McLarney will moderate the group with Mr. Sarles taking notes. With the pandemic still a factor (and to make it more convenient for participating customers), we recommend conducting the group using the Discuss.IO platform. The Discuss.IO platform has all the functionality found in applications like Zoom, but is tailored to the needs of qualitative researchers including discussion guide development and tracking, video recording, active video marking, the ability to capture and weave together highlight reels, automatic text transcription linked to the video, and the ability to share stimuli, have participants mark-up items and com- plete exercises, and capture their individual contributions. Discuss.IO’s technical support team helps with tech-checks prior to the group to ensure all participants have appropriate software and good connectivity. The platform also has a backroom where District staff and representa- tives can observe the groups, chat with each other, send notes to the moderator (Dr. McLarney), save video moments, and capture their notes and observations. Discuss.IO also offers more advanced discovery tools including sentiment analysis in their latest release. Analysis & Reporting After the group is conducted, True North will closely review and analyze the video and notes for the session and prepare a report on the findings. The report will focus on key themes and findings and will incorporate video highlights for illustration and emphasis. Cost Proposal (I)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 17Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C OST PROPOSAL (I) Table 3 presents True North’s flat-fee, lump sum cost to design and conduct the citizen survey as described in this proposal, whereas Table 4 presents the costs for the proposed focus group. The costs shown are inclusive—there will be no additional charges for travel, incidentals, meet- ings, post-project advising, or any other matter. If selected as the District’s research partner for this study, our payment terms are simple: we request full payment at the conclusion of the study. No interim or up-front payments are needed. TABLE 3 SURVEY COSTS TABLE 4 FOCUS GROUP COSTS 1,000 Interviews Task 20 MinRandom Sample & Matching 3,400$ Lanuage Translation 600$ CATI/Web Programming & Hosting 2,250$ Email & Text Invitations 2,000$ Data Collection 18,500$ Data Processing/Weighting 2,500$ Design, Analysis & Reporting 8,500$ Project Management 780$ TOTAL 38,530$ Online Focus Group Task 90 MinutesRecruiting 1,750$ Incentives 1,250$ Discuss.IO Platform, Hosting, Tech Support 1,600$ Moderating 600$ Design, Analysis & Reporting 8,500$ TOTAL 13,700$ Distinguishing Characteristics (J)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 18Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D ISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS (J) True North offers a unique combination of survey research expertise and capabilities, experience partnering with public agencies in California on citizen surveys, and a management approach that ensures our clients receive exceptional quality research, insights, and customer service. Below we expand on what distinguishes True North from other research firms. Unmatched Experience & Expertise Conducting Customer Satisfaction Surveys for Public Agencies True North’s President (Dr. Timothy McLarney) and Principal Researcher (Richard Sar- les) have personally designed and conducted more surveys to assist California public agencies in meeting their performance, planning, and communication goals than any other researchers in the State. Since True North’s founding in 2002, our team has conducted over 1,000 surveys for public agencies, including more than 500 surveys for special districts, utilities, and municipali- ties for planning, communications, and performance measurement. The advantage of working with True North is that our experience will not only allow us to be a very active, insightful collab- orator with the Costa Mesa Sanitary District when designing the survey, it will also enable us to provide reliable benchmarking information and meaningfully interpret (and provide context to) the results of the District’s research. A Well-Earned Reputation for Neutral, Scientific Surveys When commissioning a customer opinion survey and selecting a consultant, the bar should be set very high in terms of neutrality, objectivity, and methodological rigor. In all aspects and appearances the study must be above reproach if customers and stakeholders are expected to accept it as a fair, scientific assessment of customers’ priorities, opinions, and satisfaction with respect to the services and programs provided by the Costa Mesa Water District. The firm the District selects to conduct the study and the methodologies they employ are a big part of establishing that foundation of credibility. Hiring a firm that is known for conducting can- didate election surveys, partisan polling, and/or issue-advocacy research, for example, will natu- rally lead customers to question whether the survey was done right, or for the right reasons. At True North Research, we have spent 19 years conducting objective, non-partisan, scientific surveys on behalf of public agencies. We have a well-earned reputation as an independent expert research firm that provides neutral, balanced, and accurate research to government clients. Equally important, we have purposely avoided getting involved in local politics, candidate elec- tions and donations, partisan polling, and political commentary so that our reputation/track record never becomes a liability for our public sector clients. How We Manage Your Study Most research firms (and all of the larger firms) rely heavily on delegation to manage their work flow. Although they may send the Principals to the interview, the unfortunate reality is that once they ‘win’ a project the actual research tasks—design, data processing, data analysis, report writing, presentation building—are promptly delegated to lower-level staff. At True North, we follow a very different model for managing your project. We believe the best approach to conducting your study is to have the person in our organization with the most expertise and experience roll-up his sleeves and actually do the work. At True North, who you Distinguishing Characteristics (J)True North Research, Inc. © 2021 19Costa Mesa Sanitary District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . see is who you get. True North’s President (Dr. McLarney) will personally perform more than 75% of the research tasks for the proposed survey. Innovative Methods for a Changing Environment True North has been at the forefront in developing innovative survey methodologies to overcome the challenges associated with con- ducting statistically reliable surveys in the current environment—including Caller-ID, SPAM fil- ters, habitual call-screening, and busy lifestyles. By using three recruiting methods and two data collection methods in concert, our recommended survey approach will increase participation rates, reduce response bias, better engage hard-to-reach subgroups, and increase the overall accuracy and reliability of the District’s survey results when compared to relying on fewer recruiting and/or data collection methods. Deep Orange County Experience True North has extensive experience assisting public agen- cies in Orange County with their research needs. To date, we have conducted more than 80 com- munity and customer surveys for public agencies in Orange County including Mesa Water and the Santa Margarita Water District, the cities of Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Brea, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Dana Point, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Palma, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Mis- sion Viejo, Placentia, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, and Yorba Linda, the County of Orange, OCTA, the Orange County Fire Authority, Soka University, Rancho Santiago Community College District, and the following school districts: Anaheim SD, Buena Park SD, Capistrano USD, Centralia SD, Fountain Valley SD, Fullerton JUHSD, Garden Grove USD, Irvine USD, Los Alamitos USD, Oceanview SD, Orange USD, Saddleback Valley USD, Santa Ana USD, Savanna SD, and Tustin USD. Public Utility Experience One of the advantages of selecting True North is that we have exten- sive experience working with public utilities on a wide range of research topics including cus- tomer needs assessments, customer satisfaction/performance measurement, pricing and rate plan studies, program design/evaluation, product design/evaluation, branding and customer perceptions, marketing, and building customer support for various initiatives. In the past five years alone, True North has led more than 30 research projects for public utilities in the potable water, sewer/wastewater, electricity, and gas industries (see Figure 2 on page 4 for a list of our utility and special district clients).