Site MenuSurvey of Community Relations Officers
Part C : Tools provided to Community Relations Officers
Part C: Highlights
- Half of the CROs (51%) proposed most of the outreach activities for their action plan. A statistical increase compared to the 2006 election. Furthermore, 43% of respondents indicated that both ROs or AROs and themselves decided on outreach activities together.
- The outreach action plan was a useful tool for nearly eight out of ten respondents (78%). Three-quarters of them used the action plan to make sure they were on track on their outreach activities (76%) and for the most part it reflected the activities undertaken during the election.
- Although results may be perceived to be a bit low, we see an improvement in the ease with which one can order outreach material from EC (58% vs. 44% in 2006) as well as with the time delay between ordering and reception (58%).
- Most sections in the CRO guide were deemed pertinent. We see particularly higher scores for the Goal of the CRO program (91%), the roles assumed by the CRO (90%) as well as the job description and statement of qualifications.
- Potential improvements to the CRO guide pertain to making it more specific to target groups (20%), emphasizing the outreach action plan (17%) and providing additional examples and suggestions (14%).
- Most documents provided by Elections Canada were deemed useful. However, overall scores are below the 50% mark for the "I'm Mailing My Vote!" pamphlet and mini poster as well as bilingual service cards.
- The two main things respondents felt would have helped them in their job is better material for target groups and material available in different languages.
Involvement in Outreach Activities
- Half of the CROs (51%) said they proposed most of the outreach activities for their action plan. The increase of 13% compared to the last election is statistically significant. Two-thirds of BC CROs (66%) proposed most of the outreach activities.
- More than four out of ten CROs (43%) worked in collaboration with the RO or ARO to decide on the outreach activities.
- A small percentage of CROs (9%) said they were directed by the RO or ARO to complete specific outreach activities. An even smaller proportion did not complete an action plan (4%)
Q22. Which of the following statements describe you the best (n=219)
Satisfaction with CRO Program
- Generally speaking, three-quarters of those surveyed think that the outreach action plan was a useful tool (78%). Nearly the same percentage of respondents (76%) made use of their action plan to ensure they were on track in their outreach activities and 74% of them said that their action plan accurately reflected their outreach activities during the election.
- Seven out of ten CROs (70%) would agree that the quantity of outreach promotional material was adequate. A smaller percentage felt that the content was adequate (63%) and that the promotional material provided by Elections Canada was very useful for their group of electors (60%).
- Although only 58% of the CROs surveyed feel that it was easy to order outreach materials from EC and that the material was delivered within a reasonable period of time, this is an improvement compared to the 39th election.
| Total 40th General Election AVERAGE SCORE OUT OF 5 |
Total 40th General Election SUM OF AGREE & STRONGLY AGREE |
Total 39th General Election SUM OF AGREE & STRONGLY AGREE |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Q25. The outreach action plan was a useful tool. | 4.13 | 78% | ?? |
| Q23. You used the action plan to make sure you were on track in your outreach activities. | 4.13 | 76% | 76% |
| Q24. Your action plan accurately reflected your outreach activities during the election period. | 4.04 | 74% | 78% |
| Q29. The quantity of outreach promotional materials provided was adequate. | 3.92 | 70% | 70% |
| Q30. The content of outreach promotional materials provided was adequate. | 3.68 | 63% | 58% |
| Q26. Promotional materials provided by Elections Canada were very useful for your group of electors. | 3.60 | 60% | ?? |
| Q27. It was easy to order outreach promotional materials from Elections Canada. | 3.54 | 58%  |
44% |
| Q28. When you placed orders for outreach promotional materials, you received them within a reasonable time. | 3.53 | 58% |
41% |
Guide for Community Relations Officers
- Three sections in the Guide for CROs were deemed particularly useful: Goal of the CRO program (91%), Your roles (90%) and Job description and statements of qualifications (84%).
- Four sections were useful to more than seven out of ten CROs: Reporting relationships (77%), Action planning (79%), Media contacts (74%) and Using resources in the community (73%).
- Sample action plans (67%) and Assisting with Registration and Targeted Revision (66%) were perceived to be the least useful among the list of sections evaluated for their usefulness.
- Most of these sections of the guide have had an increase in the level of agreement pertaining to their usefulness.
| Total 40th General Election AVERAGE SCORE OUT OF 5 |
Total 40th General Election SUM OF AGREE & STRONGLY AGREE |
Total 39th General Election SUM OF AGREE & STRONGLY AGREE |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal of the Community Relations Officer program | 4.31 | 91% |
81% |
| Your roles (CRO) | 4.34 | 90% |
79% |
| Job description and statement of qualifications | 4.15 | 84% | 79% |
| Reporting relationships | 4.10 | 77% |
68% |
| Action planning | 4.09 | 79% | 77% |
| Media contacts (handling media requests) | 4.01 | 74% |
41% |
| Using resources in the community (Identifying key contacts) | 3.94 | 73% | 70% |
| Sample action plans | 3.8 | 67% | 60% |
| Assisting with Registration and Targeted Revision (The list of eligible electors and targeted revision) | 3.79 | 66% | 61% |
Improvements to the Guide for CROs
- Respondents suggested a multitude of potential improvements to the guide for CROs such as target-group specific guidelines (20%), emphasizing the outreach action plan (17%), more practical suggestions (14%), job descriptions and required qualifications (8%), more material (5%) and training (5%), adding a contact list (3%) and updating the content of the guide.
| Total 40th General Election | |
|---|---|
| More community / target-group specific guidelines | 20% |
| Emphasize the outreach action plan | 17% |
| More practical suggestions / more examples | 14% |
| Job descriptions / qualifications required | 8% |
| More material (quantities) | 5% |
| More training needed | 5% |
| Add a contact list | 3% |
| Update the content | 3% |
| More information for voters on material used | 2% |
| Other | 23% |
Usefulness of EC Documents
- The following table presents the EC documents deemed most useful for CROs, while those on the next page are the ones which were perceived to be the least pertinent.
- The guide for CROs received the highest utilitarian score at 84%. A greater percentage of respondents from Atlantic Canada (95%) and Quebec (93%) found the guide useful. A statistically smaller ratio of BC respondents found the guide useful (70%).
- The Voter information guide also received high marks, 80% of them found it useful.
- Several documents provided by EC were useful for more than seven out of ten CROs. Namely the "I can vote!" poster (75%), the "At election time" mini poster (74%) and large poster (73%), the Voter information Guide (73%) and "Have your say... Vote" (73%).
| Total 40th General Election
AVERAGE SCORE OUT OF 5 |
Total 40th General Election SUM OF USEFUL & VERY USEFUL | |
|---|---|---|
| Q44. Guide for Community Relations Officers (EC 10019) | 4.28 | 84% |
| Q34. Voter information guide in English (EC 93230) or French (EC 93230-1) | 4.19 | 80% |
| Q35. I can vote! Poster in English (EC 94018) or French (EC 94018-1) | 4.14 | 75% |
| Q38. At election time - 8 ½ x 11 mini poster - English/French (EC 94023) | 4.11 | 74% |
| Q39. At election time - large poster - English/French (EC 94029) | 4.11 | 73% |
| Q40. Voter information guides "At Election Time" in English (EC 93232) or French (EC 93232-1) | 4.04 | 73% |
| Q49. Have Your Say...Vote (English/French) (EC 94032) | 4.09 | 73% |
- The table below presents the rest of the documents provided by EC. These documents received lower marks for usefulness.
- Overall, two-thirds of those surveyed found the "Service Standards for Student Electors" useful (67%). A similar percentage thought the Voter Information Materials on CD-ROM were useful (66%).
- More than half of the CROs thought that the following materials were useful in their role as CRO: the "Accessibility of the Electoral System- Backgrounder" (57%), the "Seekers DVD" (55%) and the "I can vote!" poster (54%).
- Less than half of those surveyed found the "I'm mailing my Vote!" pamphlet (49%) and poster (44%) pertinent. And, just over one-third of the CROs (36%) thought that the bilingual service cards were useful.
| Total 40th General Election AVERAGE SCORE OUT OF 5 |
Total 40th General Election SUM OF USEFUL & VERY USEFUL | |
|---|---|---|
| Q45. Service Standards for Ensuring Accessible Registration and Voting Process for Student Electors (EC 10047) | 3.8 | 67% |
| Q48. Voter Information Materials - Guides and Booklets - CD-ROM (EC 95018) | 3.86 | 66% |
| Q33. Aboriginal Elder and Youth Program - Information Sheet for Elder and Youth Package of 20 (EC 10046) | 3.82 | 63% |
| Q47. Voting by special ballot - Backgrounder (English/French) (EC 90540) | 3.82 | 63% |
| Q46. Accessibility of the Electoral System - Backgrounder (English/French) (EC 90505) | 3.70 | 57% |
| Q37. Seekers DVD (EC 95019) | 3.43 | 55% |
| Q36. I can vote! Poster - Inuktitut (EC 94019) | 3.39 | 54% |
| Q41. I'm Mailing My Vote! - Pamphlet (EC 78605) | 3.43 | 49% |
| Q42. I'm Mailing My Vote! - 8 ½ x 11 mini poster (EC 94027) | 3.31 | 44% |
| Q43. Bilingual Service Cards - Package of 10 (EC 10045) | 2.91 | 36% |
Improving the CROs Work
- Several elements could be beneficial for CROs to do their work: better material for target groups (24%), having brochures available in various languages (12%), more information on the posters or room to add information (9%), more material (9%), audio-visual material (7%), posters in various languages (6%) and various types of posters (5%).
- Other suggestions were mentioned by less than 5% of those who provided some comments.
| Total 40th General Election | |
|---|---|
| Better material for target groups | 24% |
| Brochures available in various languages | 12% |
| More information on the posters / or room to add info | 9% |
| More material (quantity) | 9% |
| Audio-visual material (PowerPoint, etc...) | 7% |
| Posters in various languages | 6% |
| Posters (design, colors, size, etc...) | 5% |
| More information on new identification rules | 3% |
| Guidelines on helping voters | 3% |
| To be better identified | 2% |
| Lists of community organizations / resources | 2% |
| Poll maps | 1% |
| Other | 17% |