Pilot Elite Survey
The Spanish Research Council (CSIC) leading WP8 – “Effective contribution to the policy outcome” finalised a pilot survey conducted in Spain among political elites at the national, regional and local levels. The information gathered during the process will help the EuComMeet team to improve and strengthen the design and fieldwork procedures of the final Elite Survey that will be implemented in five EU countries (France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Poland).
- Pilot Elite Survey contents : the questionnaire
The contents included the following four thematic blocks:
- Democracy, citizens, representatives, and their roles.
- General attitudes towards participatory and deliberative institutions.
- Which characteristics of deliberative events favour positive attitudes of policymakers.
- Socio-demographic and other independent variables.
2. Sampling design
The population of politicians invited to answer the survey consist of the following groups:
– At the Federal / National level:
- All Members of Parliament (MPs) at the Federal
- /National level;
- All Members of Senate (MSs);
-At the Regional level
- All Members of regional Parliaments (MRPs);
-At the Local level:
- All Members of the municipal council (selected municipalities), including the mayor
3. Lessons and proposals
Following the Pilot Elite Survey, the CSIC suggested some adjustments in the design of the survey and changes in the fieldwork procedures with the aim of increasing the quality of the data obtained in the Elite Survey in five countries (Sub-task 8.1.4) that will feed the Comparative elite attitudes dataset of the EuComMeet Project (Deliverable D8.2 of WP8).
The most important concern regarding the measurement chapter has to do with the length of the questionnaire. According to indicators such as the number of sessions used to complete the survey and/or the number of dropouts, questionnaire should be shortened so that the average duration is 15 to 20 minutes.
With regards to sampling design and construction, the most important change has been forced by the evidence that the universe of high-rank officers was not accessible, hence the final Elite Survey will focus exclusively on the policymakers.
Finally, the timing of fieldwork will surely be improved in the final implementation of the elite survey as compared to the pilot survey in Spain. The campaign started less than 10 days before Christmas and the impact of this long holiday period on the survey collection has been quite important.