Agency Research Consultants believes in making information accessible and providing feedback to those who answer our surveys. Summary reports for our most recent surveys are available below. Everyone who completes our surveys can receive an advance summary of the results. If you want to know what others think on issues of importance to our community, take a few minutes to answer our most recent survey and we will send you the information once the results are released. Click Here to get started.

We asked, you told us...

Our BC Provincial Election Survey took a look at your thoughts and intentions around the May 12th British Columbia general election. Here's what you told us:

• Among participants who intended to vote, 48% declared they would vote NDP, 25% for the BC Liberals, and 7% for the BC Green Party. A total of 20% remained either undecided or undeclared.
• 25% of participants mentioned they were changing their vote compared to the 2005 election. The highest percentages of switching was among participants who would now be supporting the NDP and Green Party.
• The strength of the party platform was rated as the most important factor influencing voting decisions with 87% rating this as important.
• 64% indicated they supported electoral change to the single transferable vote (BC-STV), while 36% supported the existing (first-past-the-post) system.

The summary of findings from this survey are available here. BC Provincial Election Survey Results - May 2009

Our Green Action Survey explored local opinions and actions on environmental issues. Here's what you told us:

• 95% of everyone surveyed participated in recycling on a regular basis. Considerably fewer (42%) purchased organic products regularly.
• 67% of the women surveyed were very or extremely concerned about global warming and climate change, compared with 47% of men.
• 49% rated the efforts of the federal government on environmental issues as poor; 32% provided the same rating for provincial government efforts.
• Only 17% believed the health of the planet would be improved in the next 20 years.

The summary of findings from this survey are available here. Green Action Survey Results - April 2009

In our second annual survey about Christmas shopping, we asked you to share your views. Here's what you told us:

• 43%  said they will be spending less on holiday gifts this year than they did last year, compared to only 6% who said they would be spending more.
• 61% of men and 31% of women reported that they waited until December to start shopping.
• In 2008, 35% said they planned to spend more than $500 on gifts, down from 45% in 2007.
• 42% of survey participants loved to receive gift cards and gift certificates.

We asked you to discuss your voting intentions and concerns with regard to the November 15th municipal election. Here's what you told us:

• 91% of our survey participants intended to vote in the municipal election. This varied slightly by gender, age, and region.
• 7%  waited until they were at the polling station to make up their minds on who to vote for.
• 14% indicated that they had voted in the past by selecting a candidate by random.
• The top issue for our survey participants was development and land use. Overall, 23% selected this issue, while 17% selected homelessness, and 14% selected affordable housing as the issue that they believed candidates should be focused on. There were differences in top issue by gender and region.

The summary of findings from this survey are available here.  Municipal Election Survey Results 2008

We asked you to share with us your opinions and experiences about Victoria's Downtown. Here's what you told us:

• 58% made trips downtown at least once per week
• 54% stated that the decision to go downtown was influenced by panhandlers.
• A variety of places to eat, go for coffee or go for drinks was the highest rated strength of the downtown area (average rating 8.0 out of 10).

We asked you to share with us your opinions and experiences about transportation in the CRD. Here's what you told us:

• 53% of survey participants traveled 10 kms or less to work. Only 10% indicated that they traveled more than 20 kms.
• 54% told us their primary method of traveling to work was with a personal vehicle.
• 89% indicated they supported the development of light rapid transit (LRT) between downtown Victoria and the Western communities.

The summary of findings from this survey are available here. Transportation Survey Results 2008

We asked you to share with us about Christmas shopping in 2007. Here's what you told us:

• 30% claimed that the strength of the Canadian dollar in 2007 had an influence on their spending.
• 57% indicated that they were spending the same amount in 2007 compared to 2006.
• Among those with annual household incomes less than $50,000, 27% indicated they were spending less than the previous year. For households with incomes over $50,000, 12% indicated they would be spending less. 

 The summary of findings from this survey are available here. Christmas Shopping Survey Results 2007

Watch for more survey results in the new year. To participate in our current survey, click here. To receive advance notice of our new surveys and survey results be sure to sign up for our newsletter.