Viewfinder
What is Viewfinder?
Viewfinder is Perth & Kinross Council's citizen's panel.
A commitment to establish a citizen’s panel for Perth and
Kinross was made under the Council's Decentralisation Scheme and
following the approval of the Strategic Policy and Resources
Committee on 28th October 1998, Viewfinder was established.
To date Viewfinder members have been asked to complete sixteen
panel wide questionnaires.
Why have Viewfinder?
Councils are required to consult and ascertain the views of users
and residents in a much more systematic way than before. Adopting a
customer / citizen focus is a key element of achieving effective
Public Management and Planning.
Viewfinder offers a cost-effective method of consultation, enabling
well-targeted research and consultation using a robust sample with
expected high response rates. This is one way you can let us know
your views about Council services and other important issues
affecting life in Perth & Kinross.
How does Viewfinder work?
Viewfinder is a sample of 1,100 Perth and Kinross residents, which
is broadly representative of the demographic characteristics of the
population of Perth and Kinross.
All panel members have agreed to participate in up to four postal
surveys per annum and some Viewfinder members have also agreed to
take part in other types of research undertaken by the Council.
To ensure that the panel remains representative, panel members who
drop out are replaced on an on-going basis by equivalent volunteers
who are held on the Viewfinder reserve list. In addition, panel
membership is restricted to three years.
The results of Viewfinder questionnaires are reported to
councillors and service managers and are used to help the Council
make decisions about services.
