Paulina Chavez
Press Secretary
[email protected]
Between April and May 2021, NDI polled citizens in cities of the four Visegrad countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The selected cities are considered nationally significant, by the measure of population or by other characteristics, such as position as a regional capital. The questionnaire engaged citizens on how they access information about the city and their preferences for engagement.
NDI research found:
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Across the region, citizens are very interested in events taking place in their municipality and seventy percent of citizens are satisfied with their cities' communication.
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Citizens frequently utilize official city communications for information; however, the preferred communication channels vary by age. The youngest surveyed were most likely to turn to the city’s Facebook page while the oldest surveyed preferred the city’s newspaper. The official city website and newspaper were the most common sources of information.
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Signing petitions and direct contacts with city officials are the most common forms of public engagement; however, the most common form of engagement in each country varies. Age and the length of residence in the city influence how people engage and those aged 30 to 49 are most likely to engage. Ages 18 to 39 years are likely to discuss the city on the internet and take part in local demonstrations.
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The order of importance of policy concerns varies by country but universal concerns are common space development, ecology, and traffic policies.
The quantitative polls engaged up to 1,800 respondents in each country using Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI) methodology.
This project is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). With funding from the NED, the National Democratic Institute engages with mayors, deputy mayors, and communications directors by organizing regional forums and bilateral exchanges for municipal leaders to learn advanced communications skills and citizen engagement practices through training led by international experts and the promotion of regional best practices and peer exchange.
The full research presentation can be downloaded below.
