Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Data collection and measurement are not standard practice for many public utility companies in the United States. By default, municipal residents become users and customers of public utilities and are rarely given the opportunity to share feedback that might ultimately lead to improvements in the services provided. It is critical that utility companies build and maintain trust with those they serve, which may also lead to support for future infrastructure improvements as needed. This paper demonstrates the use of data collection and measurement to evaluate the public affairs of a public utility company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and describes how findings are used to drive organizational improvement.

Starting in 2016, the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) partnered with researchers at local universities and committed to an ongoing citizen engagement effort in order to better understand the public perception of their services, projects and programs. PWD is currently in its second year of a mixed-methods, citizen assessment of their public performance. Data collection and measurement methods include an annual comprehensive citywide survey and a series of focus groups to better understand constituent experiences and perceptions of PWD services and operations. This paper shares findings from years 1 and 2 of evaluation and describes the resultant actions taken to improve public welfare. The paper also demonstrates how engaging in evaluation has bolstered public perception of and trust in PWD.

In order to engage as broad and diverse constituent sample, the study undertook multiple strategies for recruitment and offered the survey in multiple modes (including web, SMS text, phone and in-person). To reach respondents, PWD included a “Bill-Stuffer Survey Invitation” in every water bill sent to approximately 546,000 residential customers during a one-month period each year. In addition, customers paying their bills in person at any of the three locations throughout the city were surveyed. Finally, surveys were promoted using social media and a formal press release. In 2016, nearly 2,000 customers participated in the survey and the data was weighted to reflect the population of the city of Philadelphia. (Note: The 2017 PWD is still in the field.)

Two key findings from the 2016 evaluation led to actionable changes on the part of the PWD. First, a key driver analysis of the 2016 survey indicated that the bill-paying process, frequency of bill accuracy and rating of water quality were the most important predictors of overall satisfaction with PWD. As a result, the Public Affairs team made efforts to work with the revenue team to improve the bill-paying experience. Second, the evaluation uncovered surprising findings about the preferred mode of being contacted by PWD to receive information about upcoming services, projects, and programs. The team implemented the recommendations and is communicating with residents using different strategies. This evaluation study has implications for increasing the practice of data collection and measurement amongst public utility companies and services in general, and thus for improving general and public welfare and public policy.