Surveys and research for the public sector and government

Public bodies have to serve everyone, but the people who answer consultations are rarely everyone. The residents who reply are the most engaged, and the reasons behind a low satisfaction score usually stay unsaid.

No credit card50 free respondentsGDPR & CCPA compliant
A senior couple of local residents on a park bench

How would you rate the service at the counter?

12345

How satisfied were you with your last visit?

It was okay, but slow.

Which step felt slow, and what would have made it easier for you?

50free respondents
to start

A citizen study, from one question to the answer

1. Ask2. Follow up3. Analyse
Live
Survey

How would you rate the service at the counter?

12345

How satisfied were you with your last visit?

It was okay, but slow.

AI follow-up

Which step felt slow, and what would have made it easier for you?

Answering by voice…

The AI asks one more question whenever an answer is vague, in the respondent's language.

Live results
How would you rate the service at the counter?n = 633
3.0mean / 5
11%1
22%2
31%3
25%4
11%5
633open answers coded into themes
Waiting time37%
Forms hard to understand26%
Friendly staff22%

Illustrative example with sample data, not a client study.

Public sector research asks residents, users of a service and staff what they expect, what they experience and why, so that policies and services are built on their view rather than on the loudest voices.

SmartInterview lets every resident answer in their own language, by voice or text, asks a follow-up when an answer is vague and codes thousands of comments into themes with the verbatims behind them.

Why research matters for public bodies

Public decisions need legitimacy. A consultation that only hears one group, or a satisfaction score without reasons, is hard to act on and hard to defend. Representative samples and open answers that are actually read make the difference.

  • Hear residents who never answer consultations
  • Understand the reasons behind satisfaction scores
  • Compare districts, age groups and languages
  • Document the decision with numbers and verbatims
A town hall on a sunny town square
From question to study

Questions we help public institutions answer

Typical situations in this sector, and how we would set up the study for each.

Research objective

Compare how each public sees the institution

Who we ask

Residents, international residents and staff

How SmartInterview answers it

One questionnaire with three audiences filtered at the start, quotas per public and results split by group

Three publics, one survey

Which describes you best?

ResidentInternational residentStaff
Research objective

Reach a representative sample, not only the most engaged

Who we ask

Residents by district, age and gender

How SmartInterview answers it

A representative panel with quotas, plus the open link for anyone who wants to answer

Quotas by district

Completed interviews vs. target

North100%
Centre92%
South87%
Research objective

Hear non-native speakers in their own language

Who we ask

International and migrant residents

How SmartInterview answers it

Each respondent answers in their language, by voice or text, and themes are consolidated across languages

Answer in your language

¿Qué servicio le cuesta más usar?

0:14
“Los formularios en línea, no entiendo el alemán.”
Research objective

Turn a score into a list of things to improve

Who we ask

Users of the service

How SmartInterview answers it

Satisfaction by step of the service, with an AI follow-up on every low score

AI follow-up on low scores

You rated the counter 2/5. What happened?

Too slow.Which step took longest: the queue, the forms, or waiting for a reply?
Research objective

Run a short internal survey people trust

Who we ask

Staff and teams

How SmartInterview answers it

An internal link or individual invitations, kept separate from the public results, with open answers coded into themes

Staff survey

I feel my opinion is taken into account

12345
DisagreeAgree
Research objective

Include the people who skip email

Who we ask

Residents aged 65 and over

How SmartInterview answers it

QR codes on letters and at counters, voice answers so typing is not needed, and phone-friendly questions

QR code on the letter

How could we make the service easier for you?

0:14
“A phone number with a real person would help.”

Run this study on your own customers

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How it is done today, and with SmartInterview

TodayWith SmartInterview
Consultations only hear the residents who always show upRecruit a representative panel with quotas by region, age and gender
Thousands of free-text comments read manually, months laterEvery comment coded into themes, each theme linked to the verbatims
Non-native speakers and older residents rarely answerAnswers by voice in the respondent's own language, from link or QR
Yearly satisfaction score nobody can turn into actionsAI follow-ups ask what to fix after every low rating

Questions you can answer

  1. 1What do residents expect from this project, and what worries them?
  2. 2Which step of the service frustrates users most?
  3. 3Is our image different among the public, partners and staff?
  4. 4Did the campaign reach the people it was meant for?
  5. 5Which groups feel left out, and why?

Who you can reach

Residents of a city, canton or region, through a representative panelUsers of a service, with a link, an email or a QR codeStaff, with an internal link or individual invitationsNon-native speakers, each answering in their own language

What you can learn

Service experience

How residents experience a counter, a website, a hospital, public transport or a permit process, and where it breaks down.

Expectations and priorities

Which projects, services or investments matter most to residents, and why.

Image and trust

How the institution is perceived by the public, by partners and by its own staff, and what drives that perception.

How SmartInterview works for public bodies

  1. 1

    Define the business decision

    Name the decision: a project to adjust, a service to improve, a communication to change or a priority to set.

  2. 2

    Generate the survey

    Describe the decision in one sentence. SmartInterview drafts the questionnaire, scores its quality and flags leading or double-barrelled questions before anyone answers.

  3. 3

    Recruit the target audience

    Reach residents through a representative panel by region, age and gender, invite service users by email or QR code, and survey staff with an internal link.

  4. 4

    Collect quantitative and qualitative answers

    Structured questions give the numbers. When an answer is vague, the AI asks a follow-up, by voice or text, in the respondent's language.

  5. 5

    Analyze segments and open-ended feedback

    Open answers are coded into themes with counts and sentiment, and every theme links back to the verbatims behind it. Compare segments side by side.

  6. 6

    Turn insights into recommendations

    Export the findings, the themes and the quotes to the team that has to decide, as a report or a spreadsheet.

Example studies

Two colleagues reviewing notes on a glass wall
Illustrative study design

Perception of a public institution among residents and staff

Challenge

A public institution wants to compare how residents, the international community and its own staff perceive it.

Research design

One questionnaire with three audiences, filtered at the start, open questions probed by the AI, in French and English.

Respondents

A representative panel of residents, an over-sampled international segment and an internal staff survey.

Business decision

Adapt communication per audience and prioritise the service points that hurt trust.

Key insights

  • Each audience values different aspects of the institution
  • Open answers show which experiences drive trust or distrust
Retraites Populaires insurance study
Customer story

Retraites Populaires: brand perception for a third-pillar offer

Read the customer story →

Challenge

Retraites Populaires wanted to understand how its third-pillar pension offer and brand were perceived.

Research design

Survey on usage, expectations and brand perception, with AI follow-ups on open answers.

Respondents

Around 600 respondents.

Business decision

The results informed the brand positioning of the offer.

Key insights

  • Expectations and perceptions of the offer were mapped
  • The drivers of positioning were identified

Public sector research topics teams search for

Citizen satisfaction survey questions

Ask residents to rate the services they used, how easy it was to get help and what they would improve first. SmartInterview asks a follow-up after low ratings so each score comes with a reason.

How to run a public consultation online

Explain the project briefly, ask closed questions on the options and open questions on concerns, and share the link widely. For a representative view, add a panel sample alongside the open consultation.

Resident survey template

Cover quality of life, local services, safety, mobility and trust in the institution. SmartInterview drafts the template from your goal and flags biased wording before it goes out.

Employee engagement survey for government agencies

Ask staff about workload, management, resources and whether past feedback led to changes. Keep internal results separate from public studies and let staff answer by voice if they prefer.

How to reach hard-to-reach residents in surveys

Combine online links with QR codes in public places, offer voice answers and let people reply in their own language. A panel with quotas can fill the gaps left by self-selected respondents.

Public transport passenger survey

Ask about punctuality, crowding, information and connections on the lines people actually use. A QR code at stops or on board collects answers during the journey.

Measure trust in a public institution

Ask how much residents trust the institution, then why, and compare groups such as long-term residents and newcomers. Coded reasons show what builds trust and what erodes it.

Government survey software in Switzerland

Swiss public bodies need French, German and Italian, often English too, and clear data handling. SmartInterview is a Swiss company and consolidates answers across languages in one report.

Pricing

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Frequently asked questions

A survey run by a public body to hear residents, service users or staff about a service, a project or the institution itself, so that decisions reflect their views.

Use a panel with quotas by region, age and gender rather than relying only on people who come to a consultation. SmartInterview can recruit the panel for you.

Yes. Each respondent answers in their own language, by voice or text, and the themes are consolidated across languages.

Yes. Send a single link through your internal channels or individual invitations from the platform, and keep the internal results separate from the public ones.

The AI codes every comment into themes with counts and sentiment, and each theme links back to the verbatims, so nothing is left unread.

SmartInterview is a Swiss company. Contact us for the hosting and data processing details your procurement needs.

The first 50 respondents are free. For a panel study we send a quote with the sample, the hours and the delivery dates.

Themes update as answers arrive. A typical panel study runs in two to three weeks from the final questionnaire to the report.

Hear the residents who never answer consultations

Launch a representative survey and read the reasons behind every answer.

No credit card50 free respondentsGDPR & CCPA compliant