CBCity undertakes biggest survey on life post COVID-19
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In the biggest undertaking of any Council in NSW since the outbreak of COVID-19, City of Canterbury Bankstown has launched an interactive online survey to find out what the lockdown was really like for locals.
As part of the initiative, locals will be asked a range of questions, including how they fared during lockdown, what changes they had to make, what concerns they had, how they connected with others and accessed Council services.
"The restrictions put in place by the NSW Government affected each one of our more than 361,000 residents, and 36,000 businesses. It even affected how our Council operates," Mayor Asfour said.
"They changed the way we deliver services, the way we communicate, and, at one point, how we held Council Meetings.
"I want us to learn from our community's experiences so we can not only improve the way we do things, but understand what the new normal for our City should be.
"For instance, we will be asking how people felt about lockdown, what they liked, what they didn't like, what their concerns were, if they felt supported, and what they are looking forward to post lockdown.
"We also want to use this as an opportunity to improve the way we deliver our services and connect with people, by asking how they accessed services and communicated with Council.
Mayor Asfour said one of the best parts of this survey is that people will be able to see, in real-time, what other people have said as they complete it.
"This will help reassure people they aren't alone, and there are others out there that have had similar experiences," he said.
Mayor Asfour said Council owes it to its residents to learn from this experience and use the information to continue building a resilient City.
"While we are seeing things slowly return to normal, I know life will be a little different. Our City will have grown accustomed to doing things a certain way, so we need to make sure we continue to accommodate that," he said.
To participate in the survey, visit cb.city/afterlockdown, or visit City of Canterbury Bankstown's Facebook page.
To view results, visit cb.city/lockdowninsights