This article will guide you on how to create a citizen survey about trust in local government. At Specific, we make it easy to build such surveys in seconds—just create your own in no time.
Steps to create a survey for citizens about trust in local government
If you want to save time, just generate a survey with Specific now. It's easier than you think. Survey creation honestly boils down to:
Tell what survey you want.
Done.
You don’t even need to read on if you’d rather jump right in—AI builds the survey with expert knowledge, including follow-up questions that help you capture deeper insights automatically.
Why surveys about trust in local government matter
If you’re not running citizen feedback surveys about trust in local government, you’re missing out on critical signals for building stronger communities—but let’s get more specific. Recent studies show that only 67% of Americans trust their local government to handle local problems, with significant declines seen over time. In the UK, this drops even further to just 34.5%. [1][2] There’s a real crisis of trust in many countries today.
Surveys help local leaders understand these trust gaps—where they exist and why.
They make it possible to surface community priorities that often get missed in big meetings or traditional complaints boxes.
Engaging people in dialogue boosts transparency, which research shows is a key driver of trust in institutions.
The obvious upside? Actionable insights. When you know exactly what concerns citizens, you can respond-driven not by gut feelings, but by solid data. If you’re not capturing this feedback, you’re simply not in the position to fix what’s broken or communicate what’s working. That’s the real missed opportunity—and one we want to help you avoid.
What makes a good survey on trust in local government
Anyone can write a survey, but not everyone writes a good one. Getting it right starts with using clear, unbiased language. Avoid loaded phrases, assumptions, or political jargon that can easily turn residents off or skew answers.
Keep your tone conversational, so people aren’t afraid to answer honestly.
Questions should flow in a logical, friendly order so it feels like a real conversation—not an interrogation.
Offer space for explanation or follow-up (more on that soon).
The main way you’ll know your survey is working? Measuring the quantity and quality of responses. A strong citizen feedback tool delivers both: lots of people participate, and what you receive is meaningful—not one-word replies or skipped questions. Here’s a mini-table to keep you grounded:
Bad practices | Good practices |
|---|---|
Leading or complicated questions | Clear, neutral, simple language |
No room for explanations | Open space or follow-up for context |
Too formal or intimidating | Conversational, approachable tone |
Question types with examples for citizen survey about trust in local government
Great surveys use a mix of question types to uncover both broad patterns and deep stories. Here’s how we break it down (if you want to go deeper, check our guide on best questions for citizen surveys about trust in local government):
Open-ended questions let citizens speak freely. These are best when you want context—why people feel a certain way, or what unique experiences shape their trust (or distrust) in local government.
What’s one thing your local government could do to earn more of your trust?
Describe a recent experience that shaped how you feel about your local council.
Single-select multiple-choice questions help structure responses and make data easy to summarize. Use these to quantify opinions or preferences—then follow up if you want more detail.
How much do you trust your local government to handle issues that affect your community?
A great deal
Somewhat
Not much
Not at all
NPS (Net Promoter Score) question is useful for benchmarking and trend analysis. Try a purpose-built NPS question to monitor how trust changes year over year—or even after a local initiative. You can generate a NPS survey for citizens about trust in local government in one click.
On a scale from 0-10, how likely are you to recommend your local government’s services to a friend or neighbor?
Followup questions to uncover “the why” are crucial for turning surface answers into real insights. Here’s when and why to ask them: if a respondent gives a vague or unexpected answer, AI can gently nudge for clarification—“Could you tell me more about that?” This helps dig out the real reasons behind their opinion.
What makes you feel this way?
Can you give an example of a positive or negative experience?
Want to explore more? Our full article on survey questions for citizen trust in local government breaks down even more examples and creation tips.
What is a conversational survey?
A conversational survey feels like chatting with a real person. Instead of a flat list of questions, the survey adapts, probes, and responds just like a smart interviewer. At Specific, our AI survey generator transforms the traditional “DIY” approach: you start with a simple prompt, and the AI crafts a full survey, ready to use in seconds.
Here’s a quick comparison:
Manual survey | AI-generated survey |
|---|---|
Pick a template or write every question by hand | Describe what you need—AI writes questions (and followups) for you |
One-size-fits-all, no conversation | Conversational, personalized for each respondent |
Static, no real-time adjustment | AI asks smart follow-ups based on a person's latest answer |
Manual analysis of data | AI summarizes, visualizes, and makes sense of results instantly |
Why use AI for citizen surveys? Conversational AI survey examples remove barriers to honest input. They deliver richer stories, higher completion rates, and unlock insights you’d never collect in a static Google Form. And since Specific offers best-in-class user experience, both in survey creation and response, your feedback-gathering becomes smooth and engaging for everyone.
If you want a deeper dive, see this handy guide on how to analyze survey responses—especially strong for conversational, AI-driven formats.
The power of follow-up questions
Follow-up questions turn a simple response into a full conversation, revealing context that static forms can never reach. That’s why Specific’s AI-driven followup question feature shines: it asks smart, real-time probes based on how each respondent answers—just like a good interviewer would.
Instead of frustrating email follow-ups or dead-end answers, you collect richer insights, faster. With automated followups, every question feels natural—respondents feel heard, not interrogated. Here’s what can happen if you skip follow-ups:
Citizen: “I don’t really trust the council.”
AI follow-up: “Could you share what happened to make you feel this way?”
How many followups to ask? Generally, 2-3 are plenty—enough to tease out deeper meaning, but not annoy. Setting a smart limit (and allowing respondents to skip) ensures you capture what you need, fast. Specific lets you tune this feature to your needs.
This makes it a conversational survey: When you leverage followups, your survey evolves into a genuine conversation—more useful and more engaging for citizens.
AI analysis, response summaries, theme extraction: Specific lets you drill into open-text answers without the usual headache. Analyze huge amounts of unstructured feedback in seconds using our AI survey response analysis feature or learn more in this full guide: how to easily analyze responses from citizen surveys using AI.
These smart follow-up questions are a totally new paradigm—if you haven’t tried it, generate a survey now and see how much richer your feedback can get.
See this trust in local government survey example now
Start generating deeper insights about citizen trust in your local government with just a few clicks. Dynamic follow-ups and expert-crafted question design help you unlock context that basic survey forms miss—see the difference firsthand and create your own survey today.