One world, many places

Amid all the focus on national and international news, particularly talk of the global economic meltdown, it is easy to forget that it is often people's local area that has most impact on their day-to-day quality of life.

The160Ipsos Social Research Institute specialises in providing a better understanding of this vital area of social policy across the world. This includes research to identify local priorities, develop key communications messages, involve citizens more directly in decisions and track perceptions over time to evaluate the impact160 of policies and demonstrate value for money.

Our research and expertise goes further than simply exploring basic perceptions. We cover broader issues that shape the delivery of local public services and the underlying relationship between government and citizens. Indeed, a key difference in our analysis is the careful consideration of a number of background factors that influence public perceptions, such as affluence, diversity and other population characteristics; as a public service, who you serve is often as important as what you do.

This short paper, based on data from Ipsos'160Global @dvisor survey, provides a snapshot of the relationship between attitudes towards municipal government and key social outcomes across the world. We look at how satisfied people are with their local area and their municipal government, what drives this satisfaction and what local services can do about it.

Of course, the findings discussed here are necessarily broad. Global @dvisor collects data at the national level, and therefore does not take account of local or regional variation. We know from our detailed work in individual countries that satisfaction levels vary hugely between areas and really understanding local circumstances is vital. However, we still think this international analysis provides useful context for our local work - it paints a picture of differing national concerns and priorities that local areas can be compared with.

And finally, a quick note on the sample. The Global @dvisor survey is conducted online and, in more developed countries we can be confident that our sample provides a good picture of the population. However, in some developing countries, where a minority of the population has access to the internet, the sample should be seen as representing a more affluent and connected segment of citizens. In our private sector work we analyse these groups as "brand influencers", and we believe their value for studies on perception of public services is similar. We hope this paper provides a different, global perspective, to help you understand these very local issues.

Bobby Duffy Director, Ipsos Social Research Institute