Measure Description

Edmontonians’ Assessment: Connected to Community measures the percentage of respondents to the Edmontonians’ Perception Survey who indicate they feel connected to their community. A third-party vendor conducts the survey by telephone. The vendor also collects demographic data to assess whether participants reflect the population. Survey methodology and the demographic results are provided in the Appendix.

Measure Importance

Social connections are important to people’s well-being and quality of life. The strongest contributors to connectedness are that the community is friendly and supportive and that people feel welcome and socially included in their community.

Historical Data

Data sources: Leger Citizen Perception Surveys (2012, 2013), LegerEdmontonians' Perception Survey (2014, 2015, 2016)

Explanation of Performance

The 2017 perception survey found that 47 percent of Edmontonians felt connected to their community. This decreased nine percent from 2016, however it exceeded the target of 45 percent for 2017.
The 2017 survey showed the strongest contributors to connectedness were the following: feeling active and involved in the community, feeling welcome and socially included in the community, and friendly and supportive communities. Edmontonians stated their main reasons for not feeling connectedness were the following: not well connected to the community, do not know many people in the area, there are not many community activities, and they prefer to keep to themselves.
In order to achieve the outcome of connected citizens, the City has implemented numerous initiatives, programs and services in the areas of community-building and strengthening individual and collective capacity to engage. Examples of work that contribute to increasing citizen connections include Abundant Community Edmonton, the City’s partnership with the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues, the enhancement of the City’s public engagement efforts, EndPoverty Edmonton, Affordable Housing Strategy, the Leisure Access Program and low income transit pass implementation.

Useful Links

For information about the City's strategic plan, The Way Ahead: http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/city_vision_and_strategic_plan/the-way-ahead.aspx