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Community Research

Rakahau o te Hapori

We're committed to building vibrant and sustainable communities. As part of this, we regularly carry out and commission research to better understand how we can meet the current and future needs of our people.

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Community Insights Survey

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Quality of Life survey

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Community Facilities research

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Community Insights Survey

Community Insights Survey

The 2026 Community Insights Survey is currently underway.

Each year we carry out a Community Insights Survey to help us understand the level of trust Queenstown Lakes residents have in Council decision-making and processes, and their level of satisfaction with Council services, facilities and overall performance.  

This year, residents were randomly selected from the ratepayer database or electoral role and invited to take part via email or letter containing a unique survey link. The survey is administered by Key Research, an independent research company, and this year 3,200 residents have been invited to take part.

You can view the results of the 2025 Community Insights Survey below.

Quality of Life survey

To get a picture of life in our district, we hold annual Quality of Life surveys with help from independent research company, Versus Research. This anonymous survey has been in place since 2018.

The information is used to support improvements to community wellbeing through planning and decision-making by Council and other organisations, as well as advocacy to central government on behalf of the community.

The 2025 Quality of Life Survey received 1,767 responses from residents and a further 330 from non-resident ratepayers. The survey no longer asks residents about their satisfaction with local services, facilities, activities, or governance. These results will now come through the Community Insights Survey, due March 2026.

Results:

Community Facilities Research

QLDC in association with consultants Tonic Consulting/Weave Together undertook an update of the 2018 Our Community Spaces Report around the opportunities and challenges that exist for community groups in our district, particularly in relation to community facilities.

The key objectives of the 2024 report were to; (a) identify the facilities that community groups are using, (b) understand the current and future facility needs of community organisations, (c) understand the challenges that facility owners and managers face, (d) identify future facility requirements and opportunities for community groups and (e) identify opportunities for supporting facility owners and managers to provide facilities for community groups.

View the results of the 2024 report and supplementary information below.

If you have any questions, please Marie Day, QLDC Community Partnerships Manager: marie.day@qldc.govt.nz

Key ideas and opportunities

The report highlighted findings about our local groups and services and outlines ideas and opportunities for meeting future community facility needs. The key ideas and opportunities include:

  • plan a more coordinated approach to community facility development

  • take a networked approach to facility management

  • build collaborative partnerships

  • harness innovation and good design principles

  • ensure council-owned facilities meet demand

  • identify land for facility development

  • explore and develop creative funding avenues

Research:

Case studies:

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