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Is random sampling effective?

Who is in the Room – Is Random Sampling Effective?

Yarra Ranges Shire Council recently held a Community Forum. Eighty-seven participants attended two sessions over two consecutive Saturdays.

Interestingly, one third of the people in the room were randomly selected. The Council simply had a market research company call people from across the Shire and and invited them to attend. The people I spoke to from this group were delighted to have been invited and honoured to be asked to contribute to the future of their Shire.

The other two-thirds were either people who answered the advertisements to attend (self-nominated) and the final third were representatives of community groups who had received a direct invitation from the Council.

People were not paid to come although they were provided with a petrol voucher and child care was available during the forums.

There was a positive vibe in the room, a lot of energy around the discussions and negligible ‘grandstanding’ on specific interests.

The idea of randomly inviting people not only has the benefit of finding people who match the demographic of the area, but also provides a diversity of experience into the conversation.