Today we were greeted with 4 completed surveys in our inbox as the Qualtrics survey was sent out automatically at 9:30am. While the team was slightly disappointed that there were no free response submissions, we were excited to see actual data and happy that the individuals responded so quickly. Each respondent was emailed requesting a follow-up phone interview and within the hour we had 2 scheduled phone interviews for next Friday.
Our primary goal for the day was calling the Connecticut DEEP office to follow-up on our email we had sent regarding information on the program evaluation they had done between round one and two of their Microgrid Grant & Loan program. This was our first time in the WPI IGSD conference room with a conference call, one of many more to come!
When the first call didn't work, the team realized we had no portable number for which we could leave people in a voice message if they wanted to connect back with us. We then took the time to create a Google Voice number that would forward to all of our phones so that a respondent can quickly return a phone call without sending an email, then allowing us to connect with them on the nearest landline. Once we setup our number, we tried the DEEP office for a 2nd time and were able to get in touch and begin the interview.
The interview provided us a number of useful insights. The first was that the DEEP had not sent out an official survey instead solicited feedback from the municipality in two ways. First, an email was sent containing a general list of questions and requesting a written response back to those questions. Second, municipality contacts and one guest acting as a technical consultant, were invited to a "town hall" meeting for a general forum. When asked which method proved most effective, the staff member responded that both were equally effective. The feedback from both of those sources was then reviewed by the program's team members for possible implementation in the 2nd round.
This led our team to think of a few things. The DEEP noted several times the effectiveness of having utility representatives available at webinars and reviewing the actual applications. It led us to explore the DOER's reasoning for not having such utility involvement. The fact that Connecticut was more focused on Microgrids? Would greater utility input have eased the application process? We also noted another, potentially future method of data collection, that of a public in-person forum. While the incentives may be low to those who have been awarded to attend, perhaps those who may apply will provide their feedback to their needs in such a forum.
The staff member was also able to send us the email invitations to the forum as well as the email with general questions. This allowed us to look at our verbiage, length, style etc and compare. We've certainly gained a lot and are continuing to gain more as we process the interview. As we are going through our methods chapter tonight, it's allowing us to think outside of the DOER to other ways this can be done.
No comments:
Post a Comment