Constituent Research & Experience Assessment – 8 weeks

Available via CMAS Contract Vehicle

Objective

Help your agency understand how residents, participants, and partners experience programs and services, identify barriers to participation, and prioritize opportunities for improvement.

Phase 1: Discovery & Research Design (Weeks 1-2)

Goal: Establish research objectives and develop a shared understanding of current constituent challenges.

  • Conduct stakeholder interviews across program, communications, and leadership teams

  • Review existing research, performance metrics, surveys, and constituent-facing materials

  • Inventory key service and communication touchpoints

  • Develop research plan and fieldwork approach

Deliverable:Constituent Research Plan defining audiences, research questions, and methodology.

Phase 2: Constituent Research & Fieldwork (Weeks 3-5)

Goal: Gather direct input from the people who interact with your programs and services.

  • Conduct constituent interviews

  • Conduct interviews with frontline staff and partner organizations

  • Design and administer a constituent survey

  • Analyze qualitative and quantitative findings

  • Identify barriers, unmet needs, and opportunities for improvement

Deliverable:Constituent Insights Report including key findings, audience segments, and priority themes.

Phase 3: Journey Analysis & Recommendations (Weeks 6–8)

Goal: Translate research findings into actionable recommendations.

  • Map the constituent experience from awareness through participation

  • Identify moments of confusion, friction, and drop-off

  • Prioritize opportunities based on impact and feasibility

  • Facilitate an executive findings session

Deliverable:Constituent Experience Roadmap including journey maps, recommendations, and implementation priorities.

Fixed Fee: $45,000

This remains under the $50,000 delegated authority threshold for most California state agencies, allowing for a streamlined procurement process via CMAS.

Optional Add-On: Communications Improvement Package

Starting at $7,500

If research findings reveal opportunities to strengthen constituent communications, Program 11 can extend this engagement to include message refinement, content recommendations, website improvement guidance, plain-language review, and constituent-facing communication frameworks.

All communications work is scoped separately and remains compliant with CMAS labor rates.

Why This Format Works for California Agencies

  • Procurement-ready. Fixed fee, clear deliverables, and CMAS-aligned labor categories (541613 Marketing Consulting Services / 541910 Market Research and Analysis).

  • Compliant from the start. Research instruments, reports, and any optional communications recommendations are designed to support accessibility, plain-language, and multilingual requirements, including AB 434 and Dymally-Alatorre considerations.

  • Evidence-driven. Built on constituent interviews, surveys, fieldwork, and qualitative analysis rather than assumptions or anecdotal feedback.

  • Mission-first. Focuses on improving public understanding, participation, access, and service effectiveness—not simply communications outputs.

  • Action-oriented. Produces practical recommendations, journey insights, and prioritized opportunities that agency teams can implement immediately.

  • Expandable. Creates a research foundation for future communications, outreach campaigns, service improvements, or program adoption initiatives without requiring a larger transformation effort.

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