Students in a Grand Valley State University statistics class are being put to task by city managers from two West Michigan cities. Their goal is to discover why residents have voted against recent attempts to fund needed infrastructure improvements.
John Gabrosek, an associate professor in the GVSU statistics department, has partnered with officials from both Grand Haven and Roosevelt Park. His class will develop and conduct scientific surveys of residents' opinions about their city services.
Grand Haven City Manager Pat McGinnis will speak to students about the project during their class on Monday, January 15, at noon in room 1007 Mackinac Hall, Allendale Campus. Roosevelt Park City Manager David Boehm will do the same on Wednesday, January 17.
The Grand Haven project is known as S.W.I.S.S., an acronym for sewer, water, infrastructure, streets and sidewalks. While the students will gain valuable experience the two cities are saving thousands of dollars with a free survey, paying only for the costs of printing and mailing the survey. They will also get answers to important questions about residents' opinions of city services and their willingness to approve funding for needed upgrades.
The students will listen to the concerns of the city managers after doing background reading on the projects and political surveys in general. Students will then work on determining target populations, the sampling strategy and a pilot study prior to the full surveys conducted in late February or early March. Each city will receive an analysis of the collected data during a final presentation in April.
"We see this as a winning situation for both the students and the cities," said Gabrosek. "It's a good opportunity for students to see statistics at work in the real world and provide valuable information for the city officials and residents."
