The OC Poll at the
University of
California, Irvine
A Need Long Recognized
In the 1980s, the School of Social Ecology at UC Irvine sponsored the Orange County Annual Survey under the direction of Professor Mark Baldassare. A telephone poll of adult residents, the Survey provided descriptive data on OC residents and tracked “social, economic, and political issues of Orange County” over time. Baldassare eventually left to become the President and CEO of the Public Policy Institute of California, which administers the PPIC Statewide Survey.
An Unmet Service
The UCI-OC Poll provides reliable survey data on the issues confronting OC residents. It also brings business leaders together with elected officials and community members to discuss workable responses to these problems. Whether the issues concerning housing, education, business climate, sustainability, transportation, crime, or many other challenges, area leaders are better
The original Orange County Annual Survey (as it was called) consisted of a telephone poll of adult residents that tracked “social, economic, and political issues of Orange County” over time.
equipped to navigate the local environment and respond if they have reliable, timely data on the attitudes, priorities, and opinions of OC residents and a neutral place and convener to consider them. Orange County is one of the six most populous counties in the country; if it were a city, OC would be the third largest. The Poll is a reliable method to track and analyze residents’ concerns, views and priorities and to test particular messaging about those issues.
The OC Poll at UCI
Intended as a semi-annual survey, The UCI-OC Poll provides county residents and leaders reliable information on salient issues of community, business and government concern. This is not political polling but rather an opportunity to provide data on key issues that will influence future investment, business activity and community operations in Orange County. The OC Poll is overseen by UCI faculty, using modern survey methods that ensure representative participation and the ability to segment responses.
UCI leverages its leadership and convening role to engage leaders in business, government, and the community to discuss and apply the findings from the OC Poll, seeking to ensure that the results are used to move Orange County forward. This is not an exercise merely to describe what OC residents believe but a collaborative project to help bring leaders together to address pressing issues.