The Foundation for Municipal Development conducts annual surveys covering opinions on local (municipal) democracy, local government, local economy and services. Respondents are generally local inhabitants, municipal managers and the chairpersons of municipal boards. The data enable comparison between the opinions of the inhabitants on the one hand, and the managers and chairpersons on the other. The surveys also study municipal managers' views on the policies of the Government of Finland and the functionality of local co-operation. The survey series was launched in 1992. The FSD collections cover data from 1992 to 2010.
The survey charted the respondents' attitudes both at the municipal and societal level. In relation to the forthcoming Finnish parliamentary elections, the respondents gave their opinions on different political parties and the candidates they were going to vote for. The traditional questions on service provision were also included in the survey.
First, the respondents were queried how adequate or inadequate different services in their municipalities were in terms of demand. They were also asked to name three most important problems in their municipalities and in society. Opinions on acceptable objectives and means of achieving them in relation to services, economics, and administration were charted with the help of statements. The respondents were also asked to assess various aspects of political parties and the candidates they were going to vote for in the forthcoming parliamentary elections. They were also asked how they saw themselves as voters.
Background variables included respondent's gender, age, education, occupational status, employment status, household composition, region of residence (NUTS3), and household gross income.
The sample was drawn in three stages. In the first stage, the number of subjects required by the survey was regionally divided by major regions (NUTS2). In the second stage, the number of subjects was further subdivided within each major region by the type of neighbourhood. The type of neighbourhood was determined in two different ways: city municipalities were divided into large and small cities according to their population size, and rural municipalities into three groups based on the occupational structure of the population. The survey municipalities were representatively selected on the basis of the forementioned strata. In the third stage, starting points (addresses) were selected in each municipality based on their population size. The interviews were conducted by using random-walk method. Four interviews were made starting from each of the randomly selected starting points. One member corresponding to the age and gender eligibility criteria was chosen for the interview from each sample household.