Insights to Action: An Analysis of the COVID-19 Pulse Survey

ANZSOG’s Research Model project Trust, Transparency and the Use of Data in Informing Policy Responses, co-funded by the Australian Public Sector Commission (APSC) and undertaken by Monash University’s Sustainable Development Institute, is developing best practice guidance for public sector collection, evaluation, and use of Public Opinion Data (POD), for the purpose of developing public policy that integrates, and gives proper weight to, the opinions of those affected by it.

This report is the second output from the project and analyses data collected by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s COVID-19 Pulse Survey between March 2021 and March 2022. The data captures changes in vaccine hesitancy across different demographics – looking at the role of gender, age, socioeconomic status, and the stringency of a jurisdiction’s pandemic measures – and examines different kinds of vaccine hesitancy.

Interviews conducted with senior policymakers involved with the survey reveal that the survey was designed to quickly capture public attitudes duirng the COVID-19 crisis with no specific policy purpose in mind.

The report concludes that, when using POD, policymakers must balance agility and innovation against deliberate and methodical processes. Even in crisis contexts, there is a need for robust methods that:

• Align POD instruments with the needs of policymakers
• Produce credible results
• Leverage POD findings as inputs into policymaking