Public Opinion Research with
businesses and consumers for the CFIA annual reputation survey: 2021-2022
Final report
Prepared for the Canadian Inspection Agency
Supplier name: Patterson, Langlois
Consultants
Contract number: 39903-210663/001/CY
Contract value: $207,277.17
Award date: December 9, 2021
Delivery date: March 31, 2022
Registration number: POR # 043-21
For more information on this report, please
contact the Canadian Food Inspection Agency at:
Ce rapport est aussi disponible en français.
Public
Opinion Research with businesses and consumers for the CFIA annual reputation
survey: 2021-2022
Prepared
for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Supplier name: Patterson,
Langlois Consultants
March 2022
Cette publication est aussi disponible en français
sous le titre : Recherche sur l’opinion publique auprès des entreprises et
des consommateurs aux fins du sondage annuel sur la réputation de l’ACIA :
2021-2022
This public opinion research report presents the results of the focus
groups, in-depth interviews and online surveys conducted by Patterson, Langlois
Consultants on behalf of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The research was conducted between
February 3rd and March 18th, 2022.
This
publication may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes only. Prior written
permission must be obtained from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. For more
information on this report, please contact the Canadian Food Inspection Agency
at:
or
at:
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency
1400 Merivale Road
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0Y9
Catalogue
Number: A104-208/2022E-PDF
International Standard Book Number
(ISBN):
978-0-660-44160-3
Related
publications (registration number): 978-0-660-44161-0
A104-208/2022F-PDF (Final Report, French)
Ó Her Majesty
the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Health, 2022
Political Neutrality Statement
I hereby certify as a Representative of Patterson, Langlois Consultants
that the final deliverables fully comply with the Government of Canada
political neutrality requirements outlined in the Policy on Communications and
Federal Identity and Procedures for Planning and Contracting Public Opinion
Research. Specifically, the deliverables do not include information on
electoral voting intentions, political party preferences, standings with the
electorate or ratings of the performance of a political party or its leaders.
Signed: Date: March 28, 2022
________________________________
John Patterson, Principal
Patterson, Langlois Consultants
Executive summary
Research Purpose and Objectives
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) mandate
is to safeguard food, animals, and plants to protect the health and well-being
of Canada's people, environment, and economy. The Agency designs, develops and
implements several programs in collaboration with other stakeholders, such as
federal departments, consumer advocacy groups, provincial and municipal
organizations, and members of industry. This collaboration around oversight,
enforcement activities, acts and policies is necessary
to ensure that the Agency adapts appropriately and effectively to rapidly
evolving realities in the Canadian market and around the world. These tasks are
complex and require the Agency to capture and assess feedback from many
sources. The collaboration is also essential to ensure that the Agency spends
its limited resources wisely, focusing them where they have the most positive
impact on the safety of Canada’s food, plant and animal resources.
Finally, and to interface properly and wield
appropriate influence with its many stakeholders, the CFIA must not only
maintain, but properly understand its reputation and brand image. This focus on
reputation and brand image not only reflects the organization’s valuation of
its stakeholders, but its commitment to ensuring that both its internal and
external actions are conducted in a way that preserves trust.
To this end, the CFIA has set up this annual public
opinion exercise to measure its reputation among key stakeholders, namely businesses
in the food, plant, and animal sectors, as well as Canadian consumers.
The first wave of this study, done in 2021, set “benchmarks” (or initial baseline
measures) for the Agency’s strategically important indicators. This report
presents the result of the second wave of this study, which provides the Agency
with an opportunity to reassess its reputation and how it has evolved since the
previous year. The results of this research will be used to help the CFIA
manage and improve its communication activities, assist in the Agency’s
strategic planning, as well as inform program, policy, and the delivery of
services.
More specifically, the objectives of this study were
to:
•
Gather data on reputation, trust and other brand
attributes that allows the Agency to manage and develop the CFIA brand across all
business lines and track these indicators of trust and reputation over time
•
Measure the percentage of Canadians who agree that
CFIA’s activities help ensure food sold in Canada is safe
•
Conduct key driver analysis to understand the role
awareness, trust and confidence have on overall performance
•
Test key messages and brand attributes
•
Measure how food, plant and animal businesses and
association stakeholders assess CFIA services
•
Assess satisfaction with existing communication tools
and tactics
•
Assess preferred methods of communication for each
stakeholder segment
Summary of Methodology Used
The 2022 wave of this project was completed in 2 parts, first through a
survey with 3,001 consumers via an online panel which took an average of 10 minutes
to complete. An
online survey was chosen because of its capacity to deliver the survey to a broadly
representative sample of Canadians efficiently, and because it is well-adapted
to Canadians’ communication habits. There are limitations to online panels for generalizing
the results to the target population, and caution should be taken when applying
inferential statistics.
The second part of this study was completed by surveying 1,499 Canadian
businesses (1,291 who consider themselves “food businesses”, 302 who consider
themselves “plant businesses”, and 277 who consider themselves as “animal” businesses),
who were emailed invitations sent out from Agency servers with assistance from Advanis Research. These took approximately 19.2 minutes on
average to complete. Note that the definitions of “food”, “plant, and “animal”
businesses are not mutually exclusive: some businesses who answered this year’s
survey identify themselves as having primary activities in more than one line
of business, but all the businesses surveyed in this study have dealings with
the CFIA.
Qualitative research was conducted during the research process to help improve
the questionnaire, explain the results of the surveys, and assess the Agency’s communication
tools. With consumers, the work consisted of 8 online (Zoom-based) focus groups
composed of 5 consumers each and recruited from across the country. Participants
were offered $150 for their participation in the study as compensation for
their time. The incentive was offered to compensate participants for “homework”
done prior to the discussions. This work was designed to have them research questions
about plant and animal safety from which the CFIA could get a clearer view on
how the Agency’s website and related tools help shape the Agency’s reputation
with the public.
Qualitative research with businesspeople was focused
on companies that are involved in the growing, breeding or transportation of living
plants or animals. A total of 6 focus groups (5 in English and 1 in French) were
also conducted online (on Zoom) in which participants were offered $200 as compensation
for their time and effort. Participants for the business groups (5 in each) were
recruited by way of emailed invitations to businesses on the Agency’s internal
lists, with “cold call” recruiting by professional recruiters, and from
respondents to the business survey who volunteered to participate.
Qualitative research is used for broadening the understanding
of what matters to the target audiences, and to better understand how they think.
Qualitative research illustrates the diversity of perspectives among target
audiences and reveal issues that were not previously identified or recognized
by the research team. That said, the findings from qualitative inquiry are not
and should not be construed as statistically representative of the populations
involved.
Summary of Key Findings
Consumer perceptions of the CFIA and food safety
Unaided awareness of the CFIA as the organization that
is responsible for safeguarding the nation’s supply of food, animals, and
plants was consistent with last year’s research. The number of Canadians who
could, unprompted specifically name the CFIA was 10%, that number rises
slightly in Ontario to 12% and a little higher in Atlantic Canada to 14%. Aided
awareness of the Agency is considerably higher at 68% (down slightly 3 pts from
last year’s study). 16% answer that they are familiar with the activities of
the CFIA (also down 3 pts from last year). Consistent with previous research, 77%
of Canadians have strong confidence in the safety of Canada’s food supply. Results
show a modest 4 point increase this year in Canadians (70%) with a high level
of trust (5, 6, or 7 on a 7-point scale) in the CFIA to do what is right to
ensure food is safe in Canada.
Qualitative discussions with consumers added substance and validity to
these survey results, and also confirm what was found last year, namely that Canadians’
trust is based on very limited understanding of the scope, breadth, or
complexity of the Agency’s oversight, and more on general faith in government. This
suggests that the CFIA has an opportunity to communicate with the public more
and in more detail about what it does. Participants themselves acknowledge that
they both want and should know more, and that their trust would be even
stronger if they did.
Consumer perceptions
of the CFIA brand
Consumers associate the CFIA Brand with similar attributes as last year,
although somewhat less strongly. The strongest associations were “Food recalls
are an example of the food system working” 73% (down 3 pts from last year),
“The CFIA looks out for the best interests of Canadians” 67% (down slightly
more, declining 8 pts) and “The CFIA is effective in enforcing food safety
regulations” 63% (down 4 pts).
Consumers were asked to what extent they agree with a
series of statements, 3 of which were asked in last year’s survey, as well as 4
new ones. Most consumers remained in agreement with the 3 statements asked last
year, although levels dipped somewhat:
· “By protecting
Canada's food, animals and plants, the CFIA is contributing to the health and
well-being of Canadians, the environment and the economy” 75% (same as last
year)
· “The CFIA
issues food recalls in a timely manner” 68% (down 5 pts)
· “The CFIA enforces
regulations that helps ensure animals are transported humanely” 64% (down 3 pts)
These 4 new statements were also met with considerable
agreement:
· “As a
science-based regulator, the CFIA is believable when it issues a statement” 70%
· “The CFIA enforces
regulations that help ensure Canada's plant resources are protected” 68%
· “CFIA
enforcement activities are strong enough to encourage companies to comply with
the regulations” 64%
· “CFIA helps to
facilitate international trade” 60%
The qualitative discussions suggest that the levels of
agreement with the statements remain consistent and even when there are slight
dips in agreement with last year, they are not likely a reflection of recent
events or CFIA communications, given that most consumers are not overly
knowledgeable about the Agency. 9 of 10 are unable to identify the Agency, and
even fewer report any detailed knowledge about what is done to ensure food,
plants and animals are safe guarded. In short, the broad agreement seen with
these statements reflects positive presumptions on the part of Canadians.
Key consumer drivers
A key drivers analysis indicates the relative
importance of familiarity, trust, and confidence (predictor variables) by
analysing the level of agreement with a variety of questions about the CFIA.
For each of these 3 key predictor variables, there are several important
drivers that the Agency can emphasize in their communications to build consumer
familiarity, trust, and confidence in the CFIA.
Similar to last year, results demonstrate that the
most important drivers of Agency familiarity are:
· communication
to help consumers understand what the Agency does,
· providing them
with additional ways to access information about the CFIA.
The top drivers of Agency trust also remain consistent
with last year’s results:
· driving
perceptions that CFIA is “looking out” for the best-interests of Canadians,
· has an
effective system in place to ensure food safety is the most important factor in
driving Agency trust.
Confidence in the CFIA is driven by:
· consumers’
understanding of the Agency’s mandate,
· their
understanding that food recalls are evidence of the enactment of that mandate.
Business perceptions
of the CFIA
As was the case last year, the qualitative and
quantitative findings suggest that perceptions of the Agency among the
businesses it regulates are largely positive. Food, plant, and animal
businesses have considerably more interaction with the Agency than consumers do,
and the oversight that they are subject to informs their perspective. Although the research found some complaints
(and some significant ones), it nonetheless found evidence that the Agency’s reputation
with the businesses it regulates remains largely positive and is improving over
time. There are clear signs that perceptions of the Agency are generally
improving, but not with all businesses.
There is evidence of increased familiarity with the
Agency relative to last year, testifying to improved communication: 81% of the
businesses overall are familiar (compared to 72% last year), varying very
little across business lines (82% for food, 81% for animal and 80% for plant
businesses, respectively). Additionally, the results show strong endorsement of
the CFIA’s safeguarding of food (88%), plant health (88%) and animal health (80%)
as assessed by business respondent.
Discussions with businesspeople suggest progress on
several fronts – those with long-standing and generally involved relationships
with the Agency point to improvements, notably in progress toward increasingly
digitized and efficient web-based servicing, rationalization of inspection requirements
and continued good relations with individual Agency personnel. Some issues were
noted in adjusting to evolving regulations, but even here, these more involved
participants indicated that things were being handled “as well as could be
expected”. The participants who fall outside this set of bigger, core
industries, however, were more likely to report issues communicating with the
Agency and getting their specific issues resolved. Some of these businesses
reported issues severe enough to diminish their competitiveness, their ability
to exploit new opportunities, and even their continued survival.
Businesses’ perception
of Agency attributes and values
Businesses
were asked to evaluate how the CFIA is perceived across several attributes. On
most attributes, food and plant businesses gave higher scores than animal
businesses did. High levels of agreement were noted for statements that
reference respect, helpfulness, and fairness. The CFIA received lower scores
for the statements related to relative performance of the CFIA compared to food
inspection agencies in other developed countries, and less than half of
businesses agreed that the Agency listens to their industry when it comes to
understanding specific innovation and competitive needs.
Key drivers
for businesses
A key
driver analysis was also conducted to predict the most important drivers of Agency
familiarity, trust, and confidence among businesses. Results are similar to
last year, where the top attributes that drive
familiarity are related to having respectful interactions with the agents of
the CFIA, having the CFIA act as a “fair” regulatory Agency, and the ability to
have open and honest dialogue with the Agency about regulatory policies. In
terms of driving Agency trust among businesses, the primary driver is perceived
“fairness”, followed by “transparency” in their operations, and “sensitivity”
to the specific needs of businesses.
Regulated businesses’
appreciation of Agency communications
When it comes to the way that the CFIA interacts with the business
community, some preferences remain consistent with last year. For example, email is the most recalled
method of communication from the Agency by business across all business lines, up
considerably from last year, and respondents who received emails were generally
happy with the quality of communications. Usage of the CFIA website and portal
notices in My CFIA were the next highest-ranking methods of recalled
communication from the Agency.
Looking at the satisfaction of businesses with communication
from the CFIA shows that email communications account for the largest measure
of business satisfaction with the Agency: further communication appears to add
only marginally thereafter. The next most significant drivers of Agency
satisfaction are personal interaction with CFIA representative and receiving mailed
documents, both of which provide only minor improvements in satisfaction with
the CFIA.
Enhancing the CFIA’s Reputation
Among consumers
The biggest opportunity to improve CFIA reputation
among Canadians is to better educate them about the scope of the Agency’s
mandate: many Canadians do not understand the full scope of what the Agency does
and are generally confused about the responsibilities and accountability of
individual government agencies. This lack of awareness highlights opportunities
for the CFIA to provide Canadians with additional ways to access information. The
Agency can increase trust among Canadian consumers by encouraging use of its communications
tools (some of which, such as podcasts, appear to be under-used) to keep them informed
about that the CFIA is the Agency responsible for the safety of the Canadian
food, plant and animal supply and about all the work taking place to achieve
that goal. Finally, the CFIA may have opportunity to boost the already high
level of confidence of Canadian consumers by emphasizing the Agency’s mandate,
and to cement the already existing feeling that food recalls are evidence that
the CFIA’s systems are functioning properly.
Among businesses
Unlike consumers, businesses that interact with the CFIA are already very
familiar with the Agency and are generally supportive of its mandate and confident
in its operations. This research points to opportunities to improve communications
about the benefits of the Agency’s efforts in digitization of its
communications and processes. The qualitative discussions found that some
businesses – generally those who experience lower levels of oversight and less
frequent interactions – have complaints about the CFIA’s ability to communicate
with them about their specific needs, and that it is becoming increasingly harder
to find resolutions to their specific issues. These businesses tend to be
unsatisfied with using the Agency’s recently implemented digital processes
(because they are arguably too complex for their needs), and are increasingly
frustrated by perceived changes in the CFIA that seem, to them, to be making
the sorts of quick, person-to-person contact they seek impossible. These
findings suggest that the Agency may find opportunity to improve its reputation
by instituting solutions that are more appropriate for businesses of this
type.
Finally, the data suggest that the Agency may be able to enhance its
reputation by focusing on 3 qualities in its communications with businesses:
respectful interactions, fairness, and transparency. This last element has
consistently emerged as essential to fostering goodwill among businesses if the
Agency makes a mistake.
Project
Budget
The total cost to conduct this research was $207,277.17,
including HST.