Adoption of Digital Technologies in Municipal Utilities Survey

Introduction

Thank you for participating in this survey. Your insights are crucial for understanding the priorities, challenges, and opportunities municipal utilities face in adopting digital technologies.

In the context of this survey, digital technologies refer to tools and solutions that leverage data, automation, and connectivity to improve operations, enhance decision-making, and address challenges like aging infrastructure, workforce gaps, regulatory compliance, and environmental sustainability. Digital technologies can support municipalities in areas such as:

- Managing aging infrastructure through better asset management
- Supporting workforce development with tools like 3D simulations
- Protecting systems against cyber threats
- Automating routine tasks like billing and regulatory reporting
- Enhancing productivity and lowering costs
- Optimizing operations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Your responses will remain confidential and used solely for research purposes. The survey will take approximately 7-10 minutes to complete. As a participant, you will receive a summary of the findings, which can help you understand how your municipality’s digital journey compares to others.

Question Title

* 1. What is your primary role in the municipality?

Manager

Operator

Engineer

Technical Support

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 2. What is the size of your municipality?

Small (population served: < 10,000)

Medium (population served: 10,001–100,000)

Large (population served: 100,001–500,000)

Very large (population served: > 500,000)

Question Title

* 3. Does your municipality have a master plan in place? By "master plan," we mean a strategic document that guides your municipality's long-term goals and initiatives, including plans for infrastructure, workforce development, and technology adoption.

Yes

Don't Know

Question Title

* 4. Does your master plan include the adoption of digital technologies in any of the following areas? (Select all that apply):

Asset management (offset aging infrastructure concerns)

Workforce development (knowledge capture and skills training)

Cyber security

Simplifying workflows (e.g., customer billing, regulatory reporting)

Process optimization (reducing costs and GHG emissions)

Data management

Emergency management

Question Title

* 5. How does your municipality currently implement digital solutions or services?

Internal resources

External vendors

Combination of both

Don’t know

Question Title

* 6. What hesitations, if any, do you have about adopting digital technologies?

Question Title

* 7. Rank your top priorities for deploying or already using digital technologies:

Asset management

Knowledge capture and workforce development

Cyber security

Simplifying workflows

Business productivity tools

Environmental safeguards and operational cost reduction

Data management

Emergency management

Question Title

* 8. What time horizon do you foresee for widespread digital adoption across the municipal sector in the following areas?

	0-2	3-5	6-10	10+
Asset Management	Asset Management 0-2	Asset Management 3-5	Asset Management 6-10	Asset Management 10+
Knowledge capture and skills training	Knowledge capture and skills training 0-2	Knowledge capture and skills training 3-5	Knowledge capture and skills training 6-10	Knowledge capture and skills training 10+
Cyber security	Cyber security 0-2	Cyber security 3-5	Cyber security 6-10	Cyber security 10+
Simplifying work processes	Simplifying work processes 0-2	Simplifying work processes 3-5	Simplifying work processes 6-10	Simplifying work processes 10+
Business productivity tools	Business productivity tools 0-2	Business productivity tools 3-5	Business productivity tools 6-10	Business productivity tools 10+
Environmental safeguards and lowering operational cost	Environmental safeguards and lowering operational cost 0-2	Environmental safeguards and lowering operational cost 3-5	Environmental safeguards and lowering operational cost 6-10	Environmental safeguards and lowering operational cost 10+
Data management	Data management 0-2	Data management 3-5	Data management 6-10	Data management 10+
Emergency management	Emergency management 0-2	Emergency management 3-5	Emergency management 6-10	Emergency management 10+

Question Title

* 1. What is your primary role in the municipality?

Question Title

* 2. What is the size of your municipality?

Question Title

* 3. Does your municipality have a master plan in place? By "master plan," we mean a strategic document that guides your municipality's long-term goals and initiatives, including plans for infrastructure, workforce development, and technology adoption.

Question Title

* 4. Does your master plan include the adoption of digital technologies in any of the following areas? (Select all that apply):

Question Title

* 5. How does your municipality currently implement digital solutions or services?

Question Title

* 6. What hesitations, if any, do you have about adopting digital technologies?

Question Title

* 7. Rank your top priorities for deploying or already using digital technologies:

Question Title

* 8. What time horizon do you foresee for widespread digital adoption across the municipal sector in the following areas?

Question Title

* 9. What digital emerging technologies are you most interested in for the future of your utility?