Sign up to participate in research

Help us improve government services. Anyone who lives or works in San Francisco is eligible to participate.

What to do

We want to hear from you

We do research to ensure the public has a voice in projects we undertake and decisions we make. Our team, Digital Services, partners with City Departments to collect feedback from the public. We interview people to learn about their experiences and gather feedback on ideas.

When we do research, we want to understand:

  • Are people able to find and access city services? 
  • How can we make government services more inclusive and accessible?
  • Are there things we can improve and fix? 

By participating in research, you can help us do things like:

  • Redesign city websites to make them easier to use
  • Develop new services
  • Improve online forms and the way we collect data
  • Improve the permitting experience
Sign up to participate in research

How it works

1. Fill out a short survey to tell us you’re interested in participating in research.

  • If you live or work in San Francisco and are over the age of 18, you can participate.
  • You do not need to be proficient with computers or the internet. We want to hear from everyone! 

2. After you sign up, we may invite you to participate in relevant studies.

  • We will always notify you to confirm you have been selected.
  • You can ignore an invitation if you do not want to or cannot participate for any reason. 
  • Our studies run on an irregular basis, so it may be some time before you hear back from us.
  • Responding to the invitation represents an expression of interest. It does not guarantee you will be selected. We often have more interest than available slots. 

3. If you are selected, we’ll contact you to set up a time and date.

  • We do studies in person and online via Microsoft Teams.
  • Locations for in person research are accessible. Seating and toilets are available.

4. After you participate, you will receive a gift card to thank you for your time.

  • Our compensation is $50. 
  • After the study, we will also send you information about how your views have been used.
Your data and privacy

Digital Services collects personal information for research purposes only. Your data is stored securely. It is not shared with other City departments or with organizations outside of the City.  

If you have questions, or if you want to opt out of research after signing up, please email us at digitalservicesresearch@sfgov.org.

Last updated April 2, 2024