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Home › Design and delivery › Creating forms and surveys

Creating forms and surveys

Use this guide if you need to create an online form or survey for your project or service.

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Understand your needs and requirements

Before you build a form or survey, it’s best to understand your design needs and privacy requirements.

Collecting information from the public

If you want to collect anonymous information from the public, you must:

If you’re a developer, you may need to consult with your Security Officer and complete a Security Threat and Risk Assessment (STRA).

Using verified credentials to collect information

If your form or survey is not anonymous and requires people to login using an authentication system, you must:

  • Review the IM/IT standards on identity management
  • Contact the Identity Information Management (IDIM) team by email (IDIM.Consulting@gov.bc.ca) for help with authentication services
    • They have expertise in managing identity information and credentials services like IDIR, BCeID, BC Services Card or Verifiable Credentials

Note: You may need to follow ministry-specific policies for data collection. Contact your ministry privacy officer for help.

Government-provided options

Government-provided options are available to all ministries and no procurement is required. Your ministry may have other options available. Ask your ministry procurement specialist for details.

Common Hosted Form Service (CHEFS)

CHEFS is a tool that can be used to build forms, collect information, manage form submissions and export data for further analysis.

Advantages

  • It’s free for all B.C. government employees or contractors with an IDIR account
  • You can build forms quickly and easily by using drag and drop components
  • You can save multiple versions of your forms and control who can access them
  • Supports login authentication with IDIR, Basic BCeID and Business BCeID

Disadvantages

  • Advanced branching capabilities are possible but require a basic understanding of workflow logic and some JavaScript
  • Does not support embedded forms. Forms must be shared by a link
  • Does not support in-app data analysis. Data must be exported and analyzed with another tool

Microsoft Forms

Microsoft Forms, part of the Office 365 suite, is a tool for creating surveys, quizzes and polls. Use Microsoft Forms to create simple questionnaires, collect feedback and visualize response data. Microsoft Forms is available through the Office 365 enterprise-wide license.

If using corporate tools like Microsoft Forms, no additional security vetting is required. However, you must still provide a FOIPPA-compliant collection notice and consult your ministry privacy officer for guidance on personal information collection and retention.

Sample collection notice: “The personal information on this form is collected under section 26(c) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act for the purposes of [insert purpose]. If you have any questions about the collection or use of this information, please contact [name, position, ministry, email].”

Advantages

  • Free for all B.C. government employees or contractors with a B.C. government email
  • Integrates easily with other Office 365 applications, including Outlook and MS Teams
  • You can easily export data to Microsoft Excel for analysis
  • Includes automated data visualization
  • No coding or development experience required
  • Responses can be anonymous or tied to employee accounts for internal surveys
  • Supports real-time collaboration when building a form with colleagues
  • Allows you to set response limits, deadlines and branching logic
  • Easy to duplicate and re-use

Disadvantages

  • Limited technical support from the B.C. government
  • Forms cannot be exported for use across accounts or saved as reusable templates outside your own profile

External tools

External survey platforms can offer more design flexibility and advanced features but often require more time and effort to set up, including a procurement process and privacy review. Most cannot be used to collect personal information. Some offer limited free versions and may require a paid license.

These tools may not be supported by B.C. government IT and may not be suitable for in-depth or high-security surveying.

The Citizen Engagement section of the Goods and Services Catalogue provides options that don’t require a comprehensive procurement process.

Specialized tools

For complex information collection needs, consider a tool that specializes in large-scale surveying. These tools provide increased functionality to help run surveys involving many people.  

There are different types of survey tools available, and each tool has its own unique features and benefits. 

When procuring a new tool, consider your needs and the tool’s ability to:

  • Handle qualitative data, including users’ beliefs, needs and feelings 
  • Track opinions, attitudes, perceptions and motivations for large user groups  
  • Collect and analyze data from large sample sizes  
  • Allow users to participate in interpreting survey results 
  • Ensure accurate, actionable and meaningful insights from the data 
  • Leverage a user group or community to deliver insights 
  • Allow for open-ended questions that participants can answer anonymously  
  • Provide features to reduce survey biases  

The benefits of using survey tools with these functions include: 

  • Being able to increase participation more efficiently and involve a greater number of individuals  
  • Saving time by having access to real-time analytics that compile and organize data for you 
  • Ensuring a fair and inclusive engagement process 
  • Being able to involve and raise marginalized and underrepresented perspectives to a higher degree 
  • Capturing the most accurate insights by allowing people to answer in their own words 

Contact your procurement specialist to discuss which survey tool is right for you.

Content by
CSBC Human Supports Division

Contact
do.contentdesign@gov.bc.ca