The Evolving Community Survey: Common Problems with Traditional Surveys and How They Can Be Avoided

We believe that local government is the foundational institution impacting the lives of billions of residents on a daily basis; from the roads they drive on, to how safe they feel. In order to maximize the effectiveness of their communities, managers must be equipped with the right tools and deploy those tools strategically.

The community survey is one such tool. However, in today’s local government environment there are often questions and confusion around the efficacy of the survey. What type of survey do we use? How is the survey deployed? Who answers the survey? What questions do we ask? What do we do with the answers?

When utilized properly, the community survey can assist the management staff in understanding the needs of the community, the relevant satisfaction levels relating to those needs and assign the weight of importance placed by the community on various issues.

Community surveys cannot work as a standalone tool. They must be integrated with other tools that foster community engagement and understanding. Community surveys are essential to the basic activities of strategic planning and budget and can enhance other activities such as land use and zoning planning.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will begin thinking of how to integrate surveys into their overall community engagement strategy.
• Participants will understand how to measure satisfaction in their communities.
• Participants will discover tools they can use to improve efficiency and effectiveness in their work.

This webinar is complimentary thanks to the support of ICMA Strategic Partner Zencity who will have access to registration information.