Damema Details: Five Reasons Why The National Community Survey Is More Important Now Than Ever

-By Damema Mann, Director of National Engagement –

COVID-19 impacts all aspects of our daily lives. At the same time, we are all learning how to adapt while prioritizing the health and safety of our communities.

As we begin to chart our way forward in these unprecedented times, I’d like to share my top five reasons for why now is the best possible time to conduct The National Community Survey (The NCS).

The NCS is the gold standard of resident surveys in the United States. We’ve been conducting The NCS for over 20 years. It’s a tried and true scientific survey that has also changed with the times. Now, more than ever, resident opinion matters as we face the difficult decisions ahead. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5:25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The NCS Helps You to Engage Your Residents Safely and Effectively.

Many in-person meetings have been canceled or postponed. Also, even before COVID-19, the average resident doesn’t often go to in-person meetings. 

When you conduct The NCS, you give your residents an opportunity to respond either via mail or online in a safe and effective manner. Data-based decision-making is needed now more than ever. As you navigate how to move forward, hearing the voice of your residents is critical. 

Hiring a Third Party Frees Up Staff for Other Pressing Needs. 

We understand that local elected officials and government staff are facing unprecedented challenges. Whether it has to do with working from home, adapting to a new normal in the workplace, or dealing with layoffs and severe budget shortfalls, we know your resources are stretched thin. 

Turn to us, the survey experts, to help lighten your load. We want to take things off your plate. In return, we will give you tools to move your community forward.

We’ll Work with your Budget to Best Fit your Needs. 

We understand that budget resources are limited, but The NCS will give you critical information that you need now. We have typically had standardized pricing for The NCS (and we still do). However, we are now able to offer more creative solutions because of our merger with Polco in 2019. 

We can adjust the scope of your project to fit your budget needs. We can work with you to get you a fully customized quote. We also offer the Polco platform at no charge.

Inform Your COVID-19 Recovery Roadmap and American Rescue Plan Act Spending

The NCS is a key asset to help guide your COVID-19 recovery. Now you can use The NCS to measure pandemic impacts and community recovery efforts, so you can put American Rescue Plan Act funds where they are needed most. The survey results can also help you document and report on economic impacts, public health efforts, local business support and more. For these reasons, The NCS was previously eligible for CARES Act funding. This year it will be just as valuable to your community recovery efforts. Contact us for more information.

Measure Performance and Move the Community Forward.

Performance measurement is still a critical part of governing well. It’s  important to maintain and build your trendlines while using questions designed by experts. We have been through recessions with clients in the past. We know how to help you move forward. 

We have an extensive library of questions, and we can also work with you to develop questions specific to your community. Polco/NRC has the largest benchmarking database of its kind in the United States, which means we can compare you to other local governments. 

To a certain extent we are all in the same boat right now. Finding out how other communities are doing and how they are working together is the best way we can get through this. 

Related Articles:

• Five Reasons to Love the NCS
• Five Ways Local Governments Can Use Survey Data
• Top Five Reasons I'm Passionate About The NCS