Thinking about conducing research in your community? Start with our free research briefing. Community Surveys: Options for Collecting Data on Pubic Opinions in Towns and Cities

Our work with communities is typically focused in one of three areas. We have worked with communities to identify or fine tune priorities for government services or action. This work typically involves a community survey, often conducted as a mail survey to allow every resident to participate. In some cases we also conduct a random telephone survey of non-respondents to assure that all residents are represented. Sometimes it is more effective to first conduct a telephone survey to identify prevailing opinions on policy options to “test the waters.”

We have worked to identify key service interactions and then to establish benchmarks and track service quality. To assure truly representative information, we customarily recommend a random telephone survey. Finally, some of our most challenging and innovative work had been in working with communities on polices regarding growth and sprawl.

In conjunction with the Maine State Planning Office, we conducted the groundbreaking studies Why Households Move – Two Maine Studies and Markets for Traditional Neighborhoods.” In this work we used an analytical technique called “cluster analysis” to establish profiles of consumers interested in different types of housing from the usual subdivision to clustered housing in “Traditional Neighborhoods.” With this approach we can quantify the size of markets for type of housing development and describe who it is that would be interested in a particular type of neighborhood.

An example of our work quantifying the demand for traditional neighborhoods is contained in a report for the Maine communities of Belfast, Rockland, Camden and Rockport entitled Markets for Traditional Neighborhoods in Mid-coast Maine.

Our work in planning typically involves a community survey, typically conducted as a mail survey so that all residents can have a say. For more complex and rigorous assessments, we use telephone surveys based on instruments we have previously used and tested.

We partner with Planning Decisions on many of our community planning assignments. Planning Decisions provides a full range of research and analysis services for downtown revitalization, community planning, strategic planning, and public policy makers throughout Maine and New England.