The Town of Ashland is asking residents to participate in The National Citizen Survey™. The survey is designed to provide a baseline of how the town government is serving residents, to gauge perceptions of the town and to make comparisons with similar towns and prior surveys. Surveys will be sent to residents beginning September 23.
Ashland contracted with National Research Center, Inc. to participate in The National Citizen Survey™, an instrument that was developed with the assistance of the International City/County Management Association in 2001 to provide cities and towns with a low-cost method to conduct market research. The survey, now used in more than 350 jurisdictions across the country, includes questions about quality of life in the community, local policies, demographics, rating of local government services and resident use of services.
Results of the survey are used to help direct the policy and operations of the Town. The Town last participated in the survey in 2011, for example, and learned in that survey of the community’s desire for more public information. As a result, the Town has invested in a new website, television and online broadcasting for town meetings, increased presence and engagement on social media, the transparent OpenGov budget portal and other similar measures.
From the entire community, 1,200 randomly selected households will receive invitations to participate in the mail and their responses will be weighted and analyzed by the objective, professional staff at National Research Center, Inc. Selected households will receive a notification postcard in the next week with surveys to follow later in the month or early October. Residents are encouraged to complete and return the survey at their earliest convenience.
About The National Citizen Survey:
The National Citizen Survey™ (The NCS™) was among the first scientific surveys developed to gather resident opinion on a range of community issues, and has been used in more than 350 jurisdictions across 46 states. The NCS™ is a cost-effective scientific survey of resident opinion and an important benchmarking tool that allows for comparison among communities. Communities using The NCS™ have reported that the tool helped improve performance, strengthen communications with community stakeholders, and identify clear priorities for use in goal and budget setting.