Basics

All the details you need to get started on Polco Connect and the Polco platform.

  • 10 Topics
  • 3 Replies

10 Topics

Heather Locke
Heather LockeCommunity Manager
published in Basics

Welcome to Polco Connect, Polco’s online community forum!

Welcome to Polco Connect, Polco’s online community forum!  This is your one stop shop community forum to educate yourself on the Polco platform with all the resources you need to be successful! In addition, you can connect with other communities conducting surveys. You’ll also find best practices and tools to engage with your residents and stakeholders. Polco Connect is the best place for asking questions and discussing solutions with community leaders on the Polco platform.  Let’s get started! Here’s a quick checklist of the essentials:  Meet the Community and Introduce yourself! Need a Polco profile? Get one here. Here are Five Tips on Getting Started with Polco Connect Join a group on benchmarking surveys or using the Polco platform Visit the Polco Connect Knowledge Base for detailed help articles about all things Polco! Frequently asked questions:  How do I add an admin to my profile? What can my respondents expect to see when they fill out a survey on Polco? How do I get help?

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Heather Locke
1 year ago
Emily
EmilyCommunity Manager
published in Basics

Voice of the People Awards

The Voice of the People Awards (VOP) are the only awards given in local government based on the opinion of community residents. They are presented jointly by National Research Center (NRC) at Polco and the International City / County Management Association (ICMA). Award-winning communities embody the spirit of The National Community Survey™ (The NCS™) and display commitment to best practices in moving their communities forward. The awards acknowledge local governments with the highest or most improved ratings on The National Community Survey (The NCS), or the best use of the Polco engagement platform, and that take the best actions based on their data.  The awards for Excellence recognize communities that received the highest marks from residents in the previous year and are at the top of the cohort of The NCS participants. The awards for Transformation recognize communities that have seen significant increase in favorable ratings in resident responses over repeated administrations o

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Emily
7 months ago
K
Kimberly HumphreyNew Participant
asked in Basics

QR CODE

Quick question does Polco have a QR code option for surveys?

1
Jen
1 year ago
alyssa
alyssaCommunity Manager
asked in Basics

Admins adding other admins

Hey! @Laurie Urban and I heard that admins can now add other admins within Polco. Could someone tell us how this works? Thank you! 

2
Jen
1 year ago
Jen
JenCommunity Manager
published in Basics

All About Product Updates

We’re always working to improve Polco so that you can maximize your community engagement. That means that you may notice changes as you’re using the Polco platform.In the Product Updates section, we’ll give you a heads up about what’s new on the Polco platform, explain changes you may notice, and let you know when we release new features. Our Product team has some exciting things in the works, and we can’t wait to share them with you! If there’s something you’d like to see on Polco, or you have a suggestion or idea for a change to our platform, check out the Ideas category. 

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Jen
1 year ago
Jen
JenCommunity Manager
published in Basics

Joining and Using Groups

Groups are a place to connect with other Polco pros about specific topics. For example, you may be looking for a place to talk to other community leaders who have done The National Community Survey (The NCS) or The National Law Enforcement Survey (The NLES). You may want to connect with other communities or departments with specific goals, such as public libraries or school districts. We keep certain groups private since they apply only to specific admins on Polco. You can request to join a group at any time and one of our Community Managers will review your request.Looking for a group that doesn’t yet exist? Let us know by replying to this post!   

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Jen
1 year ago
Jen
JenCommunity Manager
published in Basics

Using the Knowledge BaseTutorial

Think of the Knowledge Base as a treasure trove of answers to all your Polco questions. Here you’ll find FAQs, tutorials, and how-tos. We compiled the answers to all the questions that people ask us about using Polco and put them right here. Here’s how we split things up: Basics: Wondering how to choose a plan, edit a logo or description, or get help? This is the place to find the very basics. Everyone starts somewhere, and we suggest you start here :) Create Your Content: This is where we answer allll your questions about creating surveys, polls, and live events. Engagement & Outreach: How many ways are there to say “please take my survey”? Look here for social media templates, sample press releases, email list uploads, and engagement strategies. Then sit back and watch the responses roll in! Understand Your Data: Your responses are in, and now it’s time to understand, interpret, and share them. Look here about everything from participation rates to reports and much more. Webinars

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Jen
1 year ago
Jen
JenCommunity Manager
published in Basics

Learn and Share: About This Section

We know you love hearing from other communities using Polco. In this section, you’ll find a number of articles and discussions about how communities like yours are using Polco.Check out Best Practices for expert tips about using our platform to get feedback. Scroll through Community Stories to read about cities and organizations around the country who used Polco to make data-driven decisions. Find the latest news about our surveys, our research, and other products from Polco in Polco News. Go off-topic, get to know the Polco community, and engage in some friendly competition in Discussions and Competitions. Create a topic to share something you’ve learned, your tips for Polco, and enjoy connecting with other leaders.  

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Jen
1 year ago
Heather Locke
Heather LockeCommunity Manager
published in Basics

Why Polco?

Successful organizations know the importance of engagement to build stronger communities and govern responsively. Our online platform has made that engagement easier and effortlessly data-driven. Convenient engagementPolco is online and viewable on all devices, making it convenient for respondents to share their opinions whenever, wherever. Schedule conflicts with in-person meetings are no longer a barrier for your community members. Professionally-written surveysOur data scientists at National Research Center continually contribute to the Polco Library. You’ll find content for when you simply want to get a pulse on your community or hear how your members are doing when serious events arise. You can use these surveys and pollsets as they are, look around for inspiration, or make a copy and customize to fit your needs. Verified respondentsWhen your respondents answer, some of them create accounts, providing their full name and zip code. Polco uses a proprietary matching algorithm to mat

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Heather Locke
1 year ago
Heather Locke
Heather LockeCommunity Manager
published in Basics

Meet Polco

Polco is an online civic engagement platform designed to receive ongoing feedback from members of a community. This award-winning tool gives officials data-rich reports and input to make more informed decisions. We deliver the ease and accessibility of online surveys combined with the verification and reliability of in-person engagement.  Polco was designed from inception by former public servants for organizations such as local governments, agencies, foundations, universities, nonprofits and more. After spending time at some of the country’s top tech companies, we wanted to bring world-class communication technology to the civic process. Learn more about Polco here. 

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Heather Locke
1 year ago

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