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The National Community Survey (The NCS)

Customizable templates for outreach assistance!

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9 Topics
Team Polco
Team PolcoCommunity Manager
published in The National Community Survey (The NCS)
NCS Email to Polco Subscribers TemplateTemplate

Dear resident,Help us build a stronger community! Share your input about [ABC]’s quality of life and governance by taking The [XYZ] of [ABC] [year] Community Survey (click here [hyperlink]). This survey will take about 10-15 minutes to complete and will identify our community’s strengths and challenges regarding the local economy, safety, mobility, and more. Your feedback will help us ensure that [XYZ] policies and programs align with our residents’ highest priorities. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact [name] at [phone] or [email]. You’re receiving this email because you’ve subscribed to follow the [XYZ] of [ABC] on Polco, the [XYZ]’s civic engagement platform that helps bring residents’ voices into local government decision-making processes. Your responses are always confidential, and personal data or identifying information are never shared. If you have already responded to this year’s community survey, please don’t respond again, but help us spread the word!

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Team Polco
Team Polco
Team PolcoCommunity Manager
published in The National Community Survey (The NCS)
Social Media Templates for The NCS - Random Sample SurveyTemplate

Let your community know that you’re launching The National Community Survey (The NCS)! We’ve created the templates below to help you spread the word about the initial survey launch and prepare residents who may be randomly selected to participate. Sharing the news on social media can help boost participation rates by assuring residents that those mailings are part of a legitimate survey effort from their local leaders, and that you value their input. We recommend posting a different message for the first few weeks that the survey is open, to reach residents as survey invitations are landing in their mailboxes.  These suggested posts are optimized for platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Nextdoor. Simply fill in the blanks to personalize the text for your community or organization, then copy and paste into your social media platform. To help increase your reach, encourage staff, councilmembers, community partners, and local news outlets to “like” and “share” your social media posts

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Team Polco
Team Polco
Team PolcoCommunity Manager
published in The National Community Survey (The NCS)
The NCS Press Release Template - Open Participation Survey (second version)

CITY OF ABC Adopts New Public Engagement PlatformLocal government diversifies engagement through technology  City of ABC, [st], [Date] – The City of ABC is excited to announce the launch of Polco (www.polco.us), an innovative online engagement platform that lets community members provide direct input to the local decision-making process regarding the policies and programs that are put in place in your area. Officials will post questions directly to residents on Polco’s website, where participants answer and comment on the issues. Polco makes public participation easier for residents to get involved, so more voices are heard.  The City of ABC wants the public’s insight on The National Community Survey, also called The NCS. Specifically, the City wants to know what they can do to work towards a better, safer community. [add specifics here as needed].  [Quote from City official about how Polco is a good tool to use for the project.] Ex: “This survey will help [City/County/other] staff and

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Team Polco
Team Polco
Team PolcoCommunity Manager
published in The National Community Survey (The NCS)
NCS Email Template

Dear Resident, We think your input is critical to a healthy and thriving community and are excited to introduce a new and easy way for you to provide your opinions on specific topics to the City of XYZ. Your feedback will help us be sure that our city’s policies and programs align with our residents’ values. We just posted The National Community Survey on Polco to gain information and advice on how the city is best assisting residents, and where there is room for improvement. You can participate here: polco.us/[shorturl]. It will take only a few minutes. Polco will help us efficiently manage responses from you and your neighbors across the City as we reach out via email, social media and other channels.  Once you have answered the question, you will be asked to provide your ZIP code to confirm where you live. This allows us to be sure we are hearing from each person only once and to know which general area of the city they live in. Your response will remain anonymous to the City, and y

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Team Polco
Team Polco
Team PolcoCommunity Manager
published in The National Community Survey (The NCS)
Press Release Template - The National Community Survey Results

News Release For Immediate Release[Date] Contact: [Name][Title, Organization][Email][Phone] [City/Town] Measures Resident Satisfaction with The National Community Survey [City/Town] recently surveyed residents to better understand the community’s needs and perspectives.  The National Community Survey (The NCS) was developed by National Research Center (NRC) at Polco.This scientific assessment measures community livability according to residents. It captures opinions on the economy, mobility, community design, utilities, safety, natural environment, inclusivity, engagement, and more. The results give a comprehensive look at  [City/Town’s] strengths, areas of improvement, and residents’ priorities. Officials can compare [City’s/Town’s] data with more than 600 other communities around the nation. The results show that residents give high ratings to ______ and ________, among other findings. “[Quote from City/Town leader. Include general sentiments about importance of The NCS, why it was c

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Team Polco
Team Polco
Team PolcoCommunity Manager
published in The National Community Survey (The NCS)
NCS Blog Template

NCS Blog Template: Share a Survey on Your City or Organization's WebsiteYour organization’s website is the home base for information, an outreach channel, and a resource for residents as well as staff and officials. The purpose of this Polco Connect article is to provide a template for an announcement explaining why your city chose Polco, what you want to achieve with it, and why the survey is important to your community/jurisdiction. It will answer questions such as:  Why is it valuable? How will feedback be used? How is data protected? How do you access Polco? Along with the announcement template, within Polco you can create a(n) FAQ — otherwise known as Frequently Asked Questions — page. It’s here on this page you can:  Add informational areas to spell out smaller details Create a home for repeated questions asked by residents Allow for the page to become a point of reference for any questions residents may have With this FAQ Page, you’re able to

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Team Polco
Team Polco
Team PolcoCommunity Manager
published in The National Community Survey (The NCS)
Press Release Template for NCS: Random Sample Survey

Get the news out! Create buzz through a media partner.Let your regional, local and hyper-local news agencies know about the survey. Different media outlets will appeal to different groups, so cast your net as widely as you can. Modify the template below to fit your needs. EXAMPLE: General press release to announce the surveyFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: [insert name]Telephone: [insert phone]Email: [insert email]Date: [insert date]Headline: [Community name] Officials Plan/Prepare for Upcoming Resident Survey[Community name, State]: [City/County/other] officials are pleased to announce they will be conducting a comprehensive quality of life survey next month. The survey will initially be available to randomly selected residents, who will receive a mailed invitation to participate. Soon after, all residents will be able to complete the survey online by visiting the [City/County/other]’s website at [homepage/URL]. “We’re very excited to be conducting this survey,” says [full name], [title

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Team Polco
Team Polco
Team PolcoCommunity Manager
published in The National Community Survey (The NCS)
Social Media Templates for The National Community Survey - Open Participation

How many ways are there to say “please take our survey”? Turns out — a lot!  We’ve created these templates to help you promote your city’s version of The National Community Survey (The NCS) open participation survey online.  These suggested posts are optimized for platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Nextdoor. We recommend posting a different message each week your survey is open.  Simply fill in the blanks to personalize the text for your community or organization, then copy and paste into your social media platform. To help increase your reach, encourage staff, councilmembers, community partners and local news outlets to “like” and “share” your social media posts about the survey.  Pro Tip: Social media posts that have colorful images get more clicks than posts that don’t. Feel free to choose an illustration provided by Polco here, or use your own. Pictures of your community (like skylines or popular downtown areas) are great! You can even tag partners in pictures to remind them

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Team Polco
Team Polco
Team PolcoCommunity Manager
published in The National Community Survey (The NCS)
Press Release Template to Share Open Participation SurveyTutorial

Get the news out! Create buzz through a media partner. Let your regional, local and hyper-local news agencies know you are taking this important step. Different media outlets will appeal to different groups, so cast your net as widely as you can. Modify the template below to fit your needs.   General press release: CITY OF ABC ADOPTS NEW PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PLATFORMDIVERSIFYING ENGAGEMENT THROUGH TECHNOLOGY City of ABC, [ST], [Date] – The City of ABC is excited to announce the launch of Polco (www.polco.us), an innovative online engagement platform that lets residents provide direct input to the local government decision-making process. By using Polco, the [municipality type] is making public participation easier for residents. Officials will post questions directly to residents on Polco’s website, where residents answer and comment on the questions. The City of ABC will soon be asking residents for their input on [first topic]. Specifically, the City wants to know what residents thi

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Team Polco
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