The following is a summary of an article from surfky.com summarizing a recent Paducah, Kentucky City Commission meeting discussing that city's use of the National Citizen Survey:

After completing The National Citizen Survey (NCS), National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) staff conducted a full day Next Steps Workshop with Paducah’s top managers and City Commission to identify key findings from the survey and to determine what action should be taken to move the community forward. 

Survey results showed that residents were not enthusiastic about the economic condition of the City, and cut backs at a major employer followed delivery of The NCS results.

But The NCS also identified public trust as an area that concerned residents. That concern resonated with leaders. Therefore, from their small group discussions in the Next Steps Workshop, leaders identified public image and community pride as areas for attention in addition to the local economy. These conclusions led to a set of action plans. To bolster community pride and reputation, the city would develop a marketing and community engagement strategy and increase its focus on neighborhood revitalization. Committees were charged with recommending steps to improve the community in the areas identified.

Each committee is led by a director-team in addition to one or two elected officials, city staff, and community members. About three months following the Next Step Workshop, the local news reported on a meeting to discuss progress toward improving civic engagement and revitalization. Work toward economic development was to occur later.1

Community Engagement: To begin the process, the Community Engagement committee reviewed existing methods of informing and engaging the community. One recommendation was to name and promote an engagement initiative to help citizens know about the various ways to find information and be involved.

Some of the tactics recommended by the committee include:

•    Increasing the traffic to the City of Paducah website
•    Answering citizen-submitted questions at meetings and through written methods
•    Visiting with citizens in their neighborhoods and locations such as coffee shops
•    Reviewing a 311 informational system that would allow citizens to report information and/or problems.

Neighborhood Revitalization: The Neighborhood Revitalization committee narrowed its recommendations, each with its own tactics:
Recommended tactics include:
•    Increasing inspections to rid alleys and properties of rubbish
•    Reviewing and possibly increasing the demolition budget
•    Providing house plans at no charge as an incentive for infill development on city-owned property and property in low to moderate census tracts
•    Continuing neighborhood revitalization efforts modeled after the Fountain Avenue Neighborhood plan
•    Selecting the next neighborhood to be revitalized.
•    Applying for grants including the Safe Routes to Schools grant
•    Educating bicyclists and motorists
•    Holding a public forum to seek out the best routes for Share the Road signage

The tactics range in scope from those requiring only minor enhancements to programs/procedures already in place, to those requiring significant research, funding, and policy development. It is expected that some tactics will be brought forward in the decision-making process associated with the upcoming budget development and adoption.

The National Citizen Survey™ (The NCS) is a cost-effective system for conducting comprehensive surveys of local residents and an important benchmarking tool that allows comparison among communities. The NCS begins with a customizable survey with core questions relevant to your community. It comes to you from National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) and ICMA. 

National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) is one of the leading survey research and performance measurement teams in the United States, focusing on the information needs of the public sector.  NRC is a business partner of ICMA's Center for Management Strategies, specializing in surveying and assisting/informing local decision making through data collection.

For more information on how your community can utilize the National Citizen Survey, visit the ICMA Center for Management Strategies website.