Communities Speak - Take the community needs assessment survey now!
The best designed urban policy is informed by real experiences. Through community engagement, Communities Speak seeks to hear from Chattanoogans. We identify demographic correlations by analyzing socioeconomic and sociocultural factors that inform shared and unique challenges, desires, and visions for the City.
Phases
Planning
The Project
Communities Speak is a collaboration between the Urban and Social Policy Program at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University with city governments and city-wide networks of community organizations and not-for-profit partners.
The project seeks to expand community data collection in cities in order to increase the government's capacity to develop policy in response to unanticipated economic and social shocks. In turn, the goal is to improve the government’s responsiveness to the needs of low-income and minority populations as well as small businesses, who tend to experience the greatest adverse impacts from these shocks.
The Framework
Our framework for data collection and analysis empowers cities to develop evidence-based policy that reflects community needs during crises, as well as normal periods of governance.
Micro-level Data Collection
Collecting targeted individual-level microdata through surveys of individuals and small businesses at regular intervals and during crises, allowing for an in-depth and differentiated understanding of socioeconomic issues affecting diverse demographic groups and small business types.
Strategic Partnerships
Building strong strategic partnerships with community organizations, not-for-profits, and government agencies allows us to develop a survey which better reflects the issues that impact these communities and to ensure, through their outreach efforts, that our sample is representative of all communities in the city.
Data Sharing & Policy Recommendations
Data will be readily available on digital platforms, such as the Communities Speak website, to aid government agencies, local organizations, and researchers to develop targeted, community-based programs and evidence-based policy. Survey data analysis and ongoing engagement with community organizations will enable city government officials and local community leaders to propose programs and formulate policies that can target needs and evaluate the impact of those interventions.
Creating a Toolkit for Cities
Communities Speak has developed a framework and practical tool for city governments and policy-makers to collect, analyze, and share policy-relevant micro-level data. The data collection and analysis framework can be adapted by any city, enabling local governments to develop evidence-based policy in partnership with its residents.