Polk Vision Seeks Your Input to Update Their Collaborative Community Vision
Polk Vision is looking for your input to help determine priorities for the next 10+ years through the Quality of Life survey.
A community vision developed through the collaboration of organizations, businesses, governments, and individuals alike. Implemention of the vision is through an alignment partnership amongst stakeholders. In this fashion, Polk Vision interviewed local stakeholders and held town hall-style meetings and focus groups over the past year. Now, it is asking Polk County residents to take the Quality of Life Spring 2024 survey. This survey will greatly help to update its vision.
Including your name in the survey enters you into weekly drawings to win a $100 gift card. You must be 18 or older and a Polk County resident. The survey should take about 10-20 minutes and closes June 15.
“The purpose of countywide outreach is to gain the contemporary views of our residents during this unprecedented period of growth,” said Polk Vision Executive Director Kim Long.
Polk Vision will announce the survey results at their annual meeting on August 22nd.
“We will establish new benchmarks and share strategies in support of the vision for the future of Polk County,” Long said. “This work will also set the course for the actions that will be taken by our organization to improve outcomes in our community.”
Survey Content
The Quality of Life survey asks participants to share their perspectives on many different matters. Some of these include infrastructure; health and well-being; housing; economic advancement; education; government; civic engagement; and arts, culture and recreation.
To explain, each category of the survey has a description, such as:
- Economic Advancement: expansion of new and diverse industries and businesses providing sustainable growth and resiliency resulting in a variety of well-paying jobs.
- Education: access to formal and/or informal educational opportunities for the schooling and instruction of people all ages, capabilities, and personal goals.
The format includes:
- Pick three areas they want to improve in each segment. Most categories include a dozen areas to pick from, with the option to add your own. Housing simply asks whether you think there is any shortage of affordable housing. The scale is none, slight, modest or a major shortage. The quality of life category asks you to rate it using five choices or prefer not to answer.
- Rate about a dozen several statements on a scale of strongly agree to strongly disagree.
- Open-ended questions.
“Results of this survey will be used to better identify priorities. And to align activities to improve outcomes in areas impacting the Quality of Life in Polk County,” Polkvision.com wrote.
About Polk Vision
Polk Vision found its start in 2004. Long said, “a group of engaged leaders embarked on a countywide visioning process. It included hundreds of our neighbors, who contributed input through surveys, focus groups and town hall meetings. These sessions were convened to identify our county’s strengths and weaknesses and to learn firsthand the issues important to our citizens’ lives. This process led to the adoption of the Vision, which has endured for 20 years.”
The Vision turned into the Polk Vision organization, formed to provide the framework to share and achieve the vision. “Also, Polk Vision is charged with preserving the fidelity and remaining relevant through continuous monitoring and meaningful community engagement,” she said.
Polk Vision is preparing to celebrate its 20th anniversary. With hitting this huge milestone, its staff and board of directors thought it was time to update the vision. It started by reviewing the original documents, priorities and strategies, and identifying new measures.
“As anticipated, many of the recommendations from 20 years ago were found to have been accomplished. Some in progress, and some simply outmoded,” Long said.
Polk Vision’s consultant, Crescendo Consulting Group, will analyze the results. They will publish the results for everyone to see and use.
