Survey | 13Ways

Instructions:

The results of this test will only be as good as you are honest. Being overly optimistic, or overly negative, will give you overly optimistic or overly negative results. Take your time and think through the questions. Go and find the answers if you don’t know them. Then, answer honestly. This test is not to see whether your community is a winner. You cannot ‘WIN’ this test. This test is intended to help you identify what your community needs to do to become a winner. As such, you will get the most out of this test be providing honest answers. (NB: all answers remain private.)

Please click on either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for each question:
Is the population of your community going down?*
Yes No
Would you describe the mood of your community as optimistic or confident?*
Yes No
Do you speak positively about your community to friends and family within, and outside, the community?*
Yes No
Does your community have a negative reputation among outsiders?*
Yes No

Would you drink water from your kitchen tap without filtering it?*
Yes No
Does your community charge you for the water you use in your house?*
Yes No
Would your community have enough water to support itself if it was to grow by 50% in the next week?*
Yes No
Would you say that most of the businesses in your community do not have competition?*
Yes No
Has a new business located in your community in the last year?*
Yes No
Do you deliberately seek out places to shop locally before considering spending your money online or out of town?*
Yes No

Do young people graduating from school in your community tend to think they need to leave the community to find the opportunities they are looking for?*
Yes No
Can you identify, by name, some young (under 40) people who hold leadership positions in community organizations or government?*
Yes No
Does your community have a program in place that shows an appreciation for the under 40 crowd in your community?*
Yes No
Could your community’s vision statement be used by neighbouring communities?*
Yes No
Are people in your community (or you) explicitly aware of the top three things that make it unique or on which it hopes to grow?*
Yes No
Has your community been impacted by a major business or industry closing (such as a mine or mill) and it has still not recovered from it?*
Yes No

Do you and people in your community attempt to shop local as much as possible?*
Yes No
Are the prices of goods or services in your local businesses significantly higher than in neighbouring communities?*
Yes No
Are the businesses in your community supportive of local causes and initiatives?*
Yes No
Would outsiders visiting your community describe it as pretty/attractive?*
Yes No
Does your community have a program to plant flowers, develop parks, or participate in Communities in Bloom?*
Yes No
Walking around your community, does its appearance suggest that it is run down and dying?*
Yes No

Are there any partnerships or agreements your community has with other communities to work together?*
Yes No
Are there divisions within your community (groups that segregate themselves from each other) that you feel hold it back from getting some important work done?*
Yes No
Is there a community master plan that links different groups/organizations plans together?*
Yes No
Have you, or anyone you know, participate in a campaign to stop a development or other changes to the community?*
Yes No
Does your community or a community group hold a longstanding grudge against another community or community group?*
Yes No
Are conversations at meetings focuses on how to address challenges and capitalize on opportunities arising in the future?*
Yes No

Is there seniors appropriate housing available in your community that meets the needs of seniors?*
Yes No
Do seniors regularly volunteer in community organizations/associations within the community?*
Yes No
Is there an array of activities seniors regularly participate in, in your community?*
Yes No
Can you identify a new idea that was implemented to address a challenge in your community in the last year?*
Yes No
Has your community specifically identified people from other places that would be interested in moving to the community and targeted them with advertising?*
Yes No
Has your community ever implemented a strategy that has already been tried and failed at before?*
Yes No

Are you friends with any recently arrived (10 years of less) immigrant families in your community?*
Yes No
Does your community have any programs to specifically either attract or welcome newcomers to your community?*
Yes No
Does your community have a name that specifically identifies newcomers to a community – such as, but not limited to – newbs, come-from-away’s, or fobs?*
Yes No
Does your community have activities that regularly bring people of various age groups together, particularly in the downtown and on mainstreet?*
Yes No
In leadership roles (such as elected representatives, or chambers, or volunteer groups) - have the same people been in any of those roles for more than 13 years?*
Yes No
Would you agree that the general sense in your community is that you are doing just fine and hope everything stays the way it is?*
Yes No

Do you believe the success of your community depends entirely on you?*
Yes No
Does leadership in your community regularly blame other levels of government for the challenges your community faces (We can’t fix that. The province/state needs to step in.)?*
Yes No
Do people in your community feel the future of their community is largely out of their hands, and at the mercy of economic or international forces?*
Yes No

Community Assessment Tool: Quick Scan