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County switches to National Community Survey platform for 2026 biennial survey; aims for interactive reporting
Summary
County staff said the 2026 biennial survey will use the National Community Survey (Polco) platform, include mail and online responses, enable custom benchmarks and an interactive dashboard, and will be sent to a large random sample with a target margin of error below 5%.
Allison Bechtash (Interim communications) and Jason Neumeier (Polco) presented the county's 2026 biennial community survey plan, explaining the move to the National Community Survey (NCS) platform to provide interactive dashboards, longitudinal comparisons and customizable benchmark communities.
Jason Neumeier demonstrated the NCS dashboard using a sample dataset and described the 10 facets of community livability the system tracks (for example, mobility, public safety, and community health). Staff noted the county will be able to compare longitudinally to past county surveys and to selected peer communities. The survey will be mailed to a randomized sample (county staff indicated mail to roughly 4,000 households) with bilingual paper and digital response options and a 6-week field period.
Sampling and response expectations: Polco staff estimated a typical Colorado response rate of 12—15%; with the planned oversample strategy the county expects 500—700 responses, yielding a margin of error near 3'3.25% at 95% confidence. Commissioners discussed wording choices ("don't know" vs "not applicable") and which service questions to include or remove; staff agreed to keep "don't know" for now and to refine parenthetical clarifications for county-provided versus community services.
Next steps: Staff will finalize mail lists, cover letter (addressed from the chair), sending schedule and a public outreach push; reporting is expected roughly one month after data collection ends.
