1. The NCS is presented by NRC in collaboration with ICMA
Nevada County, CA
Key Findings
2018
The NCS is presented by NRC in collaboration with ICMA

2. About The NCS Community Livability Community Characteristics
Communities are partnerships among...
Residents
Community-based organizations
Govern-ment
Private sector
Community Livability
Community Characteristics
Governance
Participation
ICMA/NRC initiative
Turnkey omnibus citizen survey service
Benchmark comparisons
Over 350 participants in The NCS in over 40 states
Over 600 jurisdictions in full database
Great communities are partnerships of the government, private sector, community-based organizations and residents, all geographically connected. The NCS captures residents’ opinions within the three pillars of a community, Community Characteristics, Governance and Participation

3. Facets of Community Livability
Safety
Mobility
Economy
Recreation and Wellness
Quality of Community Overall
Built Environment
Education and Enrichment
Community Engagement
Natural Environment
Facets derived from extensive research into models for community livabilty
Examples: Partners for Livable Communities ( Sustainable Communities (

4. Uses of NCS as a Management Tool
Envision
Earmark
Educate
Engage
Enact
Evaluate

5. The NCS & Nevada County First-time participant in The NCS
Scientific sample of 1,800 households
545 returned surveys; 32% response rate
±4% margin of error
Data collection: May 19-July 7, 2017
Data weighted by housing tenure (rent or own), housing unit type (attached or detached), sex and age.
(Did NOT conduct opt-in survey)
From Technical Appendices, page 35:
All households within Nevada County were eligible to participate in the survey. A list of all households within the zip codes serving Nevada County was purchased from Go-Dog Direct based on updated listings from the United States Postal Service. Since some of the zip codes that serve Nevada County households may also serve addresses that lie outside of the community, the exact geographic location of each housing unit was compared to community boundaries using the most current municipal boundary file (updated on a quarterly basis) and addresses located outside of Nevada County boundaries were removed from consideration.
Expanded sample
Open-ended question
Online response option
Geographic comparisons
Extra page of questions
In-person presentations
Next Steps Workshops

6. National Benchmark Comparisons

7. 2017 Benchmark Comparisons87
received similar ratings 19
received higher ratings 9
received lower ratings
In all: 115 comparisons
19 higher, 9 lower
Community Characteristics – 47 to compare
-higher: place to retire, natural environment, fitness, rec, culture, community matters, vol, social events (8)
-lower: bike travel, public transportation, affordable housing, housing options, employment, place to work (6)
Governance – 33 to compare
-Higher- none
-Lower – street repair (1)
Participation – 35 to compare
Higher: remain, stocked supplies, carpooled, recycled, conserved water, work there, voted, volunteered, club, campaigned (10)
Lower: public transportation, no code violation (2)

8. Education and Enrichment Recreation and Wellness
Key Focus Areas
Legend
Higher than national benchmark
Similar to national benchmark
Lower than national benchmark
Most important
Safety
Built Environment
Education and Enrichment
Natural Environment
Recreation and Wellness
Mobility
Economy
Community Engagement

9. Key Finding #1
Nevada County residents feel positively about the community and are engaged

10. 94%
Residents think Nevada County is an excellent or good place to live
Livability Report, page 3
Similar to benchmark

11. Living in Nevada County
Neighborhood as a place to live
Recommend Nevada County to others
Remain in County for next five years
p. 30
Question 18
Remain in County and place to retire higher than bmark, all others similar
8 in 10
Place to retire
Place to raise children
Overall image of Nevada County v
Higher than national benchmark

12. Top-rated Community Features
Overall natural environment
Opportunities to volunteer
Recreational opportunities
Cultural/arts/music activities
Opportunities to participate in community matters
Fitness opportunities
Social events and activities
94%
93%
87%
Photo credits: Wikipedia, GoNevadaCounty.com
p. 4 in Livability Report
All items listed in slide higher than bmark
Also:
Health and wellness opportunities 63% excellent/good
Recreation programs 70% excellent/good
Recreation centers 62% excellent/good
All of these similar to benchmark
85%
84%
84%
81%
All higher than national benchmark

13. Residents value the Economy but identified some challenges
Key Finding #2
Residents value the Economy but identified some challenges

14. Overall economic health of County
Quality similar to national benchmark
Quality: 46% excellent or good
Importance: 91% essential or very important

15. Nevada County as a place to visit
Excellent or good
Higher than national benchmark
Photo credit: Wikipedia
Place to visit: 94% excellent or good

16. Economy-related challenges
Percent excellent or good
All lower than national benchmark

17. Key Finding #3
Survey respondents feel safe overall but have concerns about wildfires and homelessness

18. 8 10 Aspects of Safety At least in positively rated:
All similar to benchmark
Safe neighborhoods (97%)
Safe downtown/commercial areas (92%)
Fire prevention (82%)
Overall feeling of safety (81%)
Sheriff (80%)

19. Other Safety Issues At least: 8 in 10 6 in 10
Had concerns about homelessness regarding:
Illegal camping
Loitering/nuisance in business areas
Public safety
8 in 10
6 in 10
Were concerned with illegal campfires, illegal encampments or forest health
Felt there were fiscal barriers to making their property wildfire safe

20. Recap of Key Findings
Nevada County residents feel positively about the community and are engaged
Residents value the Economy but identified some challenges
Survey respondents feel safe overall but have concerns about wildfires and homelessness

21. Moving Forward
Citizen-centric Decision making
Data-driven Decision making
TheNCS
Call to action --- remind them how important and useful these data can be. Encourage them to do something!
The NCS provide a great foundation Action Planning. The NCS simplifies traditional planning because:
It is based on resident opinions – their perceptions of quality and priorities they place on community issues (they are your customer and their opinion is your bottom line)
It is data. In an age where the most progressive companies use “data driven decision making” – it is an easy way for governments to ID the right areas in which to move and provide the data to support the strategies. The NCS provides a great tool when you have strong local advocates of strategies that might not always reflect the desires of the greater population.
Envision, Engage, Educate, Earmark, Enact, Evaluate

22. Questions?

23. Thank you! National Research Center, Inc. 2955 Valmont Road Suite 300
Boulder, CO 80301 •