Focus Groups & Public/Community Outreach

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SWPM performed regional/tribal/community outreach, surveys and focus groups for Northern Arizona Council of Governments’ regional transit plan. As a subcontractor to the KFH Group, SWPM first identified and recruited members for an advisory committee for the project, then managed, scheduled and facilitated meetings with this group throughout the project. Because the region covered by the transit plan encompassed many rural and tribal areas, collecting public/community input was a challenge. SWPM visited each community in the study area where residents tend to congregate to distribute surveys and conduct community meetings and focus groups. Surveys were also collected electronically. We worked closely with tribal representatives to ensure appropriate representation from tribal respondents. 

SWPM was subcontracted by GumCo, a branding firm from Utah under contract to Santa Fe County, to run the focus groups for the County’s rebranding effort. SWPM ran two focus groups: 1) general residents of Santa Fe County, 2) owners/managers of businesses located in Santa Fe County (outside of the City of Santa Fe limits). SWPM identified and recruited the participants for each group, created the discussion guides (in collaboration with GumCo), arranged and managed facility logistics (including a/v), facilitated the discussions, and prepared a report summarizing the sessions. Ultimately, Santa Fe County opted to not proceed with a rebranding at that point in time.  

SWPM was contracted to complete the community outreach portion of a 5-year strategic plan for the North Central Regional Transit District. SWPM visited 15 communities throughout North central New Mexico including various tribes and counties to gather qualitative data from bus riders in those communities. Community outreach included planning and facilitating community meetings, meetings with tribal councils and focus groups.

SWPM recruited and moderated an ongoing community focus group as part of the Environmental Restoration Project. The purpose of the group was to evaluate a series of alternatives for environmental restoration of a particular site on the mesa. SWPM provided technical assistance to the group and created an atmosphere for exploring the options most aligned with community values. The group was able to reach consensus and make a recommendation to the U.S. Department of Energy on a preferred alternative. 

SWPM performed focus groups with Farmington, NM residents and owners/managers of businesses in the area to gather information on how to improve regional transportation offered by Red Apple Transit. SWPM identified and recruited the participants for each group, created the discussion guides, arranged and managed facility logistics (including a/v), facilitated the discussions, and prepared a report summarizing the sessions. 

SWPM developed and implemented a public outreach plan for the Long Range Transportation Plan for the Santa Fe MPO and facilitated four public meetings to gather input on the plan. Each of the meetings focused on a different aspect of the transportation system. This effort required SWPM to develop display advertisements for the meetings, record public comments, and incorporate all public comments into the plan document.

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