Community Groups and Technology Survey Results
March 2001

In order to understand how useful information technology tools are for local community groups, the Department of Information Technology and the Department of Neighborhoods created and distributed a survey to community and neighborhood groups. The goal of this survey was to learn about the ways that technology is currently being used in neighborhoods and to find out what sort of assistance is needed to help neighborhoods use technology more effectively. The survey was distributed to a list maintained by the Department of Neighborhoods, including representatives from Neighborhood Associations, District Councils, and local Business Associations. Surveys were sent by U.S. mail with postage-paid return envelopes, and via e-mail using the online survey tool "Zoomerang.com."

Three hundred and sixteen surveys were distributed, and a total of 91 organizations responded. Of those who responded, 75 percent were Neighborhood Associations, 24 percent were business associations, and 1 percent were District Councils.

Community groups are starting to move towards providing electronic versions of their newsletters.

Two-thirds (67%) of the groups surveyed produce a newsletter. Of those who do produce a newsletter, 31% say that it is available electronically, either through e-mail or the web. Of those whose newsletter is not available electronically, 53 percent say that it will be available electronically in a year and 47 percent say it will not.

Is your newsletter available electronically, either through e-mail or the web?
(Base: Those groups that produce a newsletter)

E-mail is the most common way that group leaders are contacting other group members.

Respondents were asked to think about the last contact that they made with members of their group. Almost half (48%) of those surveyed say that their last contact with other group members was through e-mail. Eighteen percent say that their last contact was through a phone call.

Last Communication with Group
(Base: All Respondents)

The majority of groups are using e-mail to communicate and find e-mail to be an effective communication tool.

Ninety-five percent of respondents to the survey say that they personally have an email address.

More than 4 out of 5 (85%) groups use e-mail to communicate with members. Those respondents who say no are evenly split between those who think their group will use e-mail to communicate in a year, and those who think their group will not in a year. Of those who do use email, 63 percent say it is very effective, 31 percent say it is somewhat effective, and five percent say it is not very effective. Only one percent of respondents feel that e-mail is not at all effective.

Effectiveness of E-mail for Communicating with Group
(Base: Those groups that use e-mail to communicate)

Groups use e-mail for a variety of purposes including sending out meeting agendas (77%), sending out notices of events (74%), discussing issues (77%), and planning with officers/committees (75%). Forty-four percent of responding groups indicate that they use email for at all of the tasks listed above, 71 percent use e-mail for at least three of the four tasks, and almost nine out of ten (88%) use e-mail for at least two of the four tasks.

Members without access and trouble compiling e-mail addresses are keeping some groups from using e-mail.

Of those groups that do not use e-mail to communicate, three out of four (75%) state that it is because not enough members have access to e-mail. An additional one out of four (25%) say that other methods of communication work better for their group. Additionally, some groups commented that they do not have a good source for obtaining e-mail addresses from group members, and a number of those who do use e-mail to communicate with their group state that members without email access keep them from using e-mail all the time.

Although few groups are currently using listservs, there is high interest in seeing the City provide listserv services.

Of the group contacts who responded, only about one in ten (11%) indicate that their group uses a listserv to communicate. Of those who do not use a listserv, only 26 percent thought they would use a listserv one year from now. The largest barriers reported to using a listserv were not enough members with access (36%) and not knowing how to use a listserv (26%). When asked if they would use a listserv if the city provided the service, three out of four groups (76%) said yes.

Many community groups currently have or are planning to have web sites and see these sites as a way to raise awareness about their group and recruit new members.

More than two out of five (42%) of the groups that responded have a web site. Of the groups that don’t currently have a web site, 45 percent say that they will have one in a year while 55 percent say they won’t.

Does your group have a web page?
(Base: All Respondents)

Those groups that have a web site were asked about the main purpose of their web site. Thirty-two percent responded that the main purpose is to raise awareness about their group and recruit new members, 21 percent said that it is to inform members about upcoming events, and 11 percent said to state their group’s position on issues that impact the community. An additional 11 percent indicated that their web site’s main purpose is all of the above. Twenty-five percent of respondents answered "other."

What do you consider to be the main purpose of your web site?
(Base: Those groups with a web site)

Those groups with web sites have mixed feelings about the effectiveness of their sites.

Respondents were mixed about how effective their web page has been at accomplishing its purpose. Twenty-four percent say their web page has been very effective, while 41percent say it has been only somewhat effective and 30 percent say not very effective.

How effective do you feel your web page has been at accomplishing this purpose?
(Base: Those groups with a web site)

Many groups feel that they do not have the resources necessary to maintain a web site.

Those groups that do not have web pages were asked about the barriers to having a web page. The majority (57%) responded that their group does not have the resources necessary to maintain a web page. An additional 31percent stated that they do not have the skills to create and maintain a page, and 22 percent say their group cannot afford a web page.

What are the barriers to having a web site?
(Base: Those groups without web sites)

Community groups would like assistance in developing web pages and learning how to use technology more effectively for community development activities.

Respondents were asked what sort of training and assistance the City could provide to help their group use technology more effectively. This was an open-ended question and responses were post-coded by the most frequent responses. Fifty-eight of the respondents requested some sort of training or assistance. The other thirty-three either left the question blank, or responded that they did not need any specific technology training or assistance from the City.

Of those who responded, the largest number of requests (28%) were for training in developing and maintaining web pages. An additional 23 percent of requests were for general technology training and/or training in using technology for community development. Other notable requests included financial assistance (14%), web page hosting assistance (14%), and help with using email and listservs effectively (11%).

Requested Training and Assistance
(Base: Those who requested some training or assistance)

This project is part of the City of Seattle Citizens Technology Literacy and Access initiative in cooperation with the volunteer Citizens Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board (CTTAB) and Sustainable Seattle. Additional assistance for the forum is being provided by Progress Project of the Evans School of Public Affairs and the Glaser Progress Foundation and Seattle Community Network.