Collecting data for community

A COMMUNITY initiative in Cromwell is designed to gather quality data to help the local community make better decisions on development.

Connect Cromwell, a subcommittee of the Cromwell and District Community Trust, would help the council and local community groups collect better information to help serve their communities, trust chairman Carl McNulty said.

Connect Cromwell’s website went live last week.

The Central Otago District Council is the first group or organisation to use the Connect Cromwell website, running a questionnaire on the site to gather information on the new Cromwell masterplan.

It asks three questions — one thing locals liked about the Cromwell area, one thing they wanted changed in the Cromwell area and one thing they would like Cromwell to be known for.

Mr McNulty said the questionnaire would be live for about three weeks.

Other community groups or organisations could use the platform in the future.

‘‘It’s a medium for community groups to engage with the community,’’ he said.

Connect Cromwell would gather reports and deliver them to parties such as the council or community.

Mr McNulty said the platform could identify user demographics but the results would not personally identify anyone.

Council planning and environment executive manager Louise van der Voort said the council used the platform to assist with community engagement during the development of the masterplan.

‘‘We’re trying to reach as many people as possible.’’

The survey was a ‘‘collaborative effort’’ between Connect Cromwell and the council, she said.