For matching technical innovation with market opportunity, MetroQuest has been selected by Rocket Builders as a top information and communications technology company in 2021!
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (PRWEB) MARCH 31, 2021
MetroQuest, the leader in online surveys for transportation and urban planning, has been recognized as a top information and communications technology (ICT) company by Rocket Builders for the fifth consecutive year.
MetroQuest has consistently excelled in both revenue growth and market innovation since its pivot to a SaaS model in 2016. Despite circumstances in 2020, the company achieved substantial growth and simultaneously launched the newest iteration of their award-winning software, once again setting the standard for online public engagement for agencies and firms.
“Each year when we choose the Ready to Rocket companies, we are looking for those companies that have best matched technical innovation with market opportunity. MetroQuest is an excellent example of the right technology for the right customers at the right time.” said Reg Nordman, Managing Partner, Rocket Builders.
The award is the only predictive list of its kind in North America, using months of sector and company analysis to highlight the top ICT companies poised for growth.
“Community engagement in the public sector has undergone drastic changes in the last year. We’ve supported the momentum of government agencies and planning firms alike as the industry swiftly adopted virtual tools and strategies in face of the pandemic,” said Mike Walsh, President and CEO at MetroQuest. “We saw an 85% increase in interest over the last 12 months, and have emerged as an industry leader linking organizations with the technology they need to broadly and meaningfully engage their communities online,” he continued, “As the only online survey software purpose-designed for the unique needs of modern planning, MetroQuest supports the industry in achieving exceptional public engagement.”
MetroQuest’s software platform allows planners to create delightful surveys that are designed to engage thousands of participants online. Planners see upwards of a 60% survey conversion rate with MetroQuest, compared to 5% on traditional text-based surveys. State departments of transportation, regional planning agencies, local governments, and engineering consulting firms rely on MetroQuest to gather informed public input to support transportation and urban planning, creating actionable data that moves more people and improves our cities.
About MetroQuest
MetroQuest is North America’s #1 online public engagement solution for urban and transportation planning. Government agencies and planning firms of all sizes trust MetroQuest to engage thousands of people while obtaining informed input and actionable results to support data-driven planning and investment decisions. For more information about MetroQuest, visit https://www.metroquest.com.
About Ready to Rocket
Ready to Rocket is a unique business recognition list that profiles technology companies with the greatest potential for revenue growth. Each year, based on analysis of trends that will drive growth in the information technology sector, Rocket Builders identifies the top private companies that are best positioned to capitalize on the trends for growth. This selection methodology has been an accurate predictor of growth with “Ready to Rocket” companies exceeding the industry growth rate and “Emerging Rocket” companies most likely to gain investment. 2021 Ready to Rocket.
Trademark Notice “Ready to Rocket” is a trademark of Rocket Builders, a respected management consulting firm servicing the technology industry.
On December 9th, public engagement superstars from WSP and North Carolina DOT join forces with MetroQuest to uncover the most effective community engagement strategies from the last 8 months, providing best practices and leading techniques to guide planning teams to success in the new year!
Vancouver, BC, November 30, 2020 – Events in 2020 have created a perfect storm for public engagement, leading to both new challenges and powerful innovations. In this free December 9th webinar, experts uncover national trends and regional variations around effective community engagement, offering a sneak peek into the most effective strategies and key technologies for successful planning in 2021!
Our ‘new normal’ has pushed public engagement beyond its typical routine, forcing planners across the nation to rise to unique challenges and establish new protocols for community engagement without public meetings. In this webinar, public involvement specialists with a combined 85+ years of community engagement experience explore how planning firms and government agencies have overcome obstacles this year, uncovering the tools and techniques that lead to exceptional public engagement, and recommending effective strategies for 2021.
Host Dave Biggs, Chief Engagement Officer at MetroQuest, leads the discussion. He is joined by Jamille Robbins, Public Involvement Group Leader for North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), who leads and educates 20+ divisions in public outreach. Joining them is Darrel Cole, Vice President of Communications & Public Involvement Practice at WSP, who leads a team of 45+ nationwide in pivoting to online public outreach. Rounding out the panel is Lisa Hummel, Communications & Public Involvement Specialist at WSP, who brings her expertise in online meetings and experience as a member of the WSP Crisis Communications Rapid Response Team.
Using real-life case studies of successful public engagement projects, including the City of Philadelphia’s Washington Avenue Improvement Project, the North Carolina Capital Area MPO’s Bikeway Study, a Long Range Transportation Plan from Pueblo Area Council of Government and more, the panel of public engagement superstars come together to share valuable insights!
Register to watch as they explore the leading trends from the last 8 months, from the techniques that have helped agencies and firms succeed, to key technologies for your online engagement toolbox and ongoing barriers and obstacles, uncovering what community engagement will look like in 2021 and what you need to succeed moving forward.
This webinar qualifies professional planners for 1.0 AICP Certification Maintenance credit.
About MetroQuest
MetroQuest is North America’s #1 online survey platform for public engagement in transportation and urban planning. Government agencies and planning firms of all sizes trust MetroQuest to engage thousands of people with delightful surveys that obtain informed input and actionable results to get plans approved. 1000s of public engagement practitioners attend MetroQuest’s webinars each month, gaining AICP CM Credit and driving forward the conversation around community involvement.
On October 27th, experts from MetroQuest and Arellano Associates team up to demystify one of 2020’s most important challenges: identifying the most effective strategies for engaging traditionally underrepresented groups in support of public projects.
Vancouver, BC, October 22, 2020 – Diversity and equity in public engagement have become more important and yet more challenging in 2020. Follow along on Tuesday, October 27th, as top engagement experts from MetroQuest and Arellano Associates team up to uncover the most effective and proven strategies for reaching traditionally underrepresented communities in support of public plans and projects.
With public meetings off the table due to COVID-19, government agencies and planning firms have transformed their approach to public engagement. In this webinar, our expert speakers dive into the most effective strategies to help organizations safely reach and engage with the most vulnerable and traditionally underrepresented people in our communities. Whether it’s the environmental justice community, a key demographic for a project, or people without access to technology, any difficult-to-reach audience can be engaged with the right tactics and tools.
Host and speaker Dave Biggs, Chief Engagement Officer at MetroQuest, has 20+ years of experience in the public engagement sector, and has spoken on public engagement at conferences including the APA NPC (American Planning Association’s National Planning Conference), AMPO (Association of Metropolitan Planning Organization) Annual Conference, Rail~Volution, AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) TransComm Conference, and many others. He is joined by Melissa Holguin, Senior Project Manager at Arellano Associates. She recently broke public outreach records for LA Metro by spearheading an engagement campaign that reached 6,900+ people, using a strategy that perfectly matched participant demographics with the diversity of the Los Angeles region, from age group, to income level, ethnicity, zip code, and more.
With their combined expertise, this webinar highlights case studies, best practices, and tools required to achieve this new paradigm of diverse and inclusive public engagement. Dave Biggs and Melissa Holguin will dive deep into the barriers that lead to low participation and shine a light on proven solutions for engaging even the most difficult to reach audiences to support government agency plans.
Register to watch as our speakers demystify the strategies behind diverse community engagement, setting up agencies and firms to achieve exceptional public involvement results during the pandemic and beyond.
This webinar is worth 1.0 AICP CM Credits.
About MetroQuest
MetroQuest is North America’s #1 online survey platform for public engagement in transportation and urban planning. Government agencies and planning firms of all sizes trust MetroQuest to engage thousands of people with delightful surveys that obtain informed input and actionable results to get plans approved. 1000s of public engagement practitioners attend MetroQuest’s webinars each month, gaining AICP CM Credit and driving forward the conversation around community involvement.
Arellano Associates (AA) is a consulting firm specializing in communications and public outreach, community and government relations, and strategic planning and marketing programs. Our vision is to positively impact communities through honest and creative engagement using innovative communication tools and techniques. AA is a Limited Liability Corporation and is woman and minority owned. AA is a certified Small Business-owned (SBE) and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE).
MetroQuest once again sets the standard for online public engagement for government agencies and engineering consulting firms, with delightful online surveys that support exceptional community input at all levels of planning, permitting and implementation.
Vancouver, BC, September 24, 2020 – MetroQuest, the leader in online public engagement for urban and transportation planning, recently released the newest version of its award-winning online engagement software! As meaningful engagement grows ever more vital and complicated, the release of ‘MetroQuest 2020’ enables the creation of delightful online surveys that engage 1000s across diverse communities, gathering actionable data that gets plans approved.
“Public engagement for planning has been moving online for years,” said Mike Walsh, President and CEO at MetroQuest, “As the pandemic pushes more rapid adoption of virtual public involvement technology, we’ve seen increased attention from agencies and firms looking to engage their citizens more safely, efficiently and productively. With this latest release, the MetroQuest team is excited to provide an efficient and flexible online survey platform suited for a wide range of planning projects.”
MetroQuest has long innovated the community engagement and input space, pioneering leading practices and establishing a reputation as industry leaders. In this newest release, the company worked alongside long-standing subscribers such as Kimley-Horn, Michael Baker International, and DOTs and agencies across the United States to develop a modern and streamlined update for use across planning, permitting and implementation.
“We look forward to seeing how our subscribers leverage MetroQuest 2020 to create data-driven plans that get approved that much more quickly,” said Peter Millar, Vice President of Product at MetroQuest, “With the new release, enhanced flexibility and control means subscribers can build the exact survey they need for their projects, and get detailed results from the new Data Center for their reports.
“Planners and consultants can convey complicated concepts to the public in simple, delightful and fun ways, enabling greater reach into their communities, educating the public and gathering informed input on a wide range of plans.”
MetroQuest supports government agencies and planning firms in engaging 1000s of residents, overcoming traditional barriers to engagement and collecting informed public input. The fluid, visual and educational surveys create a delightful experience that generates actionable results to facilitate urban and transportation plans, enhancing livability for all. To date, MetroQuest is trusted by distinguished firms such as WSP USA, VHB, Kimley-Horn, and Michael Baker International, as well as urban and transportation agencies of all sizes.
“Our longest-standing clients were early adopters of MetroQuest 2020, and have been invaluable in providing feedback that allows us to build exactly what is needed to take public engagement forward,” said Walsh, “Many more firms and agencies are eager to move onto the new platform. On behalf of the entire team, we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished with MetroQuest 2020, and excited to see how our subscribers will use it to deliver exceptional public engagement results.”
About MetroQuest
MetroQuest is North America’s #1 online survey platform for public engagement in transportation and urban planning. Government agencies and planning firms of all sizes trust MetroQuest to engage thousands of people with delightful surveys that obtain informed input and actionable results to get plans approved.
We’re excited to introduce the Survey of the Month: an exceptionally well-done example of a MetroQuest survey created by one of our users. We’re consistently impressed with the amazing public engagement surveys that MetroQuest subscribers launch to gain valuable public input for their plans. We want to share their inspiring work!
Going forward, every month we’ll show you how one agency or firm put together an outstanding survey and highlight a few takeaways to inspire YOU to create equally engaging surveys!
This month, we’re thrilled to introduce a Comprehensive Pedestrian Plan for Elizabeth City, in collaboration with MetroQuest subscriber Kimley-Horn and Associates and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). Jonathan Whitehurst and his team at Kimley-Horn created an amazing MetroQuest survey to identify obstacles and solutions to building a more walkable city as part of a strategic plan to stimulate community growth.
What’s the story behind WalkEC? It’s Elizabeth City’s First Comprehensive Pedestrian Plan
Elizabeth City’s “Vision 2020” was a community planning initiative that aimed to create economic and community development. Initially, a dedicated committee worked together to create a strategic plan that could guide Elizabeth City’s upcoming developments using data from research and focus groups, reaching all segments of the community. With these, the committee previously recommended that increased sidewalk connections would provide better access to health and social services, trails in nature, parks, and other destinations, elevating Elizabeth City’s ability to serve and support the community.
As a continuation of this larger community strategy, “WalkEC” is a Comprehensive Pedestrian Plan that will set priorities for new sidewalks, multi-use paths, and street crossings. It will also review policies and programs to ensure that the community can make the best use out of the new infrastructure. Jonathan Whitehurt worked together with Elizabeth City and NCDOT to create the WalkEC MetroQuest survey for this plan, looking for actionable community input that would allow them to identify obstacles and create community-backed solutions!
Anatomy of a Survey: How WalkEC’s MetroQuest Survey Gathers Actionable Public Input
WalkEC’s survey has great flow from screen to screen, first identifying how the community prioritizes five themes, then identifying potential obstacles to achieving those goals, and finally creating a space for citizens to safely suggest solutions.
In more detail, the survey starts by presenting some background information to help provide context and let citizens know how their input will be used: namely, to help ensure that the community will be able to make “the best use of these new investments.” It then dives into the first interactive data collection activity, presenting five themes from the statewide North Carolina bicycle and pedestrian plan, called WalkBikeNC.
Participants are asked to rate each theme on a 5-point scale and can submit optional comments on each. The five themes are: Safety, Health, Economy, Mobility, and Environment. Understanding how important each of these state-identified themes are to Elizabeth City residents will help shape the pedestrian plan around the topics that are most valuable to them.
In the second activity, participants are asked to rank the 5 biggest obstacles that prevent them from walking or from walking more frequently. Because one goal of the comprehensive plan is to help the community utilize pedestrian infrastructure, it is important to the Elizabeth City team to make sure that they identify concerns and attempt to solve them where possible.
The list of obstacles includes: Personal Safety, Poor Sidewalk Conditions, Lack of Sidewalks/Paths, Physical Health, Unsafe Crossings, Weather, Distance to Destinations, and Unsafe Vehicles Nearby. Understanding obstacles to walking will help Elizabeth City to become safer, more enjoyable, and more accessible.
Finally, before asking a few demographic questions, participants are asked to map their thoughts and show issues and ideas spatially by dropping markers onto a virtual map. Jonathan and his team configured markers that people can use to show the location of their Safety Concerns, Project Ideas, and Destinations, as well as showing where they live (My Home) and providing additional ideas (Anything Else). This survey screen gives participants the option to show exactly where they want more pedestrian infrastructure, where they feel unsafe, and where sidewalks, trails, or crosswalks are needed. By giving participants the option to share these in a clean map (without existing markers that cause bias), Elizabeth City is giving each citizen an equal opportunity to have their voice be heard.
If you’d like to try a demo of the survey, click the button below. This will not affect Elizabeth City’s survey results, so feel free to click around.
The accompanying project website can be found here. This survey is currently live, and we are looking forward to seeing great public engagement results!
5 Tips from Elizabeth City: How to Make an Effective Online Survey for Public Involvement with MetroQuest
The survey the team created is fantastic in many ways. They made the most out of MetroQuest by translating the goals of their comprehensive plan into an accessible survey that could collect actionable information from the broader community.
How did they make their survey so engaging? Below are 5 aspects to keep in mind as you build your next MetroQuest survey to ensure that yours is just as successful.
In a brief introduction, convey the goals of your plan and show participants how their input will have impact. There’s no need to go into great detail—that’s what the project website is for—but knowing that their input is valued and will be acted upon will motivate participants.
Use a simple call-to-action so that participants have an immediate and obvious next step. The example WalkEC uses in the introduction screen is simple yet effective: “We want to hear from you!”
Enhance your text with icons and relevant images – it draws the participant in, makes the survey more fun and visual, and encourages the participant to connect to the questions and identify their priorities. For example, the second screen of the survey uses a picture of two children at a crosswalk to illustrate the theme of Safety. Help participants link the concepts in the survey to their everyday lives!
Keep all text short and precise and use simple language instead of jargon. WalkEC is a Comprehensive Pedestrian Plan. While citizens might not know what that type of plan is, they’ll certainly understand that the city is looking to “help ensure our community makes the best use of these new investments.” Follow this rule of thumb in the survey itself, too. For example, when discussing barriers to walking, this survey explains “distance to destination” plainly as “it would take too long to walk from point A to point B.” Simple, everyday language like this helps participants think about their everyday concerns more easily, all the while subtly educating the public and helping you to collect informed input!
Allow for specific and quick answers. Notice that the questions in WalkEC are drag-and-drop or can otherwise be answered in one click! For example, the map uses icons that can be dropped onto different areas, with drop downs that pop up to capture additional information. This makes answering the survey fast and easy, instead of forcing participants to verbalize and type out all their answers. This also makes it easier to aggregate the data afterwards. Win-win!
Congrats to Jonathan and the entire team at Kimley-Horn & Associates, the North Carolina Department of Transportation, and Elizabeth City for creating a fun interactive experience for WalkEC!
For more great tips on how to make the most out of MetroQuest, contact your Customer Experience manager or reach out for more information!
Want to learn more about MetroQuest? Check out our recent webinar:
Optimizing Online Engagement for Planning with MetroQuest
Online tools are a critical part of the planner’s public engagement toolbox, especially as we look for safe, effective methods to engage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Find out which options result in positive, actionable community input for your urban and transportation plans.
The Florida Department of Transportation District 1 joins a dozen DOTs in selecting MetroQuest as their online public engagement survey platform to educate and engage thousands of residents in planning.
Vancouver, BC, May 8, 2020 – MetroQuest, the leader in online public engagement surveys for urban and transportation planning by government agencies and firms, welcomes the Florida Department of Transportation District 1 (FDOT) as a new subscriber. The Sunshine State, with its year-round mild climate, has unique opportunities to move people and goods via multiple modes, making FDOT responsible for a growing transportation system that includes highways/streets, air, rail, sea, spaceports, transit, and bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
The planning team at FDOT has big plans to engage thousands of residents over the next 12 months with a series of MetroQuest surveys on transportation projects across the state, from corridor studies to regional transportation plans.
“We expect to see great public engagement this year throughout Florida, and welcome the entire planning team to MetroQuest,” said Mike Walsh, MetroQuest President and CEO.
“Formidable transportation agencies, like Florida DOT, are making major infrastructure investments and are showing true commitment to meaningfully engaging residents in planning. Transportation planners are turning to MetroQuest to broaden engagement online by involving thousands of residents.”
“Florida joins a dozen state departments of transportation who rely on MetroQuest surveys to engage the public, including Colorado DOT, Georgia DOT, Idaho DOT, Kansas DOT, Maine DOT, Minnesota DOT, New Hampshire DOT, North Carolina DOT, Oklahoma DOT, South Carolina DOT, Texas DOT, and Virginia DOT. We look forward to having Florida DOT’s senior planners join our discussions at MetroQuest DOT Roundtables in the coming months.”
MetroQuest is the only online public engagement platform that is purpose-designed for transportation planning. In recent years, MetroQuest surveys have rapidly become the online public engagement solution of choice for the nation’s largest transportation agencies, including: more than 25% of the nation’s State Departments of Transportation (DOTs), 50 Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and Regional Transportation Planning Agencies (RTPAs), and many transit agencies for America’s most populated cities, including the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Many of the nation’s preeminent planning consulting firms – including WSP, VHB, Kimley-Horn, Freese and Nichols, and Michael Baker International – also rely on MetroQuest surveys to deliver millions of data points in public input to support data-driven transportation planning for the hundreds of agencies they serve.
MetroQuest surveys are highly visual, engaging, and educational. They are purpose-designed to involve thousands of residents in urban and transportation planning. State departments of transportation, regional planning agencies, local governments, and their consulting firms rely on MetroQuest to optimize online public engagement. With annual subscriptions, agencies can launch unlimited surveys to engage the public in planning, maximize participation, collect informed input, and gain actionable results to better build data-driven plans that enhance livability and move more people.
MetroQuest is North America’s #1 online public engagement solution for transportation and urban planning. Government agencies and planning firms of all sizes trust MetroQuest to engage thousands of people while obtaining informed input and actionable results to support data-driven planning and investment decisions.
MetroQuest, the leader in online surveys for transportation and urban planning, has been recognized as a top information and communications technology (ICT) company by Rocket Builders for the fifth consecutive year.![[SURVEY OF THE MONTH] A MetroQuest Survey Identifies Community Priorities for WalkEC, a Comprehensive Pedestrian Plan](https://metroquest.com/wp-content/uploads/Woman-Laptop-WalkEC-Survey-Screen_blog-header.jpg)
