Are we moving the needle?

I often write about plans we are developing or on-the-ground projects that are implementing those plans. We celebrate accomplishments with ribbon cuttings, our Leadership in Motion awards, and more. We even celebrate maintenance! (Check out our Maintenance Matters! video, if you haven’t already!)

But, frequently missing from these conversations is a discussion of how – or if -- these

accomplishments are helping us reach regional goals. Are we actually “moving the needle”?

To answer this question, we track our progress toward meeting regional goals. Through Communities in Motion, we established regional targets for the year 2040, for everything from number of bike crashes to congested miles of interstate to acres of parks. By comparing current data to baseline conditions and 2040 targets, we track trends to see if the region is moving in the right direction.

This information is all reported in performance monitoring (“Change in Motion”) reports. However, we recognize that, especially in today’s culture of fast-paced news tidbits, very few people take the time to read reports.

So, we are finding new ways to share this information with you. Be watching for…

• Weekly “did you know?” posts on our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

• A compilation of all these weekly posts on our web site

• Quarterly posts in this blog to provide a broader discussion of key trends

• An updated online dashboard – coming next year – to help you find and use the data you care about

If a specific “did you know?” or blog post piques your interest and you want to learn more, don’t hesitate to contact us at info@compassidaho.org. The future of the Treasure Valley belongs to you.