Surveys & Data Configuration

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Introduction

Flags & Surveys

Volunteers

Events

Donors

Contact Data Sources

Custom Districts

 

Introduction

The Surveys & Data Configuration page allows system administrators to create, edit and deactivate the catalog items that revolve around the Organization Accounts data. These sections are divided into tabs, with the tap layer of tabs being the main category, and lower tabs displaying sub-categories.

  • The Surveys & Data Configuration page can be accessed by hovering over the Admin section in the Navigation Menu, and clicking the Surveys & Data Configuration button.

 

Flags and Surveys

All these pieces (Candidates / Issues, ID Flags, Survey Questions / Response Codes, Printed Surveys, Electronic Surveys, and Acquisition Types) operate independently and can be assembled in different ways. This allows you to reuse response flags for different candidates, answers in different questions, reuse questions in different surveys. Below features a simple explanation of each sub-tab along with a link that will bring you to a page that displays instruction on using the sub-tab.

Once you create a survey and associate these pieces of data, the program retains the associations to significantly simplify the data entry process. For example, when you enter a single response code from a canvassing list, the program will know and record all the additional information for the survey and meta data (date, user, and data acquisition type). The PDI process for managing ID Flag data requires a little more up front time to configure properly, but the benefits allow for simpler and more efficient querying and data entry.

Candidates / Issues – Setting up the Candidate or Ballot Measure assignments allow organizations to collect and track response code IDs for one, or more, candidates or ballot measures on a single PDI account. If your campaign is only working on behalf of one candidate, you can simply catalog the name of the candidate or ballot measure once and be done with this part of the program. Every account needs to create a default candidate or ballot measure. Only your default candidate/issue will show on the front page key statistics section. If you only have one, this will automatically be the default. Please see the Candidates and Issues page for more details.

ID Flags - These are the individual pieces of data that are associated with different actions or responses. These can be support levels, yard sign requests, vote methods, etc... Any bit of data you want to track should be created here. By combining these ID's with the questions and candidates you are able to create one 'Yes' ID for a Strong Supporter and assign this to multiple candidates/issues. Your account will already have some basic disposition responses like 'Not Home' and 'Gated', but you are free to add as many as you need. Please see the ID Flags page for more details.

Survey Questions / Response Codes – Survey Questions are a combination of ID Flags and question text. You associate each question with a candidate/issue. Using this system you are able to rephrase questions, while still linking them the same answers, or use the same question text/answers for multiple candidates/issues. We recommend not using Response Codes, as they do not work throughout the system. You will see a set of non-contact questions already created. These will automatically link to the correct canvass tools. If you need to edit the default non-contact questions click the question profile you would like to change. The default non-contact questions can also be removed from your surveys by clicking the 'Show these non-contact codes on your list' check-box in the question profile window. Please see the Survey Questions page for more details.

Surveys – Surveys are divided into two survey types: Logical Branched Surveys which are normally used in electronic canvassing tools, and Basic Surveys which are normally used in paper canvassing tools. Both survey types can be used in any canvassing tool, however, when Basic Surveys are used in electronic canvassing tools there will be no script or logic based movement, and when Logical Branched Surveys are used in paper canvassing tools questions will display in the order of the set segments with no consideration for the logical linkage. Click here for more information on creating Surveys.

Acquisition Types – These record how ID information was acquired. Having the source helps campaigns evaluate outreach methods and provide greater analysis of campaign efforts. Examples of source types include “Paid Canvass”, “Volunteer Canvass”, Paid Phone Bank”, “Volunteer Phone Bank” or “Import.” Some campaigns use many of these and other just have one source for everything. You can also enable defaults for different pages in the system, so anything you export from the mapping module is marked as 'Volunteer Canvass', for example. Click here for more information on Acquisition Types.

 

 

Volunteers

The Volunteers section contains different properties that users can assign to volunteers. These properties allow users to generate contact universes around these properties, allowing for better grouping of your volunteers, making it easier to assign shifts and determining which volunteers will work best for each shift. Each one of these options can be used to create a universe in the Volunteers tab of the "Create Contact Universe" page.

Volunteer Skills

The Volunteer Skills are special or useful skills possessed by a volunteer. Volunteer Skills can be used to create Contact Universes. Below are instructions for creating Volunteer Skills.

  1. Click the Add New button
  2. Use the Skill Description textbox to name the Volunteer Skill.
  3. (Optional) Click on the Padlock icon to assign the Volunteer Skill to a permission group.
    1. Activate the checkboxes of the Data Permission Group that should have access to this Volunteer Skill.
    2. Click the Save button in the Permission Assignments pop-up.
  4. Click the Save button to save the Volunteer Skill, or click the Save and Add New button to save the Volunteer Skill and create a new one.

 

Volunteer Work Types

The Volunteer Work Types are the types of activities that the individual would be willing to participate. The Volunteer Work Types can be used to create Contact Universes. Below are instructions for creating Volunteer Work Types.

  1. Click the Add New button
  2. Use the Work Type Description textbox to name the Volunteer Work Types.
  3. (Optional) Click on the Padlock icon to assign the Volunteer Work Types to a permission group.
    1. Activate the checkboxes of the Data Permission Group that should have access to this Volunteer Work Types.
    2. Click the Save button in the Permission Assignments pop-up.
  4. Click the Save button to save the Volunteer Work Types, or click the Save and Add New button to save the Volunteer Work Types and create a new one.

 

Volunteer Zones

The Volunteer Zones are regions where a volunteer lives or would work. This is most useful in larger districts. Volunteer Zones can be used to create Contact Universes. Below are instructions for creating Volunteer Zones.

  1. Click the Add New button
  2. Use the Zone Description textbox to name the Volunteer Zone.
  3. (Optional) Click on the Padlock icon to assign the Volunteer Zone to a permission group.
    1. Activate the checkboxes of the Data Permission Group that should have access to this Volunteer Zone.
    2. Click the Save button in the Permission Assignments pop-up.
  4. Click the Save button to save the Volunteer Zone, or click the Save and Add New button to save the Volunteer Zones and create a new one.

 

Volunteer Level

The Volunteer Level allows you to create different levels of volunteers based on reliability, productivity, or work quality performance. Volunteer Levels can be used to create Contact Universes. Below are instructions for creating Volunteer Levels.

  1. Click the Add New button
  2. Use the Level Description textbox to name the Volunteer Level.
  3. (Optional) Click on the Padlock icon to assign the Volunteer Level to a permission group.
    1. Activate the checkboxes of the Data Permission Group that should have access to this Volunteer Level.
    2. Click the Save button in the Permission Assignments pop-up.
  4. Click the Save button to save the Volunteer Level, or click the Save and Add New button to save the Volunteer Level and create a new one.

 

Volunteer Teams

The Volunteer Teams allows you to group your volunteers together into a group. Volunteer Teams can be used to create Contact Universes. Below are instructions for creating Volunteer Teams.

  1. Click the Add New button
  2. Use the Team Description textbox to name the Volunteer Team.
  3. Use the Choose Coordinator drop-down menu to select a coordinator to associate with the Volunteer Team.
  4. (Optional) Click on the Padlock icon to assign the Volunteer Team to a permission group.
    1. Activate the checkboxes of the Data Permission Group that should have access to this Volunteer Team.
    2. Click the Save button in the Permission Assignments pop-up.
  5. Click the Save button to save the Volunteer Team, or click the Save and Add New button to save the Volunteer Team and create a new one.

 

Volunteer Availabilities

The Volunteer Availabilities allows you to tag an individuals availability schedule. The Volunteer Availability options can be used to create Contact Universes. Below are instructions for creating Volunteer Availabilities.

  1. Click the Add New button
  2. Use the Availability Description textbox to name the Volunteer Availability.
  3. (Optional) Click on the Padlock icon to assign the Volunteer Availability to a permission group.
    1. Activate the checkboxes of the Data Permission Group that should have access to this Volunteer Availability.
    2. Click the Save button in the Permission Assignments pop-up.
  4. Click the Save button to save the Volunteer Availability, or click the Save and Add New button to save the Volunteer Availability and create a new one.

 

Volunteer Organizations

The Volunteer Organizations are a list of friendly organizations sending volunteers to help your organization. This option is used for our Online Phone Bank system. Below are instructions for creating Volunteer Organizations.

  1. Click the Add New button
  2. Use the Organization Description textbox to name the Volunteer Organization.
  3. (Optional) Click on the Padlock icon to assign the Volunteer Organization to a permission group.
    1. Activate the checkboxes of the Data Permission Group that should have access to this Volunteer Organization.
    2. Click the Save button in the Permission Assignments pop-up.
  4. Click the Save button to save the Volunteer Organization, or click the Save and Add New button to save the Volunteer Organization and create a new one.


Events

Event Calendars

The Events Calendars sub-tab allows you to create and manage the Event Calendars in your organization account. Event Calendars hold the events that you create in the Calendar widget on the home page. The number of calendars you will use may vary, some campaigns have many calendars and others just use one. In order to create an event in the program, you will need to create at least one calendar. Some examples of calendars are 'Candidate Events', 'Fundraisers', 'House Party'. Event Calendars can also be creating during the event creation process. Below are instructions for creating a new Event Calendars.


  1. Click the Add New button.
  2. Use the Calendar Description textbox to assign a name to the Event Calendar.
  3. Click on the Square under the Color label.
  4. In the Color pop-up click on a color to assign a label color to the calendar.
  5. (Optional) Click on the Padlock icon to assign the Event Calendar to a permission group.
    1. Activate the checkboxes of the Data Permission Group that should have access to this Event Calendar.
    2. Click the Save button in the Permission Assignments pop-up.
  6. Click the Save button to save the Event Calendar, or click the Save and Add New button to save the Event Calendar and create a new one.

 

Event Locations

Event Locations are the name and the address of the venue for the event. These are created separate from the event itself so they can be quickly reused for creating multiple events. Event Locations can also be created while creating an event. Below are instructions for creating an Event Location.

  1. Click the Add New button.
  2. Use the Location Description textbox to assign a name to the location.
  3. Use the Location Address textbox to assign the address to the location.
  4. (Optional) Click on the Padlock icon to assign the Event Calendar to a permission group.
    1. Activate the checkboxes of the Data Permission Group that should have access to this Event Calendar.
    2. Click the Save button in the Permission Assignments pop-up.
  5. Click the Save button to save the Event Calendar, or click the Save and Add New button to save the Event Calendar and create a new one.

 

Invitation Method

The Invitation Method is the method you used to invite an individual to the upcoming event. Some examples are: Email, Called, Person to Person, etc... Below are instructions for creating new Invitation Methods.

  1. Click the Add New button.
  2. Use the Invitation Method Description textbox to name the new Invitation Method.
  3. (Optional) Click on the Padlock icon to assign the Invitation Methods to a permission group.
    1. Activate the checkboxes of the Data Permission Group that should have access to this Invitation Method.
    2. Click the Save button in the Permission Assignments pop-up.
  4. Click the Save button to save the Invitation Method, or click the Save and Add New button to save the Invitation Method and create a new one.

 

Event Activities

Event Activities are shifts that you can associate with an event. These Activities can then be assigned to the volunteers in your account. Below are instructions for creating Event Activities.

  1. Click the Add New button.
  2. Use the Activity Description textbox to name the Event Activity.
  3. (Optional) Click on the Padlock icon to assign the Event Activity to a permission group.
    1. Activate the checkboxes of the Data Permission Group that should have access to this Event Activities.
    2. Click the Save button in the Permission Assignments pop-up.
  4. Click the Save button to save the Event Activities, or click the Save and Add New button to save the Event Activities and create a new one.

 

Donors

The Donors tab features a number of sub-tabs which allows you to customize the donations you enter into your organization account. The elements created in this tab can be used in Individual People Search page to create donations, the create universes page, and in your web forms.


Budget Categories

The Budget Categories tab allows you to create categories to help you keep track of your campaign expenses. Below are instructions for creating a new Budget Category.

  1. Click the Add New button..
  2. Use the Budget Category Name textbox to name your Budget Category.
  3. Use the Parent Budget Category drop-down menu to select a category to associate with the Budget Category.
  4. (Optional) Click on the Padlock icon to assign the budget category to a permission group.
    1. Activate the checkboxes of the Data Permission Group that should have access to this Budget Category.
    2. Click the Save button in the Permission Assignments pop-up.
  5. Click the Save button to save the Budget Category, or click the Save and Add New button to save the Budget Category and create a new one.

 

Elections

The Elections tab allows you to create multiple elections, which will allow you to manage the donor information for multiple campaigns. Below are instructions for creating a new Elections category.

  1. Click the Add New button.
  2. Use the Election Data calendar to select the date of the election.
  3. Use the Election Type drop-down menu to select the a type of election to associate with the election.
  4. (Optional) Click on the Padlock icon to assign the Election to a permission group.
    1. Activate the checkboxes of the Data Permission Group that should have access to this Election.
    2. Click the Save button in the Permission Assignments pop-up.
  5. Click the Save button to save the Election, or click the Save and Add New button to save the Election and create a new one.

 

Financial Accounts

The Financial Accounts tab allows you to create financial accounts, which allows you to track the deposits into the account. Below are instructions for creating a new Financial Account category.

  1. Click the Add New button.
  2. Use the Financial Account Name textbox to assign a name to the Financial Account.
  3. Use the Sub Financial Account drop-down menu to select a financial account type to associate with the Financial Account.
  4. (Optional) Click on the Padlock icon to assign the Financial Account to a permission group.
    1. Activate the checkboxes of the Data Permission Group that should have access to this Financial Account.
    2. Click the Save button in the Permission Assignments pop-up.
  5. Click the Save button to save the Financial Account, or click the Save and Add New button to save the Financial Account and create a new one.

 

Genders

The Genders tab allows you to create additional gender options that are not included in the default PDI system.

  1. Click the Add New button.
  2. Use the Gender Name textbox to assign a name to the new Gender.
  3. (Optional) Click on the Padlock icon to assign the Gender to a permission group.
    1. Activate the checkboxes of the Data Permission Group that should have access to this Gender.
    2. Click the Save button in the Permission Assignments pop-up.
  4. Click the Save button to save the Gender, or click the Save and Add New button to save the Gender and create a new one.

 

 

Contact Data Sources

This Contact Data Source tab allows you to designate Custom Data Sources for externally imported People data. Contact Data Sources can be viewed as the People Database version of acquisition type, giving you and users in the account context on how an individual ended up in the People Database. There are also a number of default Data Source options that come with each account, which cannot be added or edited in the Contact Data Source tab.

Creating Contact Data Sources

  1. Click the Add New button.
  2. Use the Contact Data Description textbox to name the new Contact Data Source.
  3. (Optional) Click on the Padlock icon to assign the Contact Data Source to a permission group.
    1. Activate the checkboxes of the Data Permission Group that should have access to this Contact Data Source.
    2. Click the Save button in the Permission Assignments pop-up.
  4. Click the Save button to save the Contact Data Source, or click the Save and Add New button to save the Contact Data Source and create a new one.

 

Default Contact Data Sources

  • Bulk Upload - People that are uploaded in the Import New People page and not assigned a custom Contact Data Source.
  • Flag File - People that were once in the Voter Database, but were added to the People Database
  • Manual - People who are entered in manually within the program.
  • PDI API - People who are acquired through the API.
  • Self-Registered - People who are acquired through our internal web form.
  • Unknown - People who were acquired through an unknown method.
  • Voter File - People that are copied over from the Voter Database from the Individual People Search page.

 

Custom Districts

The Custom Districts tab gives users the ability to create custom geographic areas, based off other geographic areas. Custom Districts can then be used to generate universes, run a count report, set an Account Geography filter, along with any other processes that utilize geography.

Creating Custom Districts.

  1. Click the Add New button.
  2. Use the Custom District Name textbox to assign a name to the Custom District.
  3. Use the Enter District Name textbox to type in the name of a district you would like to add to your Custom District.
  4. Once you have found the district you would like to add to the Custom District, click the name of the district.
  5. Repeat steps 3-4 until you have added the desired districts.
  6. Click the Save button to save the Custom District, or click the Save and Add New button to save the Custom District and create a new one.