Community group puts survey out before developing clear
‘Vision’
The biggest problem with the Vision San Benito County group that
launched and diffused about seven years ago is that its primary
participants neglected to embrace the diversity of involvement
necessary to gain credible traction, so it is nice to see that the
recently re-formed organization’s first endeavor targets an
underappreciated perspective, that of youths.
Community group puts survey out before developing clear ‘Vision’
The biggest problem with the Vision San Benito County group that launched and diffused about seven years ago is that its primary participants neglected to embrace the diversity of involvement necessary to gain credible traction, so it is nice to see that the recently re-formed organization’s first endeavor targets an underappreciated perspective, that of youths.
But that initiative, a youth survey attempting to pinpoint county minors’ likes and dislikes, is concerning in that Vision San Benito County appears to be getting ahead of itself before truly realizing its own direction and priorities, while also potentially aggravating the cloudiness of overlap in duties among local nonprofit organizations.
Juveniles do matter, as the survey’s title pronounces. At the same time, are their desires of prime importance in a county trying to survive the recession and simultaneously rebuild a deflated economy? The answer is clear – no.
The survey conducted at nine area schools, to more than 500 students in grades seven to 12, came prematurely and reflects the Vision group’s need to take a few steps back and first set its own goals and direction. As the organization’s director noted, the Vision group has yet to fully refine or articulate its own vision.
Step one should be setting a clear direction. From there, the group can start to address the priorities it sets forth. It is safe to say, though, that surveying the county’s youths would and should not fall anywhere near the top of that list.
Community Vision San Benito County hopes to conduct it again next year while attempting to gain a more diverse group of participants. The youths’ answers in the first survey, meanwhile, amounted to a set of largely unsurprising results – such as most students expressing how the county lacks entertainment, shopping businesses and restaurants, or how most of them didn’t expect to stay or return here after finishing school. There is an additional and all-to-obvious challenge with such vague results as well. What do you do with them? How do you take the data and produce improvements? That doesn’t even address the highest mountain: How do you pay for them?
As the Vision organization moves ahead, it must do so with a clear direction. It must do so while taking into account the broadest spectrum of perspectives possible. It must refine its focus and mark a more realistic path toward advancing the economy and attracting new businesses to San Benito County.
