You can find here all of the accompanying materials to the Council on the Future of Vermont process. You can also watch the short video which describes the process and its inputs below.
In total the Council heard from around four thousand Vermonters through the following methods:
- PUBLIC FORUMS: From November 2007 to August 2008, the Council on the Future of Vermont traveled around Vermont and met with farmers, nurses, students, veterans, seniors, businesspeople, advocates, low income and working Vermonters. These meetings were in both large public forums and smaller focus groups. One public forum was held in every county and over 90 focus groups were conducted: overall the Council met with more than 1,200 Vermonters through forums. Click here for the Public Notes
- POLLING AND SURVEYS: Working with the Center for Rural Studies at the University of Vermont, the Council on the Future of Vermont conducted two polls of Vermonters. The first was a telephone poll, which had over 600 respondents. The second was conducted online and had 899 respondents. Vermonters responded very enthusiastically to the polling.
Full Report: Looking Ahead: Vermonters’ Values and Concerns 2008
Summary Report: Looking Ahead: Vermonters’ Values and Concerns 2008
Telephone and Web Poll Comparison - TRENDLINE RESEARCH: In 2008, the Council on the Future of Vermont worked with St. Michael’s College to produce Vermont in Transition: A Summary of Social, Economic and Environmental Trends. This book is an important companion to the final results because it overviews the change over time in various critical public policy areas. The book has fourteen chapters, each of which covers one subject, such as agriculture, education, or economy. Each chapter ends with a summary of the key trends. Click Here: St. Michael's Research Book
- ONLINE SUBMISSIONS: The Council on the Future of Vermont hosted an online forum for the two years of the project. Many Vermonters also wrote in letters, or submitted comments via the site. You can read your neighbor's responses here: Online Submissions
- ORGANIZATIONAL INTERVIEWS: The Council interviewed over thirty state-wide organizations, such as the Vermont Business Roundtable, the Vermont School Boards Association, Vermont Humanities Council, Vermont Center for Independent Living, Rural Vermont, VT Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, VT Hospitality Council, VT Higher Education Council, the Smart Growth Collaborative, Associated Industries of Vermont, and many others. The notes from these interviews are available here: Organizational Interviews
- PRESENTERS TO Council on the Future of Vermont MEETINGS: Each month, the Council on the Future of Vermont would hold a meeting to discuss the public forums, the methodology and the project. At many of these meetings guest presenters and speakers would join the Council. These speakers ranged from Governor Douglas to John McLaughry, from Paul Cillo to Warren Kimble. All the notes are available here: Presentations from Speakers
- CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS: The Council has had a few very special creative partnerships. These include: a project co-sponsored with Young Writers Project and the Northfield Savings Bank, college students submissions from Green Mountain College, and a partnership with the Vermont Arts Council and Lyman Orton's ART OF ACTION project. Learn more:
Young Writers Contest on the Future of Vermont
Vermont Arts Council ART OF ACTION
Green Mtn College Presentation and Essays - STATEWIDE EVENTS: The Council on the Future of Vermont results were presented in April 2009 at the State House and again in May 2009 at UVM at the Summit on the Future of Vermont. Over the summer (June and July 2009), 16 public forums were held around Vermont to share the results with Vermonters. To see the report from the Summit, click below: Summit on the Future of Vermont Report