(The following is a news release from the The Diversity & Inclusion Subcommittee of the Idaho Falls CUSP Committee)

The Diversity & Inclusion Subcommittee of Idaho Falls Connecting Us, Sustaining Progress (CUSP) has published an online survey to enable local residents to shape the final CUSP recommendations. Residents are encouraged to make their voice heard by visiting http://bit.ly/CUSPifalls. The survey will open to responses from all residents until February 13, 2021.

CUSP was authorized by Idaho Falls City Council in July 2019 to develop ideas to maintain, sustain and improve the range of opportunities available to Idaho Falls citizens now and into the future. Eight CUSP Subcommittees have been hard at work mining data, interviewing public officials, listening to community feedback and researching practices from other cities. Interim CUSP recommendations were presented to City Council in September 2020, and final recommendations are expected in 2021.

“Our committee has been very methodical,” explains Toni L. Carter, Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Subcommittee. “We analyzed 16 cities who launched citizen-driven inclusion initiatives, and built an interactive dashboard to examine quantitative data about Idaho Falls. Plus, we received great ideas from community members attending our public meetings on the first Saturday of every month.”

Mrs. Carter believes the Resident Survey could be the final piece of the puzzle for the Diversity & Inclusion Subcommittee. The survey will aim to:

• Measure resident sentiment about current quality of life and proposed policy ideas
• Identify how sentiments align or differ between residents based on age, race, color, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, and gender expression/identity
• Invite Idaho Falls residents to submit ideas and recommendations for further study

To participate in the survey, visit http://bit.ly/CUSPifalls before February 13, 2021.