Canvassing using RunningMate

How do I canvass using RunningMate?

Watch this video below to learn more - from list creation, to creating a canvassing program, to canvassing via your mobile device.

No apps or downloads required! Simply log in to RunningMate via a web browser on your mobile device and start talking to voters. RunningMate now has two modes by which to log contacts with people - Search Individuals and Canvassing.

Canvassing

Pro and Pro+ RunningMate users are able to canvass from a List they have created, from either from a saved Universe or a Saved Filter. Once a List has been created, the admin, owner or data manager creates a Program and packets from which to work. This allows users to perform in-person outreach to a targeted audience via the Canvassing functionality.

How to Start Canvassing

First, an account owner, admin, or data manager should create a Saved Filter on the Home page OR create a Universe in Universe Builder.
Then select Lists from the menu,
Create a List from either an existing Saved Filter OR a Universe.
Click Programs, and create a Program
Save, and click Canvass Setup
Choose whether to break the list up by precinct or by geographic clustering.
Add the number of packets you would like to split the list into (1 to 100), then select the List the Program will be associated with. This will geographically break the list down into packets automatically.
1. Note that if your packet size is larger than 1000-1200 targets, you may experience loading issues while canvassing in the field. Try to cut your list so that the packets will be smaller than that.
Publish the Program.
Log in to RunningMate via a web browser on your mobile device
Click Canvassing from the menu, under Outreach
Select the Program from which to Canvass
Choose a Packet from which to Canvass

A couple of notes for account owners, admins, and data managers:

1️⃣ First, before your first canvassing event, be sure you've created tags for any data point you'd like to collect while in the field. A few examples are:

Priority issues,
First time voter,
Needs a yard sign,
Donor,
Wants to volunteer, etc.

2️⃣ Second, be sure canvassers have been added to the RunningMate workspace. The volunteer user role can make updates at an individual level via Canvassing or the Search functions.

3️⃣ Third, try to make your packet sizes smaller than 1000-1200 targets, as canvassing packets larger than this may experience load issues or crashes.

To canvass using RunningMate via a mobile device:

Log in to RunningMate via a web browser on your mobile device.
Select Canvassing from the lefthand menu.
Choose one of the programs to canvass from, then choose a packet.

Once a user selects a packet, the targets within the list will load in a list view. The targets will be sorted by street address
1. In this list view there is also an indicator of total targets on the list and how many have been canvassed so users can gauge progress of their canvassing effort - e.g. 73/191 Voters Contacted
2. 20 targets will display at a time, but can choose to view to other pages of the contact list
3. Users can toggle between list and map view via the tabs at the top of the list
4. Users are able to search by name or street address for a specific target in list and map view
From the list view select a target to canvass. Once user selects a target they will see additional information about the target along with a “Start Conversation” and “Voter Unavailable” button.
1. Users can also select a target via the map, which will display the target info once the map marker is tapped
  1. If user selects a map marker with more than one target user will be directed to a list of the targets that is associated with that marker and can select which one to canvass
2. Information shown for a target includes:
  1. Registration Status
  2. Party Registration
  3. Party Lean
  4. Vote History
  5. Precinct
  6. Current Support Score
    - If one exists, it will be shown but won’t be editable in the info panel. User must use the “Start Conversation” workflow to log a new support score.
  7. Current Voter Registration Intent
    - If one exists, it will be shown but won’t be editable in the info panel. User must use the “Start Conversation” workflow to log a new registration intent.
  8. Tags
  9. Notes
If the target is available, select “Start Conversation” button to log either a support score or registration intent response, or both
1. Only one response is required to log a successful contact attempt
2. Registration intent question only displays if:
  1. Target is unregistered and the account is a Pro+ account (meaning they have access to unregistered data in RunningMate)
3. User must click “Submit Survey” in order to save their input
4. Users can edit the responses if needed. The “Start Conversation” button will change to “Edit Conversation” once a response has been logged.
If the target is not available, select the “Voter Unavailable” button to log a non-contact result. Available options are as follows:
1. Not Home
  1. A contact attempt will be marked as being made, but not as completed. This target will be marked as still available to be canvassed.
2. Refused
  1. Canvassing status for this target will be considered complete
3. Moved
  1. Canvassing status for this target will be considered complete
  2. This is also considered a terminal non-contact code/status. In the near future, targets with this status will not show up in future lists in the context of canvassing. The exclusion will be applied at the workspace level.
4. Deceased
  1. Canvassing status for this target will be considered complete
  2. This is also considered a terminal non-contact code/status. In the near future, targets with this status will not show up in future lists in the context of canvassing. The exclusion will be applied at the workspace level.
5. Gated
  1. Canvassing status for this target will be considered complete
To move onto the next target, click the “Back” link located near the top to return to the previous screen and select a new target to canvass

If a target is unavailable, these options are available to record the canvassing attempt.

Note: Canvassing is also accessible on larger screens or desktop, which will function similarly to mobile except that the list and map view is presented side by side on the screen vs in tab view in mobile.

Canvassing Status

There are three canvassing statuses that a target can have. Status is indicated on the list view.

Not Canvassed - Green
1. Target is available to be canvassed
Canvassed and successful contact attempt was logged or target marked with a terminal non-contact code - Grey
1. Target is marked as complete and does not need to be canvassed
Canvassed but successful contact attempt was not made - Yellow orange
1. Target was marked as not home and still available to be canvassed

Canvassing statuses are also indicated on the map via the same color codes above, but indicate status based on “household” or targets grouped by geolocation.

Green marker – No contact attempts made at the household yet, and they are available to be canvassed.
Yellow marker – At least one attempt made, but some residents are still unresolved (e.g., "not home" or no response code recorded for at least one target). Canvassing effort is not yet considered complete.
Gray marker – All residents in the household are resolved through terminal codes or survey completion and canvassing effort is considered complete.

The canvassing statuses and color codes are meant to give the user a quick indicator of what targets are available to be canvassed or still need to be canvassed, and what is complete.

Editions and Roles and Permissions

Editions that have full access to canvassing:

Pro
Pro+

Lite accounts will be able to access the canvassing feature, select a list to canvass, and then will be blocked to prevent exposing personally identifiable information. They will be met with copy to upgrade and will be able to see a preview image of Canvassing. In the future we would like to do a short video showcasing the canvassing feature to give Lite accounts more insight on how the feature works.

Roles that can access and use Canvassing:

Owner
Admin
Data Manager
Volunteer

Roles with view only access:

Data Viewer

Search Individuals

After clicking Outreach, users can select Search - doing so allows users to search a name or address, then view that person's registration status, party registration (where applicable), partisanship lean, etc. They can then update the person’s survey responses as well as to add data tags and free-form notes.

What Features Are Available currently in the Mobile Search and Edit View?

A user accessing RunningMate via their mobile device will be directed to the Search Individuals feature. Users will not be able to access any other RunningMate features, like the home page maps, list creation, or Goal Tracker, outside of Search and Edit on mobile at this time.

What are the Mobile Version Limits?

State view users will not be able to drill down into specific geographies when logged in via a mobile device. When performing a search, it will search against the entire state.

Please note that workspace admins and data managers will need to set up tags for their users to access while canvassing. Tags can be added by clicking into the Data Management screen, then selecting Tags, or by importing a csv containing Tags.