đź’ˇ Key Terms and Definitions
- Turf - A turf is a small geographic area sized to be canvassed by one or two individuals. Portioning a larger district into small turfs makes it easier for campaigns to systematically send canvassers to areas based on geographic proximity or strategic priority. They also assure that a geography will be assigned to only one canvassing individual or pair.
- PDITurfs - Small pre-built geographic areas designed for efficient door to door canvassing by PDI.
- Precincts - Small pre-built geographic areas created by the local Registrar of Voters. They are designed for district management and not always sized appropriately for door to door canvassing.
- Custom Turfs - Small pre-built geographic areas that can be created by your organization to meet specific size and dimension requirements.
- Turf Assignments - Once a door to door canvassing project has been generated, the next step is to assign a small portion of the project data to canvassers within a specific geographic turf. This process is generally referred to as creating turf assignments.
- Data Grid - A data grid is a common way of presenting lots of data in a layout consisting of rows and columns.
Once you create your door to door canvassing project on the Door to Door Canvassing Project Management page, you will need to choose a geographic unit (Turf) for portioning the list of voters to your canvassers. Additionally, you will choose between a map view and a data grid list for managing how you will assign the project data to canvassers.
The Select Geography and Map/List dropdown box contains three turf type options that can each be viewed on a map or data grid list.
By clicking the Go button after making your selection, the program will take you to a new page displaying the selected turf type with your preferred view of map or list.
Pro Tip: Make sure to click on the pin
Assigning by PDI Turfs, Precincts, or My Custom Turfs
The PDI platform provides three geographic distinct turf options, offering enhanced flexibility to suit your organization's specific needs. Selecting the right option depends on understanding your campaign’s resources and objectives. For most campaigns, PDI Turfs are the preferred choice as they are readily available and more suitable for canvassing compared to traditional precincts.
There is no universally “right” choice, as the best option depends on the specific needs and goals of your campaign or organization.
Here’s a quick overview of each option:
PDI Turfs are ideal for campaigns that need to launch canvassing efforts quickly. They are pre-sized for efficient canvassing and are ready for immediate use, designed to function like the custom turfs typically created by campaigns.
Precincts, while also ready for immediate use, are generally larger than what is ideal for single or paired canvasser outreach, often covering over 700 - 1,400 households, with size varying by county. However, precincts may better align with existing strategic data analysis.
Size Comparison
PDI Turfs Voter Precincts
Cutting Custom Turf requires the drawing and naming of hundreds of individual turfs. The advantage of cutting your own turf is that you can draw each turf to the exact size and specifications you want. The downside is that it can be extremely time consuming to draw so many turfs that meet your specifications.
Assigning Turf From a Map or List
As with choosing a turf type, selecting an assignment method type comes down to knowing your organization’s preferred workflow and needs.
Map View List View
The Map View
The strength of the map view is the ability to visually display geographic data on a map and use of spatial mapping tools. There is more you can do from this page, but it requires a little more effort to learn the useful features.
Assignments can be processed from the Map View page by double clicking on a turf and then selecting one or two canvassers from a list.
Once an assignment has been saved, the project data will be immediately available to the canvasser’s app and a record of the assignment will appear on the Active Assignment grid located below the map section.
You can find a listing of all active canvassing assignments for a project by scrolling down below the map view portion of the Assign From Map page.
This section of the Assign From Map page has a few filters to limit the data loaded to the grid as well as editable controls to extend, expire, or deactivate each canvassing assignment.
The List View
The strength of the list view is the direct path to the data. No visual clutter or special functionality, just add names to a numbered turf. The downside is that the view does not give any indication as to the geographic location of turfs.
Once an assignment has been saved, the project data will be immediately available to the canvasser’s app and a record of the assignment will appear on the Active Assignment grid located below the map section.
Like the Map View page, you can find a listing of all active canvassing assignments for a project by scrolling down from the map view portion of the Assign From List page.
This section of the Assign From List page has a few filters to limit the data loaded to the grid as well as editable controls to extend, expire, or deactivate each canvassing assignment.