Community Interviews
The Community Interviews took place on Thursday, December 10th and Friday, December 11th. We had an excellent turnout – Thank you for your participation.
Please visit our Documents section to see input collected from the Community Interviews.
What are Community Interviews?
The community interviews are the first step in gathering public opinions about Southampton. They are group interview sessions that give Southampton residents, employers, and employees an opportunity to help identify significant issues, voice concerns and make recommendations for improving the quality of life in town.
Who will be interviewed?
These interviews are open to the public and to individuals that the Master Plan Committee has identified as stakeholders. Stakeholders may include town staff, town committee members, community groups, large employers, small business owners, farmers, local developers, clergy and church members, and active and interested residents. Other stakeholders may include representatives of specific ethnic groups, high school students, social service organizations, public schools, etc.
How do the interviews work?
The interviews are 50 minute group discussion sessions about Southampton (see specific questions below). There are 4 to 6 people in each session, and stakeholders with various interests are grouped together in order to encourage a dynamic discussion. Sometimes there are specific sessions that are scheduled around a particular theme or topic such as “business” or “housing.” The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission facilitates these interviews, encouraging participants to speak openly and taking notes of all comments. All interviews are completely confidential, and names are not attributed to individual comments.
Why are the interviews confidential?
When interviews are confidential and conducted by a third party consultant, residents and stakeholders may share information that they might not disclose in a public forum. Confidential interviews are an invaluable source of information and help the consultants understand the political and social context in the community. The interview results can also help inform public officials about the attitudes and opinions of residents and stakeholders.
What will be asked in my interview?
The following questions will be asked at each interview session:

• What are your concerns about the future of Southampton?
• What issues does Southampton presently face? What issues do you think it will be faced with?
• What questions do you have?
• What recommendations do you have to help plan for Southampton’s future?

For interview sessions that are scheduled around a particular topic, such as “business” or “housing,” additional focus questions may also be asked.
How do I schedule an interview?
Contact Danielle Kahn at PVPC at 413 781-6045 or djkahn@pvpc.org. Interviews begin each hour and are 50 minutes long.
What happens to the participant comments after the interviews are over?
The consultant team will first compile comments stated during the interviews. Then, the project team will draft a summary of key issues and dominant themes. This summary will be presented to the public and the Master Planning Committee. These documents will be available on our Documents page.

The interview findings are a valuable source of data that will help shape the direction of the Master Planning Process. For example, the interview results are used to develop questions for the Community Survey. Interview results also inform the structure and goals of the Visioning Workshops. Information from the interviews helps to create a complete picture of the political and social context in the community. These results inform data analysis and assist in the development of goals, strategies and actions for the Master Plan.