Getting Started

• About the Promoting Active Communities (PAC) Program
• Registering Your Community
• Forming a Team
• Who Should Be Involved
• Time Needed to Complete the Assessment
• Available Resources
• Assessment Application Submission Deadline for Award Consideration
• Where to Find Information Needed to Complete the PAC Assessment
• How to Complete the Online Self-Assessment Form
• Where to Get Help If You Have Problems With Your PAC Assessment

About the Promoting Active Communities (PAC) Program

The Promoting Active Communities (PAC) program consists of an online assessment and an awards system. A team of community members uses the online self-assessment to evaluate their community’s built environments, policies, and programs related to promoting and supporting physical activity. Michigan communities that complete the assessment are eligible for an award. Preview the Assessment here.

Registering Your Community

The first step is to register your community. The registration form takes only a few minutes to complete and allows you to access the online self-assessment for your community. Registering your community does not obligate you to complete the form or submit it for award consideration. It simply allows you to enter data on your community's application. Click here to register your community.

Forming a Team

Completing the PAC assessment requires a team. Click here to access a list of potential team members. This team can use the knowledge gained through completing the PAC assessment to make future changes in the community that will promote healthy living. Having a diverse team from your community working together also makes it easier to find the information necessary to complete the assessment. It may be helpful to have one person act as the coordinator for the group.

• Having one person act as coordinator really helps the PAC assessment get done.
• Creating or working with an existing team will make the process much easier and useful for advocating change.
• Meeting on a regular basis before and after the assessment will help your community leaders identify and refine community assets and refine ideas to make the community more active.

Who Should Be Involved

There are many people in the community interested in promoting physical activity. Be creative in finding people to include in your PAC team. To help you get started forming a team, here’s a list of organizations or groups you may want to include:

Time Needed to Complete the PAC Assessment

Communities should expect to spend several weeks gathering information to complete the PAC assessment. This process can be expedited by having several people working together to gather the information. Once you have gathered the information, entering your communities' information into the online application is relatively quick (about an hour if you do it all at once), and can be done in as many data entry sessions as you wish.

Available Resources

The Promoting Active Communities Program website contains many resources to help you complete the PAC assessment.

Design Guidelines for Active Michigan Communities – This guidebook was created to help communities become familiar with active living concepts and community design. Sections and questions of the Promoting Active Communities assessment are linked online to the relevant section of the Design Guidelines to assist you in completing your assessment. Look for the Design Guideline icon as you complete the assessment. Click on the icon and the relevant Chapter of the Design Guidelines will open a new browser window.

Glossary - Throughout the assessment, terms that you may be unfamiliar with are bolded and in blue font. When you click these links, the online glossary will appear in a new browser window to provide a definition of the term that you clicked on.

Resource Guide - A resource guide is also available on this website, and is linked online to certain sections and questions of the assessment. These are noted by the Resource Guide icon . The resource guide can point you to helpful websites and documents regarding active living.

Assessment Submission Deadline for Award Consideration

To be eligible for a PAC Award, the deadline to submit this year's assessment is July 15, 2013. When your assessment is complete, you will submit it electronically, following the instructions provided after you register. Documentation of claims made in the assessment should be kept on file by the community. We also advise that you print a copy of your final online assessment just prior to final submission.

Where to Find Information to Complete the PAC Assessment

You will need to find information from several sources to answer the different types of questions involved in the assessment. If you have assembled a diverse team, much of the information will be readily accessible.

People

Individual sections of the assessment give specific suggestions of additional people who may be helpful in finding information. Examples of people or local organizations that would be helpful to complete the assessment include:



Government officials City or Township Manager City Planner City Engineer Zoning board Planning commission Community planning director Planning and zoning officer Town clerk Township supervisor Transportation department representative Parks and recreation department

Public Works Department Human Relations specialists at worksites Neighborhood organizations Regional transportation authority Police, sheriff or local law enforcement agency Downtown Development Authority School administrator School Board member Health or Physical Education teachers Health department Hospital outreach staff Local branches of the League of Michigan Bicyclists

Documents

You will need to look at your community's planning documents to answer some questions. Documents to look at include:
• Zoning Ordinances
• Codebook
• Master Plan
• Parks and Recreation Plan
• Regional Transportation Plan
• Non-Motorized Transportation Plan
• Bicycle Master Plan
• Pedestrian Master Plan

Direct Observations

In certain sections of the assessment, you will be asked about the physical environment of areas, such as your downtown and shopping center, in your community. The easiest way to gather this information is to go for a walk or a bike ride through these areas.

How to Complete the Online Self-Assessment Form

Completing the online self-assessment form involves clicking the response to each assessment question that best describes your community. When you click the Save button, your work will be saved and you can resume entering more data or end your data entry session and resume where you left off at your next data entry session. After you register, you can access your partially completed assessment form by going to the Promoting Active Communities Home page and logging in with your email address (the one provided at registration) and the password you selected.

For more information and tips, see the Frequently Asked Questions page. You'll also have access to complete and comprehensive instructions after you register and any time you log in.

Where to Get Help If You Have Problems with Your PAC Assessment

Don’t worry, we’re here to help!

Communities are always welcome to call or email Sarah Panken at the Michigan Fitness Foundation for additional assistance.
Phone: 800-434-8642 or 517-908-3822
Email: slpanken@michiganfitness.org