Community engagement does not have to be online or offline. It can be both.
Senf now lets planning, design, and engineering consultancies export a survey as a printable PDF, collect completed paper surveys at an open house or in the field, and scan the responses back into the project. Online and paper responses then sit in the same dataset for analysis and reporting.
One survey. Two ways to participate. No separate spreadsheet at the end.
The problem with “digital-first” engagement
Online surveys make participation easier to distribute and easier to analyse. A project team can share one link through email, social media, a project website, or a QR code and see responses arrive in real time.
But not every useful conversation happens through a browser.
People fill out surveys at open houses. Project teams visit neighbourhood events. Staff bring printed materials to libraries, community centres, workshops, and meetings. Some project areas have limited connectivity. Some participants simply prefer paper.
The usual workaround creates a second workflow:
- Build the online survey.
- Recreate it for print.
- Collect paper responses.
- Type each response into a spreadsheet or the online form.
- Merge the results before analysis.
The engagement itself may be inclusive. The data workflow is not.
Create once. Export for paper.
Open the survey settings, expand Download, and choose PDF. The paper version follows the survey already built in Senf, including its question order and project context. There is no separate Word document to recreate and keep synchronized after every edit.
Print it for an open house, workshop, library, pop-up, or project area with unreliable connectivity. The public can still use the online link, a QR code, or a tablet. Paper is simply another route into the same engagement.
Import paper scans after the event
Back in the project data table, choose Add data and then Import paper scans. Upload the completed forms from a connected device. Senf processes the scan as one response and shows what needs attention before it is saved.
The status is explicit. In this example, one scan contains four answers that need review and zero unreadable answers. The project team knows where to look before anything reaches the final dataset.
All question types · four examples
The scan stays beside every answer
Paper scan import works across Senf survey question types. Browse four examples—from a rating matrix to a map-based route—to see the original mark and structured response in the same frame.
A marked matrix becomes structured ratings
Senf places the paper response beside the digital question, so the reviewer can compare every selected value before saving.
Map-based questions work on paper too
The scan workflow is not limited to checkboxes and text. A participant can draw a route on a printed project map and select a transport mode. Senf interprets the line on the live map, keeps the original scan alongside it, and asks the reviewer to resolve any linked detail it cannot read confidently.
When Senf is unsure, it asks
Paper is messy by nature. Marks cross cell borders. Handwriting is inconsistent. A route can be clear while the checkbox underneath it is not. A useful import workflow should not hide that uncertainty.
One dataset at the end
The public sees several ways to participate. The project team manages one survey structure and one response dataset. That changes the operational work after an event.
- No separate print survey to maintain.
- No spreadsheet for paper-only responses.
- No manual re-entry of every answer.
- Standard and spatial questions remain reviewable.
- Online and paper responses can move into the same analysis and reporting workflow.
Paper collection itself works offline. The completed forms still need to be scanned and uploaded from a connected device afterwards. That is the handoff: offline participation in the room, structured review back at the project desk.
FAQ
Paper survey import questions
Open the survey's General Settings, expand Download, and choose PDF. The printable survey follows the structure of the online version, so the team does not have to rebuild it in a separate document.
Yes. The paper survey can include a printed map for participants to mark. During review, Senf shows the original scan beside the interpreted spatial response so the route or location can be checked before it joins the dataset.
The answer is flagged for manual review. The reviewer sees the source scan and Senf's interpretation side by side, corrects or confirms the response, and then saves it. Uncertainty is surfaced rather than silently accepted.
Collection does. Print the PDF before the event and participants can complete it entirely offline. The completed scans still need to be uploaded from a connected device afterwards.
Take one survey into every channel
Start with an active RFP and see how the survey, printable PDF, map questions, and reporting workflow fit together.
Try it with your next RFPSenf is the community engagement platform built for private-sector planning, design, and engineering consultancies.
Related: Map-based engagement · From RFP to live engagement platform · Accessibility in community engagement