Douglas County taps UWS research skills
Jan. 5—DOUGLAS COUNTY — Douglas County's Land and Development Committee is tapping the University of Wisconsin-Superior's Center for Research and Evaluation Services to analyze current uses and new opportunities for the Head of the Lakes Fairgrounds in Superior.
The center, which was launched in October, will begin the monthslong process of gathering data in February to determine how the fairgrounds can better serve the residents of Douglas County.
"We're very excited about this project," said Daniela Mansbach, a professor of political science at UW-Superior. "We just launched our research center a couple of months ago, and this is going to be one of our first projects that we are working on. ... We do have a lot of research expertise."
The proposal will look at the fairgrounds and how it is used now; the current economic impact; and what Douglas County residents would like to see happening at the fairgrounds, Mansbach said. She said once that is learned, they will look at other models in counties similar to Douglas County to make recommendations that the county could consider.
The goal is to survey and interview residents in the area whether they attend events at the fairgrounds or not. Civic and business leaders will also be consulted as well to help map the future of the fairgrounds.
Once they learn what kinds of things residents are looking for, Mansbach said, they will look into what other counties similar to Douglas County have done to develop proposals the county could consider.
County Board Chairman Mark Liebaert said the proposal for the Head of the Lakes Fairground use and vision study was inspired by the Wisconsin Counties Association convention.
"We learned that UW-Madison did similar work for other counties in that area," Liebaert said. He said UW-Superior was setting up its research center when the county inquired about the ability of the local campus to do something similar for Douglas County.
"The nice thing about having them as local people is that they'll look at it from the students' point of view, from the residents because they are residents here," Liebaert said. "Hopefully, they will come up with answers on what we should do with the fairgrounds."
Liebaert said one of the advantages of hiring UW-Superior's Research and Evaluation Services is proximity; they'll be able to get updates and modify the direction of the study if necessary.
"Your methodology is looking really good," Supervisor Charlie Glazman said. "My question is — I'm curious — what tools or instruments do you use to measure the economic impact?"
Mansbach said that is not her area of expertise, but the economics department on campus does have the expertise to conduct the economic impact study.
Supervisor Alan Jaques said a broad spectrum of people from throughout Douglas County should be included in the study to gather opinions, including those who use the fairgrounds.
"We sit up here in Superior, and we don't always know what the residents in the rural part of the county are looking for," Jaques said.
"We really want to do the research project on the ground," Mansbach said. "So we want to attend the events so we can actually see who's there."
She said part two of the study, which will run through September, will look at why people don't attend events there.
The final report based on the $9,800 study is expected to be presented to the Land and Development Committee in October.
