CivicPanel is a university-based, nonprofit project that aims to tap the potential of the Internet as a tool for measuring the quality of life in communities across the US and the world and for providing citizen-driven feedback on the performance of local governments.

CivicPanel also serves as a cost-effective research tool for nonprofit organizations and universities that seek to understand what citizens think about important issues relating to government and public affairs. If you represent a nonprofit organization or university interested in using the project for a survey, please click here.

The project often focuses on New York City but also conducts surveys that cover the US and the world. Residents of any city or town in the US, as well as those living in other countries, are welcome to sign up to become panelists.

CivicPanel was created by Gregg Van Ryzin, PhD, a professor at the School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ (USA).  It was started in 2002 as eTownPanel.com, when Prof. Van Ryzin was on the faculty of the School of Public Affairs, Baruch College / CUNY, New York, NY (USA). In 2003, the project received its first grant funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. In 2008, the project moved to Rutgers-Newark and changed its name to CivicPanel.org.