Christopher E. Tatham is one of the nation’s leading authorities on the development of statistically valid, community-based, market
research for governmental organizations. During the past ten years, he has designed and implemented community-based research initiatives
for more than 150 agencies in more than 30 states.
Chris has superior skills for planning and coordinating complex tasks that are required for the successful administration of comprehensive
needs assessment research programs.During the past year, he managed more than $2 million dollars worth of research projects with budgets
ranging from $2,000 to more than $500,000, including projects for the University of Health Sciences, the University of Missouri at
Columbia, Johnson County Community College, and the University of Missouri at St. Louis.
He is a highly skilled interviewer and focus group facilitator.His experience includes interviews with foreign cabinet members, Heads-of-State,
ambassadors, and numerous leaders at all levels of government and business in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. His communication
skills (both English and Spanish) are excellent and he is extremely successful at getting quality feedback.During the past year, he
facilitated more than 75 focus groups and nearly 200 stakeholder interviews.
Recent presentations and talks given by Mr. Tatham to regional and national audiences during the past year include: “Identifying Strategies
for Passing Voter Referendums” (Carolina School of Governments - Charlotte, NC); “How to Increase Customer Satisfaction with Effective
Communication,” (American Waterworks Association Research Foundation - Washington, D.C.); “How Municipal Departments Can Implement
Effective Customer Satisfaction Programs on a Limited Budget,” (Government Training Institute of Kansas and Missouri); “Benchmarking
Citizen Satisfaction with the Delivery of Governmental Services” (Mid America Regional Council - Kansas City, MO); “Best Practices
in Community Survey Research,” National Association of Counties - New Orleans).
! Conducted a comprehensive image and strategic marketing assessment for the of in .The project involved stakeholder interviews with
opinion leaders in the area, a survey of residents, and a survey of employers in the region.The results were used to support the University’s
strategic planning effort.
! Served as project manager for Mid America Regional Council’s Transit Demand Assessment Study which has been used to develop the
physical and operational requirements for a regional public transportation system in the Greater Kansas City area.
! Served as the project manager for the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Partnership Project, which was a top to bottom review
of the Agency designed to identify ways to make the KDOT more responsive to the needs of residents.
! Managed dozens of needs assessment surveys that have supported the development of nearly one billion dollars worth of new facilities
including schools, recreation centers, outdoor athletic fields, indoor and outdoor aquatic centers, ice-skating facilities, regional
parks, museums, transit centers, and other facilities.
! Developed and implemented ETC Institute’s DirectionFinder Survey which allows more than 70 cities and counties in 12 different
states to objectively assess community priorities and citizen satisfaction against regional and national benchmarks for a wide range
of local governmental services.Manages the administration of ETC Institute’s annual city and county performance assessment survey
of residents.
! Managed a large international customer satisfaction research project for the American Waterworks Association Research Foundation
(AWWARF) that involved the design and administration of more than 5,000 surveys and 70 focus groups in five metropolitan areas in
, including , , City, , and .
Origin and Destination Surveys. During the past ten years, he has served as project manager for the administration of regional origin
and destination surveys in a dozen states.Recent projects include the following:
· Greater Buffalo-Niagara, New York, Regional Origin and Destination Survey
· Missouri Department of Transportation Statewide Origin and Destination Survey
· Charleston, South Carolina, Regional Origin and Destination Survey
· Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments Regional Origin and Destination Survey
· Jacksonville, North Carolina, Regional Origin and Destination Survey
· Wichita, Kansas, Origin and Destination Survey
· Syracuse, New York, Regional Origin and Destination Survey
· Greater Louisville, Kentuckey, Regional Origin and Destination Survey
· North Front Range Regional Origin and Destination Survey
· Montegomery County, Kansas, Origin and Destination Survey
· Southwestern Kansas, Origin and Destination Survey
· Southwest Missouri Regional Origin and Destination Survey
Visitor Surveys.Since 1990, he has served as project manager for more than 50 visitor related surveys.Recent projects include the
following:
- Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, Visitor Survey.
- Branson, Missouri, Visitor and Employee Survey
- St. Charles, Missouri, Visitor Survey.
- Independence, Missouri, Visitor Survey.
- Olathe, Kansas, Visitor Survey.
- Kansas City, Missouri, Visitor Survey.
- NAIA Basketball Tournament
Visitor Survey.
- State of Kansas Travel Behavior Survey.
- Tucson, Arizona, Visitor Survey.
- Springfield/Branson, Missouri, Airport
Survey.
- Kansas City Regional Airport Survey.
- National Capital Visitor Survey, U.S. National Park Service
Community Surveys in Place with w/populations > 100,000
! Aurora (CO)
! Columbus (OH)
! Dekalb County (GA)
! Denver (CO)
! Detroit (MI)
! Fort Collings (CO)
! Fort Lauderdale (FL)
! Fort Worth (TX)
! Henderson (NV)
! Johnson County (KS)
! Kansas City (MO)
! Long Beach(CA)
! Mesa (AZ)
! Nashville (TN)
! Olathe (KS)
! Overland Park (KS)
! Pasadena (CA)
! St. Louis County (MO)
! Tempe (AZ)
! Tucson (AZ)
! Tulsa (OK)
! Wichita (KS)
EDUCATION:
M.B.A. Kansas State University, Management, graduated first in class
B.A. Princeton University, N.J.
Political Science/Economics, graduated magna cum laude
Other Princeton University, N.J., Certificate of Proficiency in Latin American Studies
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT
Senior Executive Vice President and Director of Operations for ETC Institute.Mr. Tatham is currently a senior manager for a 52-person,
market research firm that specializes in the design and administration of customer satisfaction research for governmental, nonprofit,
and private organizations.Areas of emphasis include:transportation, planning and zoning, parks and recreation, public safety, and
utilities.Under his leadership as Director of Operations, the company’s sales have increased by more than 1100% since 1996.The company
was recently selected as one “One of the Best Places to Work in ” by the Kansas City Business Journal.ETC Institute also received
the prestigious “Top 10 Small Businesses in Greater Kansas City” award from the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce; the firm
was selected from more than 1700 nominees.
PROFESSIONAL AWARDS AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
! Strategic Planning Committee, City of Olathe, Kansas
! Board of Directors, Olathe Chamber of Commerce
! Parks and Recreation Board, City of Olathe, Kansas
! Convention and Visitors Bureau of Olathe, Kansas
! Precinct Committeeman
! Major, U.S. Army Reserves
...helping organizations make better decisions since 1982.
ETC Institute
Christopher E. Tatham, Vice President
BREIF DESCRIPTION OF RELATED PROJECTS