MiniVAN Touch app for iPhone and iPad
miniVAN Touch is a mobile canvassing application that integrates with websites provided by NGP VAN. The miniVAN system allows users to export canvassing lists from VAN onto an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. Canvassers can then enter data into their device as they talk to people on their list. When the canvassers connect their device to the Internet over a wireless or cellular network, they can upload their data back to the VAN with the touch of a button. Administrative users on the VAN can then review the data and apply it to the database in one quick step.
Canvassing with miniVAN allows NGP VAN clients to spend more time and resources on actually contacting people instead of on data entry. What’s more, it virtually eliminates the lag time between collecting canvass results and putting that data to work.
Pros and cons of MiniVAN Touch app for iPhone and iPad
MiniVAN Touch app good for
I like the features of the new app. Very handy. Keep up the good work.
I have been using minivan since I began canvassing for Elizabeth Warren four years ago. There have been huge improvements and it saves a lot of time filling out paper lists and allowing me to talk more to voters.
The maps are still a weak point. House numbers can be on opposite ends of a street resulting in longer than necessary walks. Im currently volunteering for a Massacusetts State Senate Primary campaign and looking forward to this Fall.
Streamlines data collection and entry. Only issue is that trying to leave a note for a voter who was not contacted irreversibly sets the status of that voter to contacted
Beautifully written app that is easy to use. It will save us hours of paperwork and phone time. Thanks.
This app is literally the greatest piece of technology a field person can have! Rather than printing out thousands of streets and names, sorting through them as you canvass, then manually input your results, this app allows you to do everything from your phone. Its very user friendly, lets you see all the information you need about a particular voter, and it even lets you move your data results from your iphone to your computer wirelessly! If you have an iphone, and youre planning on canvassing, I strongly recommend this app!
A few improvements could be made but it is a pretty incredible application and is a huge step up from using Palms. Id like to see ability to see pages with a single street, ability to sort addresses on a street in either ascending or descending order, and the ability to one tap to mark people as not home. I was amazed when the data was in the database before we got back to the office.
Some bad moments
This app crashed my phone so severly that none of my data could be recovered. I had to perform a DFU firmware recover and wipe the system clean to get the phone working. Also, it should be noted that NGP Van has close ties to the Clinton campaign.
So while this app is good for its ability to work, there are a lot of bugs that need to be figured out, and you need to add options. The mapping feature is particularly bad, and you need to add an option that keeps the map from grouping houses into larger sections when you zoom out. I understand the purpose of this, but it makes it much more difficult to actually see the area. Either make it a default or add an option that lets you see all of the dots above the houses when you view a whole turf so that we can get a better view of the area.
have only used it a few times but love using it instead of fighting a bunch of papers. thanks!
This app is a great timesaver for canvassing; however one should have the ability to delete lists from the app. Having too many lists is way to busy and can be confusing. Make a delete list function and its a five star.
The requirements indicate this app works on iOS 3.1.3. When I try to run it on my first generation iPod Touch with iOS 3.1.3, the app quits right after it launches.
Is awful on the iPhone. Cant add a note cuz it crashes. Navigation between and within users is a real pain. Crashes every time I try to enter a note. The map for a single household is pointless and takes up valuable real estate. Pressing the synch button creates a brand new entry every time. This will be a pain when committing. A big step backward