School of Population HealthUniversity of Melbourne

Community Indicators Victoria: A tool for community engagement,

policy and planning

VCOSS Congress August 2007

Sue WestResearch Fellow, The McCaughey Centre,

VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing

The McCaughey Centre: VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing

Building knowledge about the social, economic and environmental determinants of mental health and community wellbeing

• Background– Launched July 2007, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne– Established June 2006, Long term funding: VicHealth and Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health

Sciences– Named in honour of Davis and Jean McCaughey

• Priorities: Policy research, teaching and capacity building– Community wellbeing policies and indicators: Community Indicators Victoria– Key determinants of mental health and community wellbeing

• Freedom from violence• Freedom from discrimination• Social inclusion• Economic participation and security• Healthy and sustainable environments

Community Indicators Victoria

• Collaborative project hosted by the McCaughey Centre, University of Melbourne

• Partners: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Victorian Govt, Local Govt, NGOs, Swinburne and RMIT Universities

• Platform for developing and using local community wellbeing indicators in Victoria

– Indicator development– Data collection and analysis– Web based summary and tailored reports (live data)– Policy linkages– Capacity building– Research and policy networks and learning

What are community wellbeing indicators

and why are they important?

Community wellbeing is….

• Healthy, safe and inclusive communities

• Dynamic, resilient economies

• Sustainable built and natural environment

• Culturally rich and vibrant communities

• Democratic and engaged communities

Wellbeing indicators - opening up a new debate about progress

Local community wellbeing indicators

• Headline issues and trends important to local communities

• Tools for democratic planning and evidence based policy

• Social, economic, environmental, cultural and governance trends and outcomes

An important caveat

Not everything than can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted

Albert Einstein

Welcome to Community Indicators Victoria

Wellbeing Report for Local Government Area

Wellbeing Report for Local Government Area

Create Your Own Report on Specified Indicators

Create Your Own Report on Specified Indicators

Potential Strengths and Areas for Improvement

Strengths

Social Support

Self Reported Health

Home Internet Access: Any

Volunteering

Participation in Arts and Culture

Crime: Person

Home Internet Access: Broadband

Crime: Property

Areas for Improvement

Perceptions of Safety (day)

Work-Life Balance

Transport Limitations

Perceptions of Safety (night)

Feeling Part of the Community

Water Conservation

Community Acceptance of Diverse Culture

Household Waste Recycling

Food Stress

All areas have a mix of strengths and areas for improvement

All areas have a mix of strengths and areas for improvement

Local community wellbeing in VictoriaSelf Reported Health

Source: CIV, McCaughey Centre, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne

Local community wellbeing in VictoriaFeeling Part of the Community

Source: CIV, McCaughey Centre, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne

Challenges in using local indicators

• Indicators spot light issues - not the whole story• Danger of ‘what gets measured matters’ - tail

wagging dog • Local knowledge matters• Problems of causation and responsibility • Benchmarking and league tables• Others?

Where to from here? • Regular data updates – as new data comes in it will be

available through the website

• Policy and research partnerships

• Capacity building tools

• Ongoing development of the framework in particular areas, for example cultural and governance indicators

The CIV team welcomes feedback from local government, key partners and the community on the use of community wellbeing

indicators, what works and what resources are still needed

The CIV team welcomes feedback from local government, key partners and the community on the use of community wellbeing

indicators, what works and what resources are still needed

School of Population HealthUniversity of Melbourne

Community Indicators Victoria A tool for community engagement,

policy and planning

VCOSS Congress August 2007

Sue WestResearch Fellow, The McCaughey Centre,

VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing