1 An Introduction to Community Indicators Victoria November Dr Melanie Davern McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing School of Population Health, University of Melbourne

Local community wellbeing indicators… Spotlight issues and trends important to local communities Focus on a small number of headline wellbeing measures - not all local data Measure community trends and outcomes - not local government performance Include social, economic, environmental, cultural and governance trends and outcomes

Local community wellbeing indicators are important as… A democratic tool, for engaging citizens and communities in informed discussions about shared goals and priorities A policy tool, guiding evidence based planning and action to address the issues identified as important by communities A reporting tool, tracking and communicating progress towards agreed goals and outcomes

Why has there been increasing support for work on local community indicators in Victoria? Increasing emphasis on… Citizen and community engagement Evidence based policy making Integrated, triple bottom line’ policy making - linking social, economic and environmental trends and issues Local government community planning initiatives …. Victorian Community Indicators Project

Victorian Community Indicators Project VicHealth and DHS funded collaborative project ( ) Aim: Establish sustainable statewide system of local community wellbeing indicators Informed by:  International and Australian learning about development and use of community indicators  Extensive consultative process with local governments and State government agencies Reference group included: MAV, VLGA, Local Govt Reps, DPC, DVC, DHS, DSE, DOI, VCOSS, ABS, VicHealth

Victorian work on local data: organisational and policy context - towards a map Local Government  MAV, VLGA, local governments, LG Community Planners Network, LG Corporate Planners Network Victorian Government  DVC: SP&R, LGV, Seniors, OWP, Youth, AAV, VOMA, SRV, Community Strengthening…  DPC: Strategic Policy & Projects, GVT reporting, OCIO…  DSE: Know Your Area, Metro and Regional Atlases, Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability…  DHS: VPHS, Office for Children…  DOJ, VicPol, (crime and safety), DOI (transport), DTF, DET,DPI?.. Community sector, VCOSS, local community organisations Australian Bureau of Statistics Universities… Victorian Community Indicators Project…Community Indicators Victoria

Victorian Community Indicators Project Recommendations Importance of community indicators for community planning and policy making Initial framework of indicators and data sources Importance of regular, accessible reporting Importance of capacity building and links with policy making Need for long term ‘home’ to ensure sustainable platform = Community Indicators Victoria

Community Indicators Victoria Community Indicators Victoria is a collaborative project hosted by: McCaughey Centre VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne Goal: To support the development and use of local community wellbeing indicators as a tool for informed, engaged and integrated community planing and policy making.

Governance Host: McCaughey Centre : VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, University of Melbourne Collaborating partners: ABS, Local government, State government, community organisations, universities… Reference Group: Representatives from local government, State government, VicHealth, ABS, VCOSS, key academic and community partners

Initial indicator framework domains Healthy, safe and inclusive communities Dynamic, resilient economies Sustainable built and natural environment Culturally rich and vibrant communities Democratic and engaged communities

Criteria for choosing local community indicators Informed by  Review of international and Australian literature and practice  Victorian local government community plans and visions  Input and feedback from local governments, state government and community sector Measure what is valued Conceptually sound Make sense and be useful to citizens and policy makers Relevant and measurable at local community level

Initial Community Indicators Victoria framework Healthy, safe and inclusive communities Personal health and wellbeing: Self assessed health; Quality of life; Life expectancy; Physical activity; Nutrition; Obesity; Illness and deaths from smoking, alcoholism and illicit drugs; Incidence of mental illness Community connectedness: People who like living in their local community; People who can get help from friends, family or neighbours when needed; People who could raise $2000 in an emergency; Volunteering rates ; Parents with school age children involved in activities at their school Early Childhood Development: Australian Early Development Index; Key child health assessments completed up to 3 years of age; Breast feeding; Eligible infant immunizations completed Personal and community safety: Perceptions of safety; Incidence of crime; Incidence of family violence; Road accident death and injuries; Work related deaths, injuries and illnesses Lifelong learning: Primary school literacy and numeracy; School retention; Apprenticeships and vocational training enrolments; Destination of school leavers; Home internet access; Library usage Service availability: Access to services; Extent to which residents feel they can access services when needed

Dynamic, resilient local economies Economic activity and employment: Retained retail spending; Type of jobs and skills; Business growth; Employment rate; unemployment rate; local employment Income and wealth: Per capita income; income distribution; Per capita wealth; wealth distribution; educational qualifications Work life balance: Employment security; Work related stress; work life balance Sustainable built and natural environments Access to open space: People living within 3k of public open space; Satisfaction with public space Housing affordability: Rent and repayments as percent of income Transport accessibility: Percent of community who say lack of transport limits capacity to achieve key goals; Public transport patronage; Walking and cycling trails; Non car transport opportunities; Rating for local roads and footpaths Sustainable energy use: Greenhouse gas emissions; household energy use; Renewable energy use Air Quality: Pollution concentration. Water quality: Condition of natural streams and waterways; water consumption ; Waste water recycling Biodiversity: Native vegetation cover; Weeds and pests. Waste Management: Waste generation per household

Culturally rich and vibrant communities Participation in arts and cultural activities: Opportunities to participate in arts; Active participation in arts and cultural activities; Opportunities to participate in sporting and recreational activities; Active participation in sporting and recreational activities Cultural diversity: Percentage of people who believe their community is an accepting place for people from diverse cultures and backgrounds; percentage of people who believe multiculturalism strengths their community Democratic and engaged communities Citizen engagement: Percentage of people who think they have a real say on issues important to them; Percentage of women elected as councillors; Percent of people who feel they have an opportunity to vote for a political candidate who they trust; Percent of people who are members of a local community organisation or decision making body

Data sources Australian Bureau of Statistics State and local government administrative data Existing surveys eg. DVC Community Strengthening Survey New ‘Victorian Community Survey’ to be conducted by the McCaughey Centre

Victorian Community Survey Purpose: to fill data gaps needed to report on indicators Method: CATI (telephone) household survey Sample of 24,000 adults. 300 per Local Government Area Questions:  Data not currently available at LGA level: eg. Self assessed health  Long term basis for collecting data currently collected through other surveys eg. DVC Community Strengthening Survey  Data not currently collected: eg. Impact of lack of transport access, workplace stress and insecurity  Demographics: Age, gender, employment, household type, parental status Initial survey early 2007…probably every two years Opportunities for purchasing additional sample and/or questions

Community wellbeing reports Local community wellbeing reports (initially LGA level) Upgraded Community Indicators Victoria web site: Working towards local community wellbeing reports for  Population groups (gender, age, race, ethnicity, disability…)  Local communities and neighbourhoods Examples of reporting options:

Capacity building to support use of community indicators as tool for community planning and policy making Target groups  Local government mayors, councillors and staff  Local citizens and community groups  State public servants Methods  Web site  Manuals and tool kits  Help desk  Short courses, accredited courses  Workshops and conferences

Timetable October-November 2006  Establish CIV reference group  Review and sharpen indicators and data sources  Finalise indicators, template and platform for initial reporting  Finalise core survey questions  Finalise supplementary, purchased questions and sample  Hold local community indicators information sharing forum November 2006-February 2007  Finalise initial data sharing agreements  Conduct Victorian Community Survey March 2007  Launch upgraded web site  Publish initial LGA level reports 2007  Initial population group reports?