1. Community Indicators for Culture and the Arts
Prof Mike Salvaris Cultural Development Network Forum 8 May 2006

2. The Victorian Community Indicators project …
a 2 year project funded by VicHealth
working with local governments across Victoria
to develop better measures and plans for well-being in their local communities
and better ways to engage their local citizens in the process

3. Summary of presentation
Project partners and management
Key goals, tasks and outcomes
Background: what led to this project?
Community indicators: what they are?
Developing a ‘whole community’ wellbeing framework, and how to use it
Engaging citizens: why and how
Results so far
Project milestones
Visit our website:

4. Project Partners VicHealth (funder)
Victorian Local Governance Association
Municipal Association of Victoria
Victoria University
Swinburne University Lilydale
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Partner Councils (10)

5. Partner Councils Bendigo Hobson’s Bay Knox Maroondah Moreland
Port Philip
Surf Coast
Wellington
Wodonga
Yarra Ranges
Mike Salvaris

6. Project Reference Committee
Partners
Premier’s Department
Department of Victorian Communities
Department of Human Services
Department of Infrastructure
Department of Sustainability & Environment
Victorian Council of Social Service

7. Key goals of VCI Project
Better ways to measure, understand and set goals for local progress and wellbeing
Better local statistics & statistical capacity, & better documenting of need
‘Whole of community’ planning reflecting community vision
Stronger citizen engagement and local democracy
Strengthened communities
‘Best practice’ model for Loc. Gov. (Democratic Reform) Act
Better Statewide planning, local Community Plans as building blocks
Build changes permanently & sustainably into government

8. Key project tasks and outcomes
Statewide local wellbeing measurement framework
Best practice local statistics
Guidelines and new models for community engagement and local democracy
Model local Community Survey (replacing Community Satisfaction Survey)
10 Best Practice models for Community Planning
Agreed links between state and local planning
Ongoing training and materials
Outstanding website

9. Background and context
Search for wellbeing measures beyond GDP
Worldwide community indicators movement
Need to strengthen democracy and community engagement
VicHealth local work on health & wellbeing
Changing role of Local Gov’t in Victoria
Community strengthening policy growing
Strategic state development policies
Joined up government and planning
Victorian models: need to spread learning
Mike Salvaris

10. Edward Cornish, US futurist
Key ideas #1 Making the future, not ‘letting it happen’
The future does not just happen to us; we ourselves create it by what we do and what we fail to do. It is we who are making tomorrow what tomorrow will be.
For that reason, futurists think not so much in terms of predicting the future as in terms of trying to decide wisely what we want the future to be.”
Edward Cornish, US futurist
Warwick Heine

11. Economic, social and environmental well-being are interdependent
Key ideas #2
Economic, social and environmental well-being are interdependent
We have failed to see how our economy, our environment and our society are all one and that delivering the best quality of life for us all means more than concentrating on economic growth …
Achieving a better quality of life, now and for future generations to come means meeting four simultaneous objectives:
Effective protection of the environment
Prudent use of natural resources
Social progress that meets the needs of everyone
Maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employment
Tony Blair, ‘A Better Quality of Life’

12. Key ideas #3 Measuring what matters

14. Indicator Case Studies: overseas
United Nations – Indicator Framework
OECD – PSR model and reporting framework
UK – A Better Quality of Life: A Strategy for Sustainable development in the UK
Jacksonville Indicators
Sustainable Seattle
Canterbury Quality of Life Indicators Program, NZ
Christchurch City Council, NZ
and ….
Mike Salvaris
OECD Ref PSR (Pressure State Response)
Christchurch City Council – all reports TBL

15. Indicator case studies: local
Measuring Australia’s Progress (ABS)
Tasmania Together
Genuine Progress Indicator (Aust Institute)
Newcastle (NSW)
Cities of Onkaparinga, Marion (SA)
Victoria – Outer Eastern Melbourne, Surf Coast, Wodonga, Port Philip, Moreland, Wyndham etc
Mike Salvaris

17. Related Victorian initiatives
New Local Government Act
Four Year Council Plans and Resource Plans
Rationalisation of the number of plans
Role of Local Government in Community Strengthening
Growing Victoria Together, Fairer Victoria
Changing the Way Government Works
State Co-ordinating and Management Committee
Mike Salvaris

18. Indicators statistics that measure some important issue or policy goal
monitored over time to determine a trend towards or away from a goal
inform the community
contribute to public debate
Anne Langworthy

19. Community Well-being Indicators
measure overall wellbeing of community
in all areas of importance to the community
not a measure of council performance,
but important to councils to understand and change where they can
not an end in themselves, but
a means to inform and focus whole community action and planning
Anne Langworthy

20. Developing a Local Wellbeing Framework
Project will develop a common framework from existing local frameworks (including Leading the Way) and surveys etc
This will provide standard, good quality data for councils and communities
Starting point is agreement on most important fields (pillars) and key outcomes
Indicators then developed from these (not vice versa)
Mike Salvaris

22. Key ‘pillars’ of wellbeing framework
Include indicators of wellbeing in 6 key fields (pillars):
Economic
Social
Cultural
Built environment
Natural environment
Governance and community engagement

23. Examples of outcome areas
Economic
Local economic output
Income levels
Local employment
Social
Health
Sense of community
Perceptions of safety
Cultural
Ethnic diversity
Whole of life learning
Cultural participation
Built environment
Roads, footpaths
Transport
Community facilities
Natural environment
Waste production
Air and water quality
Amount of open space
Governance
Voting levels
% Women councillors
Citizen participation
Anne Langworthy

25. Selecting the best indicators
Reflect important community issue or goal
Link to strategic Community Plan
Reliable data source, available as time series
Meaningful and sensitive to change
Summary in nature
Assist targets, provide benchmarks
Show trends over time
Anne Langworthy

26. Multiple uses of wellbeing framework

27. Wellbeing measures and democracy
What makes a healthy democracy?
Trust
The value of local democracy
How citizens can participate
Issues for local government

29. Trust in democracy

33. Community Engagement: key issues for local government
Understanding the community better
Auditing & feedback from current CE processes
Improving Council skills and capacity in CE
Setting clear goals & success measures for CE
Making CE meaningful … and fun
Special processes for ‘excluded citizens’
Best use of existing networks and resources
CE must be properly resourced
Anne Langworthy

35. How LG’s use indicators now
Scan of 77 Council plans and community well-being indicators from 6 Councils
43 Council Plans use sustainability or TBL
19 plans refer to a Community Vision
Community Satisfaction Survey used for indicators by 51 councils
Indicators sometimes difficult to identify
Some linked to Community Plans – some not
Not always available on Council websites
181 separate indicators used by one or more of the six Councils
Anne Langworthy

36. Some key practical issues
How to ensure that all councils have the right information – and the systems for analysing and using it effectively.
How to enable data sharing between and across the state government and local government sectors.
How to make information about local strategies, targets and performance more accessible and meaningful to local people.
How community views can be reflected in the indicators.

37. Key practical issues (cont’d)
The extent to which state government may wish to prescribe indicators and measures.
How to handle proposals for new measures and indicators and avoid duplication.
How to help improve the accessibility of existing information.
How to build on existing information systems and extend them.
How to ensure robust means of assuring data quality.

38. Progress and milestones
Jan - July 2005
Stock take of existing Victorian local government and community indicators
Overview of current Local, State, Commonwealth Initiatives
Set up website
Statewide forums
Partner Council program and workshop
September 2005
Draft framework
Data set gaps identified
December 2005
Agreed framework
June 2006
Agreed plan for ongoing development and use of community well-being indicators
Mike Salvaris

39. Project website: www.communityindicators.net.au
Regular progress reports
‘Best practice’ models
Partner Council information
Links to other good sites