CIV Indicator InBox - Summer 2011-12
Welcome to the Community Indicators Victoria (CIV) Indicator Inbox
Summer and the festive season are now upon us. CIV staff wishes everyone a happy and wonderful summer and we look forward to working alongside you in 2012. This edition of the Indicator Inbox is jam packed with news about the VicHealth Indicator data, other recent data releases, up and coming RBA workshop news, information about how you can participate in Measuring Australia’s Project, International happenings plus a link to a great little resource about data sources for wellbeing in Victoria...From time to time CIV Indicator Inbox we will also include a book review that one of the staff or our colleagues has read that has been both inspiring and helpful in assisting the work of wellbeing indicators. In this edition Melanie Lowe, Research Assistant at the McCaughey Centre gives a great review of The Spirit Level.
Happy reading and have a great summer!!
Community Indicators Victoria News
In 2012, CIV will welcome two new part-time members of the team: Analysts with skills in using Geographic Information Systems. CIV’s GIS Analysts will be responsible for building a GIS data base of community wellbeing indicators; and expanding CIV’s role to become a research tool. This will help CIV populate spatial wellbeing indicators such as access to, and frequency of, public transport; access to health services. The GIS analysts will also be involved in developing a ‘Liveability’ Index which, down the track, will be available through CIV.
Summer Reading Idea:
VicHealth Indicator Survey 2011
CIV expects to receive data from the 2011 VicHealth Indicators Survey in late December/January and data analysis will commence in January. Time series data will be released in 2012 for the following indicators first released by CIV in 2007:
- Subjective Wellbeing
- Feeling Part of the Community
- Self-Reported Health
- Citizen Engagement
- Participation in Arts and Cultural Activities
- Transport Limitations
- Waste Water Recycling
- Perceptions of Safety
- Adequate Work-Life Balance
- Internet Access
The release date for these data is currently expected to occur in early-mid 2012 and will be conducted in partnership with VicHealth and launched by the Victorian Minister of Health. The final date for the release is expected to be confirmed in the near future and CIV members will be kept informed once a date has been agreed upon.
Data Releases
Data have been released for the following CIV Indicators since September 2011:
- Crime (2010-2011, Victoria Police)
- Family Violence (2010-2011, Victoria Police)
- Median House Price (2010, Land Victoria)
- Median Flat/Unit Price (2010, Land Victoria)
- Household Gas Use (2004-2007, Department of Sustainability & Environment)
- Household Electricity Use (2004-2007, Department of Sustainability & Environment)
- Household Greenhouse Gas Emissions (2004-2007, Department of Sustainability & Environment)
- Road Traffic Fatalities (2006-2010, Transport Accident Commission)
CIV has also been in discussions with the Victorian Environmental and Assessment Council and will release new data on an indicator of Access to Open Space in 2012. Other discussions have occurred with the Environment Protection Authority investigating new methods for developing indicators of air quality.
RBA Training and Workshop Opportunities
Mark Friedman Australia June 2012
Mark Friedman comes to Australia every year and Mark will be in Melbourne on 11th and 12th June 2012. Mark is the leader in Results Based Accountability and author of the book ‘Trying hard is not good enough’. Mark will be providing a consultancy service for local governments, non government organisations and state government agencies. If you would like to find out more about this fantastic opportunity about how Mark can support your organisation to further imbed RBA or learn more about RBA implementation in your agency please contact Athena for more information.
Results Based Accountability 101: February 2012
Date: 16 February 2012
Time: 8.30 am for a 9 am start. Finish time 4.30 pm
Venue: Graduate House – Melbourne University on Leicester Street.
Cost: $390.00
Places are filling fast. Registration forms are attached to this newsletter or please refer to the CIV website.
This will be a facilitated workshop run by Louisa McKay and Athena Williams.
Mark Friedman the founder of Results Based Accountability describes RBA as: "starting with the end and working backwards, step by step to the means".
RBA is all about plain language, partnerships, moving from talk to action and using data to measure whether or not we are really making a difference.
Please note numbers will be strictly limited to 30 participants. Registration will close 31st March 2011.
Contact Athena on 9035 8279 or email athenaw@unimelb.edu.au for more information.
*NEW COURSE* Results Based Accountability 202: February 2012
Date: Monday 13th & Tuesday 14th February 2012
Registration: 8.30am > Start: 9.00am – 4.00pm
Where: Graduate House 220 Leicester Street Carlton, Victoria
Cost: $400.00 (excludes GST) Buffet lunch included each day
Places are strictly limited only 6 places left * Special one off course price*
To Register: Complete the Registration form following and fax, scan and email or post to:
RLG:AU P.O. Box 223, Glebe, NSW 2037.
A confirmation will be forwarded to you. For any queries please phone RLG:AU on 02 95188257
This two-day intensive workshop, is based upon Mark Friedman’s ‘Training for Trainers’ and prepares participants to coach and mentor others in the implementation of Results Based Accountability™ within their organisation. RBA is applied to both cross-community quality of life improvements and the management of programs, agencies, and service systems.
Participants will;
- refresh their knowledge of RBA101
- learn how to lead training exercises
- learn how to assist/coach colleagues in the implementation of RBA from individual programs to whole of organisation
RBA Scorecard free Information session
Justin Miklas from RLG:US, will be Melbourne on 15th February 2012 to provide an indepth Results Scorecard demonstration following. Results Scorecard is a strategic management software tool designed to help non-profit and government organizations work smarter and create measurable results for their customers and communities.
Designed by the Results Leadership Group and based on the principles of Mark Friedman's Results-Based Accountability (TM) framework, the Results Scorecard can help public-sector leaders to collaborate, make data-driven decisions, and align the performance of their programs and initiatives with the impact that they create in the community. Justin will be providing a demonstration of Results Scorecard and will be available to answer any questions relating to the Results Scorecard at the conclusion of the demonstration.
Date: Wednesday 15th February 2012
Time: 10.30 am to 12.30 pm
Cost: FREE
Where: University of Melbourne.
School of Population Health.
Level 5, 207 Bouverie Street Carlton
To Register: *Registrations are essential*. Please email Athenaw@unimelb.edu.au by Thursday 9th February to confirm registration.
Local Heroes
A place to recognise outstanding work in the Indicator space in Victoria
Jeanette Pope in the Policy and Strategy Unit of the Department of Planning and Community Development has prepared a great resource called ‘Top fifteen data sources for describing community wellbeing in Victoria’.
This great easy to use easy to read resource can help you describe community wellbeing in Victoria. A broad range of topics are covered including population, social and multicultural features, services and facilities, children and families, health, disadvantage, participation, amenity, economy, industry and transport.
Jeanette says “This document highlights my favourite sources of good, easy to use data about communities. I hope it will give others the confidence to find and use data in their decision making”
You can access this resource at here
If you are part of, or know of a project using Indicators in Victoria that you believe others would benefit in knowing about please send information through to Athena.
MAP 2.0 - Measures of Australia's Progress Consultation
Many people want to know whether life is getting better - but how will we know?
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) first attempted to help Australians answer the question - "Is Life in Australia getting better?" - in 2002, releasing Measures of Australia's Progress (MAP). The publication sets out a suite of social, economic and environmental indicators that aim to help answer that question.
In light of the huge wave of interest that has been occurring internationally, nationally and regionally around progress measurement, the ABS has decided that we need to check we are still taking into account the things Australians think are important for national progress.
To facilitate this review, the ABS is carrying out MAP 2.0 consultation which involves communicating with a wide range of the Australian community through regional and government workshops, expert panels and a social media campaign. The information the ABS collects will assist us to develop a new framework for MAP - to provide an underlying structure that will guide the development of the next generation of MAP.
Two key things we'd like to find out through our consultation:
- We'd like Australians to tell us is what they think are the important areas of life we need to take account of when measuring progress.
- Secondly, to know whether we are progressing, we also need to know what we are progressing towards - so we are asking people about their goals and aspirations for Australia as a nation.
One way to tell us what you think on these questions is to go to our blog. The views of several prominent Australians like Dick Smith, Lauren Jackson and Richard Aedy (Life Matters - ABC Radio National), can be found on the Blog, telling us what national progress means to them.
Another way to provide feedback is to provide a formal written submission - please follow the guidelines in this submission booklet (deadline has been extended to 31 December 2011).
How can you participate?
Have your say - What is important to you for Australia's progress?
Go to www.abs.gov.au/about/progress/blog.
Australian Community Indicators Network (ACIN)
The ACIN in partnership with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) presents a series of seminars to support the ongoing work of Community Indicators.
The second seminar took place on 16 September 2011. The topic of the presentation was Key Australian Community Indicators Initiatives.
You are able to access this seminar via the National Statistics Service website. To view please click here
The seminar features three presentations on current Key Australian Community Indicator Initiatives.
In the first presentation, Mike Salvaris speaks about the emerging initiative, the Australian National Development Index (ANDI), Australia’s first and only participatory, interactive and community-based national tool for defining, measuring and understanding the progress of Australia.
Sue Taylor gives the second presentation, talking about the ABS's Measures of Australia's Progress (MAP) and the national consultation process that ABS is undertaking for MAP, showing how ABS has measured progress through history; what has been done most recently; why they are embarking on this consultation; what it is trying to achieve and how you can contribute to this national conversation.
In the third presentation, Anthony McGregor provides an overview of the Australian Government’s work on developing sustainability indicators for Australia. He will outline the scope and objectives of the program and provide an update on the development of the national indicator set.
International happenings
How's Life?, a new OECD publication on well-being beyond GDP
How's Life?, a new OECD publication released in October, offers a comprehensive picture of what shapes people's lives in 40 countries worldwide. The report assesses 11 specific aspects of life – ranging from income, jobs and housing to health, education and the environment – as part of the OECD's ongoing effort to devise new measures for assessing well-being that go beyond GDP. How's Life? is part of the OECD's Better Life Initiative which was launched in May 2011 and seeks to engage citizens in the discussion of what matters most in their lives and what governments should do to improve well-being. Another element of the OECD Better Life Initiative is the Your Better Life Index, an interactive tool that allows people to compare countries' performances according to their own preferences (visit www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org).
Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW)
“Canada has become a world leader in measuring wellbeing with the launch of a new comprehensive composite index set to challenge the gross domestic product (GDP) as the sole measure of our country's progress”, says the Honourable Roy Romanow, advisory board chair for the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW), located at the University of Waterloo. The CIW has just released a comprehensive composite index designed by an interdisciplinary team of accomplished Canadian and international experts to measure the overall wellbeing of Canada. The website is well worth having a look at. The CIW composite index is based on 64 separate indicators in eight interconnected categories, built to reflect real Canadian life. To view the CIW website please visit www.ciw.ca
Interesting dissertation on happiness via ISQOLS List serve
Dutch psychologist Ad Bergsma wrote an interesting dissertation in which he addressed the following questions: 1) What is the quality of popular happiness advice? 2) Is unhappiness concentrated among people with mental disorders and 3) Does the pursuit of happiness cover all ground? The full text can be downloaded from the library of Erasmus University Rotterdam at: hdl.handle.net/1765/22825
Up and coming Conferences
Making Culture Count 3 – 4 May 2012, Woodward Conference Centre, University of Melbourne
Presented by the Cultural Development Network and the Centre for Cultural Partnerships, Centre for Cultural Partnerships, Victorian College of the Arts and Music, University of Melbourne.
In recent years, culture and cultural development have become internationally recognised as important dimensions of contemporary governance and public policy. As in other policy areas (economic, social, environmental), the production of accurate and relevant data has become central to cultural policy and how the cultural lives of citizens are understood. Conceptual and practical developments in measurement tools, such as new forms of cultural indicators, have the potential to enrich our understanding of culture’s role in wellbeing, vitality and citizenship. From UNESCO’s benchmarks for cultural freedom, through comparative measures of states’ cultural provision and creative cities indices, to indicators for community arts evaluation, diverse approaches to quantifying cultural value and measuring societal progress now exist.
But how useful are all these measures? Are they helping us to keep track of what matters? What opportunities exist to contest, refine or democratise these systems of cultural measurement? This international conference brings together diverse perspectives from international guest speakers and leading local practitioners to explore the burgeoning field of cultural and community indicators. Participants will engage in a critical dialogue on various approaches to monitoring, evaluating, planning, advocating, predicting, and simply understanding, cultural and social change. Presentations will cover a range of theoretical and practical approaches to quantifying cultural values often considered intangible, including vitality, wellbeing, citizenship, and sustainability.
For more information please go to www.culturaldevelopment.net.au
University of Michigan (USA) June 24-26, 2012
The Aging, Mobility and Quality of Life (AMQoL) conference will focus on meeting the transport/mobility needs of older adults so as to improve their access to the various activities and services that underlie health, well-being, and quality of life.
This interdisciplinary conference will bring together experts from: gerontology/geriatrics; transport safety; psychology; sociology; social work; urban planning; engineering; tourism and leisure; occupational therapy; and medicine. Topics will address the mobility-related characteristics of older adults (e.g., aging in developing and newly industrialized countries, exercise and health, personal security, social participation, spatial cognition and way finding, tourism and leisure, travel behavior, transport safety), as well as technological and policy responses to enhancing transport/mobility (e.g., assistive technologies, building design, community transport, roadway design, transport policy, urban planning and environmental design, vehicle design).
Please consider submitting an abstract for the AMQoL conference and let your colleagues know about this opportunity. Abstracts are due by February 13, 2012. To learn more about the conference and the abstract submission process, please go to the conference website: http://agingmobilityconference.com/.
International society of quality of life studies
11th Conference of the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS): Discovering New Frontiers in Quality of Life Research
June 5-9, 2012; Lisbon, Portugal
www.orcacomputer.com/isqols/content.aspx?id=51
Projects, Papers, Reports and Journals of Interest
Resilience Project Queensland
The Resilience Profiles Project aims to develop ‘resilience profiles’ for three diverse communities, using the existing Community Indicators Queensland (CIQ) framework to test and develop specific resilience indicators in the context of disaster recovery. This project is a partnership between the Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS) and Griffith University’s Urban Research Program, which is the base for CIQ. There are many definitions of community resilience. For the purposes of the project, community resilience is described as the adaptive capacity of a community to anticipate disaster; absorb and recover from the impact; and be innovative and creative in its response. A key research question - is there a link between socio-economic disadvantage and natural disaster vulnerability? - is central to the project’s scope. While research agrees that community resilience is desirable, there is limited research about effectively measuring it. The capacity to measure resilience will specifically benefit policy and program development and communities themselves.
The project will provide a ‘resilience footprint’ for each community and will draw on the work undertaken to develop CIV; a data picture that reveals a community’s resilience. Community indicators will be used to develop an assessment tool, which will enable the measurement of specific resilience characteristics. These indicators will be developed in consultation with key stakeholders so they reflect the uniqueness of each community. Measurement will enable more targeted strategies and resourcing to increase resilience, develop community strengths and progress preventative measures that reduce the impact of natural disasters.
For more information on this project please contact Lawrence Wray, Research Officer – (07) 0479 192 771 l.wray@griffith.edu.au
Articles written on investigating alternatives measures of progress in society beyond the use of Gross Domestic Product
Ross Gittins from The Age recently ran a series of articles investigating alternatives measures of progress in society beyond the use of Gross Domestic Product.
Refer to the following:
www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/theres-so-much-more-to-wealth-than-money-20111207-1ojbx.html
www.theage.com.au/national/more-to-wellbeing-than-living-long-20111208-1olcf.html
Book Review
The Spirit Level
Wilkinson, R and Pickett, K 2010, The spirit level: Why equality is better for everyone, Penguin Books, London.
By Melanie Lowe
The Spirit Level by public health researchers Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett is an influential study demonstrating the limits of economic growth and the profound social costs of income inequality in developed countries. Using a battery of evidence to compare rich countries around the world, the authors show that it is levels of inequality within societies, not national wealth, which explains differences in health and social outcomes between countries. Where the gap between rich and poor is wider (Australia is revealed to be one of the more unequal developed countries), levels of trust and life expectancy are reduced, and there are higher rates of infant mortality, mental illness, obesity, teenage births, violence and illiteracy. Importantly, everyone is affected by inequality, not just the poor. This very accessible book has an important message: when it comes to improving wellbeing, countries like Australia must focus on increasing equality, not economic growth. The Spirit Level is essential reading for anyone wanting to know more about social justice and the progress of societies.