1. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp Developing Indicators and Data Sets for Measuring Community Capacity Regional Social Impacts of Growth Forum CQU, Mackay, August 21, 2007 Presented by Geoffrey Woolcock

2. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp Measuring Wellbeing and Social Progress International and multi-national developments Australian state initiatives Community Indicators Queensland? Department of Communities: Developing Indicators and Data Sets for Measuring Community Capacity

3. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp Measuring Wellbeing and Social Progress www.oecd.org/oecdworldforum http://www.communityaccounts.ca/communityaccounts/onlinedata/getdata.asp http://www.tbf.org/indicators/ State of the USA http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/happiness_formula/default.stm

4. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp Department of Communities safe, valued and empowered communities The Department of Communities Needs Based Planning and Resource Allocation Framework Is designed to answer just 3 questions

5. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp Department of Communities safe, valued and empowered communities What is an outcome? Change in the wellbeing of individuals, families and communities attributable, in whole or in part, to an intervention or series of interventions Who and where are our clients? Valid and reliable indicators of disadvantage, need and risk affecting the wellbeing of individuals, families and communities What are our interventions? Best practice policy and services delivered to identified high need populations-locations NBPRAF Core Q&A NBPRAF Core Q&A

6. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp INDICATIVE NEED - defined by analysis of objective indicators incl. SEIFA maps, surveys of clients, comparison with state measures and benchmark data (if avail) SERVICE SUPPLY- defined by analysis of quantitative and qualitative data NEEDS BASED APPROACH TO PLANNING ANALYSES MEASURES OF NEED AND EXISTING SERVICE SUPPLY IN LIGHT OF KEY PRIORITIES (local, regional, departmental and State Government) IN ORDER TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT IS PRIORITY NEED AND WHAT CHANGES TO A SERVICE SYSTEM ARE REQUIRED TO MEET THAT NEED GAP ANALYSIS: Is there a service or set of services to meet this potential need? COMMUNITY CAPACITY to provide a service or set of services SERVICE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT CONTINUUM No service development required Quality improvement Scope expansionRealignmentIncreased access through integration of services ReformNew service

7. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp Department of Communities safe, valued and empowered communities COMSIS Communities Statistical Information System - purpose built and maintained by OESR for the department A key tool and platform to progress, across the state, a core set of common standards and information for identifying disadvantage, need and risk

8. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp Academic and Practice Literature Review The focus of the project is the identification and review of relevant, recent Australian and international : Academic literature on the development of concepts, definitions and indicators of community capacity; and Practice literature on the development and application of standards and measures of community capacity in the public and private sector and the results of applying those standards and measures.

9. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp Developing Indicators and Data Sets for Measuring Community Capacity Chapter 1 Why Measure Community Capacity? Project Overview and Goals Scope of Review and Recommendations Chapter 2 Unpacking Community Capacity Chapter 3 Indicators of Community Capacity: Development, measurement and evaluation Chapter 4 Challenges and Opportunities Implications for communities Implications for government Implications for research Implications for partnership

10. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp Initial findings/Decision points Defining community capacity Commonalities: (1) The existence of resources (ranging from the skills of individuals to the strength of organizations to access to financial capital) (2) Networks of relationships (sometimes stressed in affective, sometimes in instrumental terms) (3) Leadership (often only vaguely defined), and (4) Support for some kind of mechanisms for or processes of participation by community members in collective action and problem solving. (Chaskin, 2001, pp. 292)

11. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp Initial findings/Decision points Conceptualising community capacity Community Capacity and agendas for change Participation and partnership Community capacity building as means and end Is capacity valued, and thus appropriately measured, as capacity to carry out specific tasks and solve specific problems, or can it be useful to measure it more generically, as a feature of community context in the same way as health status or demography? (Smith et al. 2003, p. 24-25). Program specificity versus community problem solving Inter-organisational capacity versus community capacity Context and local applicability

12. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp Initial findings/Decision points Measurement challenges First, there is a lack of consensus as to what community capacity means or how it is characterized. Second, consequently there is limited research on which indicators are valid and reliable for the measurement of community capacity. Third, unlike measures of individual health status (e.g., blood pressure), community capacity appears to reflect a broader community or population level that is more complex than just the sum of measures at the individual level. (Kwan et al., 2003, p. 24)

13. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp Key findings and outcomes Measurement and Indicator Exemplars John Wiseman, Warwick Heine, Anne Langworthy, Neil McLean, Joanne Pyke, Hayden Raysmith & Mike Salvaris. (2006). Measuring Wellbeing, Engaging Communities. Developing a community indicators framework for Victoria: The final report of the Victorian Community Indicators Project (VCIP). G. Thomas Kingsley. (1998). Neighbourhood Indicators: Taking advantage of the new potential. Working Paper. Chicago, IL: American Planning Association, October 1998.

14. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp The Victorian Community Indicator Project filter criteria test both individual indicators and the overall indicator framework: Each indicator Is relevant and valuable to the community Is grounded in theory (expert endorsement) Measures progress towards sustainability/community vision Is likely to give information about the future/early warning Is measurable (good data available at LGA level or reasonably confident that it will be available by end of 2007) Can be measured over time/show trends. Is regular (contingent on data source; eg, the Census) Can be disaggregated by population groups Can be benchmarked against relevant jurisdictions (State as a default, potentially like council groupings or national/international where relevant) Is methodologically defensible Is unambiguous/clear – resonates with the general population Is realistic – collection methodology or data access, reporting and so on Applies to all Victorian LGAs (metro, provincial and rural groupings like councils) Is supported by consultation feedback Is consistent with other key government/local government indicators

15. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp The Victorian Community Indicator Project filter criteria test both individual indicators and the overall indicator framework: Overall suite of indicators Are conceptually sensible (consistency with project aims) Have a balance of objective and subjective measures Have a limited number of indicators (each indicator may have more than one measure) Are relevant to resource allocation.

16. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp http://www.civ.net.au/welcome_to_community_indicators_victoria_civ

17. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp Next Steps Challenges and Opportunities Implications for communities Implications for government Implications for research Implications for partnership

18. Urban Research Programwww.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp A Scenario to Avoid!