1. School of Population Health University of Melbourne Community Indicators Victoria: A tool for community engagement, policy and planning VCOSS Congress August 2007 Sue West Research Fellow, The McCaughey Centre, VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing

2. 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

3. 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

4. What are community wellbeing indicators and why are they important?

5. 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

6. Wellbeing indicators - opening up a new debate about progress

7. 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

8. An important caveat Not everything than can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted Albert Einstein

9. Welcome to Community Indicators Victoria

10. Wellbeing Report for Local Government Area

12. Create Your Own Report on Specified Indicators

14. 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

15. Local community wellbeing in Victoria Self Reported Health Source: CIV, McCaughey Centre, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne

16. Local community wellbeing in Victoria Feeling Part of the Community Source: CIV, McCaughey Centre, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne

17. 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?

18. 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

19. School of Population Health University of Melbourne Community Indicators Victoria A tool for community engagement, policy and planning VCOSS Congress August 2007 Sue West Research Fellow, The McCaughey Centre, VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing