Community Dashboard
Fri, Sep 12, 2008; by Bill Coppinger.Community Dashboard "Sneek Peek"
Inform - Empower - Advance
Are we using data effectively to address inequity in our communities? Do we really know what is going on? Are we able to make confident projections?
I think not.
The technology platforms available to us are developing more rapidly than ever before, but there is little evidence to suggest that traditional planning and service delivery frameworks used by governments are taking real advantage of these developments. It is not easy, we grant this, but the challenge is to START and see what happens.
The developments by Wolfram Alpha in May 2009 are just another example of what is occuring on a global scale. Wolfram Alpha has taken the first step in an ambitious, long-term project to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable by anyone. You enter your question or calculation, and Wolfram Alpha uses its built-in algorithms and growing collection of data to compute the answer. Based on a new kind of knowledge-based computing.......
The work by GoogleMaps , the OECD and others are obvious examples of how making sense of immense amounts of data are now easier than ever before.
The Global Project on "Measuring the Progress of Societies"- hosted by the OECD and run in collaboration with other international and regional partners seeks to become the world wide reference point for those who wish to measure, and assess the progress of their societies.
We should be able to do something similar on a local scale !
Collecting and disseminationg real-time information, creating new knowledge with new partnerships generates wisdom that can be applied to improve community outcomes.
Inform - Empower - Advance
The basic premise of our community DASHBOARD is that it makes it easier to notice an important trend.
Visualizing complex data across multiple dimensions [FIVE] can help uncover insights and patterns that would be difficult to discover using traditional two dimensional charts.
Here is just a small sample of what we have been working on to help create the tools our communities need to make better, more timely decisions. We encourage you to leave comments in our discussion forums.
At present, this is just example of our test bed, based on seven years of the detailed data contained with our Environmental Scans.
We hope to have a large state-wide prototype of some key data available soon.
If you want to see how to use the tools below, just click this "Help link"
Another new example - CRLLEN Business Conditions 2002-2007
A New Example - Australian Unemployment 1913-2006 by State
[Data Source: Andrew Leigh]
Example 1 - Regional Skills Benchmarks
Example 2 - Statewide OnTrack Comparisons -Updated but not complete
Example 3 - Youth Employment by Industry 1991-2010
Example 4 - Apprenticeships vs Victoria
A New Example - Australian Unemployment 1913-2006 by State
[Data Source: Andrew Leigh]
Choices about what matters most to citizens and communities will always reflect differing, contested philosophical and political values and assumptions. So too will choices about the indicators used to prioritise and measure specific outcomes such as employment, safety or trust in public institutions. In complex post-industrial societies, most people can at best have only a very indirect knowledge of issues they need to know about to form a view about the progress and wellbeing of their societies. Official government measures and statistics therefore become extremely powerful in framing public debate, guiding planning, and shaping people’s attitudes and perceptions about political choices. It is therefore necessary to have a comprehensive view of progress that takes into account social, environment and economic concerns in a manner that is inclusive of the needs and interests and concerns of the broader community.
It is also increasingly recognised that the development of cross-cutting, high-quality, shared, accessible information about how a society is doing is crucial to ensure that decision-making is simultaneously responsive and responsible at all levels, including all levels of government, industry and communities. Measures of progress need to be agreed and integrated within broader policymaking and decision-making processes. Not only should this result in more effective and consistent policy and planning outcomes, greater integration of policy efforts should lead to enhanced sustainability in terms of social, economic and environmental policy and program spending.
[Source: Measuring Well being - Engaging Communities July 2006, Victorian Community Indicators Project]
[All data on this page maintained by Bill Coppinger]
