Environmental Scan Underway 2007-2011
Wed, Jul 18, 2007; by Bill Coppinger.
I N F O R M |
E M P O W E R |
A D V A N C E |
August 1st 2008 Update
The new 2008-2011 Environmental Scan is now complete and will be circulated to members in the coming month. This will include a "community data pack" that we are distributing to members. This will include copies of the 2002 Environmental Scan and 2004 update, it will include the newly released 2008-2011 environmental scan and it will also include a series of other resources that provide specific information and community data for all three Local Government Areas [Macedon Mitchell and Murrindindi] as well as all SEVEN Statistical Local Areas [ Maceon-Kyneton, Macedon-Romsey, Macedon - Balance, Mitchell North, Mitchell South, Murrindindi East, Murrindindi West]. We will also be conducting a series of district briefings for each of the LGA Sub-Committees of the LLEN as well as Local Government.
More details of these briefing will be made available in the upcoming "Spring" Members Email Update, circulated to members only.
This work has been completed with our long-time partner, the National Institute of Economic and Industry Research and we believe will add greatly to our understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing our communities.
We believe this is and will continue to be, an extremely valuable planning resource for the communities across the Macedon, Mitchell and Murrindindi Shires. It covers a range of social, economic, industry and labour market indicators all designed to provide a detailed understanding of our communities.
2007 Update
We will also be adding a series of personal interviews [from across our region] to our data collection in an endeavour to get very localised intelligence that will be of benefit to the communities we serve. New Socio-Economic Indexes For Areas (SEIFA) will also be added to our publication, including additional mapping to further improve access to our knowledge of our communities and their needs.
The Board of the Central Ranges LLEN believes access to accurate and up-to-date information about our communities and the opportunities and barriers we face is central to achieving our goal of leading and supporting the development of local, sustainable and meaningful partnerships in education and training that will lead to genuine opportunities for young people as well as directly supporting the needs of industries, companies or small to medium enterprises important to local or regional prosperity.
The publication and dissemination of over 5000 hard-bound copies and over 1000 online copies of our 2004 Environmental Scan has clearly shown us the importance that our members, stakeholders and related community organisations place in accurate, detailed and relevant community data.
There are currently a range of planning and community data/indicator projects being developed across the state that are very encouraging and we plan to utilise a range of these new sources to make available the most detailed and relevant information we can.
If any member or stakeholder is interested in learning more about the progress of this work or you wish to find a way to contribute, please leave a message in the 
discussion forums . [You will need to login]
Why is "data" so important?
Identifying the right indicators and measures is a complex task. Despite these difficulties, as Meadows (1996) describes, we have no choice but to define indicators in a complex world.
Without them, ‘we fly blind’ and the goals and priorities of more powerful interests can overshadow those of communities. We have to choose a set of indicators that are small and meaningful that facilitate our understanding of where we are going and in relation to our values.
In a related theme, as Bauer (1966) noted, the real purpose of indicators is to ‘enable us to assess where we stand and are going with respect to our values and goals’. This immediately gives rise to the questions – Whose values and whose goals?
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]
If any member or stakeholder is interested in learning more about the progress of this work or you wish to find a way to contribute, please leave a message in the discussion forums . [You will need to login]
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