1370.0.00.002 - Measures of Australia's Progress - Aspirations for our Nation: A Conversation with Australians about Progress , 2011-12  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 29/05/2013   
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COMMUNITY INDICATOR INITIATIVES

In the past decade, not only have governments begun to formulate indicators of state well-being and progress, but also communities themselves have begun to see this as an important way to understand and monitor their regional issues. The community indicator movement is another important way views of progress are expressed by Australians.

Australian Community Indicators Network

In the last few years, there have been a number of opportunities for professionals to meet and discuss issues around the development of community indicators. For example, a community indicators seminar held in Sydney at the NatStats 2010 conference was attended by over 60 people with an interest in sharing information about indicator projects and developments. Based on this response, the seminar organisers established an Australian Community Indicators Network (ACIN).

ACIN aims to assist people using or developing community indicators to share ideas and information, and to foster collaboration. The network aims to build a national dialogue and a knowledge base across community indicator policy, research and practice. It is guided by the Declaration of the Australian Community Indicators Summit (see National Statistical Service 2009) which outlines principles, issues and challenges for ‘measuring the progress of Australian communities in the 21st century’. The Network has run three national webinars (May 2011, September 2011 and May 2012) hosted in the ABS state capital offices, with attendees participating across the nation.

Australian National Development Index (ANDI)

‘ANDI is a community initiative to revitalise our democracy and engage all Australians in a national debate about our shared vision for Australia. Based on the idea of an ongoing national conversation about what kind of society we want Australia to be, it will develop clear ongoing measures of our progress towards that vision.’ – Australian National Development Index

The Australian National Development Index (ANDI) is a partnership of 40 leading community organisations, church groups, businesses, and universities which aim to create a national development index. Still in development, the index aims to present a holistic measure of national progress and well-being that reflects the views of Australians.

ANDI’s national progress measurement will be based on the goals and values identified by national consultation and research. It will address twelve progress domains:

SocietyEconomyEnvironmentGovernance
Children and young people

Communities and regions

Culture, recreation and leisure

Education and creativity

Health

Indigenous wellbeing

Subjective wellbeing		Economic life and prosperity

Work and work life		Environment and sustainabilityDemocracy and governance

Justice and fairness
Note: grouping into society, economy, environment and governance is to allow for comparisons with MAP only.

ANDI aims to work closely with the ABS, and to support and complement the MAP project. For example, the results of the MAP consultation will inform the ANDI consultative work, while the ANDI consultative work will be considered as part of the ongoing evolution of MAP.

Community Indicators Victoria (CIV)

‘[A vibrant, resilient and sustainable community’s] members are physically and mentally healthy, have a sense of well-being, are connected to others and have access to a range of services.’ – Community Indicators Victoria

Originally developed by the Victorian Community Indicators Project commissioned by VicHealth in 2005-06, Community Indicators Victoria (CIV) was one of the first community indicator projects established in Australia. The project began with extensive consultation with local and state governments and academics, and a literature review, which formed the basis for developing a framework of statistical indicators for measuring the well-being of Victorians. CIV aims to be a resource centre supporting the development and use of community well-being indicators by local governments and communities. The framework covers a set of almost 80 community well-being indicators covering a broad spectrum of local community life:

SocietyEconomyEnvironmentGovernance
Healthy, safe and inclusive communities

Culturally rich and vibrant communities		Dynamic, resilient local economiesSustainable built and natural environmentsDemocratic and engaged communities
Note: grouping into society, economy, environment and governance is to allow for comparisons with MAP only.

Community Resilience in Queensland and Community Indicators Queensland (CIQ)

Community Resilience in Queensland is a database and information portal providing community resilience indicators and data at a local level for three pilot communities in Queensland: Tablelands Regional Council area; Rockhampton Regional Council area; and the township of Chinchilla in the Western Downs Regional Council area. It uses the draft Community Indicators Queensland (CIQ) framework as a foundation, and the indicators selected aim to provide a snapshot of resilience at a particular point in time across these three communities.

Community Indicators Queensland (CIQ) brings together leading agencies from local, Queensland and Commonwealth governments, the not-for-profit sector, and Griffith University researchers. It is an ongoing project with a formal steering committee, and is developing a framework, database and web interface to support the creation and use of local community well-being indicators. It aims to provide a platform for: investigating the measurement of policy effectiveness; community engaged policy making; and the development and implementation of national and international community well-being indicator frameworks. CIQ builds on lessons learnt from Community Indicators Victoria and incorporates Queensland’s distinctive needs and attributes. It aims to enable the community to engage democratically in the development of their local environment.