Aims / Vision / What / Why / How
| Aims/Vision/What/Why/How |
Project Team |
Project Stakeholders |
LG Partners |
| Project Milestones |
| Project Milestones |
What will the VCI project do?
The aims of the VCI project are to develop:
· An agreed and comprehensive State-wide framework and process for the development and use of community wellbeing indicators at the local government level (including economic, social, cultural, environmental, governance and democracy dimensions).
What practical outcomes and benefits will the VCI project deliver?
The VCI project will produce a range of practical outcomes and benefits including:
· A model framework, indicator set and sustainable methodology for Victorian local governments to measure community wellbeing including both core and locality specific indicators. The framework will be designed to support a range of practical applications including: integrated local community planning; priority setting and budgeting; policy development and evaluation; citizen and community engagement and enhancing the links between local communities and their governments.
· A stocktake of existing Victorian local government community indicators, community plans and ‘visions’.
· An audit of local data sets and a strategy for filling gaps in local data availability.
· A strategy for improving local government and community capacity in the development and use of community wellbeing indicators including a Victorian Community Indicators web-site, good practice guide, workshops and training materials.
· Opportunities to trial and learn from a range of innovative approaches to engaging citizens and communities in local priority setting and indicator development.
· Improved mechanisms for linking the outcomes of local community planning and community indicator initiatives with State government actions to improve the evidence base, integration and accountability of policy making and reporting.
Through the project, VicHealth aims to support local governments and other stakeholders to consolidate existing activity with a view to developing a sustainable program for selecting and using indicators. It is envisaged that support for the implementation and ongoing operation of the program will be contributed through a range of funding and in-kind sources. Such support is already being provided by a range of organisations including the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the MAV, the VLGA, numerous local governments, the Department of Human Services and the Department for Victorian Communities.
Why has the VCI project been developed?
A range of factors have led to the development of this project:
· A widely shared view about the importance of learning from and consolidating the diverse range of Australian and international community indicator and community planning projects developed over the past decade.
· VicHealth’s ongoing commitment to work in partnership with local government to improve the capacity for monitoring and promoting community health and wellbeing.
· A renewal of interest in and support for community strengthening and community engagement policies and programs at local, state and national levels.
· The development and implementation of the Growing Victoria Together policy framework, vision and progress measures.
· Implementation of the Victorian Local Government (Democratic Reform) Act leading to an increasing focus by many local governments on developing integrated community wellbeing plans, goals and progress measures, informed by a range of citizen engagement strategies.
· Local governments’ need for better local information and statistics to support its increasing policy and planning responsibilities.
· A sustainable State-wide system enabling local councils and their communities to use wellbeing indicators as a practical tool for identifying priority goals and for measuring progress in achieving them.
· A commonly agreed set of local community wellbeing indicators, along with a complementary set of indicators relevant to particular localities.
· A sustainable system for the ongoing collection, collation, reporting and dissemination of local community wellbeing data.
· Strategies for improving the capacity for effective development and use of community wellbeing indicators by community and public sector organisations.
· Mechanisms for linking the outcomes of local community planning and community indicator initiatives with State government actions to improve the evidence base, integration and accountability of policy making and reporting.
It is important to emphasise that the project aim is to support local governments and their communities to track and strengthen wellbeing – not to develop a set of ‘performance measurements’ or a ‘league table’ by which to compare different local governments or communities.
How will local governments be involved?
The project is aimed at the local government sector as a whole and the intention is that as many local governments as possible be involved, including input from a broad range of councillors, council staff and community members. This is to be achieved through a series of processes:
· Local government peak bodies (MAV and VLGA) will be directly involved in oversighting the project, setting its broad goals and directions and disseminating its products and findings.
· An initial group of local governments will work together as ‘Partner Councils’ to pilot new models of community indicators and community planning and develop composite ‘best practice’ models.
· A larger circle of local governments will be involved in the project in range of ways including through the provision of case study examples, feedback on draft proposals and participation in project workshops and on-line surveys.
· All Victorian local governments will receive regular progress reports on the project and will be welcome to participate in workshops and project events.
Project Overview
The following attachment provides a detailed overview and update and on the project's progress to May, 2005.
The aims of the VCI project are to develop:
· An agreed and comprehensive State-wide framework and process for the development and use of community wellbeing indicators at the local government level (including economic, social, cultural, environmental, governance and democracy dimensions).
What practical outcomes and benefits will the VCI project deliver?
The VCI project will produce a range of practical outcomes and benefits including:
· A model framework, indicator set and sustainable methodology for Victorian local governments to measure community wellbeing including both core and locality specific indicators. The framework will be designed to support a range of practical applications including: integrated local community planning; priority setting and budgeting; policy development and evaluation; citizen and community engagement and enhancing the links between local communities and their governments.
· A stocktake of existing Victorian local government community indicators, community plans and ‘visions’.
· An audit of local data sets and a strategy for filling gaps in local data availability.
· A strategy for improving local government and community capacity in the development and use of community wellbeing indicators including a Victorian Community Indicators web-site, good practice guide, workshops and training materials.
· Opportunities to trial and learn from a range of innovative approaches to engaging citizens and communities in local priority setting and indicator development.
· Improved mechanisms for linking the outcomes of local community planning and community indicator initiatives with State government actions to improve the evidence base, integration and accountability of policy making and reporting.
Through the project, VicHealth aims to support local governments and other stakeholders to consolidate existing activity with a view to developing a sustainable program for selecting and using indicators. It is envisaged that support for the implementation and ongoing operation of the program will be contributed through a range of funding and in-kind sources. Such support is already being provided by a range of organisations including the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the MAV, the VLGA, numerous local governments, the Department of Human Services and the Department for Victorian Communities.
Why has the VCI project been developed?
A range of factors have led to the development of this project:
· A widely shared view about the importance of learning from and consolidating the diverse range of Australian and international community indicator and community planning projects developed over the past decade.
· VicHealth’s ongoing commitment to work in partnership with local government to improve the capacity for monitoring and promoting community health and wellbeing.
· A renewal of interest in and support for community strengthening and community engagement policies and programs at local, state and national levels.
· The development and implementation of the Growing Victoria Together policy framework, vision and progress measures.
· Implementation of the Victorian Local Government (Democratic Reform) Act leading to an increasing focus by many local governments on developing integrated community wellbeing plans, goals and progress measures, informed by a range of citizen engagement strategies.
· Local governments’ need for better local information and statistics to support its increasing policy and planning responsibilities.
· A sustainable State-wide system enabling local councils and their communities to use wellbeing indicators as a practical tool for identifying priority goals and for measuring progress in achieving them.
· A commonly agreed set of local community wellbeing indicators, along with a complementary set of indicators relevant to particular localities.
· A sustainable system for the ongoing collection, collation, reporting and dissemination of local community wellbeing data.
· Strategies for improving the capacity for effective development and use of community wellbeing indicators by community and public sector organisations.
· Mechanisms for linking the outcomes of local community planning and community indicator initiatives with State government actions to improve the evidence base, integration and accountability of policy making and reporting.
It is important to emphasise that the project aim is to support local governments and their communities to track and strengthen wellbeing – not to develop a set of ‘performance measurements’ or a ‘league table’ by which to compare different local governments or communities.
How will local governments be involved?
The project is aimed at the local government sector as a whole and the intention is that as many local governments as possible be involved, including input from a broad range of councillors, council staff and community members. This is to be achieved through a series of processes:
· Local government peak bodies (MAV and VLGA) will be directly involved in oversighting the project, setting its broad goals and directions and disseminating its products and findings.
· An initial group of local governments will work together as ‘Partner Councils’ to pilot new models of community indicators and community planning and develop composite ‘best practice’ models.
· A larger circle of local governments will be involved in the project in range of ways including through the provision of case study examples, feedback on draft proposals and participation in project workshops and on-line surveys.
· All Victorian local governments will receive regular progress reports on the project and will be welcome to participate in workshops and project events.
Project Overview
The following attachment provides a detailed overview and update and on the project's progress to May, 2005.
