Genuine Progress Index for Atlantic Canada Indice de progr

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Genuine Progress Index for Atlantic CanadaIndice
de progrès véritable - AtlantiqueMeasuring
Wellbeing and Development in KINGS
COUNTYWheelock Hall, Acadia University,
Wolfville, 5 June, 2003
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Community GPI is based on simple question
What kind of Kings County are we leaving our
children?
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What kind of community are we leaving our
children?

• Translating measurement into experience and
  language of ordinary Nova Scotians
• Nova Scotias premier quality of life
• More possessions, longer lives
• But, some disturbing signs

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Uncertain Answers Better Off in a Poorer Natural
World?

• Natural resource depletion, species loss
• Less fish, condition of forests, soils
• Global warming
• Stress, obesity, asthma, environmental illness
• Insecurity, inequality, child poverty
• Decline of volunteerism

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The more the economy grows, the better off we
are - Sending the wrong message?

• Crime, sickness, pollution, resource depletion
  make economy grow
• GDP can grow even as poverty and inequality
  increase.
• More work hours make economy grow free time has
  no value.
• GDP ignores work that contributes directly to
  community health (volunteers, work in home).

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We Need Better Indicators of Progress and
Wellbeing.In the GPI

• Health, livelihood security, free time, unpaid
  work, natural resources, education have value
• Sickness, crime, disasters, pollution are costs
• Reductions in crime, poverty, greenhouse gas,
  ecological footprint are progress
• Growing equity signals progress

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Community GPI

• Initiative came from community groups. Many
  community partnerships include
• NS Citizens for Community Development Society
• Community health boards, public health authority
• Kings County Council, Kings Economic Development
  Agency, Kentville Rotary Club.
• 40 Kings community organizations took part in
  indicator selection, questionnaire design

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Community-Government-University Partnerships

• Canadian Population Health Initiative, National
  Crime Prevention Centre, Rural Secretariat, HRDC,
  Canadian Rural Partnership, Statistics Canada,
• Dalhousie Univ. Population Health Research Unit
  Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Womens Health
  St. Marys University Time Use Research Program
• Acadia University, UCCB store and analyze data

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Goals and Objectives

• Community vision, learn, mobilize, act
• Vision - community indicator selection
• Learning about ourselves
• Mobilize communities - common goals
• Turn new-found knowledge into action

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Research Goals

• Identifying strengths and weaknesses of 2 very
  different communities
• Community learning about itself, insights,
  understanding relationships among variables - eg
  volunteerism, time use and health
• Keeping track - measuring genuine progress

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Process as Result

• Indicator selection, creating survey
• Farmers exchanging information
• Report releases in Sheffield Mills, Jeddore -
  farmers, fishermen present
• New ideas/directions e.g. restorative justice,
  family-friendly work arrangements, etc.
• Results bring disparate groups together

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The Means

• 3,600 surveys - random, 15, confidential
• CI 95 /- 3 2 cross-tabulations
• Detailed 2 hrs Kings 70 response rate
• Survey includes health, care-giving, time use,
  voluntary work, security, income employment,
  environmental issues
• Data entry cleaning, data access guidelines

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Balance community-based research with
methodological rigour

• Statistics Canada oversight, advice, review
• Frame questions to compare results with
  provincial national averages
• Improve methods, indicators, survey tools, data
  sources - never a final product
• Model for other communities - template for
  adaptation

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Whats in the Kings County GPI Survey?1)
Demographics Employment

• Age, sex, household, marital, education, income
• Employment, unemployment, out of work
• Job characteristics - types of jobs (p-t, f-t,
  etc), benefits, work from home, occupation
• Work schedule, hours, shifts, job security,
  underemployment, job sharing - work reduction

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2) Health and Community

• Core values, caregiving, volunteer work,
  community service
• Stress, mental health, social supports,
  childrens health
• Weight, smoking, physical activity, screening
  (Pap, mammogram, blood pressure)
• Pain, disability, disease, medications, health
  care use

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3) Peace and Security

• Victimization and costs of crime
• Neighbourhood safety, fear, self-protection
• Opinions about police, courts, prisons
• Identify community problems - drinking? bullying?
  domestic violence? drugs? Etc.

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4) Time Use Diary

• Work Household work, paid work, voluntary work,
  caregiving, education
• How we spend free time - TV, reading,
  socializing, spiritual practice, sport, exercise
• Travel, personal activities, child care
• Window on quality of life

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5) Environment

• Energy use
• Transportation patterns
• Water quality
• Recycling and waste
• Food consumption - food diary and nutrition

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6) Agriculture

• Existing data sources (Statcan, AAFC, DAF),
  in-depth farmer interviews, survey
• Economic viability of farming
• Resource use soil quality productivity,
  biodiversity, water, input use efficiency
• Social capital employment, resilience,
  import/export

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Community Action

• Community access to results - special software
  packages, news stories, etc.
• Meet to discuss results and identify policy
  priorities / actions (includes program scan,
  identify gaps)
• Community prioritizes indicators for annual
  benchmarks of progress
• Community training - adaptations

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Emphasis on practical action - E.g

• Teenage smoking overweight exercise - e.g.
  promote school-based programs
• Screening rates - mammography, pap smears --
  notify health officials of needs
• Identify counselling needs - employment, domestic
  violence, mental health
• Education - nutrition, recycling, energy use
• Identify security problems (eg vandalism)

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Where to from here.?

• Community ownership literal and legal
• Acadia community partnership
• Analyze, report, discuss results
• Funding community buy-in
• Choose benchmarks, refresh data