Transcript Genuine Progress Index for Atlantic Canada Indice de progrès véritable - Atlantique Measuring Wellbeing and Development in KINGS COUNTY Wheelock Hall, Acadia University, Wolfville, 5

Genuine Progress Index for Atlantic Canada
Indice de progrès véritable - Atlantique
Measuring Wellbeing and Development in
KINGS COUNTY
Wheelock Hall, Acadia University,
Wolfville, 5 June, 2003
Community GPI is based on
simple question: What kind of
Kings County are we leaving our
children?
What kind of community
are we leaving our
children?
Translating measurement into experience and
language of ordinary Nova Scotians
• Nova Scotia’s premier quality of life
• More possessions, longer lives
• But, some disturbing signs
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
“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).
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
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
Community-GovernmentUniversity 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 Women’s Health St.
Mary’s University Time Use Research Program
• Acadia University, UCCB – store and analyze data
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
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
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
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
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
What’s 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
2) Health and Community
• Core values, caregiving, volunteer work,
community service
• Stress, mental health, social supports,
children’s health
• Weight, smoking, physical activity,
screening (Pap, mammogram, blood
pressure)
• Pain, disability, disease, medications,
health care use
3) Peace and Security
• Victimization and costs of crime
• Neighbourhood safety, fear, selfprotection
• Opinions about police, courts, prisons
• Identify community problems drinking? bullying? domestic violence?
drugs? Etc.
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
5) Environment
• Energy use
• Transportation patterns
• Water quality
• Recycling and waste
• Food consumption - food diary and
nutrition
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
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
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)
Where to from here….?
• Community ownership – literal and
legal
• Acadia – community partnership
• Analyze, report, discuss results
• Funding – community buy-in
• Choose benchmarks, refresh data