Measuring Progress: the view from Australia Professor Mike Salvaris Victoria University Melbourne, Australia.

Measuring Progress:the view from Australia

Professor Mike SalvarisVictoria UniversityMelbourne, Australia

Overview

My work and goals Survey of the Australian scene National project: “Measures of Australia's

Progress” Local projects: the Community Indicators

Project Measuring wellbeing: a global movement?

Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts. Albert Einstein

How much do young Australians trust government?

Survey of young Australians (Year 11) 1998

Agree Neither Disagree

Most people in government are honest 6 26 68

People in government care a lot about what people like us think 9 25 66

People in government can be trusted to do the right thing for the country

15

22

64

People in government waste a lot of taxpayers money 70 22 8

People running the government are smart and usually know what they’re doing

29

24

48

Source: Mellor, S. 1998. What’s the Point? Political attitudes of Victorian Year 11 Students. Melbourne: Australian Council of Educational Research

The spectrum of public engagement

Increasing level of public impact >>>>>

Inform Consult Involve Collaborate Empower

Objective and Promise

Objective and Promise

Objective and Promise

Objective and Promise

Objective and Promise

To provide the public with balanced and objective information

To obtain public feed-back on analysis, al-ternatives, or decisions

To work di-rectly with the public throughout the process

To partner with the pub-lic in each aspect of the decision

To place final decision mak-ing in the hands of the public

Source: International Association for Public Participation: www.iap2.org (adapted)

Citizens as partners in achieving public outcomes

Role How?

Customers Main users and clients of public services: should be treated as valued customers by providers

Owners and shareholders

Through their taxes, citizens invest in public services and as-sets

Through their votes, they elect the ‘boards of directors’ who govern.

Issue framers and planners

Vision builders: citizens help develop strategic plans

Advisers on government boards and policy committees etc.

Co-producers of services

Community bodies directly provide community services on paid and voluntary basis, in cooperation with government

Service quality evaluators

As primary users of government services, citizens are best placed to assess their quality and effectiveness

Independent outcome track-ers

Grassroots measurement by citizen groups is more likely to be independent and oriented towards actual community wellbeing outcomes

Well-being, Sustainability, Quality of Life

Ultimately indicators have to shift emphasis from money and consumption to factors that relate to the quality of our lives (socially, economically and ecologically). These qualitative indices point to the purpose of economic development – to build better lives.

Victorian state wellbeing measurement framework

SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY WELLBEING DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE

ECONOMIC WELLBEING

ENVIRONMENTWELLBEING

Individual Group Community

Qualities Infrastructure

Health & well being

Children and families

Fairness, equal opportunity

Public and civic institutions

Democracy Viable sustain- able productivity

Healthy eco- logical systems

Education & training

People on low incomes

Social capital and trust

Planning & phys infrastructure

Human rights Economic vitality

Envir’t quality: air, water, land

Income, wealth and poverty

People with disabilities

Health & viability of communities

Community services

Justice and legal rights

Appropriate job creation

Environment diversity, species

Safety and security

Women Citizenship and participation

Transport Good governance

Healthy region- al economies

Sustainable use nat. resources

Personal development

Older persons Creativity & innovation

Media and communications

Local government

Housing Ethnic and NESB groups

Crime & social dysfunction

Culture and the arts

Employment and work life

Indigenous people

Recreation and sport

Remote communities

Source: Swinburne University, Institute for Social Research (SISR). 2000. ‘Measuring Victoria’s Progress: a system of social benchmarks and indicators for Victoria’. Hawthorn, Victoria: SISR

Tasmania Together: State-wide Vision for 2020

In 2020 Tasmania will have …

1. A job for everyone who wants one

2. An inclusive and compassionate society

3. A world-class reputation for innovation, imagination and intelligence

4. A society with a focus on whole of life, whole of community learning.

5. An ecologically sustainable future

6. A high quality of life and healthy lifestyle

7. A form of government that is inclusive, open and close to the people

8. An international reputation for excellence in the arts and culture

9. Invigorated rural and regional communities

10. A proud and confident community

Most important qualities for Australia’s progress

Rank Quality Avge

1 Honesty and ethics in public life 9.42

2 Security and stability 9.33

3 Environmental responsibility 9.25

4 Democracy, open, accountable government 9.17

5 Efficiency in government, management etc 9.10

6 Economic strength 9.04

7 Happiness and health 9.02

8 Fairness 8.90

9 Education and creativity 8.74

10 Inclusiveness and community 8.65

11 International responsibility 8.65

12 High living standards 8.59

13 Diversity and tolerance 8.50

14 High technology 8.43

15 Political power 7.69

16 Competitiveness 7.68 In a survey in 2001, 3000 Victorians were asked what they thought were the most important qualities or priorities for the kind of Australia they wanted to see in the future. The Table below lists the qualities in order, showing the average importance of each one out of a maximum of 10. Source: Mike Salvaris, Swinburne Institute for Social Research, ‘Community Indicators and Local Democracy’ 2002. The table above combines results (unweighted) from a survey in 2001 of three Victorian municipalities, Moreland, Surf Coast and Geelong, with a total sample of approximately 3000)

What makes a healthy democracy?

Fair and representative elections Competent and honest governments Fair and equal laws Active and knowledgeable citizens Shared belief in the public interest Reasonable equality in wealth and power Openness and transparency Devolution of power, ‘subsidiarity’ Trust between citizens and governments Innovation, evaluation and change

The idea of people taking charge of their own measurements of progress is a powerful and far reaching innovation that can bring about a new sense of civic engagement. (Sustainable Seattle. 2000)

Manage waste and pollution 96.3 Involve citizens in decision-making 87.0

Promote community safety 92.3 Enforce local laws (traffic, health, etc)

84.7

Make local government open & accountable

92.0 Conserve heritage and special character

80.7

Provide local recreation facilities 91.7 Promote local pride and involvement

80.0

Maintain local roads, streets, public spaces

91.3 Provide arts and cultural activities 78.7

Protect and enhance natural environment

90.6 Measure wellbeing of whole community

76.7

Provide local community services 89.6 Develop local industry, employ- ment, tourism

76.0

Manage council finances, services effectively

89.0 Promote local interests outside municipality

75.0

Plan community future (social, economic, environment)

88.7

(Source: Swinburne Institute for Social Research, 2002. ‘Community Participation and Community Planning in Moreland: a research study’. Hawthorn, Victoria: SISR. Based on sample of approx. 3000 over 3 Victorian municipalities).

Most important functions of local government

What makes a community a good place to live in?

(% respondents who considered specific factors important

Community quality % rank

People are friendly, good neighbours, help others 91 1

Good local facilities: shops, schools, services, parks 89 2

People feel safe and secure 89 3

Nice environment, streets, well planned, no pollution 86 4

People look after their properties 82 5

Local government is responsive to people’s needs 80 6

People can participate in local government decisions 74 7

Good local support: clubs, sports, neighbourhood houses 71 8

Community has a distinct character, a ‘special place’ 70 9

People get involved in local issues, activities 69 10

Good mix: different ages, groups, incomes, cultures 63 11

Good work opportunities available locally 59 12

Source: Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University of Technology. 2002. ‘Community Indicators and Local Democracy’ Melbourne. Data from a sample of approx. 3000 taken across three Victorian municipalities (Moreland, Surf Coast and Geelong) in 2001. Averages are unweighted.

Key strategic links of VCIP

Better measures of progress Better statistics and statistical capacity Better whole of community planning Citizen engagement and local

democracy Stronger communities Better Statewide planning - with local

community plan as building blocks

PURPOSES OF A COMMUNITY WELLBEING FRAMEWORK

Purposes Applications

Reporting conditions In selected issues, localities or policy fields Current wellbeing of whole state or municipality (social, economic,

environmental, democratic)

Measuring progress and performance

Selected government programs or policies Selected issues and localities Across all government agencies (or local governments) Current wellbeing of whole state or municipality (social, economic,

environmental, democratic)

Planning - informing priorities - planning & goal setting

Government agencies, LG departments For whole of state (or local) government As basis for local community plans As basis for long-term state or local plan for whole community

Enhancing democracy and accountability

More transparent & systematic gov’t reporting and performance evaluation More honest and accountable government Giving citizens full and accurate information about conditions in their state Involving citizens in decision-making about goals and indicators

Building communities, participation and social cohesion

A framework for local community building and community planning Citizens together identify local community issues & priorities Citizens define a common vision for Victoria (or their LGA) as a whole

Source: Swinburne Institute for Social Research. 2000. Measuring Victoria’s Progress. Hawthorn, Victoria: SISR (adapted)

5 pillars of community wellbeing Social Cultural Economic Environmental Governance and democratic

Legitimate measures of human progress

Human advance is conditioned by our conception of progress ... (It is time to end) the mismeasure of human progress by economic growth alone. The paradigm shift in favour of sustainable human development is still in the making. But more and more policy makers in many countries are reaching the unavoidable conclusion that, to be valuable and legitimate, development progress—both nationally and internationally—must be people centred, equitably distributed, and environmentally and socially sustainable. UNDP, 1996: iii, emphasis added.

The future does not just happen to us; we ourselves create it by what we do and what we fail to do. It is we who are making tomorrow what tomorrow will be.

For that reason, futurists think not so much in terms of predicting the future as in terms of trying to decide wisely what we want the future to be.”

Edward Cornish