Within Our Community

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Project Overview

The Community Pulse has been gathering data for 10 years, building a strong baseline of community indicators that measure not only 'how much' but 'how good'. The Community Pulse aims to establish a shared set of signs through which we may better understand how our community is fairing.

In addition to publishing a report bi-annually The Community Pulse endeavours to present the information gathered back to the community in many and varied ways. Community Pulse data has appeared in the local and state papers, the council's Divercity newsletter, on street signs, bus shelter ads and postcards. The Community Pulse will continue to look for new, innovative and relevant ways of reporting data back to the community.

More and more of the data for The Community Pulse is collected by community volunteers, building a strong database as well as helping build support for the project within the community. Schools, community groups and individuals all contribute data to The Community Pulse.

Purpose

The purpose of The Community Pulse is to help achieve local sustainability by:

  • Using indicators to demonstrate movement towards or away from sustainability
  • Providing an early warning sign of potential problems, and
  • Showing the City of Port Phillip and its community how we can improve our environment, health and well-being and achieve our vision of a sustainable community.
  • Being the change - residents, community groups, volunteer networks and whole primary schools help collect the data that informs our understanding of community wellbeing. The Communtiy Pulse is characterised equally by 'how' the data is collected. By engaging the community and asking them to help tell the story of 'how our community is fairing' we ensure their role in collectively finding the solutions. 

Principles

The Community Pulse:

  • Is an evolving, ongoing project, endorsed by the council for an initial period of 10 years, with its true value being evident in the longer term
  • Draws on, and is underpinned by, community values and aspirations
  • Uses indicators to raise awareness and as inspiration for action
  • Uses measures which relate to people's everyday experiences, rather than being solely based on technical validity
  • Aims to maximise community input by creating a vehicle for this valuable insight and local knowledge

Evaluation

 2011 marks the conclusion of Council's initial ten year commitment period. An evaluation of the Community Pulse project is currently underway. The assesment will consider whether the Community Pulse project has fulfilled its purpose and whether the project has delivered its intended value and benefit to the community and Council. The project evaluation and recommendations will be available on the Community Pulse webpages in early 2012.

More Information

For more information on The Community Pulse, use eServices to ask us a question, request information or give us feedback online. If you prefer call ASSIST on (03) 9209 6777 or TTy (03) 9209 6713 and ask for The Community Pulse project officer.