HOW DO WE MEASURE COMMUNITY STRENGTH

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• HOW DO WE MEASURE COMMUNITY STRENGTH?
• Dennis Trewin
• Australian Bureau of
  Statistics

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• 2. OUTLINE
• Describe some non-ABS, non-Victorian work
• on social capital
• Describe some international work
• Focus on ABS work on social capital

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• 3. NON-ABS, NON-VICTORIAN SOCIAL CAPITAL WORK
• Social capital enquiries associated with State
• based Health Surveys
• Tasmania Together
• Some community based surveys
• Some social participation surveys

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• INTERNATIONAL WORK ON SOCIAL
• CAPITAL
• OECD Preliminary work has been suspended
• World Values Survey (includes some questions
• related to social capital)
• Consortium of Universities in Europe annual
• survey on social cohesion and values
• Canada Community Engagement Survey
• UK Neighbourhood Perceptions as part of
• General Household Survey

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• DATA FROM CANADA
• Chart 10. How Canadians describe their sense of
  belonging to their local community,
• by urban size, 2003 (Resided in their area for 5
  years or more)

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• DATA FROM UK
• Well informed about local affairs 59
• Communities could influence decisions 56
• Personally could influence decisions 26
• Felt civically engaged - 18
• Yes to above three questions

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• ABS WORK ON SOCIAL CAPITAL
• Social Capital and Social Well-being (Discussion
  Paper)
• Framework and Indicators (Information Paper)
• General Social Survey 2002
• General Social Survey 2005-06
• Information Development Plan (including source
  data)
• Surveys of voluntary work and participation
  (various)
• 2006 Population Census (Caring and Volunteering)?

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• 8. ABS SOCIAL CAPITAL FRAMEWORK
• Development of ABS Social Capital Framework
• has been in wide consultation with policy
  makers, researchers, and community service
  practitioners.
• The framework is based on presenting the concept
• of social capital as attributes of networks.
• Framework and possible indicators presented in
• the Information Paper Measuring Social Capital
  An Australian Framework and Indicators (cat. no
  1378.0).

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• 9. RESOURCES AND OUTCOMES

Natural Capital
Produced Economic Capital
Human Capital
Social Capital
Culture, and political, legal and institutional
context
Positive and/or
negative effects on
Areas of individual and community wellbeing
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• SOCIAL CAPITAL, in the context ofCULTURE AND
  POLITICAL, LEGAL ANDINSTITUTIONAL CONDITIONS

Political conditions
Culture
Networks
Network type
Actors, Relating Units
Network transactions
Network qualities
Network structure
Institutional conditions
Legal conditions
Negative effects
Positive effects
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• 11. NETWORK QUALITIES

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• 12. TYPES OF DATA THAT MIGHT BE COLLECTED
• Trust generalised in family, friends,
• neighbours in institutions
• Sense of efficacy
• Involvement in organisations
• Group diversity
• Individual or collective civic activities
• Contact with family, friends
• Access/use of community services facilities
• Sources of information to make life decisions
• Support for community events
• Voluntary work and informal assistance/care

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• 13. GSS 2002 DATA ITEMS RELATED TO SOCIAL CAPITAL

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• GSS 2002 DATA ITEMS RELATED TO SOCIAL CAPITAL
  CONTD

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• 14. SOME OF THE MORE INTERESTING RESULTS
• FROM THE 2002 GSS

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15. FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT

• Notes
• Older people rely relatively more on family and
  neighbours whereas younger people
• rely on family and friends
• No strong correlation with age
• Stronger source outside major cities particularly
  for females
• Lowest income quintile much less reliant on
  friends and work colleagues

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16. VOLUNTARY WORK

• Notes
• Stronger outside capital cities some correlation
  with income.
• Sport and recreation voluntary work is highest
  for these age classes.

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• 17. HOW CAN ABS HELP MEASURE COMMUNITY STRENGTH?
• Provide benchmark data
• Provide survey models that can be used by
  communities
• Provide data to analyse the link between the
  strength communities and economic/social/environme
  ntal outcomes (which data?)