The Community Indicators Project, www.communityindicators.ca — powered by United Way Hastings & Prince Edward, aims to affect community problem-solving and decision making through the use of credible, independent, and timely data.
United Way Hastings & Prince Edward says that credible data creates an effective basis for all decision-making. It provides the necessary insight into specific topics to identify problematic areas that could use improvement and provides opportunities to celebrate successes.
“Whether we’re looking for information on income levels, education, or demographics it’s important that we access credible data that helps us understand the pressures and priorities for our community,” says Brandi Hodge, Executive Director United Way HPE. “The Community Indicators Project provides data that reflects our local community, and positions it against provincial comparators to show us the full data story.”
The Community Indicators Project program was developed following an extensive community engagement and professional research process. The process was originally overseen by a joint task force who researched other communities and vetted a wide range of alternatives before settling on the design of The Community Indicators Project. The dashboard not only provides the statistical information in an easy to understand format, it also tells us why the data is important and what it means for the community.
“In today’s data-driven world, a lack of timely access to relevant data can be a real challenge. The Community Indicators Project provides public access to data that describes our communities in a format that is easy to use and understand. In particular, I was inspired to contribute to the Community Indicators Project because it connects decision makers with the data they need to plan and implement programs that strengthen our communities,” says Yvonne DeWit, Epidemiologist/Consultant.
The purpose of the Community Indicators Project is to bring specific community challenges and needs to the forefront using reliable local data. Providing a provincial comparator creates a benchmark to measure the progression or recession of the community’s health over time. This, in turn, creates long-term trends which allow for the projection of future local outcomes. The prediction of poor future outcomes then stimulates local policy change and action. This improves the overall condition of the community.
For more information on how the project works, please visit About The Project | The Community Indicators Project
