Monday, November 16, 2015
United Way Perth-Huron
Cutting edge technology innovation is helping to create a better community
There is an increasing need within our community for tangible evidence of resident and economic well-being, understanding of the current quality of life we enjoy, and the emerging needs and gaps in local community services and the general wellbeing of individuals and society, in terms of health and happiness, rather than just wealth.
Local organizations are embracing the value of statistical analysis and are looking for ways of harnessing their information and developing more effective and beneficial ways of collecting useful data.
The Social Research & Planning Council and the University of Waterloo’s Computer Systems Group have partnered to create an online community trends indicator system to help track our local community wellbeing and vitality. It will be based on the Canadian Index of Well-being’s domains of Education, Democratic Engagement, Leisure & Culture, Environment, Healthy Populations, Time Use, Community Vitality and Living Standards.
“The potential this platform has to highlight priority needs right here within our local community as they are emerging is something we have not been capable of doing before” says Tracy Birtch, Director of Social Research and Planning Council.
An online indicator system will have the capacity to identify and track relevant data that speaks to a community's well-being and will be available to all members of the community. With this information our community will have a greater sense of its overall wellbeing by knowing where it is improving, declining, and/ or staying the same.
“Understanding a problem is the most important part of solving it. Having local dynamic data can significantly improve our ability to deal with complex social issues such as homelessness” stated Ryan Erb, Executive Director United Way Perth-Huron.
Currently in its development phase, the University of Waterloo and Social Research and Planning Council are asking for the communities input to help them determine what community information would be most beneficial to include.
"The community trends platform is another great example of how the community is gaining access to cutting edge technology and expertise to address issues around community well-being with the University of Waterloo now having a campus in Stratford" says Don Cowan, Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Director of the Computer Systems Group, University of Waterloo.
There will be a public event on Thursday, November 19th from 2-4:30pm at the University of Waterloo in Stratford and Monday, November 23rd from 2-4:30 at the Huron County Health Unit. All are welcome. Click here for more information. To register for the event, contact info@pf-solutions.ca.
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For more information on the Social Research and Planning Council, or to view a copy of the report online, please visit www.socialresearchandplanning.ca or call 519 271-7730 or 1-877-818-8867.
Media Contact:
Ryan Erb
Executive Director
519-271-7730
rerb@perthhuron.unitedway.ca
Don Cowan
United Way University of Waterloo Computer Systems Group
dcowan@uwaterloo.ca
Tracy Birtch
Director Social Research and Planning Council
519-271-7730 ext 228
tbirtch@socialresearchandplanning.ca
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