Measuring Community Wellbeing: A Central Queensland Case Study

Abstract

It has been acknowledged by both Australian governments and regional development organisations that there is a need and global trend to develop, measure, analyse, and disseminate evidence regarding community and regional wellbeing. Evidence based information regarding community and regional wellbeing can act as a sophisticated mechanism to inform and benefit both decision makers and communities. In the present study, a model to measure community wellbeing was developed following (a) an assessment of local government needs specific to Queensland (Australia) and (b) a global literature review. This paper presents the results of this work, including the research and analyses used to define the model and preliminary results from a pilot-scale case study. The resulting "Six-by-Six" community wellbeing model features 36 indicator headings organised into six domains (or dimensions) of wellbeing, with each domain comprised of six indicators. The model's six domains are constructed to cover economic, environmental, and social wellbeing sections in a balanced manner. The key findings from the model's application to the case study are presented, along with an evaluation of the constraints and implication for a time series application. Finally, the future development of the model and its potential for wider applications are also discussed.