Let’s take our District’s ‘Vital Signs’
Vital Signs is a framework developed by the Community Foundations of Canada and used world-wide to take the ‘pulse’ of communities and measure their vitality in key quality of life areas. Vital Signs uses credible data, local knowledge and expertise to gain knowledge of what is happening in the community, and to better understand why it is happening.
The Mirboo North & District Community Bank® and the Mirboo North & District Community Foundation strongly support the development of this community knowledge and are very pleased to announce their partnership in supporting a Mirboo North & District’s Vital Signs.
Mirboo North & District’s Vital Signs will tell the story of how the communities in our district are faring, explore local issues and identify local opportunities.
“Mirboo North & District’s Vital Signs will help the community connect the dots between existing data and locally meaningful issues such as education, health and environment. This gives us all a deeper understanding of key areas and the ongoing impact in our communities”, noted Marg Lynn, Chair, Mirboo North & District Community Bank®.
A key element of Mirboo North & District’s Vital Signs will be to engage the community in a conversation around the data gathered during the course of the project. The findings will be published in a reader-friendly Vital Signs Report which will identify significant social and economic trends and emerging issues, and which presents a picture of our communities.
Why is this knowledge about our district important? Can it enrich our lives and our vision of the future? We believe it can, by giving us all a stronger understanding of our community and the issues and opportunities facing it.
“Ultimately, Mirboo North & District’s Vital Signs will give our communities the evidence based research from which to determine our local priorities and opportunities for action”, said Paul Pratt, Chair of Mirboo North & District Community Foundation. “It will also ensure that the Community Foundation and the Community Bank can target resources towards these priorities, enabling a vibrant and resilient district.”
In the coming months the Mirboo North & District’s Vital Signs team will put out calls for input and involvement in gathering and discussing knowledge. In the meantime, if you are interested to find out more, we would love to hear from you at mirboonorthdistrict@vitalsignsaustralia.org.au.
