Community data has the potential to contextualise the needs of a place, identify how service provision differs, and shine a light on community views. It can substantially enhance planning and decision-making, ensuring infrastructure better meets community needs at all stages, from planning and design to delivery and operation.
" Detailed community data must become as much of an input into early project design as technical studies and feasibility considerations. "
To develop targeted, place-focused infrastructure projects, planners need access to longitudinal data about a community's needs, preferences and aspirations for their local areas.115 Detailed community data must become as much of an input into early project design as technical studies and feasibility considerations.
By drawing on data that identifies needs, proponents will be able to articulate the benefits of their projects during community engagement processes, including why one option has been chosen over another. Ultimately, communities will become more trusting of the proponents, the engagement process and the outcomes, which will be tailored to a place's needs.116
The 2020 Victorian Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey, provides a vital interface between councils, decision-makers and communities.117 The survey offers a glimpse of the potential for data to contextualise a place's needs. This data assists decision-makers to build a compelling case for change by aligning investment and services to community preferences.
Community data is currently collected by a range of agencies across different levels of government. State and territory government departments engage periodically with communities when creating strategic plans and projects. Local governments undertake community engagement every five years to develop strategic plans.118 Governments conduct studies every year to understand the cross-agency implications of infrastructure decisions for places and cascading impacts on other sectors. Each study establishes a baseline for community demographics, preferences and infrastructure needs, and often sentiment too.
While some of these government and academic studies are publicly released, not all government research is accessible. Releasing the information would contribute towards building trust with local communities.