How do you create social & economic profiles for a region?
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Social and economic profiles provide an insight into community values, priorities and trends. Regional NRM bodies are increasingly using these profiles to support their natural resource plans, investments, and strategies.
What is a social and economic profile?
A social and economic profile describes in detail the communities, economic drivers, primary and secondary industries, and resource use within a region. It tells a 'story' about the community and provides a snap-shot of a region and the sectors within it, such as employment, agriculture, industry and population structures.
A profile might also analyse significant social or cultural values in the region, describe the regional economy and potential links with NRM, document data sources and assumptions underlying their use, and discuss the reliability of the data used.
Why create a profile?
A social and economic profile is a useful tool for a regional NRM body—it provides insight into a region by examining its values, priorities and new directions.
Knowing your community can help you anticipate how people might react to change, such as a expanding a mine site, designating a national park or building a dam. It can help you understand the types of programs and incentives landholders might be receptive to, and how to match NRM actions with the goals and aspirations of the community.
Community knowledge also allows you to identify those sectors that might not have the capacity to engage in an important proposal or decision. A profile provides a baseline against which you can compare future information, such as a census data.
Over time, you can develop a social and economic profile to include as much information as resources permit—it can illustrate social and community networks, cultural diversity, social and economic infrastructure, political and institutional environments, and social fragmentation.
For example, by establishing trends in population and migration, and linking these with employment trends, you can gain an insight into a region’s future natural resource needs, such as residential land or water.
What data already exists?
While there are many sources of data, the challenge lies in matching available data to the regional NRM area. The best place to start is by accessing the Queensland Regional Bodies Information System (QRBIS), a regional database for NRM bodies, which matches data with regional NRM boundaries.
The information provided in QRBIS is based on the 1996 and 2001 Population and Housing Census, the 2000–01 Agricultural Survey, and the 2004 Australian Bureau of Statistics Population Survey. You can supplement this information with other sources, such as the 2005–06 Agricultural Census.
Each Queensland regional NRM body has a password to access QRBIS. If you have forgotten your password or would like more information on QRBIS, email the Community Partnerships' Social Economic team.
Regional agricultural profiles, compiled by regional bodies using data from QRBIS, are available for the following Queensland NRM regions:
- Burdekin Dry Tropics
- Burnett Mary
- Condamine Alliance
- Fitzroy Basin
- Queensland Murray-Darling
- South West.
What additional data might you need?
You can draw information from various levels of government, business and market reports; health and social reports; and community research studies. Many government agencies, such as Queensland's Office of Economic and Statistical Research, also provide useful information.
Social and economic impact assessments are another possible information source. They measure the positive and negative impacts of a proposal such as new legislation, infrastructure or industry development. Often, government departments and local council have copies of recent assessments, including public opinion surveys on major development issues in a region.
You can also conduct your own social and economic research. Many regional NRM bodies engage research and development providers (universities, CSIRO, cooperative research centres and other industrial organisations) to conduct studies, with the aim of increasing their knowledge about regional socio-economic issues and how these issues affect NRM decisions.
Keep in mind that there is no 'one size fits all' way to create a social and economic profile for a region. Most regional NRM bodies will have to conduct a range of social and economic research and develop a variety of profiles before developing their NRM plans.
Useful resources
Stanley, J, Clouston, B and Binney, J (2004), Compiling regional social and economic profiles: a practical guide for regional NRM bodies, Department of Natural Resources and Water.
Related topics
- Why consider social and economic aspects in natural resource planning?
- How do you integrate social and economic factors into NRM planning?
- How can you use social and economic factors in funding proposals?
- What are the policies supporting effective NRM planning?
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Last updated 05 January 2009