Have you ever wondered what the average income level is in your community? Are you curious about how it compares with neighbouring communities, or with other rural areas in BC? Are you eager to know how environmental conditions are changing in the region?
Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) is responding to the demand for this type of information. The State of the Basin initiative is testing a model for monitoring and reporting on social, environmental, economic, and cultural indicators and trends in the Columbia Basin Trust area.
By providing a sample of credible, locally-relevant information, Basin residents, communities, and organizations can learn more about the area and have access to up-to-date local information for use in planning and decision-making.
CBT invites you to explore this model of indicator reporting in the Basin by viewing the 2008 State of the Basin Report and exploring the other resources available on this website. Various support contacts are available for questions and assistance.
Provide your feedback to help shape the future of this Initiative - send us your inquiries, let us know what you think of the current model or tell us about other information which is available or being collected.
WHAT IS INDICATOR REPORTING?
Indicators are factors that can be measured to provide
information and clues about conditions in complex systems.
We already use indicators every day. For example,
most people are familiar with indicators such
as stock market indexes, unemployment rates,
and water quality coliform counts.
These examples illustrate how indicators inform us
about current conditions, but not about why any
changes have happened. They prompt us to ask
questions and learn more in order to fully understand
what is happening and what the implications might be
for ourselves, our families, and our communities.
An indicator report compiles information for a
number of selected indicators and often assesses
the trends over time to signal positive or negative
changes compared to a set of desired conditions.
Most large urban cities and government agencies in Canada
prepare indicator reports. Both the Islands Trust in the Gulf
Island area and the Fraser Basin Council, somewhat similar
organizations to CBT, have indicator reporting processes.
Within the Basin, indicator reporting is being used in
Golden, Revelstoke, and Castlegar and other communities
are considering this approach to tracking community trends.
ABOUT THE STATE OF THE BASIN MODEL
Basin communities, organizations, and residents have
requested a number of alternative ways to swiftly access
up-to-date information and use this information in
planning and decision-making. The State of the Basin
initiative consists of three components. Further details for
each of these components are in the pages that follow.
| BASIN-WIDE INDICATOR REPORT |
Print and web-based indicator report, monitoring
conditions in the Basin and in local areas. |
| WEB-BASED LINKS |
On-line links to information about the Basin that are
available from existing sources such as BC Stats,
Stats Canada, local governments, community
organizations, etc.
On-line access to raw data and analysis completed for
the indicators in the Basinwide report, at the smallest
geographic scale available to support further analysis and
reporting for smaller areas. |
| SUPPORT |
Contacts and specialists to provide advice and
assistance with accessing, interpreting and using data.
Providing support to planning efforts in the
Basin that incorporate the use of information. |
Learn more about the Model
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