Social Prosperity Wood Buffalo partnered with the Oil Sands Community Alliance, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, the United Way of Fort McMurray, Keyano College, FuseSocial, the Arts Council of Wood Buffalo, Arts Council Wood Buffalo, ONE Regional Recreational Association of Wood Buffalo and Fort McMurray Realtors conducted a community wellbeing survey May 3 – June 20, 2014. The purpose of this survey was to gather information on wellbeing to help us understand issues as well as areas that are contributing to wellbeing outcomes in Wood Buffalo. The information will help us develop better strategies to improve quality of life for all residents, now and in the future.
The results from this survey can be used by many different organizations for a variety of purposes including evidence-based planning and strategy prioritizing. As per the vision for the Strategy Roadmap, we want Wood Buffalo to offer the highest possible quality of life for its people now and in the future. By checking in with residents about their quality of life at this point in time, we will be able to track our progress towards this aspirational goal.
The award-winning Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) is a made-in-Canada success story. It measures our quality of life by assessing those things that matter to us beyond the economy. It draws on a deep well of data, primarily from Statistics Canada, and tracks 64 indicators within eight interconnected domains: Community Vitality, Democratic Engagement, Education, Environment, Healthy Populations, Leisure and Culture, Living Standards, Time Use.
The CIW has developed a subjective wellbeing survey that measures wellbeing at the community level. This tool will help us better understand key trends affecting our community and the many different factors that contribute to wellbeing.
The survey took place from May 3 – June 20th, 2014. Approximately 7,000 households were invited to participate. Approximately 550 people responded or 8%.
About 140 people attended the “Look into Wood Buffalo” Community Wellbeing Survey Report-Back Presentation which took place on October 1st. Professor Bryan Smale, Director of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing, presented the results and a panel of local experts analyzed the results and also spoke about what’s being done now to address issues around child care, accessibility of health care, work/life balance, etc. Two reports were released:
Social Prosperity Wood Buffalo produced a final report which includes the process, budget, promotional materials, analysis and results: Community Wellbeing Survey Process Report
The “Resilient Communities: A Guide to Understanding Wellbeing in Wood Buffalo” report will be released at ConvergenceYMM. On February 11th, Nancy Mattes, Director of Social Prosperity Wood Buffalo, will be facilitating a workshop to explore the fascinating results. Participants will receive a copy of the report which explores wellbeing in Wood Buffalo and offers new insights about residents with below average wellbeing.
Power Point presentation: Community Wellbeing PowerPoint
Press Releases:
Community members, leaders, stakeholders and special guests will be invited to attend a report-back presentation where members of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing will present the results from the survey. The report-back event is on Wednesday, October 1, 2014 at the Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre. Please join us for this important discussion.
(Event Registration Closed)
Social Prosperity Wood Buffalo thanks the Suncor Energy Foundation for its generous support of this project. We would like to thank the following organizations for sponsoring this important initiative:
Community Wellbeing Gold Sponsors:
Partners:
and Fort McMurray Realtors
Print the poster and post it on your bulletin board and/or fridge at home! Click Here to Download
