Sitka Community Indicators

Indicators of a sustainable community are ways to measure how well a community is meeting the needs and expectations of its present and future members. An indicator is something that helps you understand where you are, which way you are going and how far you are from where you want to be. A good indicator alerts you to a problem before it gets too bad and helps you recognize what needs to be done to fix the problem. Indicators of a sustainable community point to areas where the links between the economy, environment and society are weak. They allow you to see where the problem areas are and help show the way to fix those problems.

The Community Indicators Handbook describes indicators as “instrument panels that provide citizens with clear and honest information about past trends and current realities, and assist them in steering their communities on their desired course. They help civic leaders clarify key issues and challenges, or prioritize spending when budgets are tight. Indicators can point a community toward specific initiatives or policy changes that will have a real effect on quality of life. Community indicators don’t just monitor progress - they help make it happen.”

Small communities and large cities across the country and around the world are engaged in ongoing efforts to collect and analyze their community indicators. Over 100 examples can be explored at http://www.communityindicators.net/indicatorefforts.html.

Indicators are a necessary ingredient for sustainable change. And the process of selecting community indicators -- who chooses, how they choose, what they choose -- is as important as the data you select. Having broad community involvement throughout the process of choosing the indicators and interpreting the data is critical in developing a report that is widely-accepted and utilized.

Community planning and decision-making should be based on knowing where you are, where you want to be, and whether your efforts are making a difference. Community indicators are data that help economic, social, and political leaders understand where the community is at present, which way you are headed and how far you are from where you want to be.

Sitka Community Indicators

In 1999 and again in 2002, reports on Sitka’s Community Indicators were published through a partnership between the Island Institute and Turning Point Toward Health. The first report offered a broad profile and assessment of the well-being of Sitka, including information on population characteristics, the economy, social and health concerns, environmental issues, schools, and crime—all things that affect the quality of life in Sitka.

The second report was more refined, carrying forward most of the information from the previous report, as well as providing data more specific to the major concerns of the time.

Now, in late 2008, funds have been set aside to provide another update on these indicators. Kayla Boettcher and Matthew Turner have been hired to lead this process, which will include a public process to determine additional indicators to reflect current planning efforts. The continuation of this project will rest firmly on the foundation built by past efforts, and take the process and product in new and exciting directions.
2009 Indicator Categories

Scope of this project

Approach

• Explore interest in this project with the Assembly and Long-Range Planning Commission. There are possibilities to align this work with city board and commission work.
• Correlate categories and data with Comprehensive Plan to the extent feasible.
  Move forward in data collection where there is a clear trend through last two reports (rather than go through a meeting process to identify indicators).
• Go where the energy is.
• Begin by looking for where current boards, commissions, and community action groups are currently meeting on issues within identified categories.
• Take related data from 1999 and 2002 to these groups, and ask them to help assemble a larger, diverse group in order to identify desired indicators.
• Rank these desired indicators into three categories: Easily Obtained; Obtainable; Requires Dedicated Research.
• Full public process to identify 2009 indicators.
• Seek larger public meeting/initiative to review indicators identified, and seek input on others. Process will winnow indicators into a manageable (and comprehensible) list of indicators.
• Collect data
• All “Easily Obtained” data.
• Based on funding availability, also “Obtainable” data.
• Publish “Requires Dedicated Research” indicators on web site for the possibility that a group may find funding to collect this data as well.
• Full public process to analyze data.
• Consensus reached for interpretation that is presented with raw data.

Initial Process

• Identify stakeholders in one indicator category that already have regular meetings on related topics.
• Work with these groups to host an Indicator Event.
• Encourage broad participation from diverse stakeholders at the event.
• At event, provide participants with folder of past indicators, alignment with Sitka Comprehensive Plan, and examples of other community indicators.
• Brainstorm what indicators the group thinks would be most useful.
• Be sure that brainstormed list meets these criteria: Relevant, Understandable, Reliable, Accessible, Lasting
• Rank indicators according to two primary factors: Relevance to the whole community, and accessibility.
• Those data with high relevance and easy access will be pursued for the first round of this indicator project.
• All identified indicators will be posted on a web site for future reference and subsequent data gathering efforts.