Measuring Social Capital The experience of the Australian Bureau of Statistics

2. Measuring Social Capital The experience of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Jon Hall Project leader Measuring Australia’s Progress

3. Measuring Social Capital: Overview • Why ABS became involved • The Australian scene • Work to date • Moves to consistency • National • International • Value of international co-operation?

4. Why ABS became involved • Australian Statistics Advisory Council (ASAC) • Advised ABS to become involved with social capital data • Highlighted recommendation in Annual Reports to Parliament • High level of interest in response to consultations • among researchers, community workers and organisations • in Commonwealth and State government departments; • Seen as important, but lacking, part of social indicators of wellbeing - relevant to: • Strength and sustainability of regional communities; • Cross-cutting approaches to areas of concentrated disadvantage; • Health, education, employment, family functioning, sport and recreation, arts and culture, housing, crime and justice;

5. The Australian scene - 1 • National level • Stronger Families and Communities Strategy • Community Strengthening projects • Parenting and relationship skills • Mentoring and leadership projects • Research - strength of communities, family functioning, • Longitudinal Survey of Australia's Children • National Agenda for Early Childhood • Supportive communities for children and child-raising one of its three dimensions • Seven Supportive Community pilot programs managed by community organisations • Sustainability of regional communities • Evaluation of government policies/programs: satisfaction with • Quality of services, • Relationship with government: communication and access

6. The Australian scene - 2 • State level • Development of government/community relationships • Involving communities in governance • Tasmania Together, • Growing Victoria Together • Local community projects: • learning communities; • schools as community centres; • tenants’ management groups in public housing; • local community strengthening projects, building trust and capacity; • Bringing resources together, e.g. • university technical and analytic support for communities • business/community partnerships • Developing policies/applications building on networks and sense of efficacy • public health and mental health, • family functioning, • cross-cutting approaches to local areas with multiple disadvantages.

7. Work to date 1 • Workgroup established July 2001, with objectives to: • Describe social capital, relation to well-being, policy applications • Develop statistical framework • Propose set of indicators • Relate social capital to other concepts • e.g. social exclusion, social cohesion • Describe and analyse data relevant to social capital • In existing ABS surveys • In other agencies’ collections: incl. administrative records) • Produce information plan • Develop implementation strategy

8. Work to date 2 • Development process • 1. Initial consultations • 2. Establishing need and purpose • 3. Framework development • 4. Choice of definition and reasons • 5. Indicator development and consultation • 6. Survey development and consultation

9. Survey development • Social capital will be collected as a supplementary topic on the General Social Survey (GSS), along with a repeat of the Voluntary Work Survey. • The GSS is a multi-topic survey, to provide a wide range of variables for cross analysis, from many dimensions of wellbeing • Design and cognitive testing of social capital questions in November/December 2004, field tests June and December 2005, final enumeration April-June 2006.

10. Data that might be collected in the 2006 GSS • Trust - generalised; in institutions • Sense of efficacy • Reciprocity • Active involvement in organisations by type • Group diversity • Individual or collective civic activities • Contact with family, friends • Ability to connect with government agencies • Support for community events • Voluntary work and informal assistance/care

11. GSS 2002 Data items related to Social Capital Data items Framework element Feelings of safety alone at home during the day; after dark; Trust Ability to ask for small favours Reciprocity Type of social activity in last three months Social participation Perceived level of difficulty with transport Social participation Type of unpaid voluntary work in last 12 months Community support Labour force participation rate Economic participation Frequency of face to face contact with family/friends Frequency, mode of contact Frequency of telephone, email and mail contact with family and friends Frequency, mode of contact Frequency and purpose of internet use at home Frequency, mode of contact Whether support in time of crisis, and source of support Sharing support Support for own or partner's children in another household Sharing support Support for other relatives in another household Sharing support Ability to raise $2,000 within a week Sharing support

12. Moves to consistency – National • State government surveys with social capital module • Strong national data groups in some fields • ABS connections with collecting agencies, data groups. • Many agencies look to ABS work as a base for a common approach. • The ABS Framework and Indicators publication has been widely used. • Development of the GSS social capital module will provide a model • Victorian state whole of government approach - 11 key indicators • ABS already plans to use most of these 11 indicators • Problem for ABS that demand for co-ordination has raced ahead of our development: • question design and testing for GSS will clarify our contribution • Testingby other agencies will also assist

13. Moves to consistency – International • Major international initiatives on social capital measurement for policy application by World Bank, OECD, UK Office of National Statistics, Statistics Canada and other participating countries • The Siena Group has provided one forum for this work, but will no longer be available • UN conference on social capital in Australia next year, 2005 • ABS has participated in international discussions – may now be in better position to do so, because intra-national direction clearer

14. Value of international co-operation? • Relationships, values, and participation are common to human experience • Each nation will have its own particular purposes and emphases • Likely overlap in information collected – small common set possible • In harmonisation process, differences of value - key to understanding how issues differ in different countries • Deeper understanding of diverse patterns may indicate best ways to achieve desired change • Networks vectors for both problems and solutions • Comparative data may suggest how far social capital is a key to social and community wellbeing, either alone or in conjunction with other resources