SCOPE Community Report Card

First Built Indicator Relased

2007-12-20T16:03:00.000-05:00

SCOPE has released "Hurricane Preparedness," the first built environment indicator! Click here to read the indicator. Don't forget to check out our website (www.scopexcel.org) for some extra (and local) information on hurricane preparedness.

3rd Indicator Released - Connectivity

2007-11-15T16:26:00.000-05:00

We have released our third indicator! Click here to read "Connectivity of Local Protected Lands." If you read the indicator and still want to learn more, be sure to check out our website (http://www.scopexcel.org/) for some extra material on Protected Lands.

Indicator #2 Released - Water Quality

2007-10-19T09:47:00.000-05:00

We have released our second indicator!

Click here to read "Water Quality of Local Bays." If you read the indicator and still want to learn more, be sure to check out our website (http://www.scopexcel.org/) for some extra material on water quality.

Our Regional Economic Scorecard

2007-10-08T11:14:00.000-05:00

Since SCOPE is always interested in other data collecting projects happening in our area, we want to show you the 2007 Regional Economic Scorecard, released by the Tampa Bay Partnership.

The Tampa Bay Partnership is a regional organization encompasing Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota counties. They work with partners to "market the region nationally and internationally, to conduct regional research and to coordinate efforts to influence business and government issues that impact economic growth and development". They have been publishing the Regional Economic Scorecard for the last four years.

In this edition of the scorecard, they bring attention to the four key findings of the most recent report:

• Job creation has slowed by more than half;
• While wages still lag behind the competition, the rate of growth leads all regions and continues
to close the gap;
• Personal income and economic output both grew at a healthy rate; and
• The impact of the housing slowdown has become even more pronounced across all regions
but is most evident in Tampa Bay.

For in-depth discussion of these findings and more, click here to read the Scorecard

First Community Report Card Indicator Released!

2007-09-20T13:24:00.000-05:00

We have released the first Community Report Card Indicator, titled "Accessibility to Parks and Natural Areas." Be sure to check out our website, http://www.scopexcel.org/, for more information on supplementary materials and events related to accessibility.

Check out the first indicator by clicking here!

If you have questions, or reactions, please leave a comment on this blog. We'd love to hear from you.

SCOPE has released the introduction to our 2007 - 2008 Community Report Card!

2007-08-20T12:45:00.000-05:00

The introduction lays out the new format of the Community Report Card (CRC) and explores the concept of sustainability, which is the theme of the report. You can find it online here. (PDF)

When we were planning the CRC, we tried to build on the tradition of other community indicator reports. The report attempts to become a tool that can explore how to measure all aspects of our community. Community indicator reports understand and highlight that even though some things (like happiness and civic engagement) are not traditionally measured, they still impact our quality of life. Community indicators reports in general, and the CRC specifically, recognize that there is much interconectedness among different spheres of life.

For some examples of other indicator reports and an idea about what is to come in the CRC, see the links below.

Jacksonville Community Council, Inc.
Sustainable Seattle
Orlando Legacy Report

If you like what you've seen and would like to sign up to recieve the introduction and upcoming indicators in your inbox, please email kirwin@scopexcel.org.

We should all "Explore Sarasota County"

2007-05-09T10:50:00.000-05:00

A couple of days ago SCOPE held a data class at the Community Foundation of Sarasota County's Nonprofit Resource Center. As part of the class, we held a panel discussion with some of the organizations that produce and use local data. Scott Moore from the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County was part of that discussion, and he showed us a great new data tool that Sarasota County Government has just finished developing.

It's called Explore Sarasota County, and you can find it here.

The program allows you to input your (or someone else's) address and find out demographic and business information about the surrounding area. It includes 2005 population data as well as projections for 2010. It also maps out the locations of businesses in your area.

It is really interesting to be able to get data on such a small level and be able to compare your observations and assumptions about your own neighborhood to 'the numbers.'

Since it is a new tool, I've included a tutorial on how to use it below.

I hope that you enjoy it!

Tutorial:

1. Go to www.exploresarasotacounty.com
2. On the right side of the screen there is a "search by address" box
3. Type in an address. If the address is in a city, be sure to choose it from the drop down menu. 4. Click the "Search by address" button. (A map of your area should appear after you do this)
5. Click on the orange tab marked "demographics"
6. Choose a radius and click "calculate." (it's set to 5 miles, but you can change that)
7. You should then see (on the right side) a detailed demographics report.

If you would like information on the businesses in the area:
follow steps 1 - 4. Then, in step 5, click on the orange "businesses" tab and follow steps 6 and 7. You'll be able to see the businesses in the area by type and location. You can also click on a type of business to get a listing of individual businesses within that category.

Video on Healthcare in Sarasota County

2007-04-20T09:14:00.000-05:00

I came across this video about health care in Sarasota County. It tells the story of the uninsured in Sarasota County, including some surprising statistics. The statistic that makes the most impact on me is the following: uninsured Americans have a mortality rate that is 25% higher than insured Americans. The whole film is filled with information like that! It's only six minutes long, and definitely worth a watch.

If the video inspires you to get involved, you can take part in CSI:Health, a non-profit group of volunteers who imagine and enact local solutions to get Sarasota insured.

Watch the video

The video was produced as a collaboration between Kari Ellingstad of the Community Health Improvement Partnership (CHIP) and Brad Bryan, a local filmmaker.

A Fun & Informative Data Video

2007-04-12T09:06:00.000-05:00

This week my interesting data link isn't specific to Sarasota County - it examines data on a worldwide scale.

We at SCOPE first discovered the below video through TED, a yearly conference in Monterey, California, that "brings together 1,000 thought-leaders, movers and shakers" for "four days of learning, laughter, and inspiration." When the TED conference is over, they release many of the lectures (called TEDTalks) on the internet.

One of these lectures was given by Hans Rosling, a cofounder of the Gapminder foundation. The foundation exists to distribute global data. While the data exist, there is no method to share it with decision makers and the general public. The Gapminder Foundation develops ways to supply data - "the idea is that all people, independently of their political agenda, should get free access to already exisiting statistics about global development to easily improve their understanding about the complex society."

The TED lecture given by Dr. Rosling is compelling, informative, and fun to watch. I hope you enjoy it!

Click Here to watch the video!

Websites of Note

2007-03-28T14:12:00.000-05:00

Even though SCOPE has postponed the release of the CRC, we want to use the 'extra' months before the release to highlight some interesting websites related to data and Sarasota County. The first site we have to share is the 2006 Sarasota County Citizens Opinion Survey, which can be found here. (click on the green 'download the entire report' button)

The survey has been conducted each year since 1992, and Sarasota County government uses the results to measure progress, plan future steps, and make key decisions.

It is far from being a document of interest only to government employees, though! It gives us insight into residents' perceptions on a variety of issues - from quality of life to fiscal choices.

One of the most interesting questions is "In your opinion, what is the most important issue facing Sarasota County today?" Is it Water, Taxes, Population Growth/New Development, Affordable Housing, or Traffic/Transportation? Chances are, you know which issue is most important to you. With this survey, you can find out what is most important to your neighbors as well.

News- CRC Release Postponed

2007-03-28T13:56:00.000-05:00

SCOPE has postponed the release of the 2007 - 2008 Community Report Card until August. This means that the corresponding quarterly forum on the Natural Environment will be held at the end of October 2007.

We made the decision to postpone the release to make the forums more powerful events. We can imagine that these quarterly conversations could include multiple sessions and maybe even be more than one day. They could include related events and organizations partnering with SCOPE with the goal of engaging a really diverse number of community members.

As always, SCOPE appreciates your thoughts and ideas about how to make the forums more engaging and interactive. We are also still signing people up to receive the Community Report Card. Feel free to comment on this blog or to email kirwin [at] scopexcel [dot] org.

Discussion and information coming soon...

2007-03-01T12:03:00.000-05:00

In the meantime, see www.scopexcel.org