Regional collaborations within the .id community

.id’s community profiling tools are designed to break Local Government Areas down by suburb/town and tell the story of each place, the role it plays in the area, and how it is changing over time. But did you know there are also a number of demographic and economic profiles for regions as well?

These regions are often collaborations of multiple Local Government areas working towards a common goal, which may be sharing services, promoting the region as a whole, or advocating on behalf of an area with a greater critical mass of population. As with all the other local government areas in the .id community, these regions are publically available for everyone to use.

Regional information

Our latest addition to these regional profiles is the Canberra Region Joint Organisation (CBRJO). Consisting of the Australian Capital Territory and 8 LGAs in NSW surrounding Canberra, the CBRJO was formed in 2014 for councils to work together, advocate for the region as a whole, and identify shared priorities.

The member councils are:

• Bega Valley Shire Council
• Eurobodalla Shire Council
• Goulburn Mulwaree Council
• Hilltops Council
• Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council
• Snowy Monaro Shire Council
• Upper Lachlan Shire Council
• Yass Valley Council

Many of the individual LGAs were already part of the .id community, using a mix of our 4 main information tools, profile.id, economy.id, atlas.id and forecast.id. With CBRJO, .id became the standardised demographic and economic data partner for the region, providing all councils with access to the information.

You can access the Canberra Region community profile and economic profiles which are now online.

Please note that at this point, 8 councils in NSW have subscribed to be part of this regional toolkit for the Canberra Region. At present, the ACT Government is excluded from the regional information as they are currently not part of the arrangement.

Regional collaboration

Combining regional area information provides a number of advantages, including:

• The creation of an online tool where demographic characteristics in the region can be analysed and compared to benchmark areas and over time, as well as for the region as a whole.
• Standardised datasets for all participating council areas.
• The ability to compare between the different LGAs. For instance, in the Canberra Region, Hilltops Council can now directly compare characteristics to Yass Valley council, as well as to the whole region.
• The identification of trends for the broader area, with the ability to see how these trends affect each LGA.
• Participating councils usually have their own individual sites as well, which are further broken down by districts.
• Following the 2016 Census data release next year, data will be updated for the region and individual council sites, providing the most up-to-date view of the regional and its areas.
• Information can be used in joint advocacy efforts for the region.
• Population forecasts for the whole region can take account of broader trends and development sites across the region, not just locally.

Collaborating to form a regional arrangement is particularly beneficial for smaller rural councils, who can gain access to the full range of Census data and comparison tools at a more economical rate than if they were to go it alone.

If you would like more information on how an .id regional site could benefit your area, contact us for more information.