In this short video I talk about the benefits of working with other researchers on a fantastic project which helps communities compare a variety of potential futures. The project is currently being funded by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation and we are working with Scottsdale in northeastern Tasmania.

Our approach integrates demographics, social capital, wellbeing, economics and community decision research to develop a unique ‘decision support tool’ (different for each community) that allows them to explore the impacts on their society and economy of different future scenarios that they have before them. I’ve included a link to the Factsheet below.

We are taking a cross-disiplinary approach to explore the complexity of life and economics in smaller communities. These complex questions really benefit from a team with a wide range of capabilities and experiences. And by working together we can integrate our findings into a cohesive tool that makes intuitive sense to communities. Working in this way, the expert thrashing out is done behind the scenes, bringing a sensible and practical outcome to the community – so they don’t have to wade through a ‘battle of the consultants’ with each expert off on their own tangent!
Sustainable communities factsheet