By Susanne Haydon and Jill Jordan

The project has delivered a methodology to better know our community in all its aspects: social, technological, economic, environmental, political and cultural. We have taken a snapshot of where we are now (community audit), where we want and need to be in the future (needs analysis, scenarios and strategic options) and what we, as a community, need to be robust and survive the future (sustainability profile). The benchmark is set, and we now have a range of performance indicators that we can use to assess change over the years ahead.

As social researchers, we have applied a variety of techniques to better understand the complex nature of our community. Through community group and household surveys, we have been able to develop quantitative projections. Using qualitative techniques such as focus groups, community workshops and scenarios, we have shared thoughts, ideas and our stories of the future. We have looked both in and outside of our community, searching for others around the world with similar experiences to our own.

As we complete this project and people ask us "what happens next?" …we tell them that it’s already happening. Whether it’s merely synchronicity or whether in identifying what needs to be done we have established an itinerary for our journey, we know that groups have already come together and actions are already underway. It is our intention to revisit the Maleny Working Together project in 5-10 years time, to see where this journey has taken us and hopefully it will be to an even better place than it is today. Wouldn’t that be grand!

For more information about the project contact: s_haydon@optusnet.com.au