What are community indicators and what are their purposes?
Community indicators are bits of information, collected annually, that tell stories about the place in which we live. The indicators show us where we stand today, and also where we’ve been. Like the gas gauge in your car, community indicators provide us information about something that is important to us, but that we can’t see directly. They don’t provide a comprehensive illustration of an issue, but rather, tell one important part of the story. Community indicators can:
Help policy makers make informed decisions
Initiate and inform dialogue about the community
Highlight positive trends so that they may be maintained
Detect negative trends early so that they may be addressed
What is SCOPE and why do we publish the Community Report Card?
SCOPE (Sarasota County Openly Plans for Excellence) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life in Sarasota County through processes that engage residents. The Community Report Card is a tool that people in our community can use to better understand Sarasota County. The report is filled with indicators that reflect trends across many facets of community life.
For the past 5 years, I've been really pleased with the SCOPE Community Report Card. The information is always well researched and very valuable I believe not only to me, but to my audience. - Ryan Rafferdy, Asst. Program Director forClearChannel Radio News Sarasota-Bradenton
I also incorporate these same statistics in my presentations to community groups and at fundraisers to really hit home the need for youth development services in our community. While some of my audience members need to hear the story, many want and need to hear the numbers. SCOPE has made it much easier for me to access those numbers.
- Stephania Feltz, Executive Director of Girls Inc.
SCOPE ~
1226 North Tamiami Trail, Suite 202 ~
Sarasota, FL 34236 ~
(941) 365-8751~ Fax: (941) 365-8592
Photos courtesy of Kazuaki Nagata & PolaBran Summers
