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Client: Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

One of the major projects of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) is the ‘Building Futures program’ that is designed to provide the best educational facilities and resources to Victoria’s school kids. Key to implementing this program is determining where education facilities and resources will be most needed in the future.

To accurately determine where the department’s resources would be best spent, the DEECD engaged Spatial Vision to carry out an analysis project that would deliver forecasts of where education facilities and resources would be most required. The aim of the Regional Environmental Analysis project was to present both historical information and forecasts for socio‑economic and demographic trends that would support the investment planning stage of the ‘Building Futures program’.

Victoria is divided into nine DEECD administrative regions. Spatial Vision produced Regional Environmental Analysis reports for three of those regions:  Grampians, Hume and Loddon Mallee. These reports will be used to assist schools and regions in understanding the broader environment in which they operate; the characteristics of their local community and the changes that are expected to take place over the coming decades. 

The reports presented a range of demographic and socio-economic data drawn from the 1996, 2001 and 2006 ABS Census results. The reports also used and presented population projections based on the State Government forecasts contained in the Victoria in Future 2004 (VIF) publication. Data was provided for each Local Government Area (LGA) within a DEECD Region, with comparative data provided for both the Region as well as each LGA’s Statistical Division.

A fundamental component of the Regional Environmental Analysis reports was the investigation of factors affecting the VIF figures. As the VIF figures were based on the 2001 Census they do not take into consideration any changes to the local area within the last seven years.  Consequently, in addition to analysing the ABS and State Government data, each LGA was consulted to ascertain details of any recently planned developments that would further impact these forecasts. In areas where there was major local development planned or underway, the predicted populations varied markedly from the VIF figures. Details of these developments were provided for each LGA and provided a current and clear prediction of the expected population changes for a municipality.

The Regional Environmental Analysis reports produced by Spatial Vision will help shape regional educational goals and strategies. In addition, the broader contextual information provided in each report, including transport routes and infrastructure, will assist with planning and assessment of different options, particularly where multiple school sites are involved.

Demonstrated Capabilities

• Understanding of ABS Census data.
• Comprehensive knowledge of statistical analysis and its application to demographic data.
• Effective consultation with stakeholders.
• Comprehensive data and report compilation skills

Resources

Glenn Cockerton, Lucy Minato, Peter MacKenzie and Cristhiane da Silva Ramos undertook this project .   

Technologies Applied

• Crystal Reporting
• ArcGIS Desktop
• MS Excel