The Citizen, 2015-01-22, Page 17THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015. PAGE 17.
United Way proposes information database
At Huron County Council’s Jan.
14 meeting, members of the United
Way Perth-Huron’s Social Research
and Planning Council made the case
for the need for available, current
and ever-changing data and the
benefit it could have for
organizations within both counties.
Huron East Councillor David
Blaney, who is a member of the
council, said the collection of
current and ever-updated
information can be extremely
valuable when it comes to applying
for grants or funding from upper
tiers of government. He also said
that a database that can be accessed
by any resident or community group,
can also be helpful to smaller service
groups that wouldn’t have the funds
or means to collect this kind of
information on their own.
The Community Trends Platform
would aim to collect useful data
from throughout Huron and Perth
Counties, Blaney told Huron County
Council at its Jan. 14 meeting.
Ryan Erb, executive director for
the local branch of the United Way,
said that when information is
collected every four or five years,
trends can often be missed, which
can be critical when trying to access
information.
As an example, Erb cited a chart
of food requests from a Cambridge
assistance program. In 2006, there
were 117 requests and then in 2010,
when data was next collected, there
were 75 requests, giving the
impression that demand was on the
decline. In those three missing years,
however, requests spiked to 163 in
2007, 194 in 2008 and 190 in 2009,
before dropping to 75 in 2010.
The danger of sporadic
information collection, he said, is
that the data may be painting an
incomplete picture.
The project, Blaney said, is that
trends and gaps can be revealed by
the data collection and there is a
need, as well as potential benefits in
the world of economic development.
Blaney told council about a
similar data collection venture in the
City of Toronto that, due to the size
of the city, cost upwards of
$300,000. The information,
however, then led to the city
accessing $133 million in grant
money as a result.
He also said that the data can help
improve efficiency when it comes to
programs being offered in
communities by more than one
organization. He said this aspect of
the data can help encourage
partnerships and reduce
redundancies.
David Overboe, a former Huron
County employee who is now
involved with the council, said that
during his time with the county, he
didn’t recommend that the county
support the council for a number of
reasons.
However, since he has come
aboard, he has helped shape the
direction of the council into a body
that he feels can have more of an
impact locally and that impact, he
said, starts with information that can
be collected through the Community
Trends project.
To help get the project off the
ground, Overboe said, the council is
asking for a grant of $20,000 from
Huron County each year for the next
three years.
Not only could the information
lead to grant money at the county
level, as well as with lower-tier
municipalities, he said, but service
groups such as Lions Clubs or
Optimist Clubs, would be able to
access the information to apply for
their own grants; research they
would never have the money to
commission on their own.
As per county policy, Huron
County Council accepted the
presentation and directed staff to
prepare a report on the request that
will be considered at a future
meeting.
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Continued from page 11
cause for many years, Hoggart
encouraged Huron County
producers to continue vaccinated
their animals, saying that buyers will
appreciate that effort.
After concluding his report,
Hoggart received a round of
applause from the group, thanking
him for all of his hard work
organizing the sales year
after year.
He said that perhaps if the price of
cattle was to drop, then vaccinated
sales will again become a viable
option for buyers, but as the prices
stand now, it didn’t make sense to
continue.
Sale no longer viable
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen