Cardinia Shire Council

Applying actionable data insights across multiple government operations

Nestled in the picturesque southeast region of Victoria, Australia, the Cardinia Shire Council has emerged as a shining example of how local government organisations can harness data intelligence for the betterment of their community.

The partnership with ActiveXchange has enabled Cardinia Shire Council - through actionable data insights - to effectively improve resource allocation and financial efficiency, increase employee engagement and drive positive impacts within their community through data-driven decision making.

Over the past couple of years, the Council has strategically leveraged a range of data services offered by ActiveXchange, establishing data intelligence as the cornerstone for decision-making across multiple facets of their operations.

#1: Active Cardinia Strategy

Investment Planning Model (IPM) Report

ActiveXchange scoped and produced a Sport Investment Planning (IPM) Report for the Council to inform part of their Active Cardinia Strategy, which was published in August 2023.

The IPM Report showed:

Demand for a broad range of sporting codes to accommodate future facility provision and strategic growth.
Heat mapping per sport at SA1 level, showing current demand (casual vs. organised) with in-depth analysis identifying top SA2 (suburbs).
Unmet demand for each sport after factoring for existing facilities and capabilities.
Future council-wide demand for each sport (both casual and organised) in 2032.

ActiveXchange worked closely with Inside Edge, one of our Consultant Partners, who published the Active Cardinia Strategy after receiving the IPM report details.

A key outcome was the development of a planning methodology to inform Council’s decision making for the future provision of sporting infrastructure in Cardinia.

#2: Cardinia Life

Social Value Report & Leisure IPM Report

ActiveXchange completed two Social Value Reports for Cardinia Life, the premier indoor health and recreational facility in Cardinia Shire. The facility is managed by Aligned Leisure and consists of 8 indoor sports courts, a 25 metre and 12 metre pool, and fitness facilities.

Delivered in partnership with KPMG, and aligned to the Australian Sports Commission’s national reporting principles, this report provides the estimated dollar value savings a facility generates as a result of its users being physically active and meeting the Federal Physical Activity and Exercise guidelines consistently. The values are quantified against a number of chronic and acute health indicators, such as dementia, cancers, heart disease, improved productivity and reduced risk of drowning.

Cardinia Life had some outstanding results and subsequently won ActiveXchange’s quarterly Social Value Award for Q3 2023.

Saving an impressive $3,317,916 within their local community over the last 12 months, and experiencing a 5.06% quarterly growth in Social Value, this was achieved through strong performances across the key indicators, including:

$1.25m in Reduced Risk of Drowning
$510k in Mental Health Benefits
$422k in Reduced Risk of Dementia

The quantifiable social value is being used to support Cardinia Shire’s advocacy for an expansion of the facility, with data showing excellent results from the Learn to Swim program (reduced risk of drowning) now, and forecasting the social value that could be achieved with an expansion.

Furthermore, a Leisure and Aquatics IPM Report was completed for Cardinia Life to assess the current competition against the potential demand, identify optimal capacity and programming and sector benchmarking to test the viability and seek opportunities.

The IPM Report showed:

Venue catchment mapping that factors in competition and drive-time decay.
Demand and unmet demand projections.
Member and visit projections and conversions.
Segmentation profiling to support the marketing plan.
Optimal capacity specifications and programming.

#3: Victorian LGA Movement Data Pilot Project

Movement Data

The ActiveXchange Data Team, alongside Sarah Noble from the Active Village Project, has been developing an AI extension to the Movement Data platform - Movement IQ - which forecasts the optimal intervention by type of facility/space and type of resident catchment, to better activate spaces and places - and ultimately communities.

Cardinia Shire Council is part of this pilot project alongside a collection of other LGA’s in Victoria. The councils have provided data on interventions that have been made to activate spaces and places over the last two years, and then used Movement Data to identify the follow-on outcomes.

This project is currently ongoing, but the council will be able to use these data insights to accurately quantify the movement increases these specific interventions have created. Moving forward, the model will be able to forecast the activity level impacts of future interventions.

Outcomes

Local governments face complex challenges and evolving community needs, and Cardinia Shire’s utilisation of ActiveXchange’s data intelligence services has produced the following outcomes which have positively impacted their local community:

Data-driven decision-making exists across the majority of the Council’s operations, which enables them to make informed decisions about community programs and facilities.
The data insights highlights the positive impact the Council’s programs have on the community, and allows them to see which programs and activities generate the most social value and benefits.
Producing a quantified social value figure has a positive impact on employees, especially those working on the ground at Cardinia Life. Employees can see the direct influence of their work on their members, through Swim School programs, Group Exercise Sessions and regular physical activity which enhances job satisfaction and intrinsic motivation.
By analysing data on program popularity and facility demand, Cardinia can allocate resources more effectively, leading to better financial outcomes and resource management.
The Council can develop partnerships with organisations who can deliver specific programs more effectively.