Papers by Geoffrey Woolcock
During the last two decades, there has been a concerted effort to remobilize sport as a vehicle f... more During the last two decades, there has been a concerted effort to remobilize sport as a vehicle for sustainable social development, especially in the most disadvantaged communities in the world. It is suggested that sport is a versatile and flexible developmental tool commonly associated with having the capacity to contribute to positive social capital in communities. This chapter debates the role of sport as an enabler for development, and the key role it can play in achieving positive social capital. In this sense, the chapter explores the use of sport as a vehicle for development and its potential to bring people together from different economic, social and cultural backgrounds to foster greater social cohesion and cultural tolerance through facilitating the development of social capital. A strong foundation of social capital has many benefits including the development of social networks, the creation of common bonds between disparate groups and the establishment of social norms. The challenge moving forward, however, is to provide greater empirical evidence to support this hypothesis and provide evidence to support significant investment by governments in sport for development initiatives.
SpringerBriefs in well-being and quality of life research, 2016
The idea of local communities identifying and reporting on key indicators for children and young ... more The idea of local communities identifying and reporting on key indicators for children and young people is attracting significant attention as a model for many communities across the Asia-Pacific region. A number of these communities have leveraged their work through an association with the UNICEF Child-Friendly Cities model and/or government-funded place-based initiatives, all using various data and well-being reports as a foundational tool for their planning and monitoring. Other communities have looked to the enormous investment in standardized indices or national well-being scorecards to further the interest in how their own children and young people are faring. There is also a growing understanding internationally that ‘place-based’ and local responses are essential in responding to disadvantage and community well-being.
Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, May 31, 2019
This chapter focuses on the notion of child-friendly third places where a variety of standout fea... more This chapter focuses on the notion of child-friendly third places where a variety of standout features attract children to play and inhabit. The critical scholarship on understanding child-friendly cities has increased in proportion with the growing interest in the effects of the built and natural environments on children’s well-being. The growing importance of these third places to facilitate children’s play is gradually becoming more acknowledged amongst this scholarship given increasingly constrained urban public places and amenities. Particular attention is given to the child-friendly urban precinct of South Bank Parklands in Brisbane, Australia where a diversity of third places continue to attract significant patronage
Description Community engagement is essential to the success of most natural resource management ... more Description Community engagement is essential to the success of most natural resource management (NRM) activities. Specifically, it is a key step in enabling the practice change required to achieve biophysical outcomes. This tool assists the measurement of: a) community engagement by regional NRM bodies; and b) participation of stakeholders in the engagement process for the purpose of collecting the information required to determine the effectiveness of community engagement for practice change. Benefits Measuring community engagement allows an assessment of the performance of community engagement in relation to the planning and delivery of NRM programs. The information provided through the assessment also allows the identification of opportunities through which community engagement maybe enhanced and improved. Limitations While the tool describes the broad logic of community engagement and relevant measures, the intention and suitable measures of community engagement for fostering/i...
Sport in Society, 2017
Effective sport talent identification and development (TID) programmes are integral to a nation's... more Effective sport talent identification and development (TID) programmes are integral to a nation's success in international sport. Using a transdisciplinary approach that involved sport practitioners and researchers with diverse theoretical perspectives, we investigated TID factors in four Australian sports (Australian rules football, cricket, kayaking and tennis). A transdisciplinary approach allowed us to isolate and explore a range of factors critical to successful sport TID. This methodological article explores how this project moved TID research beyond its paradigmatic, quantitative, sport science lens and advanced knowledge and practice in TID from both theoretical and applied perspectives. The use of a transdisciplinary approach in future TID research is recommended.
Making Culture Count, 2015
A citizen-based global progress measurement movement has emerged in the past decade, with the pot... more A citizen-based global progress measurement movement has emerged in the past decade, with the potential for realisation of a new paradigm for democracy, good governance and authentic cultural engagement. The benefits already resulting from this movement appear to be significant. These include new and more dynamic forms of democratic engagement; the demonstration of clearer linkages between strong democratic and human rights regimes, and broader individual and societal wellbeing; new ways to define and measure a ‘healthy’ democracy; and, perhaps most importantly, a re-examination of the nature of progress and democracy in the twenty-first century. The extent to which cultural indicators have, or have not, featured in the emergence of the global progress measurement movement and its democratising ambitions is the focus of this chapter, raising serious questions for proponents of both perspectives.
Social Indicators Research, Apr 22, 2016
An individual's, and indeed the nation's, social and economic futures are highly dependent on Ear... more An individual's, and indeed the nation's, social and economic futures are highly dependent on Early Childhood Development (ECD) outcomes, with poor ECD inhibiting future opportunities. Ecological ECD literature describes family, community and institutions as being key factors in children's wellbeing, with suggestions that community factors may ameliorate impacts of poor ECD. It is therefore important to develop a greater understanding of those modifiable factors that positively, and negatively, affect ECD outcomes so as ECD policy and practice can be designed and implemented effectively. One approach to this analysis is through the identification and analysis of influencing factors identified within off-diagonal communitiesthat is those communities where children have either developed well in consideration of their highlevels of socioeconomic disadvantage, or developed poorly in consideration of their low levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. In this paper we describe a new method for the identification of off-diagonal communities. The method provides clear and transparent approach to community selection, including a range of methods to further interrogate the community selection ensuring a rigorous and considered selection process. This new method, based on Census and Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) data, provides the first step in identifying community factors likely to facilitate childhood wellbeing. These findings could inform policy making to reduce inequities by assisting in policy and service delivery design targeted to community needs. 4 113 127 93 62 25 5 220 113 45 28 5 Community 1 Community 2 Community 3 Community 1 Community 4
Social Indicators Research, Feb 20, 2014
Socio-environmental factors, including the neighbourhoods in which children live and grow, are ke... more Socio-environmental factors, including the neighbourhoods in which children live and grow, are key determinants of children's developmental outcomes. Thus, it is important to examine and consider the relationships between these factors and the multiple contexts that influence children. Drawing on a broad disciplinary range of existing research, we aimed to develop a conceptual model of neighbourhood effects influencing early childhood development. The neighbourhood effects literature was reviewed with a specific focus on existing models and frameworks. This review was then further expanded through consultation with our cross-disciplinary research collaboration (Kids in Communities Study Collaboration). From this a theoretical model specific to early childhood development was developed. The hypothesised model comprised five interconnected domains: physical, social, service, socioeconomic , and governance. A small trial of indicator measurement was conducted and findings were used to make a series of recommendations regarding measures or indicators which might provide useful and effective for neighbourhood effects research. The proposed model provides a useful and novel conceptual framework for classifying neighbourhood effects research. By synthesising disparate but related areas of research, the resultant five domains provide a useful approach to understanding and measuring child development in the context of community and environment, therefore advancing knowledge in this area. Expanding the current neighbourhood effects paradigm to accommodate broader constructs appears critical in considering the multiple environments that may act as key determinants of children's wellbeing and psychosocial outcomes.
... Section 4 What the Community Says ... In Goodna, the integrated response also needs to be bas... more ... Section 4 What the Community Says ... In Goodna, the integrated response also needs to be based on ensuring that staff understand the needs of children ... range of services involved in the integrated response to know which partnerships and referral pathways they need to develop. ...
Australian Journal of Social Issues
The arts remain largely absent from place-based policy, planning and programming in Australia, de... more The arts remain largely absent from place-based policy, planning and programming in Australia, despite a long history of working in place-based ways to create positive social change in communities. This systematic review aimed to address this absence, by providing a synthesis of evidence about the role that place-based arts can play in advancing social equity and addressing social disadvantage. Findings reveal a potential for the arts to create change across individual, community and societal levels, yet empirical evidence to support this potential is weak. Stronger evaluation frameworks that can support capturing the impact of localised place-based arts initiatives for translation into policy and practice are discussed.
Children's Geographies, 2022
This paper explores neighborhood built environment features related to 'better than expected' and... more This paper explores neighborhood built environment features related to 'better than expected' and 'as expected' early childhood development outcomes (ECD) in fourteen Australian disadvantaged communities. This paper draws from mixed methods data collected in the Kids in Communities Study-an Australian investigation of community effects on ECD-in communities across five states and territories. In total, 93 interviews and 30 focus groups were conducted with service providers and parents, and geographic information systems used to create built environment measures for each local community. Housing factors (e.g. better affordability, tenure, less high-density public housing) were consistently related to disadvantaged local communities with 'better than expected' ECD outcomes. Physical access to services and public transport, living in a walkable area, having high quality public open space and a mix of local destinations was perceived to be consistently important by community members in disadvantaged communities regardless of ECD outcomes. Findings may help policy makers to consider neighborhood features that contribute to better ECD outcomes.
The Child Friendly by Design (CFbD) Project, conducted by Healthy Cities Illawarra (HCI), in conj... more The Child Friendly by Design (CFbD) Project, conducted by Healthy Cities Illawarra (HCI), in conjunction with Griffith University's Urban Research Program (URP) has involved children, young people and families in the design and redesign of public open spaces in Shellharbour, a fast developing city in the Illawarra region of NSW. Many conventional town planning processes do little to give children and young people a 'voice' on what is important about the places that surround them. The CFbD project has developed engagement tools, created participatory forums and linked closely with local government's planning processes. CFbD has placed children at the 'heart' of the planning and design process and has facilitated links between Council, developers, local business, families and the community sector.
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Papers by Geoffrey Woolcock