Residents of the Columbia Basin-Boundary Region are invited to participate in a well-being survey that will help guide informed decision-making and create better outcomes for communities.
Over a four-week period starting September 15, Selkirk Innovates is polling residents of the region about their perspectives on well-being. This includes personal well-being, community well-being, economic well-being, and other determinants of well-being such as tourism, environmental health and access to services. After the survey closes on October 11, the applied research and innovation division of Selkirk College will compile the survey data into a publicly available report that will be released in 2024 to help inform local governments, businesses and non-profit organizations in policy decisions.
“This subjective well-being research provides residents with an opportunity to share their perspectives on a wide range of topics that impact our rural communities,” says Jayme Jones, the faculty researcher at Selkirk Innovates who is leading project. “This information then helps inform decision-making from a variety of contexts. This can include local governments deciding on policy options, business owners deciding to expand to a new community, or residents deciding to make a major life decision such as moving.”
Aimed at motivating discussion for collective action, it is vital to explore trends over time. The subjective well-being research has been conducted multiple times over the years, with the last two periods of data collection being in 2019 and 2021. Ever-changing variables impacting well-being, including major events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, make checking in on residents imperative.
Discovery Research, an independent consulting firm, is facilitating the data collection on behalf of Selkirk Innovates. A total of 2,000 invitations to complete the survey have been mailed to residents throughout the Columbia Basin-Boundary Region. Addresses were selected randomly, as it is important to get responses from a wide range of residents from across the region. However, all residents 18 years of age and older are invited to participate in the online survey here.
The Columbia Basin-Boundary Region includes all municipalities and electoral areas in the Regional Districts of Central Kootenay, Kootenay Boundary, East Kootenay, and the Northern Basin (Columbia-Shuswap Regional District Electoral Areas A and B, Town of Golden, City of Revelstoke, and Village of Valemount).
In appreciation of resident participation, Selkirk Innovates is offering a prize draw to all respondents. This draw is voluntary and contact information will not be entered with survey data or used in the analysis in any way. There are three prizes: a two-night stay at the Elizabeth Lake Lodge in Cranbrook; a two-night stay at the Best Western Plus in Revelstoke; and a two-night stay at the Prestige Mountain Resort in Rossland.
If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Jayme Jones at @email. The Selkirk College Research Ethics Board has approved this research study.
Learn more about ongoing work at Selkirk Innovates.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels