At the University of Queensland we have been developing a Prototype Web-based Spatial Decision Support System (Web-based SDSS) on the socio-economic characteristics of local government areas in Queensland. This project has been funded by the Australian Research Council with the Queensland Department of Local Government and Planning as a collaborating partner. The web site is now operating and can be accessed by anyone connected to the Internet.

Over the decade 1991-2001 Queensland has experienced considerable population and economic growth as compared to the other Australian states. Within Queensland, however, patterns of growth are widely dispersed with many of the coastal areas experiencing massive population inflows while some inland and rural shires are stagnant or in decline. Governments are eager to explore and implement policies that are directed at improving the fortunes of regional and rural areas or assist in managing growth in those areas that are expanding rapidly. However, to assist policy in this regard, detailed geographical information is not only necessary but needs to be presented in a form (such as maps, tables and charts) which is readily understandable and in a way which is easily accessible for decision-makers.

Our Web-based SDSS, which integrates GIS and spatial model functionality with client/server technology and the Internet, is developed as the basis of an advisory tool to assist planning policy makers and practitioners in regional socio-economic analysis. The application is based on Queensland local government authorities (LGAs) and provides census-based information such as employment shift-share analysis for the decade 1991-2001; population projections in the years of 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021; changes in the patterns of household family types and the number of people living in the non-family household types; changes in the housing tenure and dwelling types; changes in the incidence of male and female full-time and part-time employment and unemployment; changes in the occupational structure of the labour force; and percentages of high and low income households across LGAs within Queensland.

You can choose a range of options from a client interface to view these data in tables, graphs and maps. The Web-based SDSS enables a user to benchmark the performance of a LGA against that of two others of the user’s choice for comparative purposes.

The Web-based SDSS is designed as an information dissemination and spatial data analysis tool to benchmark local government socio-economic performance. The potential user of the application might be: (a) a council officer wanting to examine the employment data relating to the manufacturing industry in their LGA and the adjoining LGAs in the region; (b) a federal public servant investigating regional variations in ‘new economy’ industries and identifying spatial patterns of socioeconomic changes; (c) a politician examining the potential success of locating industries in declining regional locations through an incentive package; (d) a local business person or consultant seeking to look for potential future markets for aged care services in local authorities; (e) a researcher using the system as a tool for measuring and evaluating regional economic performance such as south east Queensland; and (f) a professor teaching students in the analysis of local government performance in regional Queensland.

Please read the information on how to use this application.

Click on to start the prototype Web-based SDSS. Your feedback on using this application would be greatly appreciated. 

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