IT’s now easier than ever for local community groups in rural and regional areas to access data to strengthen their funding applications or even inform their service delivery, thanks to a free online tool launched by the Foundation for Rural Regional Renewal (FRRR).

The FRRR community data tool provides easy access to reliable data that community groups can use to demonstrate the real need in their community that is driving their work, and to help funders see the impact that their support can make.

The tool, which was commissioned by FRRR, built by Seer Data and funded by the federal government, draws on a range of trusted public data sources to provide reliable data that will be automatically updated, in one place.

FRRR’s head of granting Jill Karena said that every remote, rural and regional community in Australia has a story of resilience, challenges and hope, but not everyone can back up their story with accurate data.

“We commissioned the FRRR community data tool, to make it super simple for groups to pull up key data about their community, just by entering their location in the online tool,” Ms Karena said.

“It will tell them things about their community, like the population, gender split, remoteness classification, their SEIFA rating, etc – all drawing on reliable, publicly-available data.

“If groups want to dive deeper, there are links to some excellent resources that we also use to inform our grant programs, such as information about health and wellbeing, the workforce, income levels and economic growth. There are even more insights that they can access through our partnership with Seer Data & Analytics.

“Being able to access this data and wealth of information, free of charge, will help community groups more effectively advocate for themselves and for their community’s needs.

Early users have said that accessible, reliable local data was the foundation of genuine community resilience.

“The FRRR Community Data Tool is the first step for community groups to prove the need for effective, place-based solutions,” one user said.

Community groups are encouraged to log into the tool and to share feedback after using it, so that it can be continually improved.

You can access the FRRR Community Data Tool here.