The Bega Valley is a place of incredible beauty, strong community spirit, and enduring resilience. Yet, like all regions, we face complex challenges, from the ongoing impacts of climate events to economic and social shifts. To truly thrive, we believe our community needs a clear, shared understanding of what ‘living well’ means to us, built on local insights and actionable data.

This is the vision behind “Living Well in the Bega Valley” – a flagship initiative of the Bega Valley Data Collective. We’re not just observing; we’re actively working with you to create a future where every voice contributes to a healthier, more resilient, and prosperous Bega Valley.

Living Well is the name of our community-led wellbeing framework. It isn’t a government program or a top-down set of rules; it is a living model being built from the ground up through three core pillars:

Collaboration

Working together with residents, members, and local organisations to develop a shared vision for our future.

Data

Using local insights and information to measure what truly matters to us, moving beyond anecdotes to prove the need for change.

Action

Turning those insights into positive, local solutions to shift conditions that cause disadvantage to people and place in the Bega Valley.

For the Bega Valley Data Collective, “Living Well” is a tangible vision shaped by the people who live here. It is a community-defined roadmap designed to move beyond abstract ideas and address the systemic factors that influence our quality of life. By focusing on social connections, a healthy environment, and economic opportunity, the framework aims to shift the conditions that cause disadvantage, turning vulnerabilities into foundations for resilience.

The five core outcomes of this community-led mission include:

A Shared, Local Understanding

The framework moves beyond generalities to a precise, locally defined understanding of wellbeing. It captures what matters specifically to our region—such as access to local produce, neighbourhood safety, the strength of volunteer networks, and opportunities for youth—all defined by us, for us.

Empowered Conversations with Actionable Data

We provide more than just baseline numbers. By leveraging nuanced data including 5-10 year trends, national benchmarks, and cross-dataset analysis, the framework becomes the evidence base for every local discussion, from grassroots advocacy to regional strategic planning.

Targeted Solutions, Real Impact

With precise data on our unique strengths and challenges, we can direct resources and energy with unprecedented effectiveness. This allows the community to advocate for specific funding and design tailored programs that resonate with local needs, leading to measurable improvements where they matter most.

Collective Ownership & Accountability

Through accessible online dashboards, the community can collectively monitor progress over time. This fosters a shared ownership, allowing residents and organisations to see if initiatives are working and adapt strategies in real-time.

Strengthened, Proactive Resilience

Ultimately, a community that deeply understands its own wellbeing is a more resilient one. By identifying the root causes of disadvantage and the unique aspirations of our people, we become better equipped to act decisively when facing future challenges, such as climate events or economic shifts.

The ‘Living Well in the Bega Valley’ initiative is a direct evolution of our successful “Measuring What Matters in the Bega Valley” project, undertaken in 2023-24. That initial phase was a foundational community consultation, designed to capture how our community felt about having a say in decisions affecting their collective wellbeing.

Through extensive surveys, workshops, and online sessions, we gathered a wealth of valuable insights. We heard a strong, clear desire for a community-driven approach to wellbeing, moving beyond solely economic indicators to prioritise social connection, physical and mental health, and environmental sustainability. Key themes emerged from your feedback:

• Strong community connections: A sense of belonging was paramount.
• Holistic wellbeing: A clear desire for health access, healthy lifestyles, and a clean environment.
• Data-driven decisions: A preference for evidence-based approaches to improve community wellbeing.
• Local ownership: A strong desire for residents to be directly involved in shaping the Valley’s future.

These powerful insights formed the bedrock of our understanding. They unequivocally showed that our community not only cared deeply about these aspects but also wanted the tools and framework to actively measure and improve them. The “Measuring What Matters” project clarified what truly matters to you.

The “Living Well in the Bega Valley” initiative is the vital next step – it’s about translating those priorities into a tangible, living wellbeing framework and providing the accessible data tools to track our progress, inform local action, and build lasting resilience. It’s how we move from understanding what matters, to actively making it happen.

Practical projects form the building blocks for the Living Well framework.  Each project is focused on shifting specific disadvantages across the Bega Valley. By using an evidence-based approach, we can determine where our energy where it is needed most.

Current active projects include:

Living Well by Measuring What Matters

Building on the foundational insights gained from the successful initial ‘Measuring What Matters in the Bega Valley’ project, this community-led initiative represents the critical next phase. It will actively engage the Bega Valley to rigorously define, measure, and track local wellbeing as a cornerstone for strengthening long-term resilience.

Living Well Youth Wellbeing Framework

 Developing tools to ensure young people aged 12-25 can directly identify the gaps in the services and pathways they need to thrive. This framework will define and measure youth wellbeing in the Bega Valley, considering a range of dimensions such as physical, mental, social, emotional, cultural, and economic wellbeing.

Living Well with Specialist Care

To leverage existing data and lived experience to co-design and develop tangible, evidence-based solutions that overcome the specific systemic barriers preventing Bega Valley residents from accessing equitable specialist care.

Additional projects are under consideration and will be developed once collaboration and funding is identified.

The success of Living Well depends on local hands and local hearts. This isn’t just a project to watch; it’s an initiative you can help guide and grow. There are tangible ways to play a part:

Take the ‘Living Well’ Survey

Share what “Living Well” means to you and identify the priorities for our region.

Guide Our Strategy

As a member of the Bega Valley Data Collective, you have a direct say in our strategic direction and the priority areas we focus on each year.

Join a Working Group

Members can bring their expertise and lived experience to our specific project working groups, helping to co-design solutions that shift conditions that cause disadvantage.

Partner with us

Local organisations can join as Associate Members, collaborating with us to share knowledge and ensure their services are reaching those who need them most.

Spread the Word

Follow us on by registering on our website and share ‘Living Well’ with your friends, colleagues and neighbors.