Abstract
Since its inception, the Community-University Institute for Social Research (CUISR) has been involved in a participatory process aimed at understanding the quality of life in Saskatoon. Informed by the results of Quality of Life (QoL) survey in 2001 and by a list of QoL action priorities from a community forum, the CUISR QoL module set out to survey community work on QoL action planning and implementation. In collaboration with a steering committee of community-based professionals, CUISR developed a methodology for managing and analyzing QoL initiatives related to community action implementation and planning. The Community Action Plan Information System (CAPIS) is the result of this process. CAPIS is a compendium, an analysis, and a purposive contextualization of QoL actions and recommendations from collaborative action plan documents, focused on the Saskatoon community. This paper provides a detailed examination of the concept and components of the Comprehensive Action Plan Information System (CAPIS), as well as the process and outcomes of a sampling of the QoL statement analysis and mapping project. The paper concludes by projecting how the CAPIS could evolve into a fully operational QoL strategic action plan and gap indicator, providing the foundation for a knowledge based, informed, reporting mechanism on the state and evolution of QoL action and policy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
‘Actions’ are defined as those initiatives implemented to improve QoL, clearly identified on the hands of a CBO or government organization. Actions originate from various sources of action statements included in service brochures, annual reports, or operational plans of organizations. The QoL Actions articulated by CBOs represent what they are actually doing to enhance the QoL of their target groups now, and in the immediate future. ‘Recommendations’ are identified as reflections of what needs to be done but is not yet addressed. Sources of these reflections are articulated in documents originated from CBOs, community meetings, or from the strategic vision of government agencies. QoL Recommendations are credible and reasonable visions of QoL initiatives that the respective CBOs see a need to implement.
The interpretation of what is a meaningful QoL initiative will vary from person to person, and will likely differ relative “positioning” of these individual’s needs within a QoL needs hierarchy (Sirgy 1986; Hagerty 1999). Based on Maslow’s hierarchy model (Maslow 1970), the CUISR QoL module adopted this need hierarchy by identifying basic level QoL needs at the bottom, such as the need for shelter, food, or basic financial support. Beyond these basic needs, QoL needs appear to be gradually refined to encompass higher-level QoL needs, such as the need for belonging, connectedness, respect, or being empowered to influence one’s own living conditions.
No measurement of the qualitative or quantitative outcomes was attempted in this research.
The classification is for documentation purposes only, and to date plays no role in the analysis of QoL Actions and Recommendations.
Saskatoon Community Plan for Homelessness and Housing (Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnerships 2001), Summary of Recommendations—2001 Community Forum (CUISR 2001), Investing in Our Children, Investing in Our Future: Building a Community Action Plan (Success By 6, 2001), Special Committee to Prevent the Abuse and Exploitation of Children Through the Sex Trade, Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan 2001), Community Solution for Children Not in School (Saskatoon Communities for Children 2001a), Riversdale—West Central Business Development Strategy (Riversdale—West Central Business Development Coalition 2001), Living the Rainbow Vision: A Strategic Plan for Community Development in the core Neighbourhoods of Saskatoon (Rainbow Community Coalition 2001), Core Neighbourhood Future Development (Quint 2002c).
The proceedings of the 2001 CUISR Policy Forum include a set of over 100 recommendations for desirable future action in the area of QoL, including the focus on the following areas: affordable housing, networking and inter-sectoral collaboration, sustainability, education and information sharing to influence behavior and attitudinal changes, educational support for individuals and CBOs, the commitment of resources towards children and young adults, and eliminating barriers to employment.
The mechanisms used to identify relevant documents were derived from: the CUISR Resource Library and numerous CUISR documents (Kelsey 2004), the Core Neighbourhood Development Council Strategic Plan (Quint 2002, 2003a, 2003b), internet web site searches, and telephone inquiries made where organizations were asked to provide referrals to other relevant documents, containing action or recommendation statements.
Action statements are found in documents where the ownership and responsibilities of such statements are clearly defined, and where the author/organization has the means and legitimacy to take the action described in the document.
Recommendations include statements of desirable actions to be taken by recognized parties, other than the author, who have the power and/or resources to implement the recommendations.
Needs assessment documents include those which discuss and highlight outstanding needs within the community without specifically identifying responsible agencies.
The themes that emerged were created to form the ‘vision’ for future QoL enhancement initiatives. The listing provides the QoL themes that emerged at the 2001 Community Policy Forum. In total, these themes address close to 100 specific recommendations.
References
Alavi, M., & Leidner, D. E. (2001). Review: Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: Conceptual foundations and research issue. MIS Quarterly, 25(1), 107–136.
Ash, J. (1998). Managing knowledge gives power. Communication World, 15(3), 23–26.
Bassi, L. J. (1997). Harnessing the power of intellectual capital. Training & Development, 51(12), 25–30.
Blake, P. (1998). The knowledge management expansion. Information Today, 15(1), 12–13.
Carlsson, S. A., El Sawy, O. A., Eriksson, I., & Raven, A. (1996). Gaining competitive advantage though shared knowledge creation. search for a new design theory for strategic information systems. In Fourth European Conference on Information Systems, Lisbon.
Castells, M. (1996). Rise of the network society. The information age: Economy, society and culture. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers, Inc.
Child Hunger and Education Program. (2002). Access to food in Saskatoon’s core neighbourhood: Community study. Saskatoon, SK.
Child Hunger and Education Program. (2003a). We did it together. low income mothers working toward a healthier community. Saskatoon, SK.
Child Hunger and Education Program. (2003). CHEP brochure of services 2003: Collective kitchens, The GOOD food box, community gardens. Saskatoon, SK.
City of Saskatoon. (2002a). City of Saskatoon safer city committee public opinion survey—report summary. City of Saskatoon, SK: Community Services Department.
City of Saskatoon. (2002b). Pleasant hill local area plan. City of Saskatoon, SK: Community Services Department.
Community Solution for Children Not in School. (2001). Action plan. Saskatoon, SK.
CUISR. (2001). Building a caring community: Quality of life in Saskatoon. Briefing paper for quality of life public policy forum. Saskatoon: Community-University Institute for Social Research.
CUISR. (2005). Building a caring community together. Quality of life briefing paper. Saskatoon: Community-University Institute for Social Research.
Davenport, T. H., De Long, D. W., & Beers, M. C. (1997). Building successful knowledge management projects. Managing the knowledge of the organization. Working paper.
Davenport, T. H., De Long, D. W., & Beers, M. C. (1998). Successful knowledge management projects. Sloan Management Review, 39(2), 43–57.
DiMattia, S., & Oder, N. (1997). Knowledge management: Hope, hype, or harbinger? Library Journal, 122(15), 33–35.
Dretske, F. (1981). Knowledge and the flow of information. MIT Press: Cambridge, MA.
Drucker, P. (1993). Post-capitalist Society. New York: Harper & Collins.
Drucker, P. (1995). The information executives truly need. Harvard Business Review, 73(1), 54–62.
Ernst, & Young. (1997). Executive Perspectives on Knowledge in the Organization. Ernst & Young Centre for Business Innovation and Business Intelligence.
Fischer, G., & Ostwald, J. (2001). Knowledge management: Problems, promises, realities, and challenges. IEEE Intelligent Systems, 16, 60–72.
Gopal, C., & Gagnon, J. (1995). Knowledge, information, learning and the IS manager. Computerworld, 29(25), 1–7.
Gupta, B., Lakshmi, S. I., & Aronson, J. E. (2000). Knowledge management: Practices and challenges. 100(1), 17.
Hagerty, M. R. (1999). Testing Maslow’s heirarchy of needs: National quality of life across time. Social Indicators Research, 46, 249–271.
Hahn, J., & Subramani, M. R. (2000). A framework of knowledge management systems: Issues and challenges for theory and practice. In proceedings of ICIS 2000, pp. 302–312.
Hancock, T. (2001). People, partnerships and human progress: Building community capital. Health Promotion International, 16(3), 275–280.
Hibbard, J., & Carrillo, K. M. (1998). Knowledge revolution. Information Week, 663(5), 49–54.
Holtshouse, D. (1998). Knowledge research issues. California Management Review, 40(3), 277–280.
Hubber, G. (1991). Organizational learning: The contributing processes and literatures. Organization Science, 2(1), 88–115.
Jones, R. A. (1985). Research methods in the social and behavioral sciences. Sinauer Associates.
Kelsey, M. V. (2004). Determining Saskatoon’s value profile. CUISR: Saskatoon.
Laberis, B. (1998). One big pile of knowledge. Computerworld, 32(5), 97.
Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. (2001). Special committee to prevent the abuse and exploitation of children through the sex trade: Final report. 2nd session of the 24th legislation.
Machlup, F. (1980). Knowledge: It’s creation, distribution, and economic significance. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Marshall, L. (1997). Facilitating knowledge management and knowledge sharing: new opportunities for information professionals. Online, 21(5), 92–98.
Martensson, M. (2000). A critical review of knowledge management as a management tool. Journal of Knowledge Management, 4(3), 204–216.
Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper
Maslow, A. H. (1970). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper and Row.
Mayo, A. (1998). Memory bankers. People Management, 4(2), 34.
McQueen, R. J. (1998). Four views of knowledge and knowledge management. In Proceedings of Fourth Americas Conference on Information Systems. Baltimore, Maryland, pp. 609–611.
Nerney, C. (1997). Getting to know knowledge management. Network World, 14(39), 101.
Nonaka, I. (1994). A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. Organization Science, 5(1), 14–37.
Ostro, N. (1997). The corporate brain. Chief Executive, 123, 58–62.
Polanyi, M. (1958). Personal knowledge. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Quint Development Corporation. (2002a). Core neighbourhood development council strategic plan. Quint Essentials.
Quint Development Corporation (2002b). 2001–2002 annual report. Saskatoon, SK.
Quint Development Corporation. (2002c). Core neighbourhood future development. Saskatoon, SK.
Quint Development Corporation. (2003a). Core neighbourhood development council strategic plan. Quint Essentials.
Quint Development Corporation. (2003b). Core neighbourhood development council strategic plan. Quint Essentials.
Quint Development Corporation. (2003c). Quint development corporation draft action plan, 2003–2004. Saskatoon, SK.
Rainbow Community Coalition. (2001). Living the rainbow vision: A strategic plan for community development in the core neighbourhoods of Saskatoon. Saskatoon, SK.
Randall, J. E., & Morton, P. H. (2003). Quality of life in Saskatoon 1991 and 1996: A geographical perspective. Urban Geography, 24(8), 691–722.
Riversdale Business Development Study Coalition. (2001). Riversdale—west central business development strategy final report. Saskatoon, SK.
Roos, J., Roos, G., Edvinsson, L., & Dragonetti, N. C. (1997). Intellectual capital: Navigating in the new business landscape. New York: New York University Press.
Saskatoon Antipoverty Coalition. (2002). Uprooting poverty and planting seeds for social change: The roots of poverty project. Saskatoon, SK.
Saskatoon Communities for Children. (2001a). Building a community action plan. Saskatoon, SK.
Saskatoon Communities for Children. (2001b). Saskatoon community solutions for children not in school. Saskatoon: SK.
Saskatoon Communities for Children. (2003). Terms of reference update—success by 6. Saskatoon, SK.
Saskatoon Downtown Youth Center Egadz. (2002). Egadz 2001/2002 annual report. Saskatoon, SK.
Saskatoon Housing Coalition Inc. (2003). Operating strategic plan 2003/2004. Saskatoon, SK.
Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnerships. (2001). Saskatoon community plan for homelessness and housing. Saskatoon, SK.
Saskatoon Public Library. (2001). Saskatoon directory of community information 2000–2001. www.publib.saskatoon.sk.ca.
Sirgy, M. J. (1986). A quality of life theory derived from Maslow’s developmental perspective: ‘Quality’ is related to progressive satisfaction of a hierarchy of needs, lower order and higher. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 45(3), 330–341.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, Calif: Sage Publications.
Stewart, T. A. (1997). Intellectual capital: The new wealth of organizations. Doubleday/Currency.
Success By 6. (2001). Investing in our children, investing in our future: Building a community action plan. Saskatoon, SK.
Sveiby, K. E. (1997). The new organizational wealth: Managing & measuring knowledge-based assets. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Thomas, J. C., Kellogg, W. A., Erickson, T. (2001). The knowledge management puzzle: Human and social factors in knowledge management. IBM Systems Journal, 40(4), 863–885.
Toffler, A. (1990). Powershift: Knowledge, wealth and violence at the edge of the 21st century. New York: Bantam Books.
Vance, D. (1997). Information knowledge and wisdom: The epistemic hierarchy and computer-based information systems.In Proceedings of the Third America’s Conference on Information Systems. Indianapolis, IN.
Wiig, K. M. (1997). Knowledge management: An introduction and perspective. The Journal of Knowledge Management, 1(1), 6–14.
Western Region Metis Women’s Association. (2002). Evaluation Report—Integrative wraparound process training. Saskatoon, SK.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendices
Appendix 1
Listing of QoL themes that emerged at the 2001 Community Policy ForumFootnote 11
Appendix 2: Direct and indirect impact initiatives
Appendix 3
Appendix 4
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Krebs, P., Holden, B., Williams, A. et al. A Comprehensive Action Plan Information System: A Tool for Tracking and Mapping Quality of Life Action Implementation and Planning. Soc Indic Res 85, 127–144 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-007-9121-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-007-9121-7