Measure Your Treasure

Dedicated to accurate and standardised data collection
for the community sector
Funded by:

 

Background to the project

Treasure(n), Wealth stored up; Anything much valued; an indispensable helper; (vt) to collect for future use; to value greatly


This CRN project is acting as a treasure hunt for data and information within the community waste sector. What tonnages of materials are we collecting? How many employment opportunities are being created? As with all treasure hunts prizes are on offer: assistance with evaluation and monitoring for community groups, figures to input to local authories to increase recycling rates, updating statistics to promote and represent the community waste sector.


This project aims to develop an accurate and standardised system of data collection, verifiable and accepted by external organisations through its methods of collection and collation.


Main Outputs of the project will include
(1)Developments of CRN Community Waste Sector Data Protocol Agreement
(2)Research on waste data collection in the UK
(3)A pilot scheme of data collection methods with CRN members
(4) Development of a passworded section of the CRN website for data recording, collection and collation, including software development

"The move towards sustainable waste management relies on our ability to make rational decisions about the Best Practical Environmental Option for local waste at the local level. The ability to make the best decisions depends on having good data on which to base the decision making process". England and Wales Waste Strategy 2000

With the introduction of recycling targets and with more money coming into community recycling the need to provide data to external agencies has never been stronger. Further, as organisations grow in size and move more towards partnership arrangements the need for accurate data to report on activities and for internal management to improve efficiency is of increasing importance.

Questionnaires
Initial work in 2001 on the project has involved research through questionnaires to both CRN members and local authorities. The questionnaires sent to CRN members asked questions both on data protocol issues and on data collection methods currently used within the sector. Local authorities were asked to report on how they want data reported and also asked about any difficulties they have or may have had in collecting data from community groups.

From the information received CRN UK has developed a data protocol agreement; and worked on developing IT systems and standardised processes for groups to follow.

Data Protocol Agreement

With CRN UK members offering such a diverse range of projects we do not envisage one system but instead have guidelines for different project activities. Obviously groups have different levels of capacity and will have different data requirement needs so guidelines will be written in such a way to incorporate this.

The information collated from the questionnaires resulted in the production of a number of reports regarding the findings. These were distributed to local authorities and CRN UK members.