What is the true economic impact of tourism on Central Florida? How about the percentage of regional residents in each of the seven counties who leave their county to go to work, the amount of water used for public consumption annually, or the median household income in comparison to the rest of the nation? And where exactly does Central Florida rank in comparison to the rest of the state in FCAT scores and graduation rates?

These are just a few of the many questions that are answered in the first-ever Regional Indicator’s Report, which will be unveiled at the myregion Board of Director’s Meeting on April 8.

Now that myregion has moved from the development phase into one of implementation, it is important to be able to gauge where the regional collaboration is ultimately making a difference for Central Florida.  Prepared by Healthy Community Initiatives, which previously has conducted three different indicator reports for Orange County, the Regional Indicator’s Report includes 15 indicators and 56 data points to provide a baseline of where the region currently stands in the areas of Economic Leadership, Education, Environment, Quality of Life, and Smart, Quality Growth. 

With the first set of indicators as a starting point, future reports will measure myregion’s capacity to “move the needle” through the efforts of work groups in six priority areas. Ultimately, myregion’s ability to create real change will rest on its success in “de-fragmentation” of the region and by creating a new way of working together characterized by regional inclusion and leadership.

This report establishes a regional key indicator system that not only measures progress in the myregion priority areas, but also indicates the region’s success in becoming less fragmented and more coordinated. The indicator system also seeks to quantify the Central Florida region’s progress toward or away from “sustainability”, defined as long-term human, social, economic, and ecological health and vitality. The region’s sustainability will depend on its leaders’ ability to think long-term, plan adequately for the future and wisely manage resources.

Indicators are quantitative measures that describe an economic, environmental, or social and cultural condition.  By summarizing, highlighting and synthesizing data, indicators make information available to many audiences.  Indicators commonly known to many are the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Unemployment Rate.  The Dow Average and Unemployment rate “indicate” the condition of complex systems, namely the financial market and the broader economy.  Another way to view indicators is as “vital signs”.  Indicators are vital signs in that they are a limited number of measures indicating the status of the whole.

The report offers specific statistical measurements in each of the priority areas of myregion and while it is easy to get overwhelmed by the numbers, it still is interesting and important to understand where the region currently stands in various areas.

In the area of Economic Leadership, Central Florida stands well above the national average in the percentage of total jobs that are in the service sector. Yet, the percentage for the region is only slightly higher than that for the entire state of Florida. But not all jobs in Central Florida are in service capacities. The region currently has the seventh largest Research Park in the United States with 90 companies and 9,000 jobs.

Education is an important priority not just for myregion, but also throughout the entire country. The indicators show that as a nation, the United States ranks behind many developed nations in academic success. As the focus on education continues, it will be interesting to see how Central Florida and the entire country improves in comparison to the rest of the world.

For the Environment, the indicators show that water consumption and beach erosion are two of the many issues for the region. Through Naturally Central Florida, efforts are being made to target environmental areas that are vital to the health of the region for future land acquisition. The success of this venture will certainly be reflected in future movements in the indicators.

Most people today recognize the rapid growth of population in Central Florida, but may not be aware that Florida has been among the top four states in terms of population growth in every decade since the 1920’s. That growth has made Florida the fourth most populated state in the nation. As we look to maintain and improve our quality of life, the indicators look at the demographics of the residents that make up Central Florida. Understanding those trends, as well as the challenges in arts, culture and healthcare will be vital as Central Florida deals with continued population growth.

Because of the large expansion within the region, it is important to grow in a smart, quality manner. The indicators report captures the median household wages for the region, while also providing statistics about unemployment, housing and poverty. If the region is to have a plan for growing wisely in the future, having an understanding of what constitutes positive growth is vital.

As we look to shape where we are going in the future, having the Regional Indicators Report to understand where we currently stand is a very important blessing. The next 1,000 days will be an important phase for myregion as efforts to frame the area not just individual cities and counties, but as one region that will grow and succeed only through the collaborative efforts of everyone.