Embracing Change: The Significance of the Teton Community Wellbeing Dashboard
Community wellbeing thrives on interconnectedness. Essential components, such as access to education, sustainable environments, adequate healthcare, and economic opportunities, are fundamental to our quality of life. With an array of interconnected data all in one place, the Dashboard shines a light on our strengths and illuminates needs and growth opportunities.
The Teton Community Wellbeing Dashboard was launched as a significant initiative aimed at enhancing community health and wellbeing. This platform offers real-time, actionable insights designed to help residents make informed decisions. The Dashboard aims to foster a collaborative effort towards achieving a healthier and more vibrant Teton County.
LegacyWorks Group launched the Dashboard with initial funding from the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole to develop the behavioral health, housing, and education focus areas. Developing these areas has been a collaborative effort, with over 70 local organizations and residents involved thus far. Our co-creative process is designed to foster trust and dialogue, ensuring that diverse voices shape how the community defines wellbeing.
The Education Dashboard aims to track in- and out-of-school learning, partnering with the Systems of Education initiative to gather and share insightful data and stories. In collaboration with the Teton Behavioral Health Alliance, the Health Dashboard addresses mental and physical health, equipping key public and private partners or entities with the knowledge needed to meet community needs effectively.
“We measure what matters,” says Michelle Heaton, Teton Regional Director and Director of LWG’s Dashboarding Initiative, “and the process of collaboratively identifying what matters most to our community - and how to measure it - helps build trust across sectors. With key partners at the table, the Dashboard sets the stage for increased collaboration to enhance our collective ability to respond to more complex challenges and build community resilience, together.”
“With key partners at the table, the Dashboard sets the stage for increased collaboration to enhance our collective ability to respond to more complex challenges and build community resilience, together.”
Opportunities abound to deepen and extend the dashboard's impact. Michelle added, “We are just getting started and would welcome new partnerships that envision what data to track and what stories to tell within Sustainable Ecosystems, Community Connectedness, and the other critical areas.”
Yes, the Teton Community Wellbeing Dashboard is a data collection and distribution tool, but it is much more. It reflects our community's evolving needs, invites everyone to participate actively in defining what wellbeing means to us, and sets the stage for collective action to get there.
“As a collaborative that enables us to make sense of things today and envision and work towards a better tomorrow, we believe the Teton Community Wellbeing Dashboard is crucial to creating a more connected and flourishing Teton County,” said Carl Palmer, LegacyWorks Group’s Executive Director.