Community First

UC Santa Barbara’s Economic Forecast Project (EFP) is bringing back a once popular, but long defunct, program to examine the overall health of the region. The 2017 Santa Barbara Community Indicators Report (SBCIR) will take place Tuesday, Sept. 26 from 3-5 p.m. in the Board Hearing Room of the Santa Barbara County Administrative Building.

The presentation, which promises an updated look at key factors affecting the Central Coast, is free and open to the public. It requires no prior registration or RSVP.

EFP Executive Director Peter Rupert, also a professor of economics at UCSB, will first discuss current social, environmental and economic data for both the North County and the South Coast. Teni Adedeji, EFP research assistant, will then present data about poverty and education. The evening will close with remarks by Bhupi Singh, executive vice president of Direct Relief.

The event will offer a comprehensive look at the community’s wellbeing. After the presentation, EFP will make available a free digital publication outlining the most current data in categories like demographics, housing, education and business vitality.

“Our traditional Economic Summit book contains a lot of information, but is somewhat lacking in non-economic areas, such as nature, homelessness and other topics that speak to the overall health of our community,” said Rupert. “I think some of the data we are going to provide, like our statistics on poverty and homelessness in a wealthy area such as Santa Barbara, will be especially sobering.”

Underwritten by the Hutton Parker Foundation, Mosher Foundation, Montecito Bank & Trust, and the Gretler Foundation, the Santa Barbara County Community Indicators Project is a revival of the South Coast Community Indicators Project, which ran from 1998 to 2003. It seeks to reflect the balance of social and economic factors that most affect residents of Santa Barbara County, and to stimulate public dialogue.

“Several community members reached out and asked if we could revive the Community Indicators Project,” commented Rupert. “With the generous support of our sponsors, we are excited to provide this service to Santa Barbara.”