Fresh eggs and information in times of COVID-19
We are living through interesting times. The team at Planalytics are now working from home in Greytown, Featherston, and Carterton. We are supporting each other through regular (and spontaneous!) online catch-ups, positive information sharing, and just good old-fashioned listening to each other. Also, we’re hoping that Lucy will keep up our regular supply of fresh eggs - we just need to figure out the delivery mechanism!
In addition, we are advancing our thinking around how we can support our local Wairarapa community. As a collective group, many of us have the same questions around how to keep our whānau, employees, and communities safe. At this point in time, we believe that up-to-date information of immediate local relevance is one of our most important assets.
But how do communities access such information?
Aside from the important central government advice around COVID-19, we were interested to see how local and regional councils across the country are responding to this challenge. As we know, our councils are often the first port of call in an emergency and a familiar presence in our day-to-day lives.
To find out what information was out there, we undertook a quick analysis of the homepages of all 78 council websites across the country. We did this on both the 18th and the 25th of March (note that this analysis did not include council social media).
What did we find? Well, as at 18 March 2020:
62% of homepages for New Zealand’s 78 council websites included information for the public regarding COVID-19; and 38% did not.
58% of homepages for North Island council websites included information for the public regarding COVID-19; and 42% did not.
68% of homepages for South Island council websites included information for the public regarding COVID-19; and 32% did not.
29% of homepages for regional council or unitary authority websites included information for the public regarding COVID-19; and 71% did not.
70% of homepages for remaining territorial authority websites included information for the public regarding COVID-19; and 30% did not.
We then reviewed the homepages of all 78 council websites across the country again exactly one week later. As at 25 March 2020, 100% of councils in New Zealand contained information regarding COVID-19, or links to other credible information sources, on the homepage of their websites. Kia kaha councils.
What does this mean?
Sure, a national state of emergency was declared on 25 March, but the increase from 62% to 100% of councils across the country providing information regarding COVID-19 on their websites is encouraging. It shows that councils are stepping up in these challenging times to support the wellbeing of their communities.
How are we looking to help?
At Planalytics, we take our role providing evidence-based research and monitoring that supports the decision-making of businesses, councils, and community leaders very seriously. We are already starting to collect data on the impacts of COVID-19 on the construction industry, and discussing how we can support community information-sharing through social media. We will continue to keep you updated on our thinking and analysis.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch and let us know how you’re faring. Particularly if you have ideas and suggestions around how we can learn from this experience and increase our community resilience (just email Toni at toni@planalytics.co.nz). Go well New Zealand, and be safe.
