SocioLogic | Community infrastructure consultants (Victoria)
specialists in community and social infrastructure planning

Services and projects

Always tailored to the client’s needs

SOCIAL & COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE PLANS AND NEEDS ASSESSMENTS (GAP ANALYSIS)

Social and community infrastructure planning responds to community needs; but what are these “needs”? We take a highly spatial approach that uses data and systems to analyse community need in several different ways: quantity, capacity, utilisation, physical condition, fitness for purpose, and travel accessibility. This produces a comprehensive evidence base with which to identify priorities for investment in community infrastructure and inform councils’ planning decisions, asset management and advocacy.

 

    • Social and Community Infrastructure Plan and internal planning framework, Whitehorse City Council [underway 2024-25]

    • Comprehensive community and service needs analyses to support the Community Infrastructure Plan, Stonnington City Council [completed 2024]

    • Service and social infrastructure assessment for the Blackforest Road North and Riverdale Precinct Structure Plans (PSPs), Wyndham City Council [completed 2023]

    • Library Service Review (social infrastructure planning, infrastructure audit and analysis, spatial network planning), Whittlesea City Council [completed 2023]

    • Casey Community Services and Infrastructure Plan, phase 1, Casey City Council [completed 2023]

    • Needs analyses supporting the Community Infrastructure Planning Process, Southern Grampians Shire Council [completed 2022]

    • Community Service and Infrastructure Plan, Golden Plain Shire Council [completed 2021]

    • Community Infrastructure Strategic Priorities, Moorabool Shire Council [completed 2020]

    • Integrated Community Service and Infrastructure Plan (update), Mitchell Shire Council [completed 2019]

    • Community infrastructure needs assessments: Brunswick, Glenroy and Hadfield, Moreland City Council [completed 2018-2020]

INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING FRAMEWORKS & STRATEGIC GOVERNANCE

Victorian councils are moving away from inflexible ‘snapshot in time’ plans and studies towards repeatable, updatable and comprehensive infrastructure planning processes that involve multiple service areas. SocioLogic has worked with several councils on whole-of-organisation frameworks that align facilities planning, service planning, asset management, strategic land-use planning and long-term financial resource planning.

 

FITNESS FOR PURPOSE ASSESSMENTS / ASSET FUNCTIONALITY

Physical condition audits are a critical source of information, but they don’t tell the whole story of whether facilities are fit for the purpose of delivering services and supporting community activities. The paint might be peeling and the roof leaks but what if the facility is the right size, well configured, in the perfect location and has good parking and transport access?

Our fitness for purpose assessment methodology and tools with the CASIMO web app are based on over seven years’ collaborative development across numerous councils. Our results have informed several published Community Infrastructure Plans and Asset Plans. We know our assessments work and will advance your understanding of your assets’ physical suitability.

 

KINDERGARTEN SUPPLY AND DEMAND ANALYSIS (& KISP REVIEW)

Since its formation in 2017 SocioLogic has been conducting needs assessments for kindergarten, childcare and other early years services. When the Department of Education and Training (DET) commenced its program of Kindergarten Infrastructure and Services Plans (KISPs) in August 2020, SocioLogic began assisting Victorian LGAs to conduct detailed supply and demand modelling of kindergarten for three and four-year-olds. And, when the Victorian Government announced increased funding for 30 hours of ‘pre-prep’ kindergarten for four-year-olds, SocioLogic began helping LGAs understand the impact of that new funding on their current program of kindergarten improvements and on long-term demand.

 

COMMUNITY FACILITY CAPACITY AND UTILISATION ASSESSMENTS

Since 2018 SocioLogic has been working with a number of councils to develop a suite of measures and tools for assessing current levels of use of community facilities and services. The resulting Capacity and Utilisation Assessments show whether infrastructure is well or poorly used, illustrate comparative use between different user groups and hirer types, show patterns of use between seasons, weekdays and weekends, and show differences in public use of different facility types and between suburbs and townships. Our comprehensive tools in CASIMO and Excel can handle data from online facility booking systems as well as course estimates of use from facility providers, sports clubs and community committees of management.