Quality of Life Index - Going Forward

COCHISE COUNTY - QUALITY OF LIFE INDEX
A Project of the Cochise Community Foundation, the Cochise College Center for Economic Research and Cochise County

Maintaining the Index in the Future
The three partner organizations are committed to maintain the Index for a decade. We look forward to community feedback on this initial effort to improve future versions. We want to hear what works and what needs more work.

2006 is the first year for the Cochise Quality of Life Index. Our goal has been to provide residents with a baseline against which to measure progress up or down in the various categories that affect Quality of Life in Cochise County . In coming years, we hope to be able to improve the timeliness and quality of some of the information presented here to increase community understanding of these issues.

How will the QOL Index affect public decisions and investments?
The Index is a tool for community leaders. It is information to help leadership – which includes many of us who volunteer on boards or in service clubs – make good choices. While it is too early to tell how members of the community will incorporate the Index into their activities, the project sponsors intend to use the Index in several ways.

The Community Foundation will use the QOL Index to be more strategic in their grant making by investing in local causes most important to County residents. It will help them develop charitable funds to address these areas.
The QOL Index is a natural extension of the Cochise College ’s Center for Economic Research and its mission, which is to analyze and interpret economic data for Cochise County to assist leaders in making informed decisions on business and public policy issues.
Elected and appointed county officials will be able to use the Index to address the needs of their constituents more effectively.

What the QOL Index Tells us in 2006

The Quality of Life in Cochise County is 100, as the Index is set to 100 in this base year.

The Survey tells us that what we are measuring, these 24 indicators, is important to residents.

A baseline for the Quality of Life in the County has been established. How we will measure ourselves in the future has been determined.