The Australian Bureau of Statistics has developed a draft Information Development Plan outlining the priorities in the not for profit sector.
The plan is in response to the Productivity Commission’s recommendation to develop a plan proposed in the research report ‘Contribution of the Not for Profit Sector’, released earlier in the year.
The report said there is considerable scope for better measurement within the sector and provided a framework for measuring its contributions.
The plan focuses on regulatory, financial and other reporting issues, particularly in the context of government funded service contracting.
The Productivity Commission said the plan would address deficiencies in the availability, timeliness, scope, quality and accessibility of data needed to better measure the contribution of the sector.
The ABS said producing a plan was a major undertaking and with its limited resources, reaching the Productivity Commission’s recommended outcomes for a plan was difficult.
“The extension of the statistical framework to include social indicators of outputs, outcomes and impacts is in its infancy,” ABS said in a statement.
“Substantial work would be required to investigate and develop the framework to scope what is feasible and what data are required. It was not feasible to do this in the context of this draft Information Development Plan.”
