Toolkit: Methods
How the Annual Report was assembled, and what can be done with the results, are illustrated in the UQ Boomtown Toolkit. The UQ Toolkit was designed to enable collaboration among local government, community, business, and industry.
Cumulative impacts study: Changes in the Western Downs
The Toolkit grew out of a focused study of cumulative social and economic impacts accompanying coal seam gas development in the Western Downs local government area. Insights from that report - Cumulative Socioeconomic Impacts of Coal Seam Gas Development in the Western Downs, Queensland - have been presented to industry, government and community numerous times over the past two years. Key 'big picture' findings relate to expectations, diversity, and movement/migration.
Town data booklets: Detail information on each town
This website is augmented by town data booklets on Dalby, Chinchilla, Miles, Wandoan, Roma, Wallumbilla, Toowoomba, Moranbah, and Dysart. Each town booklet contains trend data on the town for 2001-2015 (soon to be updated with 2016 data) on indicators - population, unemployment, income, housing costs, and crime rates. Each booklet also contains insights from interviews of key stakeholders - mayor, police, school principal, manager of the community centre, head of the chamber of commerce, knowledgeable real estate agent, experienced pub owner, etc.
We have completed additional interviews in 2016, 2017, and 2018 to update insights from earlier interviews. Methods employed to assemble the town data booklets are described in the Toolkit. The booklets are summarised on this site with complete booklets downloadable as PDFs. The town data booklets are available from the 'Data Updates' page, which can be reached from the 'Annual Reports' page.
Further insight: Articles and presentations
Detailed analysis, beyond what is contained here, that addresses particular issues e.g. housing, migration, business development - will be available through peer-reviewed, academic journal articles. Such articles typically take 1-2 years to be reviewed and published. They will be cited on this website as they emerge. The research team are also happy to provide presentations and advice on specifics related to their research findings. For example, we provide updates for the Gasfields Commission Queensland and provided input for local, state, and federal governments as well as ongoing reports for the gas industry, farming industry, and relevant professional organisations.
Reports from other UQ studies of gasfield communities are also being made available here. The UQ business school study of factors contributing to resilience and good performance in small-to medium-sized enterprises (SME) is available here: UQ Business School SME Resilience Study: Report. A summary of findings can be seen here, in The Conversation. An overview of the study is here.
Studies by other researchers, such as in the Gasfield Social Scientists network, are revealing. A bibliography of such studies has been compiled and updated by UQ PhD candidate, Liz Hardie. That bibliography can be downloaded here.