Message from Lucy Saaroni, Executive Manager Fire Prevention and Preparedness
ART or Activity Reporting Tool is the new way you can highlight the vital work you do in your community to raise awareness and encourage action on fire safety and preparedness.
Activity Reporting Tool (ART) is a web-based application to help brigades record and track community engagement activities delivered in their local communities.
Less than six months after its launch, ART is already demonstrating its value.
Through ART we've been able to show that our people ran 1,374 individual activities and engaged more than 64,000 people from July to December, with most activities regular sessions focusing on home or bushfire safety and attendance at local festivals and fairs.
Not only does ART report on community engagement activity, it also allows you to view and compare what activities are being run by other brigades. You can see what activities are popular and work best as well as uncover opportunities for collaboration and sharing of resources in your region and district.
We're already seeing clear trends in regional data. In the North East Region, brigades run more tailored Fire Ready Victoria sessions, while in the South West Region, the data shows more engagement through community events.
For CFA, ART allows us to see what programs are being used, where, as well as what resources and training are needed to support the delivery of these programs. It also allows us to more accurately report on our community engagement activities at the state level.
The feedback on ART has been positive - brigades see it as an opportunity to highlight the work that they do to engage with their community. This is turn can help justify a need for funding because they are able to show exactly what programs they are running and how they are reaching out and engaging with their communities.
ART is easy to access and use, and each report takes less than five minutes to complete. It's as simple as logging in to Members Online and stepping through the process. We've prepared resources to help you navigate as well as show you what to report on. You can also get support from your district community safety team.
ART is an evolving tool and will be continuously updated and improved in line with your feedback and as reporting needs change. We look forward to delivering further features and enhancements in 2020 including the ability to report on Community Fire Guard activities and Personal Advice Visits (PAVs) and use ART offline.
Thank you to those CFA people using ART and helping us demonstrate the enormous impact our people make in building community fire resilience.
If you're not currently using the tool, I encourage you to visit ART on Members Online to get started.
