FAQs

The Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) is a national initiative supported by an independent, non-partisan group of national and international leaders, researchers, organizations, and grassroots citizens who are developing a new way of measuring wellbeing in Canada. The CIW Network is based at the University of Waterloo. 

• Vision: To enable all Canadians to share in the highest wellbeing status by identifying, developing and publicizing statistical measures that offer clear, valid and regular reporting on progress toward wellbeing goals and outcomes Canadians seek as a nation.
• Mission: Conduct rigorous research and report on the quality of life of Canadians; encourage policy shapers and government leaders to make decisions based on solid evidence; and empower Canadians to advocate for change that responds to their needs and values.

Safe and Well Oxford represents the Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) plan that was developed and endorsed in 2021 by all eight (8) area municipalities in Oxford County.

CSWB plans are provincially legislated and set out the plan for how government, service providers, residents and businesses can work together to address the root causes of the most complex social issues Oxford communities face. 

Although there are many areas that influence the safety and well-being of communities, there are currently five priority risks that Safe and Well Oxford is working to address through a social development and prevention lens: (1) mental health; (2) affordable housing; (3) substance misuse; (4) equity, diversity and inclusion; (5) gender-based violence.

Safe and Well Oxford will continue to guide and enable Oxford’s municipalities to achieve a shared vision of cultivating and sustaining communities where individuals and families feel safe, supported and included and where they can access what they need, when they need it to live fully.

The 5-year Community Safety and Well-being Plan does not rest solely on the shoulders of police and service providers but is a shared responsibility of all members of the community, bringing our area and regional municipalities together with residents, community agencies and multi-sectoral partners to develop unified solutions to address our priority risk themes and improve the overall well-being of our communities. Implementation of Safe and Well Oxford is to be driven by a multi-sectoral Steering Committee.

Importantly, we are gathering information on how Oxford County residents are really doing – is our overall quality of life getting better or worse? Are we getting closer or moving farther away from realizing the kind of communities we want to live in? We are inviting residents in our community to have their say.

We are also doing the survey to gather information so that we can ensure that the Safe and Well Oxford Plan clearly reflects the perspectives and feelings of the residents of Oxford. With this information, the plan will be updated so that the best solutions possible can be proposed and developed to address the priority risks that Oxford County is facing.

This survey is part of the broader Canadian Index of Wellbeing mandate to measure the quality of life in communities across Canada. It will also generate new data, specific to our communities, to highlight our current experiences and help us set targets for the future. 

The survey will provide information on how Oxford County residents feel about the quality of their lives. The results of the survey will be compiled into a summary report reflecting the responses of residents and will be publicly accessible from the Canadian Index of Wellbeing and Safe and Well Oxford websites in the fall of 2025. Specifically:

• Safe and Well Oxford will use the information (with additional feedback gathered through future interviews and stakeholder feedback) to inform the next version of the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan. For Oxford residents, the results of the survey will provide an opportunity to indicate how they are really doing with many important aspects of their quality of life. With subsequent surveys, every five years, trend lines over time will show which aspects of our quality of life are improving, and which aspects are in need of improvement.
  
  
• Other community organizations in Oxford County can request access to the data files through an agreement with the University of Waterloo, for the purpose of advancing quality of life in our communities.
  
  
• The Canadian Index of Wellbeing will use the information to learn about wellbeing across Canada. CIW's findings in the past few years have uncovered some concerns about the connection between our economy and our wellbeing. When Canada’s economy was thriving, Canadians saw only modest improvements in their overall quality of life, but when the economy faltered our wellbeing took a disproportionate step backward. It begs the question: Are our governments truly responding to the needs and values of everyday Canadians?

The invitation postcard was sent to every household in Oxford County. None of our organizations nor the CIW will ever know which residents responded to the invitation to complete the survey.

Your responses to the survey are completely anonymous. At no time will we know the names or addresses of anyone who chooses to participate.

To protect your privacy:

• Online version: When you complete the survey online, your answers are recorded on a secure computer at the University of Waterloo where only the researchers at the Canadian Index of Wellbeing will have access to the data. At no time will your name or address be requested or linked to your survey responses.
  
  
• Paper version: If you choose to complete a paper version of the survey, you will mail it back directly to the researchers at the Canadian Index of Wellbeing at the University of Waterloo in a pre-paid, addressed envelope. You do not include your name/address on the survey when you return it.

If you wish to enter the draw for one of the prizes as a thank you for  participating, you will be asked to provide your name and email or phone number so that you can be contacted should you be one of the lucky winners. This information will be gathered and kept separately from your survey and will not be seen by the researchers.

• Online version: When you complete the survey and click on the “enter survey” link, you are taken to a secure webpage to provide your contact information. This information is destroyed once the draw has taken place.
  
  
• Paper version: You will be asked to provide your contact information on a paper ballot, and seal it in a separate envelope provided in the survey package. This envelope is placed in the business reply envelope along with your completed survey. When the package arrives at the CIW, the ballot and the questionnaire are separated, so the completed survey is not linked to the contact information on the ballot.

There will be draws for 10 gift certificates valued at $100 each. Each individual drawn will be contacted and will have the opportunity to choose a local business for their prize. 

On rare occasions, people have been unable to access the survey even after using the QR code shown on the invitation postcard. If this happens to you, another way to access the survey is by going directly to the survey information page through Speak Up, Oxford!. 

The direct link to the site is https://safewelloxford.ca/SURVEY. 

If you still cannot access the survey online – or would prefer to complete a paper version of the survey – please call us at 519-539-9800 ext. 3004 and we will help you access the survey.

We have tested the survey and found that it takes about 35 minutes to complete. The survey is longer than most surveys, but it covers many important aspects of your and your community’s quality of life.

Yes! Any member of a household who is at least 16 years of age can complete the survey. This will ensure that as many residents as possible can participate in the survey.

We retain all survey responses no matter how much of the survey is completed. We then evaluate every incomplete survey to determine if there is enough data to warrant inclusion. The decision is ultimately based on a variety of considerations – more art than science – but the surveys that are kept do provide good information.