We are currently considering a number of research studies and we welcome your ideas.

Click on the links about the following topics, when they appear on this page, to learn about the research we are doing and how you can participate:

  • Support for people with a disability in the Blue Mountains
  • Wellbeing and resilience of our community
  • Housing, homelessness and affordable housing
  • Grandparents, Elders and Blue Mountains families

Support for people with a disability in the Blue Mountains 

The rollout of the NDIS in the Blue Mountains has had a big impact on our community and we would like to understand more about this impact and what role council can take.

We will be speaking with participants, non-participants, carers, families, service providers, the NDIA, and other organisations/members of our community over the coming months. 

Watch this space for further detail about this project and how you can be involved.

If you would like to be involved in the design or implementation of this project, or have some ideas on things you would like us to research, please contact our Social Researcher through the contact details at the bottom of this page.

Wellbeing and resilience of our community 

As a member of the Stronger Families Alliance we are developing a long term plan to support children and young people in the Blue Mountains.

In partnership with the Department of Education, we are asking all secondary students and the wider Blue Mountains community to complete a Wellbeing and Resilience survey. This survey is planned for terms 3 and 4. If your high school hasn’t signed up to complete the survey and would like to please contact our Social Researcher, Community Development Team. 

The results from the survey will be used to measure well-being and resilience levels in our community. This allows us to compare to other communities and we can track changes to our wellbeing and resilience levels over time. 

The survey results will be publicly available and can be used to target programs, resources, advocacy and support for our community.  The results will be updated regularly.

For more information about Stronger Families Alliance please visit www.strongerfamilies.net.au

Or our Facebook page @strongerfamiliesalliance.

If you would like to know more about this project, or would like to be involved, contact our Social Researcher through the contact details at the bottom of this page.

Housing, homelessness and affordable housing

We know that housing is one of the most important issues for our community, and affordable and well-designed housing is one of the key outcomes that Council hopes to achieve by 2035, particularly:

  • Housing that supports the diverse needs of our community
  • Housing that young people can afford
  • Housing of different sizes.

If you like more information about Council's key outcomes in this area, view our Community Strategic Plan.

Issues that we are looking to investigate in this research on Housing, Homelessness and Affordable Housing in the Blue Mountains are:

  • How much house prices have risen in the past ten years?
  • Is paying your mortgage/rent more difficult than previous years? 
  • How many people in the Mountains are homeless or at risk of being homeless? 
  • How do the Mountains compare with other regions?
  • Innovations and new ideas to improve housing affordability in our community.

Our findings will be used by council to inform future strategies, decisions and funding. It will be available to the public and service providers.

If you would like to be involved in this research or would like more information please contact our Social Researcher,through the contact details at the bottom of this page.

Grandparents and Elders in our community 

We know that grandparents, elders and older members of our community make an invaluable contribution to families. This may be in the form of:

  • Child care
  • Mentoring
  • Emotional support
  • Key decision makers
  • Knowledge
  • Bringing the family together
  • Teachers
  • Next of kin
  • Other types of support

We want to know more about this contribution and what life is like for grandparents, Elders and older members of the Blue Mountains. 

We want to recognise the work of these people, listen to what they have to say and improve services in the Blue Mountains. We would love to hear from you!

Over the coming months we will be hosting events for grandparents, elders and older people. We will be talking with our community and doing research.

Watch this space for more detail.

More information

For more information or to get involved please contact our Social Researcher, Community Development. 

Council’s Social Researcher - Community Development
Phone: 4780 5726
Email: rwalker@bmcc.nsw.gov.au