Tools and evidence for measuring belonging in community programs
Free measurement guidance, Australian and global loneliness research, and a starter set of belonging measures you can use with or without us.
The slides
Every slide from the session, including the design principles and the five dimensions of belonging.
Available after 22 OctoberThe Belonging Audit
A free one-page self-audit for your program. Score how well your space supports belonging across five dimensions, in about ten minutes.
Get the audit →See CoNectar in action
A short walkthrough of how members connect between sessions, from a single prompt to a support network they carry with them.
Watch the demo →Social connection is now a recognized public health priority
Three figures worth knowing, each linked to its source so you can quote them with confidence.
A starter set of belonging measures
If you want to measure connection in your program and aren't sure where to begin, this is a practical starting point. Five dimensions, one plain-language item each, scored 1 to 5 at the start and end of a program. Use it with or without us.
| Dimension | Suggested item | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Presence | "I had somewhere to go when I wanted to talk about this." | Whether a space existed at all, in the member's eyes |
| Recognition | "I felt noticed by others in this group." | Whether members feel seen, often the reason people come back |
| Contribution | "I had something worth offering to others here." | Whether members move from receiving support to giving it |
| Safety | "I could be honest here without worrying how it would land." | Whether sharing felt possible, which shapes everything else |
| Continuity | "I felt connected to this group between sessions." | The in-between specifically, the measure most programs lack |
Use these alongside a validated loneliness measure, not instead of one. The UCLA Loneliness Scale and the ONS single-item measure are both widely used, and the guides in the library below explain how to choose between them.
Evidence and guidance for programs measuring connection
Work we think is genuinely worth your time, from organizations other than us. Updated as new research lands.
A Guide to Measuring Loneliness for Community Organisations
Badcock and Lim. The practical starting point if your organization wants to measure loneliness properly and isn't sure which instrument to use.
State of the Nation: Social Connection in Australia
A survey of more than 4,000 Australians linking loneliness to health, service use, stigma and productivity. The report to quote in a funding application.
The full ELT resource library
Evaluation and reporting guides for community organizations, white papers, and a plain-language summary of the WHO Commission report. All open access.
From Loneliness to Social Connection
The flagship report of the WHO Commission on Social Connection, making the global case for treating connection as a public health priority.
Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation
The advisory that put social connection on the public health agenda, with a framework for what communities and organizations can do.
Social Relationships and Mortality Risk
The landmark meta-analysis showing social relationships predict survival on a scale comparable to well-known health risks.
Measuring What Matters: the case for loneliness
ELT's submission arguing for loneliness as a national wellbeing indicator. Useful framing if you're making the case for connection funding internally.
Measuring loneliness: guidance for charities
How to use the ONS measures in program evaluation, written for people responsible for monitoring rather than researchers. Now a preserved archive.
Loneliness measures and guidance hub
A curated catalogue of measurement tools, evaluation guides and toolkits from national and local loneliness campaigns.
Measuring belonging, answered simply
How can a community program measure belonging?
Start with a short set of plain-language questions asked at the beginning and end of your program, like the starter set above, alongside a validated loneliness measure. To see connection as it happens rather than only at the end, you also need a way to observe how members engage with each other between sessions.
What is the difference between loneliness and social isolation?
Social isolation is about how few connections someone has. Loneliness is the painful feeling that your connections don't meet your needs. Someone can be surrounded by people and still feel lonely, which is why programs benefit from measuring both.
Why does the time between sessions matter?
Most programs meet weekly or fortnightly, so members spend far more time between sessions than in them. That in-between is where early connections either grow or fade, and it's usually the part of a program with the least support and the least visibility.
Are there free tools for measuring loneliness?
Yes. The UCLA Loneliness Scale and the ONS single-item measure are both free and widely used. Ending Loneliness Together's guide for community organizations, listed above, is the best Australian starting point for choosing between them.
Want the in-between measured for you?
These tools help you measure connection yourself. A CoNectar pilot does it continuously, alongside a private space where that connection actually happens.