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For personal improvement, the three predictors combined explained 17.4 per cent of the variance. Both FRC endorsement (ß = .17, p < .001) and responsibility (ß = .24, p < .001) were significant predictors of perceived personal improvement, while leadership was not. Therefore, for each unit increase in the 1–10 Endorsement scale, there was a 16 per cent increase in the probability that participants would be in a higher category on the perceived personal improvement scale, and that for each unit increase on the 1–10 Responsibility scale, there was a 24 per cent increase in this same probability. Overall, the logistic regression results demonstrate that the more people endorsed the FRC, the more likely they were to also say that things were ‘on the way up’ (rather than ‘the same’ or ‘on the way down’) for the community and themselves personally. For community improvement, the same pattern was observed for leadership (but not responsibility). For personal improvement, the same pattern was observed for responsibility (but not leadership).

### 5.8 of findings and policy implications 5.8 of findings and policy implications

Overall, these findings indicate that there is a perception among community members that things have changed over the period since the trial started. For example, there was evidence that almost 59 per cent of respondents indicated that community life was on the way up and 56 per cent indicated that personal life was on the way up. Furthermore, in relation to child wellbeing, between 50 per cent and 60 per cent of respondents indicated that children were eating healthier food, and that children were more active and happier compared to the time before the trial started. There is also support for the idea that there is more respect for elders and leaders than three years ago and that people in the community are working better together and are putting in more effort to make the community a better place to live. Responses from the social change survey also indicate that on average the activities of the FRC are endorsed by community members and that there are strong leadership and motivations towards individual and family responsibility in solving difficulties and problems. With respect to current aspects of community life (wellbeing, seeking health support, home living and community engagement), the results indicate that behaviour in these communities is aligning with community aspirations. The findings of the social change survey go further than this. There is some support for the trial logic in that endorsement of the FRC was related to leadership and responsibility outcomes and also outcome variables of interest. The main results can be summarised as follows: The more respondents endorsed the FRC, the more likely they were to say that things were • ‘on the way up’ (rather than ‘the same’ or ‘on the way down’) both for their community and for themselves personally. In terms of the relationships among the explanatory variables (FRC endorsement, • perceptions of strong leadership and levels of responsibility), respondents who reported stronger endorsement of the FRC were also more likely to report strong leadership and higher levels of improved responsibility. When considered alone, FRC endorsement contributed significantly to explaining both • community engagement change and leadership change, contributing over 20 per cent of the variance in these variables. Adding perceptions of strong leadership and levels of responsibility to the model significantly increased the amount of variance explained and also reduced the contribution of FRC endorsement to community engagement and leadership change. Strong leadership in particular was an important explanatory variable.

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