Public life feels exhausting in an era of polarization and isolation. This piece argues that “community” isn’t sentimental—it’s a practical, evidence-based strategy for strengthening well-being and civic resilience. Drawing on research about belonging, influence, and shared connection, it shows how diverse people can work together on common needs—even in unlikely places.

Most community initiatives don’t fail because of bad ideas — they fail because the infrastructure isn’t built to last. This post shows how communities can create systems that sustain leadership, align resources, and deliver long-term impact.

Most community efforts focus on short-term programs — but lasting change requires something deeper. This post explains how building community capacity infrastructure can transform fragmented efforts into sustained impact — and what you can do to get started.

Inviting people into the room isn’t enough. If they can’t follow the conversation, understand their role, or trust the process, they won’t stay. This piece explores what meaningful participation really requires—and how to build it from the ground up.

Everyone is talking about “signals,” but what do they actually mean for strategy? This article explores how early indicators of change help leaders recognize emerging system shifts, identify new opportunities, and adapt strategies before major transitions unfold.

Youth programs are making a difference every day—but proving it remains a challenge. Discover what’s behind the gap and how organizations and funders can better measure and communicate real impact.

Community engagement and power shifting are not the same. In this second post of the series, Jasmine Williams-Washington examines when participation is appropriate and when institutions must share real decisionmaking authority. Through practical examples and reflections from philanthropy and public systems, the article explores how organizations can align responsibility, authority, and trust in community change.

Signals of Alignment: Trauma-informed Practices in Community Engagement and Power Sharing is a reflection tool for anyone working to align care and power in community change efforts.

Engagement brings community voice into decisions. Power shifting changes who decides.

True sustainability isn’t about programs that end—it’s about communities that keep solving problems. Learn how community capacity shapes resilience, equity, and enduring impact.

Story-based evaluation is more than data collection. Learn how to design ethical, culturally responsive storytelling practices that support connection and wellbeing.

Polarization and disconnection are real—but “sense of community” doesn’t have to be a vague ideal. See how Community Science measures belonging, influence, and connection—and turns the results into practical strategies that help partners target resources, bridge divides, and track progress over time.

Public life feels exhausting in an era of polarization and isolation. This piece argues that “community” isn’t sentimental—it’s a practical, evidence-based strategy for strengthening well-being and civic resilience. Drawing on research about belonging, influence, and shared connection, it shows how diverse people can work together on common needs—even in unlikely places.

What does it take for organizations to stay in equity work when it becomes uncomfortable? Drawing on insights from What Your Comfort Costs Us by M. Gabriela Alcalde, this reflection explores how structure, repair, and shared leadership shape organizational culture—and why collective accountability is essential for sustainable change.

Nonprofit challenges are not a short-term disruption. This blog explores how funders can align support with organizational reality to strengthen resilience instead of adding strain.

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Rooted in Leadership is a hands-on tool for evaluating leadership that centers community, equity, and shared power. Designed for practitioners, funders, and evaluators, it helps you track changes in relationships, culture, and systems—not just personal growth. Use it to rethink what success looks like in leadership development and to align your evaluation with values of equity and collaboration.

Traditional evaluation doesn’t always work for complex systems change. In this session, you’ll learn how The Rippel Foundation and Community Science built a new approach to learning and measurement that centers equity, adaptability, and impact.

Learn how Community Science and Family League of Baltimore co-created a human-centered evaluation process that elevated youth voice, shaped strategy, and advanced system-level change across Baltimore.

Civil society is under pressure — trust is declining, advocacy is weakening, and communities are increasingly fragmented. This blog explores how the social sector can rebuild collective power through trust, movement-building, coordinated action, and deep community engagement.

Real equity work requires more than representation. It requires community. This post explains how strengthening relationships, trust, and shared learning unlocks more effective, impactful systems change.

Organizations navigating today’s shifting landscape still hold real power — especially when they use data intentionally. This blog shares lessons from work with Family League of Baltimore, offering insights on data-driven strategy, collaboration, and community-centered learning.

Leadership works best when it feels like hosting a space where people genuinely want to show up. This blog uses warm, memorable metaphors to show how purpose, belonging, and shared rhythm can transform the way teams experience leadership.

Learn how to expand your community impact by reframing your narrative, bridging divides, and using data to drive decisions. Get fresh insights from the 2025 People and Places Conference.

Traditional evaluation doesn’t always work for complex systems change. In this session, you’ll learn how The Rippel Foundation and Community Science built a new approach to learning and measurement that centers equity, adaptability, and impact.

This blog challenges data collectors to rethink how we frame recovery metrics. Instead of focusing on individual shortcomings, what if our data helped expose—and change—the systems that hinder equitable treatment?

Youth are facing intersecting crises, from housing to climate. This post offers 4 real strategies for creating opportunity — and why the time to act is now.

Nonprofit leaders are navigating burnout, systemic barriers, and short-term pressures. Rooted leadership offers a sustainable alternative—grounded in community trust, cultural humility, and long-term vision.

Strong organizations don’t just react to change—they plan for it. Learn how to create resilient decision-making structures that empower teams, integrate equity, and adapt to uncertainty.

Last week in Nashville, I joined movement leaders, artists, youth organizers, and philanthropic partners for the Neighborhood Funders Group's 2025 convening. It was more than a gathering - it was a reminder of why we do this work and how we must continue doing it together. As someone who supports funders in aligning strategy with movement needs, I came to this convening with a clear purpose: to listen, reflect, and…

Last month, we partnered with Washington State's Department of Ecology to deliver a workshop on trauma-informed practices for transformative community engagement. The session brought together more than 60 Ecology staff across programs, and the energy was palpable. Participants were engaged, asked powerful questions, and shared a strong desire for continued learning. Many reflected on how the tools we shared helped them think differently about building trust, navigating harm, and showing…

"The Democratic Party approaches rural America as missionaries and not as neighbors." -Attributed to David Axelrod, shared by former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp (July 1, Brookings Institution, Washington, DC) That quote has stayed with me since attending the launch of the Brookings-American Enterprise Institute Commission on U.S. Rural Prosperity in early July. While the desire to help is genuine and appropriate, the underlying assumption is problematic: that rural Americans lack…

Explore how aligning data with purpose and context can drive equity and informed decision-making in this pre-recorded webinar, The Data Mirage: Why Purpose and Context Matter.

 Join Community Science's webinar to enhance your strategic alignment. Learn to navigate from urgent needs to long-term impact, focusing on capacity building and mission accountability.

At Community Science, we often find ourselves reflecting on a powerful, recurring theme: how we, as evaluators, engage in difficult conversations and navigate moments of uncertainty with our partners-grantees, funders, and community leaders alike. These moments go beyond choosing the right words. They're about presence, trust, and the way we show up when the path forward isn't always clear. What follows is a glimpse into those reflections-insights from our team's…

Over the last several issues of our newsletter, we've explored the importance of understanding and respecting rural cultures-particularly how those insights influence the way we approach evaluations in rural communities. We've also highlighted recurring questions and lessons from place-based change initiatives. Across all community settings, one foundational value consistently emerges beneath both community attributes and evaluation practices: collaboration. Collaboration is essential-not only among community leaders and organizations striving for collective…

In Part 1 of Transformational Healing: Facing Hard Truths, I explored the limitations of the medical model of trauma and recommended community-led strategies to shift healing from something we must "afford" individually to something we intentionally cultivate together. In this post, I share how Black communities have developed survival strategies in response to the harms we have endured; however, these strategies can cause a different form of harm by denying…

In this webinar, mission-driven organizations can discover how to align immediate needs with long-term goals and strengthen your mission.

Explore how culturally competent, place-based evaluation can deepen understanding and impact in rural communities.

Learn how Community Science’s six-step approach to capacity building helps nonprofits find their purpose, build strategic partnerships, and create real, lasting impact in their communities and beyond.

In our ever-evolving world, where once-stable systems are fading away, the social sector is facing unprecedented challenges. There's a growing call for us to rise to the occasion and bridge the gaps in needs, resources, services, and connections within our communities. With so much to accomplish, the 'to-do' list can become the strategy and quickly become overwhelming for any single organization, stretching staff and resources thin and placing our impact…

Explore 30 years of lessons from evaluating place-based grantmaking initiatives. Learn about core challenges, emerging trends, and how funders, evaluators, and communities can better work together for sustainable change.

Curiosity is key to working effectively in rural communities. This post explores how doing your homework, focusing on strengths, and listening with humility can transform rural research and investment.

Learn how organizations can use data more intentionally to support equity, strategy, and clarity. Avoid common pitfalls of out-of-context statistics.

In this webinar, discover how place-based strategies enhance community change and explore effective approaches and tools.

Facing challenges in rural disaster preparedness? In this webinar we share effective strategies for stabilizing housing, enhancing water systems, and planning efforts in a diverse community.

Shifting Trauma from an Individual to a Collective Responsibility In a prior post, Healing: A Path to Personal and Collective Liberation, I discussed how systemic oppression has shaped living conditions that harm our physical, environmental, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Healing is not just personal - it is deeply tied to processing the trauma that oppressed and marginalized communities have endured for centuries. These conditions have caused historical trauma -…

Rural communities are more than just places—they are cultures with deep traditions, strong social ties, and unique challenges. But is your work truly rural-informed? Learn how to recognize rural culture and diversity to improve funding, research, and evaluation.

A youth-led initiative is transforming health outcomes and driving systems change in Eastern Massachusetts through leadership development and community-based strategies—evaluated by Community Science in partnership with the Atrius Health Equity Foundation.

It started with me looking inward. In 2020, I committed to a long-term healing journey, using therapy as my main healing practice, and the experience has been nothing short of transformative. This journey helped me realize how deeply past pain and trauma drove my reactions and choices, often leading me down paths I did not want to take. I accepted that my unhealthy behavioral patterns were significantly affecting my satisfaction…

Strong organizations don’t just react to change—they plan for it. Learn how to create resilient decision-making structures that empower teams, integrate equity, and adapt to uncertainty.

Rural communities are more than just places—they are cultures with deep traditions, strong social ties, and unique challenges. But is your work truly rural-informed? Learn how to recognize rural culture and diversity to improve funding, research, and evaluation.

The New Orleans Youth Master Plan is a network of youth-serving organizations, young people, and other community stakeholders who are working on building out a 10-year multisector

The Eat4health Initiative focuses on lessons learned by the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation from the innovative three-year, multi-funder initiative Everybody at the Table for Health (EAT4Health). EAT4Health sought to counterbalance the predominance of national advocates far removed from on-the-ground problem

In 2021, Community Science began working with The Colorado Trust (The Trust) to evaluate the Building and Bridging Power strategy. The strategy funded more than 37 grantees (23 grassroots/grasstops organizations and 14 media grantees) from 2019 to 2024. The evaluation focused on the 23 grassroots and grasstops to intentionally bridge power between communities, community organizing (or grassroots) organizations, and grasstops policy advocacy organizations so that community voices could lead the…

We are kicking off 2025 with apprehension about the uncertainties ahead, and at the same time, excitement about the change we hope to make toward strong and just communities and systems.

In 2021, Community Science started working with the Wend Collective, founded by James Walton and based in Denver, Colorado. Our evaluation focused on Wend’s Thriving Youth Initiative. The initiative centered around successful models and enabling conditions to help children and youth from historically disadvantaged populations

In this webinar, we explore how to tackle pressing community development challenges like gentrification, displacement, and housing shortages with a fresh, adaptive approach. Learn how to move beyond static metrics and one-size-fits-all solutions to create strategies ...

In this webinar, we explore how to tackle pressing community development challenges like gentrification, displacement, and housing shortages with a fresh, adaptive approach. Learn how to move beyond static metrics and one-size-fits-all solutions to create strategies ...

When faced with challenges, it's tempting to blame a single "villain" for systemic issues, believing their removal will bring resolution. But often, these conflicts stem from deeply rooted organizational patterns rather than individual shortcomings

How can we better predict and plan for changes that affect one critical aspect of community development, like gentrification, displacement, or housing shortages? Many government officials, nonprofit leaders, and foundation program officers come to us with this question, often after investing in large data dashboards or completing housing needs assessments with metrics or strategies that quickly become outdated. Why? Because the housing market and development trends are constantly changing, and…

Engaging community members—both youth and adults with lived experiences—is crucial for driving meaningful and impactful research and evaluation. This webinar will explore innovative approaches to youth engagement, highlighting how intergenerational collaboration can inform both our practice and policy.

Explore how data-driven strategies help youth organizations and funders tackle inequities. Learn evidence-based practices to build resilience and align resources. Ideal for nonprofits, funders, and advocates.

In this webinar, learn how funders can play a pivotal role in driving community-led systems change at scale. Join us for an in-depth look at the ONE Schenectady initiative, launched by The Schenectady Foundation with support from Community Science, to mobilize resident-driven action for lasting equity. This webinar unpacks strategies for building a sustainable power ecosystem through narrative change, community capacity, funder collaboration, and collective power-building. Discover the impact of a 90-day quick win strategy, valuable insights for funders, and practical approaches for transformative, community-centered change.

In this webinar, Brandi Gilbert, who leads our Youth Leadership & Engagement Practice Area, and her panel explore how both chronic and acute stressors intensify inequities for youth, and how youth-supporting organizations and funders can use data-driven strategies to address these challenges together.

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Discover how ONE Schenectady is pioneering sustainable systems change through strategic community power-building. Supported by the Schenectady Foundation and guided by Community Science, this evolving initiative is reshaping local engagement and collaboration by fostering a culture of empowerment, building community capacity, and forming a dedicated funders' alliance. Through quick-win strategies and adaptable support systems, ONE Schenectady has set a blueprint for transforming local governance and addressing systemic inequities. Join our upcoming webinar to learn how to scale these strategies for lasting impact.

In this webinar, Anna Ghosh, Managing Associate, discusses opioid use disorder treatment and how a systems approach can be applied to develop anti-racist strategies for improvement. Let's move from the common narrative that focuses on who “drops out of treatment” to a more constructive narrative of whether the factors within the system facilitate or support treatment retention.

Education is more than just academics—it can address social issues like poverty, mental health, and inequality. By expanding supports for at-risk and disconnected youth beyond the classroom, we can use education to promote overall well-being and build stronger, healthier communities.

The past few years have been filled with many opportunities to work alongside young people aged 12 to 26 in doing what Community Science and I personally care most about - helping youth drive the changes they want to see in their communities. I first came to this work nearly 20 years ago in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, doing research on coping through writing for high school seniors in…

The Eat4health Initiative focuses on lessons learned by the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation from the innovative three-year, multi-funder initiative Everybody at the Table for Health (EAT4Health). EAT4Health sought to counterbalance the predominance of national advocates far removed from on-the-ground problem

W.E.B. Du Bois shared this sentiment in 1935, and in 2024, amidst anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) backlash, it remains relevant and necessary. As we confront the persistent injustices of our modern era, we have much to learn from the teachings and legacies of Black thinkers and our collective resistance movements. As Du Bois argued, prioritizing adherence to rules, legal precedence, and political consistency should not overshadow the values of integrity, justice, and good judgment.

In the last issue of The Change Agents, we talked about the Strength of Community Framework and the role of a sense of community. The framework proposes expanding the boundaries of community to be more inclusive so that more and more people see themselves as part of a larger and growing community. A stronger sense of community enables them to become more inclined to view someone else's triumphs, concerns, and…

Developed by Community Science and Prevention Institute for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). It summarizes findings from a literature review and input from subject matter experts (SMEs) to describe a framework to guide local community coalitions in their efforts to address mental health promotion

In this webinar, we navigate the complexities of educational assessments and their far-reaching impact on equitable access to educational opportunities.

Webinar on measuring and incorporating a sense of community into strategy. A strong sense of community is a powerful way to achieve the goal of creating greater equity. A sense of community is a well-documented and researched fundamental need that all people have. It has brought out the best and worst of humankind. Part two of the series will provide tangible strategies and policies based on this framework as well as how they can be evaluated.

Introducing the "Strengthening Community Framework" designed to enhance community inclusiveness and interconnectedness. This framework emphasizes the expansion of community boundaries to foster a stronger sense of belonging, influence, and mutual support among individuals, which in turn cultivates a deeper emotional connection and collective action within the community.

Evaluation, Learning, and Continuous Strategy Improvement is a necessary and iterative process for building our muscle to keep doing better. In this webinar,  Suprotik Stotz-Ghosh, Principal Associate, and Kien Lee, VP of Consulting at Community Science, explore different tools and tips for learning and the internal dynamics needed to bring this process to life and enable organizations to adjust, improve, and achieve their missions in service of equity. 

Do you feel like your organization is frozen in a mid-organizational change process? Watch these webinars!

There are few words tossed around as much as “community” without requiring further definition or exploration by community leaders, public officials, researchers and evaluators, and others. Yet, there isn’t any other idea more fundamental to the human experience.

Join us for a webinar on this topic. Equitable Measures: The Role of Assessments in Education Do your assessment methods help or hinder students from historically underserved communities? Join us for a pivotal hour-long webinar, "Equitable Measures: The Role of Assessments in Education," where we navigate the complex terrain of educational assessments and their far-reaching impact on equitable access to educational opportunities and resources. Featuring insights from Bruce Johnson, Senior…

Parent leadership has a positive impact on children, families, and society. Carlos Anguiano, Managing Associate, explores this topic through an insightful exploration of cultural influences and family dynamics as exemplified in Disney's "Encanto." Drawing on personal experiences of a Mexican American upbringing, this post delves into the parallels between the film's characters, especially Abuela and Mirabel, and real-life family values and responsibilities.

Emerging Action Principles for Designing and Planning Community Change contains a set of 18 action principles that philanthropic institutions, public agencies, and nonprofit organizations will find helpful as they embark on a journey to design and plan community change efforts. Download a copy here.

In a world experiencing rapid change, a COVID-19 pandemic, widening disparities, and growing frustration with racial inequity and social injustice, philanthropy needs to continue to cultivate and support leaders who can lead with equity at the core. Racial equity is a primary concern; at the same time, racial and ethnic identity intersects with other forms of identities that affect leadership including gender identity, sexual identity, and socioeconomic status. Historically, many leadership

To address the U.S. racial wealth divide, many organizations are taking a localized approach to building Black wealth. See what solutions and models are working in the webinar featuring three of the nations

The New Orleans Youth Master Plan is a network of youth-serving organizations, young people, and other community stakeholders who are working on building out a 10-year multisector

Structural racism embedded in U.S. health care systems not only affects people of low income and minoritized populations who have lived in the country over time, but also immigrants. Furthermore, immigrants must navigate a myriad of health insurance or direct payment options as well as other social safety net programs for themselves and their children often while speaking languages other than English and facing fears of anti-immigrant sentiment including concerns…

Project Director Strategic Evaluation Partner on Black Wealth Development (Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative). According to data from the United States Census Bureau, Atlanta Georgia has the highest income inequality among large US cities. The city’s entrenched racial disparities have been attributed to driving much of Atlanta’s income

Maysoun Freij welcomes Drishti Pillai and Samantha Artiga of KFF, who present new findings from 2023 KFF/LA Times Survey of Immigrants, and Cheasty Anderson of the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition, who describes recent evidence-based advocacy to counter anti-immigrant policies.

This project's aim was to work with the county’s Housing Development Steering Committee (comprising representatives from the public, private, and non-profit sectors) to develop a Housing Needs and Action Plan for Richland County

Brandi Gilbert and the Youth Leadership Practice equip foundations, nonprofits, and practitioners with the methodologies and tools they need to conduct at-risk-youth research that is effective, impactful and ethical.

This learning brief examines when and how context matters and draws on data collected for the macro-evaluation of The Colorado Trust's Community Partnerships for Health Equity strategy (2014–2022). It provides a set of considerations to help philanthropy prepare to do community and systems change work.

Conducting research study interviews with youth who have experienced significant life challenges - homelessness, intimate partner violence, childhood abuse, or other traumas - demands a delicate, compassionate approach. The challenge lies in gathering meaningful data while ensuring a safe and supportive interview environment for the participants. There are four major practices that can help researchers navigate sensitive conversations with youth. Remember, these may need to be adapted to suit individual…

What is the sustainability case? An organization's health, success, and longevity - that is, its sustainability - is more achievable when it invests time and resources to engage, value, and include different perspectives and lived experiences inside the organization and in the communities with which it works and serves. Many nonprofits feel ethically and morally compelled to invest in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and some even feel that this…

The Just Imperative, established in 2018, is a vital way the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (MacArthur Foundation) works towards its goal of a just, verdant and peaceful world.

Community Science, in partnership with BCT Partners and GDIT, is working with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (OMH) to better understand the use and utility of the Think Cultural Health E-Learning programs on the National Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Standards. 

There has been a recent resurgence in supporting greater community engagement by foundations, government agencies, and nonprofits. Currently, these institutions feel a sense of urgency to eliminate racial inequities. In order to achieve equitable systems, there must be equity in the power that actually influences those systems to provide what these communities want, not just to inform them. Community engagement merely to collect information or sensing priorities will not be…

At its onset, the Covid-19 pandemic caused chaos for grantmakers and service providers attempting to meet a sudden, unprecedented demand like they had not seen before. While working to meet this spike in needs, grantmakers changed policies, rethought long-standing systems, and found ways to create novel partnerships changing the speed and velocity of funds flowing into communities. Fast forward to 2023. What changes in systems and processes have endured, and which have not fared as well?

In 1997, several influential evaluators who represented the American Evaluation Association (AEA) and W.K. Kellogg Foundation's leadership got together to discuss how the evaluation profession can create a pipeline of evaluators who will be more equipped to respond to diverse contexts and communities. An initiative was conceived, funded by the Kellogg Foundation, advised by an AEA committee, and implemented by Community Science (at that time, it was called the Association…

Much has been written about how leaders and organizations can and should embrace DEI. But how many have embarked on this journey and come up short? What if there were a framework and a process to facilitate their journey and efforts? Kien Lee and Randal Pinkett, Author, and CEO of BCT Partners, dive into Randal's latest book Data-Driven-DEI.

Annapurna Gosh addresses how too often, evaluators are asked to assess the effectiveness of strategies without exploring inequities in the system, structural injustices, and power dynamics that affect outcomes. Evaluators have a key role in addressing health inequities.

Introduction There are well-established practices in evaluation for generating findings and lessons to inform midcourse corrections. Certain conditions must exist for these to be applicable, including clearly operationalized and feasible to measure outcomes; leadership commitment to learning; a structure and process for accountability; and good facilitation. When we want to practice evaluation in service of racial equity, these conditions need even closer attention and additional capacities. This article describes the…

Learn what it takes and means to design, implement, and evaluate strategies in different types of organizations working to become more equitable and do their work in the service of equity.

Marginalized communities often face systemic oppression, discrimination, and exclusion from mainstream institutions and power structures. Power building can help these communities challenge and change these systems of oppression by giving them the ability to advocate for their own rights and interests, and demand accountability from those in power.

Recently, my colleague asked, "what is all this with 'lived experience' lately?" I was unsure how to answer because this term had already become a buzzword in my mind. I thought I knew what it meant, but then I couldn't quite define it when asked so directly. Here are a few of the definitions I found when I went looking: Lived experience, as defined by Talking Health Tech, is a…

DEI —three letters that you see a lot these days. Used together as a strategy, these letters tend to suggest some sort of magical approach to undoing the policies, practices, narratives, and norms that have contributed to the unfairness and disparities experienced by people of color and other historically excluded groups. In reality, the D(iversity), the E(quity), and the I(nclusion) mean different things, and one does not necessarily lead to the other. Join Kien Lee, VP of Consulting, Community Science, Elvis Fraser, Managing Director, Sankofa Consulting, and Randal Pinkett, CEO, BCT Partners, in a conversation about why separating the three letters is better for all of us while keeping them together can do more harm than good and how each requires different measures.

Leading change in our context of rapid change in rural America, a COVID-19 pandemic, widening disparities, and growing frustration with racial inequity and social injustice requires re-imagining leadership with equity at the core and who is a leader. Historically, many leadership development programs have focused on investing in the individual as the unit of change. However, this strategy does not fully realize the potential and power of jointly investing in individual self-reflection and skill-building with the collaborative approach of connecting groups of leaders,

David Chavis & Rianna Grissom of Community Science sit down for a discussion with Ariana Beedie, Rahsaan Harris, and Mike Espinoza for our webinar, Activating Grassroots Power for Health and Social Justice, where they identify common issues and desired supports named by grassroots organizations, answer audience questions, and highlight further solutions.

When it comes to improving local economies and communities, adequate safe and affordable housing is one of several factors that help attract employers and jobs to a place. But with so many data sources and tools to visualize data, where should city, county, and regional planning agencies; community development corporations; housing non-profits; and other key stakeholders begin?

The Problem For too long, communities of color have been harmed by narratives that divide rather than unify. These stories are perpetuated by systems of White supremacy to keep communities at odds, such as the falsehoods that immigrants steal jobs, Black people are criminals, and all people of color should aspire to be like Asian Americans. When people buy into these narratives without question, White supremacy, and racism win. This…

Webinar Series: Power Building In this two-part webinar series, we look at what it takes to adopt and support transformative community engagement, explore the challenges of Power Building and hear from leaders implementing programs to combat the issue. Our guests represent the voices of grassroots organizations, foundations, and nonprofits. 

The current health, social justice, violence, and environmental crises call for greater attention to strengthening our communities to care for their members and to take collective action to address the root causes of disadvantage, marginalization, and stress. Strengthening communities, especially those historically disadvantaged, will have the greatest and broadest impact on the well-being of individuals, families, and communities. Social and medical research over the past 150 years has shown that…

Evaluation in Service of Racial Equity. This three-part webinar series was presented in January 2022 with our partner, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and centers on a series of three guides Doing Evaluation in Service of Racial Equity, authored by Community Science. During the webinars, a panel of experts shared key information and resources from the guides.

In this webinar, antwaun wallace speaks about how closing the racial wealth gap in the U.S. requires using data and evidence-informed approaches to mobilize private and public sector solutions. Community Science invites you to join us as we discuss research and evaluation studies about the U.S. racial wealth gap.

Webinar: Evaluation in Service of Racial Equity. This three-part webinar series was presented in January 2022 with our partner, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and centers on a series of three guides Doing Evaluation in Service of Racial Equity, authored by Community Science. During the webinars, a panel of experts shared key information and resources from the guides.

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Decisions in the transportation field have often harmed Black and brown communities: for example, freeway construction destroying Black and brown neighborhoods, federal funding policies for public transit that favor rail expansion to affluent suburban communities rather than urban transit service improvements, land use decisions that focus on polluting truck traffic in communities of color, and inequitable traffic law enforcement. To advance equity, we need to push transportation decisions in a…

Commissioned by The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) and developed and written by Community Science, Doing Evaluation in Service of Racial Equity, a three-part series for evaluation professionals describing how to incorporate racial equity as a core value, embedded in every aspect of the evaluation process. These practical guides are designed to help evaluators strengthen their expertise and improve the services they provide to clients and communities. These guides will also…

Webinar: Making Farm to Food Bank Programs Work: Elisa Gonzalez of Community Science and her guests provide actions your community can take to make farm to food bank programs work as strategies to meet immediate food needs while promoting community food security more broadly.

Resistance is a natural human response to change. As facilitators of necessary conversations, resistance is a healthy part of the organizational change process when adequately managed. The ability to recognize and address resistance is critical for facilitators of organizational change. When managed effectively, it can strengthen the organization. However, if ignored, the resistance within the organizational change process could derail the process. Since we know that resistance is inevitable in…

Webinar: Progress on racial and other forms of equity can be made only when the strategies designed to effect systems change and shift power are appropriate and effective. Evaluations are only as good as the strategies being evaluated regardless of what evaluation approach we take.

As schools recently reopened against the backdrop of COVID-19 variants and relatively low vaccination rates, many school districts have focused on protecting the physical safety of students. This move has left gaps in addressing students' social and emotional well-being. Community-based organizations (CBOs) can help address these gaps, especially in communities of color and resource-deprived communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and vaccine access and hesitancy, which have compounded existing health and…

https://communityscience.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/philanthropy.jpg "If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together." - African proverb "If you are going to work in the weeds, know where you are in the forest." - Anand Dholakia (yes, I am quoting myself) This series covers how to shape your foundation's strategy for more transformational impact by prioritizing equity and justice. Strategy is about the decisions that determine priorities,…

There are some common traps foundations and nonprofit organizations fall into in doing strategic planning. These traps can derail the best of intentions for achieving community impact. They especially hinder advancing equity and justice for communities that are historically disadvantaged and excluded. Here is a quick guide you can use to help identify them. Over the next several weeks, we'll be posting about how to address them. Successful strategies can,

Expanding Ys' contributions to a more inclusive and equitable community In 2019, Community Science partnered with the YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to implement a study of the roles Ys play as community partners and the extent to which these collaborations contribute to strengthening their communities. This study explored whether, and how Ys accelerate local strategies that foster fair and just opportunity and contribute…

What makes the Y a staple in the community? For almost 180 years, the Y has been a staple in communities across the country. The Y provides a place for people to improve their health, make connections, and become inspired to act on issues that concern them. As such, the Y helps to strengthen communities across the country, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to become healthier, more confident, connected,…

Advancing Equity and Justice by Connecting Evaluation to Strategy with Anand Dholakia and Kien Lee. Our experience tells us that when Strategy and Evaluation Teams work together, it gets much easier for organizations to learn, improve, and advance Equity and Justice.

In this town hall we explored what the principles of strategy for equity and justice looks like in real life, from the perspective of three diverse foundations; how strategy intersects with internal DEI efforts; the importance of engaging community when developing strategy.

This series covers how to shape your foundation's strategy for more transformational impact by prioritizing equity and justice. That strategy can show up in strategic planning (whether it's a weekend retreat or 9-month facilitated process), continuous strategy refinement, or development of programs and initiatives. So far, I've covered seven strategy traps that limit philanthropy's impact, why a better approach is necessary, the approach's five principles, and a deeper dive on…

CCP looks to Community Science to help them study and learn from their Network Change Program how continue to expand a network of leaders centering equity to lead local and regional social change in North and South Dakota.

National Coalition Building Institute works with Community Science to document how their Antisemitism Leadership Institute for Higher Education transformed students and staffs ability to take on antisemitism on and off campus.

Living Cities developed a theory of change and measurement framework to assess its own performance and that of its local government partners and looked to Community Science for help with Implementation.

National Institute for Nonprofits leverages Community Science data analysis abilities while building their capacity to self-monitor and evaluate work.

FoodCorp sought to ensure its Alumni program sees increased participation by BIMPOC leaders, and is on the cutting edge of the food system with the help of Community Science.

The Walton Family Foundation (WFF) enlists Community Science to assist in translating abstract concepts—like sense of belonging and leadership strength—into measurable performance indicators with clear data sources. Read more.

Most foundations (and nonprofit organizations) undergo some form of strategic planning. It makes sense: a good strategy should specify those priorities that provide the best odds of achieving success. This offers clarity around hard decisions and where to allocate attention and resources. The problem: Common strategic planning methods fall prey to seven strategy traps described in my last post. Most strategy development suffers from two challenges, skipping over "why" (i.e.,…

Community Science is partnering with the Interactions Institute for Social Change to design and facilitate a learning process among the FRBB, MAPC, and GARE, about their collaboration. This collaboration is new and so provides many opportunities to build the capacity of three distinct organizations to learn to work together and be more impactful, and become a model for other regions in the country.

The Center for Community Progress aspired to hold itself accountable to its strategic plan, measuring and learning from its progress. Community Science collaborated with CCP staff to identify a set of targeted indicators to facilitate their ongoing reflection and adjustment process.

This guide, written in collaboration with Battelle Memorial Institute, provides direction to Drug Free Communities grantees

Webinar: While schools work to prepare their environments for the 2021-2022 school year, underserved students and their families struggle to cope with social and economic issues that surpass anything we have seen in the recent past. Don't miss the opportunity to learn what it takes to foster and support effective CBO-school partnerships. We will cover the basics and talk with a leader in New Orleans who has used this approach to help provide more holistic services for underserved youth.

Montgomery County (MD) is making great strides addressing Food Insecurity. In this webinar we’ll provide actions your community can take in the short term, what to monitor, and what steps will lead you to a better future.

Webinar: Progress on racial and other forms of equity can be made only when the strategies designed to effect systems change and shift power are appropriate and effective. Evaluations are only as good as the strategies being evaluated regardless of what evaluation approach we take.

CFLeads desires to demonstrate the effectiveness of its model at fostering community leadership among community foundations. Community Science has designed and is implementing an evaluation to do just this, focusing on CFLeads’ Economic Mobility Action Network.

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The challenges of philanthropy include allocating resources while balancing short-term urgency with long-term vision, absorbing countless reports and recommendations, navigating diverse perspectives and dynamics internally and externally, and facing critiques from every direction. Watching the needle remain motionless on major indicators can drive a constant search for elusive answers, especially when taking on complex issues around equity and justice for communities that are historically disadvantaged and excluded. In this environment,…

Webinar: Progress on racial and other forms of equity can be made only when the strategies designed to effect systems change and shift power are appropriate and effective. Evaluations are only as good as the strategies being evaluated regardless of what evaluation approach we take.

Webinar: Progress on racial and other forms of equity can be made only when the strategies designed to effect systems change and shift power are appropriate and effective. Evaluations are only as good as the strategies being evaluated regardless of what evaluation approach we take.

Healthier students tend to be stronger learners (Busch et al., 2014; Basch, 2011). Student health is related to grades, school attendance, and graduation rates. However, one in three children is overweight or obese (Alliance for Healthier Generation, n.d.). In addition to the connection to poorer education outcomes, childhood obesity is linked to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other health issues in adulthood. Given the long-term educational and health consequences of unhealthy…

Over the past several years, the severe shortage in the healthcare workforce has been largely overshadowed by political infighting concerning the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Nevertheless, it is a topic that deserves our immediate attention, given the great impact it has on the quality of the health care we receive and to our nation's overall health. In this article, we review key lessons and strategies Community Science team members have…

The widening of racial and economic inequities illuminated by the pandemic and incidents of police brutality have compelled funders to explicitly invest in diversity, equity, and inclusivity strategies. Funders have an emerging interest in investing in leadership development programs to train people to lead in a way that contributes to inclusivity and equity. Yet, there are studies and practitioners of social transformational change that continue to remind us that to…

Regardless of the outcome of the November election, there are going to be significant challenges and opportunities for community organizing in order to shift power to those that have been historically disenfranchised. We will be discussing what it means should Republicans or Democrats win the White House and more. Join Helena Wong, Director, Seed Change, Garland Yates, Senior Fellow, Community Democracy Workshop, Jared W. Turner, CEO, Jefferson Stevens, LLC, and…

Friends and Colleagues, "Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to build what we call the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself." Congressman John Lewis in the New York Times The world witnessed yesterday that no country is safe from hate, lies, and racism if it is not addressed with unanimity, strength, and a commitment to…

The disparities we witness in economic, social, and health outcomes are a manifestation of deep structural inequities in the United States' social hierarchy. These structural inequities appear in various forms but are woven into the very fabric of American society and can be observed across our legal, educational, business, government and health care systems. They occur because of an imbalance in the distribution of political and economic power where favored…

Since 2011, SAMHSA’s Office of Behavioral Health Equity has been addressing disparities through its National Network to Eliminate Disparities in Behavioral Health conference (NNEDLearn) that trains teams of practitioners from community-based organizations who serve black, indigenous, and other communities of color in implementing culturally relevant evidence-supported practices. To assess the impact of the training on the alumni, Community Science was commissioned to conduct interviews with a sample of nine alumni and six trainers.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation sought to understand the demographic characteristics of the principal investigators and leaders of organizations that received its grants. Community Science is working with the foundation to develop, pilot, and administer surveys to capture the racial, ethnic, sexual, gender, and disability identifies of principal investigators and organizational leaders as well as summarize and reflect on the results.

The Barr Foundation’s two-year fellowship program sought to invest in exceptional civic leaders in Greater Boston, to strengthen their organizations, and to cultivate a network of leaders committed to the community. Community Science is working with the Barr Foundation and its partners to evaluate fellowship implementation and outcomes at the individual, organizational, network, and community–levels.

Northwest Pennsylvania Job Connect sought to understand local workforce needs, especially the needs of community members that typically experience barriers to employment. Community Science, as a subcontractor to BCT Partners, conducted a survey of local employers, focus groups with providers, and interviews with jobseekers to document the workforce needs of the region.

Community Science is authoring commissioned paper on the current environment for the coordinated delivery of post-disaster human services for children and families—particularly services provided by the Administration of Children and Families.

Community Science is proud to partner with the American Evaluation Association’s (AEA) Graduate Education Diversity Internship (GEDI) Program.

Community Science is working in partnership with the Urban Institute to evaluate and support leadership institutes for youth and adult community members in Duck Hill, MS. The leadership institutes are intended to support residents by building individual and community resilience and combating exclusion by local government and other decision-making bodies.

Health communications firm seeks to develop an equity strategy to deepen their impact through the stories they create to address health inequities impacting low wealth communities and communities of color.

NCBI seeks to build capacity to respond to the complex issues of anti-semitism in higher education by creating a new program to empower Jewish and non-Jewish students, faculty and staff to work with campus partners identifying and addressing the issue.

Nonprofit seeks to create learning and evaluation system to scale up their services nation-wide to increase more representation of Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and the gender spectrum in social sector leadership.

This guide, written in collaboration with Battelle Memorial Institute, provides direction to Drug Free Communities grantees

There was a historic increase in homicides in US cities between 2019 and 2020, according to a report by the National Commission on COVID-19 and Justice. This increase was disproportionately experienced in Black communities across our country. In an examination of 27 US cities, the Washington Post found that violence disproportionately rose in predominantly Black communities across the country compared to predominantly White communities. Predominantly Black Baltimore saw a nearly…

Oral health is an important but often overlooked component of health and well-being. It affects people's quality of life and functioning - one's ability to eat, speak, learn, work, sleep, and socialize with others. Black, Latinx, Native American, poor White, and other marginalized communities are disproportionately impacted by the lack of adequate dental care, barriers to receiving care, and consequent negative health outcomes. This article provides a brief overview on…

The Bush Foundation’s Change Networks provide cohort-style programs that equip a diverse group of people in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota with skills, knowledge, relationships, and opportunities to lead change in a more equitable and inclusive manner.

Community Science conducted a multiyear process and outcome evaluation of a leadership program designed to train the next generation of equity–focused public health leaders. The study design followed participants through various stages of their training and 12 months after program completion.

This project supports the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (formerly the National Vaccine Program Office) to address Goal 3 of the National Vaccine Plan, which focuses on developing and disseminating communications that provide accurate, timely, transparent, and audience-appropriate information about vaccines. Achieving this goal is closely tied to efforts to better measure and track public confidence in vaccinations.

The National Eye Institute (NEI)’s National Eye Health Education Program designed the ¡Ojo con Su Visión! (Watch Out for Your Vision!) program to help raise awareness about the importance of eye health among Hispanics and Latinos.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize honors and elevates communities that are making great strides in their path toward better health for all. The prize is designed to inspire and inform the health and equity journeys of other communities.

Knight Foundation needed to track and understand the effectiveness of its community-focused grant-making in order to maximize community benefit. Community Science assisted the Knight Foundation by developing literature-backed metrics recommendations for its community-focused investments, mapping out pathways of change and recommending research-informed metrics for six of the foundation’s focus communities.

The Transforming Communities Initiative (TCI) is a five-year effort to implement comprehensive strategies to address obesity, tobacco-free living, and the social determinants of health with the overall aim to improve health outcomes in Montgomery County, Maryland. The TCI strategies focuses on policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes to improve community wide health and to prevent chronic disease.

The de Beaumont Foundation’s Public Health Reaching across Sectors (PHRASES) program was designed to address the need for effective strategies and framing and messaging techniques to help public health professionals effectively communicate the value of public health to potential partners and decision makers.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) funds initiatives in East Biloxi, Jackson, and Sunflower County, Mississippi (MS), and in New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA), to improve the well-being of children and their families.

YMCAs across the United States have a common mission to strengthen their communities. Community Science is working with YMCA of the USA to develop a research-backed Theory of Change to define characteristics of a strong community and conduct a research study to understand how YMCAs contribute to stronger communities by collaborating with community partners.

The Port of Portland which oversees three airports, four marine terminals, and five business parks, adopted social equity as a strategy objective in 2013. After several years to implementing the strategy, the Port decided to take a step back to reflect on its accomplishments, identify lessons learned, and make improvements to the strategy. Community Science was engaged to assist the Port do this.

The National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities (NPA) was an initiative to mobilize a nationwide, comprehensive, community-driven, and sustained approach to combating health disparities, led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health. The mission was to increase the effectiveness of programs that target the elimination of health disparities through the coordination of partners, leaders, and stakeholders.

Community Science is conducting a developmental evaluation of The Colorado Trust’s flagship initiative, Community Partnerships for Health Equity. We work closely with the foundation’s evaluation and program staff to understand and document the forms of power that communities had to shift and also build to address the root causes of health inequities, as well as the changes that the foundation had to make internally to be able to support the initiative.

Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) needed to understand how local Learning Cohort–Neighborhood Revitalization (LC-NR) coalitions were implementing HFHI’s Quality of Life framework in order to deepen their community impact. Community Science met this need by designing an evaluation to assess LC-NR implementation and their outcomes, while also building coalitions’ evaluation capacity to collect and reflect on data to evolve their implementation strategies.

The Walton Family Foundation’s community organizing campaign is designed to mobilize residents in 13 cities to become civically engaged and to advocate for high-quality traditional and alternative schools. Community Science was contracted to complete the developmental evaluation by examining grantees’ progress in using the community organizing strategy,

Living Cities engaged Community Science to build the capacity of its Learning, Storytelling, and Results team to coordinate the analysis, reporting, and interpretation of data across multiple portfolios of work in support of its theory of change.

Children International is assessing their 5 year strategy focusing on reducing poverty across 13 countries. Specifically they are addressing health, education, and employment needs.  Community Science is supporting the organization's effort by provide Strategy Evaluation support.

Community Science received a Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities to develop and test an innovative product that would assess and strengthen organizations’ cultural competency. The product, which we named Journeystart, is unique in that it assesses organizational cultural competency through a systems and community lens.

Using Data Science to Reduce Foster Care While Supporting Families - Casey Family Programs

Artplace and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) needed an opportunity to pause and reflect on their Creative Placemaking work to ensure it was responsive to community needs and dreams. Community Science facilitated a process where ArtPlace and NEA staff could discuss their implementation experiences and translate lessons learned into focused thinking and strategic planning for the future.

We helped MBKA think through evaluation and data uses as the project created an infrastructure around data. Community Science helped MBKA develop metrics for successful outcomes

Community Science worked with the Rockefeller Foundation's Director of Measurement, Evaluation, and Organizational Performance and other leaders to advance the use of big data and data science within the evaluation field on this project for ITAD.

This brief report describes the strategic factors for stimulating community -wide health and well-being. It illustrates how each of the Five C’s “can be put together to develop an effective, broad-reaching, and sustainable community development strategy”

This report was prepared by Community Science on behalf of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) in order to examine the role of intermediaries as support systems for community development organizations.

Free Download: This report, commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, serves as an orientation guide to eleven handbooks and basic primers on program evaluation. Community Science reviewed and rated the primers using criteria and a protocol requested by RWJF’s Research and Evaluation Unit.

Free Download: The Step-By-Step Guide to Evaluation: How to Become Savvy Evaluation Consumers

Download: This report, for the University of Maryland Baltimore County, assessed the extent to which the Teaching Enhancement Partnership Project met the National Science Foundation’s outcomes regarding math and science education in primary and secondary schools.

Download: This report, for the University of Maryland Baltimore County, assessed the extent to which the Teaching Enhancement Partnership Project met the National Science Foundation’s outcomes regarding math and science education in primary and secondary schools.

Download: This Annual Report of the Choice Refocus and Opportunity program, for the University of Maryland Baltimore County, details the results of the evaluation of the program’s effectiveness based on four areas: key partnerships; program personnel, procedures, and practices; programming; and target population.

Download Study: How can adult education centers improve health literacy for students? The Connecticut Health Foundation addressed this issue, with the goal of empowering an underserved population to work more effectively with their health care providers.

Quick Take: Response to Covid-19 Among Latinx Communities

Webinar: Progress on racial and other forms of equity can be made only when the strategies designed to effect systems change and shift power are appropriate and effective. Evaluations are only as good as the strategies being evaluated regardless of what evaluation approach we take.

Much attention has focused on reaching, educating, and enrolling uninsured people in health coverage programs. Getting people health coverage is one way to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health, but it does not achieve health equity-going beyond eliminating differences among groups of people and attaining the highest level of health for everyone. Healthcare coverage alone will not lead to better health if people don't know how to use their…

Download part one of the study: Annie E. Casey Foundation, studied exploring the history of comprehensive community initiatives to better understand how these complex efforts can reach the scope, scale, and sustainability needed to achieve lasting community change.

Download part one of the study: Annie E. Casey Foundation, studied exploring the history of comprehensive community initiatives to better understand how these complex efforts can reach the scope, scale, and sustainability needed to achieve lasting community change.

Lessons learned from a national initiative to help city governments get ready for racial equity work. The Racial Equity Here (REH) initiative, funded by Living Cities, engaged and supported a cohort of five U.S. cities committed to transforming policies and practices to address the inequities within their systems of government.

Quick Take: Developing Strong Leadership to Advance Equitable Change

Webinar: Regardless of the outcome of the November election, there are going to be significant challenges and opportunities for community organizing in order to shift power to those that have been historically disenfranchised. We will be discussing what it means should Republicans or Democrats win the White House and more. Join Helena Wong, Director, Seed Change, Garland Yates, Senior Fellow, Community Democracy Workshop, Jared W. Turner, CEO, Jefferson Stevens, LLC, and Fernando Garcia, Executive Director, Border Network for Human Rights, for this timely and vital discussion.

Community Science and partner Sankofa Consulting, are helping the Hilton Foundation’s Strategy, Learning, and Evaluation Division to develop and integrate practices that reflect equity, inclusion and diversity into their responsibilities, operations, and support to the foundation’s program staff.

The mission of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. Through the AmeriCorps State and National (ASN) program, CNCS has engaged millions of citizens in meeting community and national challenges through service and volunteer action.

The Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative is composed of nine national racial justice organizations: Advancement Project, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Congress of American Indians, National Urban League, Race Forward, and UnidosUS.

NCPC Key Lessons Learned from Evaluating a Multi-state Initiative to Embed Prevention in State Policies

The Barr Foundation seeks to foster mobility policymaking. Community Science is supporting Barr by documenting existing policy analysis tools, particularly those designed for the mobility context, to assess their ability to elevate policies’ positive and negative impacts.

The Barr Foundation’s Barr Fellowship is a two-year program designed to invest in exceptional civic leaders, to strengthen their organizations, and to cultivate a network of leaders committed to Greater Boston. This fellowship was conceived in 2005 and has since connected 80 leaders from many backgrounds, organizations, and fields. Community Science assessed the outcomes for the class of 2017

Webinar: Join us for a thought-provoking and engaging conversation with grassroots organizations from Wilmington, Delaware, New Orleans, LA, St. Louis, MO and Detroit, MI working toward transformative change to advance equity and increase the resources, support and resilience Black communities will need to survive and thrive post COVID-19.

In the face of crisis, young people are always our concern, but rarely engaged as part of the solution. However, we know from past disasters that youth can often be untapped resources in the recovery process. This webinar focused on fostering youth leadership in COVID-19 recovery. We brought together youth leaders from communities of color to discuss the role that youth have been playing to respond to the disaster and strengthen their communities and identify the kinds of supports needed in the road to recovery.

Progress on racial and other forms of equity can be made only when the strategies designed to effect systems change and shift power are appropriate and effective. Evaluations are only as good as the strategies being evaluated regardless of what evaluation approach we take. Changing communities and systems and shifting power to have more equity requires an ongoing learning process that foc

Your equity trainings are completed and the equity plan is finalized and approved. What's next? Then the reality often hits that implementing the equity plan means real change not just for the organization and leadership, but how people have to deal with each other day-to-day, moment-by-moment. The political and social resistance that was not addressed in the planning and training

The pandemic is exacerbating past inequities in our cities, particularly in communities of color. Addressing these inequities may appear to be insurmountable to some. However, current and past actions by communities across the country can show us how to advance racial equity even in times of crisis. There are successes and lessons we can learn about that show

Webinar: Developing evidence-based programs that are in harmony with the culture of its participants are challenging to design, implement, and evaluate. This webinar includes a discussion on the use and application of evidence-based programs (EBPs) with racially/ethnically diverse populations, including potential challenges when making cultural adaptations.

Report: National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) launched the Embedding Prevention in State Policy and Practice Initiative ("the Initiative"). The goal of the Initiative is "to create, within five years

Webinar: The intentionality to build and strengthen cross-racial, ethnic, and cultural relationships and a broader sense of community beyond our immediate circles diminishes during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. During such difficult times, it is easy to focus only on the needs and relationships of those with whom we feel most comfortable, share a common identity, and don’t threaten our community. High levels of stress can lead us to judge people quickly who are not members of our community—judgements based on stereotypes, biases, and misinformation.

Webinar: There a growing number of courageous mutual aid and other collective action starting up across the country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the local level we see groups of neighbors joining together to help each other within their own communities and in nearby communities of need. We also see advocacy groups taking on the issues of housing and employment to make sure that there is equitable treatment.

Community Science, in addition to our consultation, capacity building, and evaluation services, also works on local issues of national importance. There is an affordable housing crisis in Baltimore City, as in all American cities. Over half (53%) of city renters and 40 percent of homeowners pay more than one-third of their income in housing, putting them at risk for housing instability and even homelessness. In Baltimore on any given night,…

Community Science is conducting research on behalf of the William Penn Foundation to identify opportunities for immediate investment opportunities to promote a racially, economically, and socially just recovery from the COVID-19 in Philadelphia—based on interviews with approximately 50 community based organization leaders.

MassDevelopment sought to deepen the Transformation Development Initiative’s (TDI) impact on improving residents’ quality of life and increasing investment and economic activity by reflecting on the initiative’s first phase of implementation. Community Science partnered with MassDevelopment on a Rapid Assessment of the TDI program, recommending improvements and documenting TDI’s influence on practices and policies within the MassDevelopment organization.

Philanthropy has long recognized the importance of engaging and working with communities to address physical and mental health, education, employment, entrepreneurship and other economic outcomes.

As part of our recognition of National Minority Health Month, Community Science hosted a webinar How to Assess the Effectiveness of Affordable Care Act Outreach and Education Efforts on April 29, 2015. Kien Lee (Vice President and Principal Associate) and Oscar Espinosa (Senior Associate) discussed strategies and lessons learned from an evaluation project their team completed for the Department of Health and Human Services' National Partnership for Action to End…

There is a growing abundance of leadership development programs across the country designed to develop and support leaders who will promote racial equity and social justice (RESJ). These programs include ...

There are many questions about the definition, practice, and evaluation of effective leadership in philanthropy, especially leadership that has the concerns and priorities of communities of color in mind. In response, the Bush Foundation engaged Community Science to conduct a brief study on the state-of-the-art knowledge about leading with a racial equity and social justice lens.

Funders seek to re-envision the definition of a leader and ways to develop and support leadership that will contribute to racial equity and social justice. Our seminal publication describes what we currently know about leadership development and offers key principles that can be integrated into the design, implementation, and evaluation of leadership development initiatives.

Neighborworks’ Success Measures, with support of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, needed to assess the reliability and validity of their Health Tools, a suite of data collection instruments, in order to better serve housing and community development organizations measuring the health outcomes of their work. Community Science, in partnership with Success Measures staff, used mixed-methods analysis to explore the Health Tools’ ability to produce reliable data and their usability by organizations new to measuring health outcomes.

For almost two years now, media outlets have been acquainting the U.S. public with the conditions in Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria made landfall in September 20, 2017.1 Less prominent in these accounts, however, are discussions about how, instead of creating the conditions reported, this disaster brought to the surface the limited capacity of the local government to tend to the needs of its constituents as well as the long-standing…

Community Science is working with the Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative (hereafter referred to as the "Collaborative") to evaluate its joint initiative "Forging Racial Equity through Policy Advancement, Data-Informed Civic Engagement, and Message Development Initiative." The Collaborative is composed of nine national racial justice organizations: Advancement Project, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Congress of American Indians,…

Community Science has worked closely with Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) to support the expansion of its neighborhood revitalization strategy and to deepen the field's understanding of best practices for improving neighborhood quality of life. This work builds on HFHI's previous investment in developing and refining its model for neighborhood revitalization, the Quality of Life Framework (QLF). To support HFHI's learning, Community Science is conducting a five-year outcomes and implementation…

Most neighborhood-focused change efforts are designed to improve residents' overall quality of life. The assumption is that if we are able to improve neighborhood conditions such as housing quality and affordability, employment options, the quality of local schools, and the sense of community among residents, then residents' lives will improve. This thinking is grounded in research that has shown, over and over, that environmental factors affect our lives and the…

Despite decades of research, behavioral health disparities continue to negatively affect ethnic and racial minority populations, including immigrant populations. To reduce disparities, behavioral health programs need to be successful in reaching and influencing subcultural groups while also demonstrating effectiveness in improving targeted outcomes (Barrera et al., 2013). Indeed, for the last several decades, the behavioral health field has emphasized the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs). These dynamics led practitioners to…

Community Science is proud to present one of our latest reports - lessons learned from a national initiative to help city governments get ready for racial equity work. The Racial Equity Here (REH) initiative engaged and supported a cohort of five U.S. cities committed to improving racial equity in their jurisdictions by transforming policies and practices to address the inequities within their systems of government. Living Cities recruited the Government…

Building GroundWork USA's capacity for evaluation, measuring impact, and relaying the impact of its programs.

The Executives' Alliance for Boys and Men of Color seeks to improve knowledge, coordination, and collaboration within philanthropy to improve outcomes for boys and men of color. Community Science supported the Alliance by conducting a retrospective evaluation of its first five years of work, including documenting the health of the Alliance as a network of foundations and the Alliance’s progress toward its goals.

One of the many defining characteristics of a thriving community is the presence of civic leadership, particularly civic leadership that is representative of the people living and working in the community. Civic leaders are instrumental in developing healthy, just, and equitable communities, and efforts to cultivate their presence would be inherently beneficial for all members of the community. In recognition of this inextricable relationship between civic leaders and community health,…

Seeing the problem. The juvenile justice system in the United States is intended to reduce crime and increase public safety while holding youth accountable for their actions. However, for the last three decades the system has focused more on punishing young people, processing them in the formal court system, and confining youth in large, prison-like facilities, sometimes with adults, at an annual per-youth cost of $149,000.1 Data on public safety…

Ricardo Millett, Ph.D., Principal AssociateIn celebrating our 20th anniversary, we have decided to commemorate those people that have been major contributors to the mission success of Community Science by conducting interviews detailing their contributions. The first staff member in the series will be Ricardo Millett, current Principal Associate at Community Science and former President of The Woods Fund in Chicago. While working for the Fund, Ricardo developed and implemented a…

Part of Community Science's mission is to directly give back to the local and national community. In 2016 donations were made to the list of organizations noted below. Charitable giving along with two days of service annually are among the many ways Community Science works "to strengthen the science and practice of community change in order to build healthy, just and equitable communities." Each Community Science staff member recommended a…

In the 1980s, juvenile justice systems in the United States began adopting more punitive, adult-oriented approaches to juvenile justice. Since 1996, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (the Foundation) has been working to correct these trends through grant making activities supporting research, program innovation, and systems and policy change. To work effectively in a complex juvenile justice landscape, the Foundation has used multiple reform approaches suitable for a…

Truth Initiative (https://truthinitiative.org) aims to reduce tobacco use through public education, research, and community engagement. Truth Initiative has embarked on two programs to address tobacco use among college students by focusing efforts on underserved populations and settings. While the number of colleges and universities that have implemented 100% smoke- and tobacco-free policies has increased in recent years, two populations and settings have been overlooked and underserved: Historically Black Colleges and…

Tom Kelly, M.P.H. In continuation of celebrating Community Science's 20th anniversary, we will commemorate those that have been major contributors to the mission success of Community Science by conducting interviews detailing their contributions. The second contributor in the series is Tom Kelly, Vice President-Knowledge, Evaluation & Learning at Hawaii Community Foundation and formerly the Associate Director for Evaluation at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Tom was interviewed by Nour Elshabassi,…

A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer-based tool for integrating and analyzing geographic or spatial data. GIS allows users to combine important geographic attributes (for example, streets, zip codes, and program locations) with other types of data (for example, neighborhood demographic data, program participant characteristics, and program outcome measures). In turn, users can visualize this information in map form to identify patterns or relationships. Users can also manipulate GIS's…

With so many government public health workers retiring and not enough new ones poised to replace them, there will be an estimated shortage of over 250,000 workers by 2020. Furthermore, Hispanics, American Indians and Alaska Natives, and African Americans are underrepresented in this already-depleted public health workforce. In response to the need for a larger and more diverse workforce, the federal Office of Minority Health (OMH) began the Youth Health…

Interviews from Notable Contributors to Community Science In continuation of celebrating Community Science's 20th anniversary, we are interviewing past and current major contributors to the impact of Community Science. This issue in the series includes a group interview with Margaret (Meg) Hargreaves, Ph.D., Principal Associate, and Amy Minzner, M.S.C.R.P., M.A., Senior Associate. For detailed staff profiles from each contributor, visit the Our People page on our website. The interview was…

Featured from the Intersector Project: A Guest Blog Post by Margaret (Meg) Hargreaves, Ph.D. Adverse Childhood Experiences (or ACEs), commonly defined as 10 types of child abuse, neglect, and family exposure to toxic stress, comprise a complex, population-wide health problem with significant detrimental outcomes. Read About the Project Here

A very important part of Community Science's mission is to directly give back to the local community and support national organizations that promote social justice and equity through donations in service. Each year Community Science staff members recommend a charity for the organization to make a donation on their behalf as their "holiday gift." In 2017, donations were made to the list of organizations noted below. We donated 13% of…

Sense of Community Website Launch Community Science is pleased to announce the launch of the newly revamped SenseofCommunity.com website-an online, international meeting place for people interested in the study or application of sense of community! Our goal is to bring together the myriad of international scholars and practitioners to advance the work on sense of community that has been gaining interest and development over the past 50 years. Please sign…

There is little doubt that this country and this world are seeing monumental challenges that we have not seen in decades, if ever. Racism and other forms of hate have become legitimized in many more places than we have seen in a while. There is a rise of authoritarian rule, "bullyism," and violence against women and minorities. In this country, the basic social contract of a caring state and a…

Community Science is investing in strategies that leverage the tools of big data science and predictive analytics to improve health and human service systems, programs, and policies. This work is fundamental to what we are all about. We use "state-of-the-art qualitative and quantitative methods . . . to strengthen the science and practice of community change." Another core part of our mission is to use our research and evaluation expertise…

https://communityscience.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Kate-Williams.jpg Kate Williams, LGSW, PMP, Project Management Office Director, has over 12 years of federal consulting experience with expertise in project and program management, cross-functional staff management, database development, and technical assistance. Before joining Community Science, Williams worked closely with the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, to support the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs). She directed the daily operations and priorities of the data and technology team,…

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"Information is power," says Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin of St. Petersburg, Florida, during her welcoming speech at the annual Community Indicators Consortium in November 2017. She was referring to the conference's theme this year - Information is Power: Data to Support Community Change - where hundreds of data-driven activists gathered to discuss the importance of community data for addressing inequity. The validity of data and reliable sources of information have…

With so many government public health workers retiring and not enough new ones poised to replace them, there will be an estimated shortage of over 250,000 workers by 2020. Furthermore, Hispanics, American Indians and Alaska Natives, and African Americans are underrepresented in this already-depleted public health workforce. In response to the need for a larger and more diverse workforce, the federal Office of Minority Health (OMH) began the Youth Health…

Community Science was contracted by the National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support its efforts to provide individuals with accurate, timely, transparent, and audience-appropriate information about vaccines. NVPO offers unbiased advice and expertise to other agencies in identifying and responding to gaps in the vaccine system, making vaccines safer and more effective, with the end goal to reduce the burden of…

Community Science is proud to announce the publication, Emerging Principles for Designing and Planning Community Change. This is the first report in the series called Community Matters: Action Principles, Frameworks, and Strategies, which is intended to share what decades of research and practice have taught us about building and strengthening community. David Chavis, CEO, and Joy Amulya authored the first publication of the series. Emerging Principles for Designing and Planning…

Introduction This article discusses culture-based communication strategies that can be used to address the growing number of antivaccine misinformation campaigns that have contributed to a number of outbreaks in the United States and around the world. For the first time in 13 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention characterized the 2017-2018 flu season as "widespread" and "high severity" with approximately 60,000 confirmed cases, which resulted in 79,000 influenza-associated…

https://communityscience.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/PublicationDocumentImage-01-1024x683.png This report was developed by Community Science and Prevention Institute for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). It summarizes findings from a literature review and input from subject matter experts (SMEs) to describe a framework to guide local community coalitions in their efforts to address mental health promotion and suicide prevention. This report summarizes current efforts conducted by community coalitions in the suicide prevention and mental…

Community Science is proud to present our latest blog post collaborations with Living Cities titled- Getting Ready for Racial Equity Work: Community Engagement and Getting Ready for Racial Equity Work: The Racial Equity Here Evaluation. The Racial Equity Here (REH) initiative engaged and supported a cohort of five U.S. cities committed to improving racial equity in their jurisdictions by transforming policies and practices to address the inequities within their systems…

The systems approach to evaluation refers to a theoretical orientation of evaluation practice that draws from systems theory in engineering and other technical sciences (Williams & Imam, 2007). Many evaluators find that principles of dynamic systems apply to the dynamic nature of human behavior and the organizational and social systems that arise from human interactions. Systems approaches to evaluation are being adapted to evaluate everything from small-scale individual programs to…

Community Science is currently evaluating two leadership programs; these evaluations provide an opportunity for us to further understand how leadership programs impact those who lead, the people they lead, and the systems and communities within which they operate. About a year ago, the Bush Foundation engaged us to evaluate its Change Network, a new style of cohort and pilot program. The foundation recognizes that effective leadership is a combination of…

Established in 1930, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) supports children, families, and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and contributors to the larger community and society. The foundation's work, at its core, is about giving all children, regardless of race, ethnicity, or income, the opportunity to thrive in school, work, and life. WKKF is based in Battle Creek, Michigan,…

Small and medium-size cities, including those in both urban and rural areas, have often pursued revitalizing their central business districts (CBDs). Cities pursue this work because thriving CBDs/downtowns can (1) create entrepreneurial business and job opportunities; (2) bring human and financial resources into the community, fostering additional investment opportunities; and (3) deepen or enhance residents' sense of community and their perception of hope for the community's future. While cities and…

In recent years philanthropy has recognized leadership development as a key strategy in improving the participation of people of color and low-income individuals in the positions and spaces that determine policies, procedures, and practices intended to produce social change. Nonetheless, many leadership development programs reflect prevailing cultural values regarding individualism and assume that just selecting and developing the "right" individuals and providing them with specific knowledge and skills will naturally…

Many philanthropic organizations around the country have made it their mission to improve the lives of children and communities of color. Some of these organizations have used community organizing as a means of creating equitable communities by shifting power to those most affected, and strategically placing these individuals at the forefront of the community organizing process. This article discusses some of the foundational principles for promoting equity through the use…

The Connecticut Health Foundation (CHF) was created in 1999 to understand and address the state's health care challenges. In 2013, CHF deliberately focused on the singular need to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities for the state of Connecticut. Since the foundation's inception, its efforts have aimed to change the systems that impact health care, and the foundation accomplishes this currently through grant making; conducting and supporting health policy research;…

"Information is power," says Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin of St. Petersburg, Florida, during her welcoming speech at the annual Community Indicators Consortium in November 2017. She was referring to the conference's theme this year-Information is Power: Data to Support Community Change-where hundreds of data-driven activists gathered to discuss the importance of community data for addressing inequity. The validity of data and reliable sources of information have never been as crucial…

Community Science is proud to present The Step-By-Step Guide to Evaluation: How to Become Savvy Evaluation Consumers, which we developed for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. This new guide is designed for people with little or no experience with formal evaluation to help them become more familiar with evaluation concepts and practices, partner better with independent evaluators, and use evaluation more effectively to continually learn from and improve their work. Download…

School districts across the county are adopting policies to improve health and wellness among their students; in reality, the implementation of such policies is often challenging. Each school setting serves different populations, has different needs and resources, and requires an individualized action plan to address its school's health priorities. One way to support school district-wide wellness policies is through local school wellness councils (LSWCs) that work at the school building…

Federal agencies, foundations, and nonprofit organizations that are funding solutions to long-standing social problems need to continually assess their efforts and use the findings to adapt and improve their funding strategies. This article discusses the value and guiding principles for embedding reflective practice into the grantmaking process. Although many funders and social change organizations espouse learning and adaptation as part of their culture, it is our observation that actual efforts…

The St. David's Foundation (SDF) is one of the largest grantmaking foundations in Texas. SDF invests proceeds from St. David's HealthCare to more than 60 nonprofit partners that operate healthy community programs in the Central Texas area. SDF has contracted with Community Science to develop a monitoring, learning, and evaluation (MLE) system to assist them to better manage and improve the effectiveness of SDF's grantmaking. In understanding the importance of…

The Richmond Memorial Health Foundation needed a partner to both evaluate their racial equity capacity-building initiative to help it improve its grantmaking as well as facilitate cross-grantee learning and reflection. Community Science created and implemented an evaluation and learning process to provide insights about the initiative’s training and learning opportunities, grantmaking approach, and grantee learning and outcomes.

Government plays a crucial role in both promoting equity and dismantling policies and practices that perpetuate racial inequity. It controls the resources, how they are allocated and applied, as well as providing vital services to the public. The Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) was established to assist local governments to apply a racial lens to their policies, operations, and practices by using a racial equity framework and tools,…

Featured from the Intersector Project: A Guest Blog Post by Margaret (Meg) Hargreaves, Ph.D. Adverse Childhood Experiences (or ACEs), commonly defined as 10 types of child abuse, neglect, and family exposure to toxic stress, comprise a complex, population-wide health problem with significant detrimental outcomes. Read the article here

2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of Community Science, originally known as the Association for the Study and Development of Community (ASDC). ASDC emerged as a place where social change professionals could come to focus on "creating healthy, just, and equitable communities." The promotion of healthy, just, and equitable communities has been a central part of Community Science from the very first day. Kien Lee joined me in…

As funders, communities, and evaluators become more knowledgeable about the root causes of racial and ethnic disparities in health, education, income, and other conditions of well-being, we begin to realize how community and systems change interventions are necessary to affect these root causes. In consequence, we evaluators find ourselves re-examining our roles, training, and competencies. Evaluations of these types of interventions do not only generate more knowledge or inform investments-at…

In 2007, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation identified Mississippi as a key state where the Foundation would concentrate its grantmaking efforts; it has committed to supporting local communities for at least a generation. The Foundation works with grantee partners that are implementing programs and initiatives designed to improve the lives of children and families throughout the state, with grants concentrated in the geographic areas of Biloxi; Sunflower County; and the…

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In the corporate world, about one-third of expenditures are focused on leadership development to improve an organization's performance, productivity, and, ultimately, revenue (Bersin, 2014, cited in Avolio, 2016). In the philanthropic world, however, less than 1% was spent on leadership development between 1992 and 2011 (Hirshfield, 2014). However, powerful leaders are needed to lead not only foundations but also the organizations and communities that foundations fund and support. This article…

Community Science evaluated MassDevelopment's Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) after it was first launched in 10 Gateway Cities in 2015. TDI aims to catalyze transformative redevelopment within focused districts in Gateway Cities, helping to accelerate economic growth and to benefit the people and small businesses connected with each district. The evaluation team assessed TDI's impact, documented TDI's influence within MassDevelopment (the sponsor organization), and recommended possible program adjustments. The team also…

Download part one of the study: Annie E. Casey Foundation, studied exploring the history of comprehensive community initiatives to better understand how these complex efforts can reach the scope, scale, and sustainability needed to achieve lasting community change.

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Community Science is investing in strategies that leverage the tools of big data science and predictive analytics to improve health and human service systems, programs, and policies. This work is fundamental to what we are all about. We use "state-of-the-art qualitative and quantitative methods . . . to strengthen the science and practice of community change." Another core part of our mission is to use our research and evaluation expertise…

Review our presentation on using big data to promote child well-being ... Child Welfare Analytics Deck First Place for Youth Presentation Deck

A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer-based tool for integrating and analyzing geographic or spatial data. GIS allows users to combine important geographic attributes (for example, streets, zip codes, and program locations) with other types of data (for example, neighborhood demographic data, program participant characteristics, and program outcome measures). In turn, users can visualize this information in map form to identify patterns or relationships. Users can also manipulate GIS's…

As part of its mission to conduct objective, rigorous research of community change processes, in 2016 a Community Science team completed and published a new valid and reliable index of collective community capacity. This article describes the new ACEs and Resilience Collective Community Capacity (ARC3) Survey in detail. ACEs. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are a complex population health problem with significant detrimental outcomes. ACEs are commonly defined as 10 types…

Community Science Principal Associate and CEO David Chavis was an invited presenter at the International Conference on the Empirical Study of Evaluation Utilization sponsored by CLEAR-LA (www.clear-la.org) on May 23-24 2016, in Mexico City. CLEAR-LA is part of the global partnership of regional Centers for Learning on Evaluation and Results (CLEAR, www.theclearinitiative.org). The conference was attended by over 100 policymakers and evaluators from across Latin America and hundreds of others…

Community Science completed a rapid assessment for one of the largest foundations in the United States of their initiative to support systems change to reduce food loss and waste. This initiative was designed to reshape how key actors and institutions within the system perceived the problem of interest, increase the priority and attention given to that problem, develop stronger networks among key players within the system, and encourage key players…

The Global Libraries (GL) initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation aims to use libraries as a resource to bring about Internet and technology access to developing and transitioning countries as a means to improve lives and opportunities. For the last four years, Community Science has worked in partnership with GL to build the capacity of the Impact Work Group (IWG). The IWG is comprised of impact specialists who…

Oscar Espinosa, M.A., Senior Associate, and Brandon Coffee-Borden, M.P.P., Managing Associate, co-authored an article in the Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice. Check out the abstract below! You can also access the full article here. "In April 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) launched the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities (NPA) to increase the effectiveness of efforts…

Since 1997, Community Science has been recognized for its expertise and knowledge in the development, implementation and evaluation of comprehensive community and other large systems change initiatives. We know that comprehensive community initiatives (CCIs) must develop an infrastructure that enables community institutions to support initiative goals. To engage a community at the level needed for comprehensive change, organizations must have the capacity to address community needs and promote well-being. Community…

Ending health disparities means addressing its social determinants or attacking the problem at its roots where people live, work, and play. This means changing the conditions in communities of color that affect their health. This approach also requires changing the systems that impact these conditions. Five coinciding capacities are essential for beginning the process of changing communities and systems: Understanding of the connection between health disparities and social justice; Ability…

Achieving health equity requires building communities' capacity to mobilize, organize, and strategize to change the conditions-or social determinants of health-that impact their well-being. Community and resident-driven organizations need data to 1) bring attention to the disparities and move people into action, 2) understand the root causes and organize across sectors to deal with those root causes, 3) inform solutions that will create lasting change, and 4) monitor the change to…

The number of smoke- and tobacco-free colleges has more than tripled since 2010, when 446 campuses adopted smoke- or tobacco-free policies. Today that number stands at 1,577 campuses, yet the majority of the federally recognized Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the U.S. do not have comprehensive smoke- or tobacco-free policies to protect their students and faculty from the dangers of tobacco use and second-hand smoke. Truth Initiative (formerly…

Programs designed to enhance opportunities for young people and adults from historically underrepresented groups in professions such as teaching, engineering, evaluation, medicine, and nursing play a major role in our nation's response to workforce diversity (see, for example, Collins & Hopson, 2014; Fenwick, 2001; Greer, Clark, & Bankston, 2015; Nivet & Berlin, 2014). This article discusses why such programs are necessary and what it takes to institutionalize workforce diversity without…

Data-informed decision-making and a stronger, more effective healthcare workforce. This is one of the goals of the Urban Universities for Health Equity through Alignment, Leadership, and Transformation of the Health Workforce (UU4HEALTH). To achieve this goal requires a systematic process for identifying metrics that can be used to help university leaders understand the state of diversity among their institutions' student population and faculty, and how this could impact our nation's…

Creating a Culture of Measurement and Evaluation for High Performance Nonprofits On May 14, 2015, Community Science Principal Associate Meg Hargreaves, Ph.D., M.P.P., presented at the 7th Civil Society Days Nirun Sahingiray International Forum II titled Measurement and Evaluation in NonProfit Organizations in Istanbul, Turkey. The international conference was organized by the Educational Volunteers Foundation of Turkey in collaboration with Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and Kadir…

This webinar will provide organizations that are conducting, funding, or planning, ACA outreach and education to racially and ethnically diverse populations with insights on assessing the reach and effectiveness of those activities. The webinar will focus on lessons learned from an evaluation conducted by Community Science.

Health-literacy interventions traditionally focus on providing individuals with health information in multiple languages; using plain, nontechnical language (i.e., language at an eighth-grade level or below); and adding visuals to health-related information to make it easy to understand and apply to everyday situations. But what can you do to reach your service population when they are dispersed in a remote geographic area or rarely congregate in a central location? And what…

Community Science, in addition to our consultation, capacity building, and evaluation services, also works on local issues of national importance. There is an affordable housing crisis in Baltimore City, as in all American cities. Over half (53%) of city renters and 40 percent of homeowners pay more than one-third of their income in housing, putting them at risk for housing instability and even homelessness. In Baltimore on any given night,…

The recent tragic incident at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando and the many similar incidents before that continue to bring to the surface issues about mental health (feelings of hopelessness, sense of isolation, and mismanaged anger), broken systems (ability of individuals with mental health issues to purchase assault weapons so easily), sense of community (individuals' need to belong to a group of people with shared experiences), and intersectionality (people who…

As one of the largest volunteer networks in the U.S., the Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS) Senior Corps Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) aims to engage volunteers aged 55 and over to support disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, and increase community resiliency. In 2013 and 2014, CNCS provided Disaster Services Augmentation Grants for several RSVPs. These grants focused on addressing the 2014 Hurricane Sandy recovery in New…

Evaluation capacity building for improved organizational and system learning has been part of Community Science's practice from our beginning. We see evaluation capacity building as having all the abilities and motivation to learn how to do better by systematically using data and others sources of reliable information to make decisions. Public and private organizations and public agencies have an obligation to continuously strive to equitably provide the best services and…

Community Science participated in its biannual day of service at A Wider Circle on September 18, 2015. A Wider Circle is a nonprofit organization with a mission to end poverty. Through programs targeting job preparedness, health and wellness, and housing, A Wider Circle addresses the needs of the whole person. One of their programs, Neighbor-to-Neighbor, provides beds, dressers, tables, and other large and small home goods free of charge to…

Within past decades, there has been a shift toward understanding community resilience, which is characterized by a community's ability to rebound and adapt following disruptions, such as natural and human-caused disasters. Although some assert that the term community resilience is a buzzword, Community Science views it as a useful framework for conceptualizing how key actors, including local residents and organizations, can strengthen their community's ability to prevent, withstand, and mitigate…

Kien Lee, Ph.D., Principal Associate/Vice President, presented at the 13th Annual Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders Forum, "Digging Deeper," June 23-25, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. In her session titled Building Grassroots Capacity to Influence National Food Policy: Lessons from Everybody at the Table for Health, Dr. Lee discussed an evaluation conducted by Community Science for EAT4Health, a three-year, multifunder experiment of the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, enabling grassroots organizations…

This year, Community Science invited clients and other colleagues to participate in our annual tradition of charitable giving. We identified six organizations that align with our mission "to strengthen the science and practice of community change in order to build healthy, just, and equitable communities," and asked everyone to choose an organization they'd like for us to support with a $5 donation on their behalf: • A Wider Circle •…

In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we would like to highlight the integral role that Asian Americans play in American history, the issues they face, and how Community Science is contributing to promoting the health and well-being of members of this diverse population. "Asian and Pacific Americans make up more than 5% of the U.S. population, over 17 million people-and those numbers are growing. Their ancestral…

Download part one of the study: Annie E. Casey Foundation, studied exploring the history of comprehensive community initiatives to better understand how these complex efforts can reach the scope, scale, and sustainability needed to achieve lasting community change.

Research has shown that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) involving child abuse, neglect, and household violence as well as mental illness, incarceration, and substance abuse are linked to a lifetime of poor health outcomes. ACEs disrupt brain development and harm the immune system, resulting in cognitive impairment, risky health behaviors, chronic disease, and early death. An international network of researchers, health officials, foundations, service agencies, and community advocates is working to…

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A tragedy of American life — one that most citizens are able to drive around because it doesn’t touch them — is that young people in ‘those neighborhoods’ too often inherit from that dysfunction a legacy of crime and prison

On February 13, 2015, Kien Lee, Ph.D., Principal Associate/Vice President, and Brandon Coffee-Borden, M.P.P., Associate, delivered a presentation at the offices of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust (the Trust) for 12 members of the Trust and implementation team of Project Lazarus, a project of Community Care of North Carolina. The Trust engaged Community Science to study aspects of Project Lazarus, an initiative designed to address the ongoing challenge of…

Video: The 5 Cs - What does it take to create community?

Update excerpt

Video: We don't just live in one community anymore. We live in layers of communities.

Video: Kien Lee on why leadership in a community is so important.

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The Port Towns Community Health Partnership (PTCHP) is located in the Port Towns community of Bladensburg, Maryland. The PTCHP is comprised of various local residents, organizations, and funders, collaborating to improve community conditions with the end goal of making the Port Towns a healthy place to live, learn, work, play, and worship. PTCHP partners include ECO City Farms, Food Equity Council, Ecumenical Health Council, End Times Harvest Ministries, Cottage City…

A thriving democracy requires municipal governments to be able to set the stage for ensuring fair access to resources and opportunities for everyone because they have power and influence, especially if they work in partnership with other organizations and leaders to leverage and expand these opportunities and resources for the places they govern and the communities they serve. Living Cities and the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE-a project…

Collaborating for community or other types of social changes is not a recent idea. Formal community collaborations have been documented, along with corresponding literature, for almost 150 years. Explicit federal and philanthropic funding for collaborative efforts to address social issues began to burgeon during the 1980s. Before the end of the last century, it was rare to find a public or private Request for Proposal or grant program in the…

Data-informed strategies are critical to efforts that address health disparities and make progress toward health equity. Administrative data, as well as other national and local data, offer a wealth of resources that can be put to good use. Community Science and its partner, Community Indicators Consortium, is working with a federal agency to mine lessons from the field about facilitating community collaboration around the use of administrative and other secondary…

Educational institutions have always played a critical role in leading important research in our nation. They also have been a place for demonstration initiatives aimed not only at improving the intellectual capacity of our next generation of leaders, but also their health and well-being. Minority serving institutions (MSIs) are no different; they are emerging as critical partners for evaluators and researchers for efforts designed to promote the health and well-being…

The Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides funding in support of the National Resource Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention (NRC). The purpose of the NRC is to provide resources and training that increase the effectiveness of youth violence prevention programs; support the prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders; and promote healthy development of children and youth from birth to 21 years…

KNOWLEDGE 4 EQUITY: USING DATA TO ADDRESS HEALTH DISPARITIES Conference Resources and Materials Thank you for attending the Knowledge 4 Equity (K4E) Conference in Silver Spring, Maryland and for returning the Conference Evaluation Survey. We hope you left the conference with knowledge and tools to empower you to continue to address health disparities in your community. We are excited to offer you access to conference workshops materials, presenter/attendee contact information,…

Community Science brings an environmental approach to substance prevention. We understand that successful environmental prevention efforts must include policy change, address differences in culture and race, equity, and focus on efforts that change systems and structures that impede health and promote unsafe behaviors. Too often, efforts to address substance abuse prevention focus solely, or predominately, on changing individual behavior and attitudes. These include teaching young people drug refusal skills, providing…

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Minority Health (OMH) contracted with Community Science to conduct a multi-year process and outcome evaluation of the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities (NPA). The NPA is a strategy designed to mobilize a nationwide, comprehensive, community-driven approach to combating racial and ethnic health disparities. The mission of the NPA is to increase the effectiveness of programs that target…

Community Science has been at the forefront in advancing the field of immigrant integration by contributing to the understanding of the changing landscape of the U.S., defining what healthy integration of immigrants and refugees is, and studying how community-building strategies can contribute to immigrant integration, to name a few. The following are several of Community Science's recent projects: Community Science has been working with the World Education, Inc. (WEI), which…

Community Science has started work with the Legacy Foundation on projects related to tobacco prevention and cessation on college campuses throughout the U.S. Through a multi-organizational collaborative consisting of Legacy and nine partner organizations, the Tobacco Free Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Initiative seeks to support HBCUs in developing and implementing comprehensive policies for tobacco-free campuses. Community Science will evaluate this initiative by 1) providing a culturally responsive evaluation…

Recent events have brought the challenges facing boys and young men of color in the United States to the forefront of the national debate. Despite decades-long efforts to eliminate discrimination and promote equal opportunity, boys and young men of color continue to face significant social and economic barriers that limit their opportunities for success. Many boys and young men of color are more likely to grow up in poverty, live…

Seeing the problem. The juvenile justice system in the United States is intended to reduce crime and increase public safety while holding youth accountable for their actions. However, for the last three decades the system has focused more on punishing young people, processing them in the formal court system, and confining youth in large, prison-like facilities, sometimes with adults, at an annual per-youth cost of $149,000.1 Data on public safety…

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Community Science has been working with various individuals from community-based organizations and Universities to assemble innovative strategies that have the potential to maximize the reach and effectiveness of delivering key health messages to underserved and difficult-to-reach populations (e.g., those who reside in isolated communities, have limited English proficiency, or lack knowledge of the U.S. health system). For this project, staff issued a request for proposals which resulted in 46 applications.…