The Urban Institute USING INFORMATION FOR COMMUNITY CHANGE National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership Jennifer Comey, The Urban Institute

The Urban Institute National Trends in Using Local Indicators Increased availability of local data Increased role for local administrative data Advances in usability and functionality of technology New focus in federal programs on place-based initiatives Promise Neighborhoods Choice Neighborhoods Sustainable Communities

The Urban Institute But often difficult to access relevant, up-to-date data at the desired geography for community action And more than data is needed –Knowledge and respect of the community –Committed institutions –Strong partnerships among organizations –Effective communication & advocacy National Trends in Using Local Indicators

The Urban Institute National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership Defining Functions Neighborhood-level information system Practical, applied use of data indicators for community and city leaders Build capacities in distressed neighborhoods

The Urban Institute National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP) Collaborative effort since 1995 –Urban Institute and local partners in 35 U.S. cities Success required three innovations 1. Data and technology 2. Institutions 3.Using information for change

National Neighborhood Indicators Partner Cities Atlanta Baltimore Boston Camden Chattanooga Chicago Cleveland Columbus Dallas Denver Des Moines Detroit Grand Rapids Hartford Indianapolis Kansas City Louisville Memphis Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis-St. Paul Nashville New Haven New Orleans New York City Oakland Philadelphia Pittsburgh Portland Providence Sacramento Saint Louis San Antonio Seattle Washington, DC

The Urban Institute Shared Mission: Information for Change Work on many topics Helping Boys and Girls Club choose a new site Analyzing school mobility and enrollment for school system to assist in city’s fiscal budget Working in a cross-sector collaboration to reduce infant deaths Identifying properties that have received foreclosure notices so partner housing counseling servicers can reach out to homeowners/tenants

The Urban Institute Starting NNIP Partnership 1.Identify partners and mission 2.Develop data warehouse and technical proceses 3.Identify early application/uses

The Urban Institute Starting NNIP Partnership Decide “home base” and partners –Typically housed outside of government Stand-alone nonprofit, university centers, alliance –Partner with resident groups, nonprofits, government, and other stakeholders –Long-term and multifaceted interests Reasonable to start with focused area and build upon it –Positioned to maintain trust of data providers and users

The Urban Institute Starting NNIP Partnership Develop data warehouse –Identify available neighborhood-level data sources and indicators Federal data sources and local administrative data sources –Develop routine process of collecting and cleaning neighborhood-level indicators MOAs, internal data cleaning and analysis processes –Develop routine method of “democratizing” data

The Urban Institute Starting NNIP Partnership Identify early application –Promise Neighborhood grantee requirements Conducting needs assessments and segmentation analysis Developing longitudinal neighborhood-level system Integrating neighborhood-level mapping into analysis

The Urban Institute Available Resources Concept overview –Building and Operating Neighborhood Indicator Systems: A Guidebook –NNIP Data Inventory 2007: A Picture of Local Data Collection Across the Country –School Readiness Research Guide and Toolkit: Using Neighborhood Data to Spur Action

The Urban Institute Available Resources Metro Trends (download tract-level data) – Catalog of Administrative Data Sources for Neighborhood Indicators NNIP Lessons on Local Data Sharing –Data sharing agreements, sample proposals

The Urban Institute Available Resources Vital Records: A Source for Neighborhood Indicators. DataPlace Guide Series: Guide to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data Public Assistance Records: A Source for Neighborhood Indicators

The Urban Institute For more information Web site: or