Sunday, October 14, 2012

Chapin Hall – a research and policy center at the University of Chicago – will be hosting a forum on October 17th to discuss the challenges community-based organizations face as they try to access and use data to drive their programs and strategies forward.

Data is a key ingredient to improving the well-being of children and families and the communities we live in. Data has the power to help residents understand what’s happening in their neighborhood by telling the story of the conditions the residents confront on a daily basis, as well as which residents are more likely to face particular struggles. Likewise, data can drive many decisions within community-based organizations that are trying to meet the needs of the community by targeting services to the specific needs of the residents. Furthermore, as programs and services are implemented, many funders – including the government and private foundations – look for data to tell the story of how specific programs are improving outcomes or meeting desired objectives. Yet, gathering, analyzing and reporting this data is a challenge as data is often fragmented across the cities, county state and federal levels, as well as between community-based organizations.

The forum - Measuring Child Well-Being at the Neighborhood Level - will highlight how organizations can gain greater access to sources of data and ensure that it is analyzed in a way that allows for effective decision making by policymakers and practitioners invested in improving the well-being of children and families. Panelists will include representatives from Chapin Hall, the MacArthur Foundation and LISC. The forum will take place at the University of Chicago, though a live webcast is available. To register for the webcast, please click here.

For more information about using data to achieve results, including data assessment tools and community case studies, check out the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s Making a Difference in Your Neighborhood handbook.

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