National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (Nnip)
National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership: Elements of Practice Framework 1
NATIONAL NEIGHBORHOOD INDICATORS PARTNERSHIP (NNIP)
ELEMENTS OF PRACTICE FRAMEWORK
PRINCIPLES AND PURPOSE
Over the ten years of its existence, the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership has engaged in a variety of activities to support its partners and further the knowledge and practice of developing neighborhood level data and information capacity to support community change. While the partners come from a variety of organizational settings with differing missions, they share commitment to: 1) democratizing data—that is, making data and information widely available in useful forms to residents and organizations in low-income communities as well as policy makers, public agency staff and the public in general; and 2) developing systems for recurrently updated neighborhood level data and information. As a partnership, we strive to advance the state of the art in using information for positive social change, to document and share lessons learned with a wider audience, and to promote community-building data intermediary capacities in other cities.
As the Partnership has moved to expand its membership and support systems in response to demand among practitioners from communities across the country, the NNIP has begun a process to reflect on the elements of practice it employs to develop particular topics as well as to develop data intermediary capacities.
By first identifying the elements of NNIP practice, the partners can subject them to discussion and analysis that will lead to a framework and process that can consistently be applied to both local and cross-site NNIP work. Internally, the process will result in a better understanding and articulation of its current activities, identification of gaps and weaknesses in our practices, and the creation of a shared framework for organizing our documentation. Once the framework is vetted internally, the document can be shared to assist others who are interested in establishing a data intermediary capacity in their area. It can also provide a way to organize conversations and interest groups as we build a broader community of practice.
While the two components are separated in this framework, there is a synergy between local and national work, with local needs and perspectives acting as the primary driver for selection of national work. However, we remain open to responding to topics that are framed in the national context, but which need to be developed and understood through local and neighborhood lenses. Whatever the context, NNIP uses the local-national partnership as a vehicle for elevating local issues to the national agenda. By partnering with other organizations, NNIP influences the framing of neighborhood and community development issues and the design of subsequent analysis or program development.
The elements of practice presented below may imply a sequence of activities, but neither the work of the individual partners nor of the collective group is a linear process. The activities described in the elements of practice often occur simultaneously. They also tend to re-cycle with some subsequent activity informing a prior one and requiring a looping back to refine thinking on the previous activities.
I. ELEMENTS OF PRACTICE FOR DATA INTERMEDIARY CAPACITIES
This section summarizes how an organization builds and expands the capacity to act as a community data intermediary. We begin the elements of practice with the establishment of the intermediary function; move to programmatic work (focus initiatives, building community capacity, and dissemination); describe the technical backbone (data and computer systems); and finish with the longer-term work of evaluation and sustainability. The intermediaries must work in all of these areas to move from information to action, partnering with other organizations in their cities as needed.
A. Establishing home and governance
Many of the items below – forming partnerships, determining content, and raising resources – are concerns NNIP partners continuously face. But the steps are particularly critical in formation of a data intermediary, as they determine the initial trajectory of the organization and lay the foundation for success.
1. Initiation of interest and strategic planning
- Research on existing models
- Deciding on organizational home, structure, and mission
- Forming Partnerships
- Determining Initial Content, Access, and Services based on Need
- Resource Development
B. Initiatives
All NNIP partners view neighborhood health broadly, working toward providing usable data across topics to the community. However, this section discusses the factors involved when an organization decided to place a special focus on a particular issue (like prisoner reentry), a community indicators process (as in Vital Signs), or a comprehensive neighborhood program (like Making Connections).
1. Identification of Issue Areas
2. Issue Exploration
3. Framing of Issues
4. Local Project Design and Implementations
5. Documentation of findings and lessons
C. Building Capacity
Data intermediaries do not just passively disseminate indicators, but also actively work to enable residents, nonprofit organizations and government agencies to be informed consumers of information. There is a particular focus on building the capacity of individuals and groups in distressed areas, who have traditionally lacked access to the information and the training to use it. Depending on the mission and internal capacity, some organizations directly conduct the activities; others coordinate with like-minded organizations to do the training and technical support.
1. Building capacity of organizations
2. Building capacity of residents
D. General dissemination
NNIP partners all share the principle that information in their data repositories should be made available to all stakeholders, including residents, community and advocacy groups, business community, government agencies, and foundations. Most create some mechanisms for people to access basic indicators without staff contact, to supplement the time-consuming targeted initiatives or capacity building.
1. Web site/Internet
2. Static displays (profiles, charts, maps)
3. Interactive systems
4. Ad hoc data requests
E. Data Acquisition and Development
Creating recurrently updated local data systems is a key feature of data intermediaries. In addition to the analytic requirements that may come to mind first, this element requires political skill to access the data files, creative thinking to develop ways to collect new data about neighborhood needs and assets, and foresight to organize and document the collection.
1. Negotiating administrative data agreements
2. Community data collection
3. Processing data
4. Documentation
F. System Planning and Development
The development of the data intermediary capacity involves collecting and processing data from a variety of data providers, often in a variety of formats. Formalizing and systematizing these processes ensures the on-going nature of this role, and often involves developing systems to support 1) the processing and management of data and 2) user access to the information in some form. Developing a solid blueprint that considers both internal and external needs will ensure that the system is sustainable and flexible to support the various data formats and end-user needs. There are various issues to consider and decision points in system development including database design, hardware/software selection, programming, and testing. System development is an iterative process that continually takes into account user feedback, on-going system needs, and changes in technology.
1. Requirements Specifications
2. System Plan/Design
3. Implementation Plan
4. Deciding on Hardware and Software
5. Database Design and development
6. Implementation
7. Testing
G. Evaluation
All partner organizations want to know if they are making a difference – in creating an atmosphere conducive to data-sharing, increasing residents’ capacity to effect positive change in their neighborhoods, and improving the effectiveness of nonprofit and government agencies. But addressing entrenched economic and social inequities is a long-term process, and identifying ways to mark progress
1. Audience evaluation (user success stories, number of requests fulfilled, web statistics, satisfaction surveys, etc.)
- Outcomes evaluation (system change, greater voice for residents, changing neighborhood conditions, etc).
H. Sustainability
While many of the NNIP partners have now been successful data intermediaries for over a decade, there is an ongoing feeling that the organizations are vulnerable. Maintaining institutional relevance in a shifting political arena requires constant vigilance, raising support for general operations remains a challenge, and the leadership and staff turnover that is common in all nonprofits disrupts operations.
1. Raising Visibility and Public Confidence and Support
2. Institutionalization
3. Fundraising
II. ELEMENTS OF PRACTICE FOR NNIP PARTNERSHIP
This section summarizes the elements of practice for the NNIP partnership. While the specific components may differ, the major categories of the cross-site activities parallel the efforts of the local organizations: home and governance, programmatic work (focus initiatives, building community capacity, and dissemination); technical responsibilities (data and computer systems); and longer-term work of evaluation and sustainability. Following the mission of the partnership, the details underneath each major category focus on building the capacity of local intermediaries; coordinating cross-site work; documenting successes and lessons through tools and guides; and educating others about the NNIP ideas and principles.
A. Establishing home and governance
For the partnership, this section briefly describes how the role of the Urban Institute as a convener and coordinator developed, the current decision-making processes, and the current thinking about expansion.
1. Role of UI
2. Executive committee role
3. Expansion plans
B. Initiatives
Cross-site initiatives and tool-building pairs the local knowledge of community needs and political realities with the national perspective and the subject-matter expertise of the Urban Institute. The cross-site projects to date have been launched when an issue matched local relevance, funding opportunities, and UI interests and expertise.
1. Identification of Issue Areas
2. Issue Exploration
3. Framing of Issues
4. Cross-site Project Design and Implementation
5. Documenting lessons and findings
6. Building tools
C. Building Capacity
This area has been the greatest benefit of the partnership to date. Partner organizations learn from each other’s experience, adapting programs and techniques to fit their local conditions. Through NNIP, UI staff members have enhanced their ability to incorporate local concerns into national research agendas. Most of the capacity building to date has been internal (discussion, peer TA, and meetings), though our few conferences have included a wider, but still targeted, audience.
1. Discussions/Information Exchange among Partners
2. Peer Technical Assistance (TA)
3. Partner meetings
4. NNIP Workshops
5. NNIP Conferences
6. Seeding new groups
D. General dissemination
The partnership believes most cities and counties can benefit from a data intermediary function based on community-building principles, whether operated by one organization or by a formal coalition. The efforts in this area have focused on spreading the word that such systems are not only possible, but critical infrastructure for community progress.
1. Web site/Internet
2. Public speaking – conferences, meetings
3. Articles in journals and other publications
E. Data Acquisition and Development
NNIP principles of democratizing information include making the national datasets easier to use, promoting broader understanding of how to use local datasets, and encouraging rigorous documentation. This area thus includes collection and distribution of national data sets with neighborhood-level data, the collection of local data across sites, and publishing guides focusing on particular types of data sets.
1. Identifying data sets
2. Processing data (and guidebooks about processing data)
3. Documentation (future metadata standards)
F. System Planning and Development
This section includes the development of technology that can be used in cities that do not have a local data intermediary, and to supplement or support the local systems already in place. This area of cross-site work has been less developed, but will play a larger role as DataPlace is fully launched, and as the Partnership fleshes out its proposal for a larger community of practice.
1. DataPlace
- Community of Practice Tools
G. Evaluation
Just as the local partners individually are concerned about their effectiveness, NNIP would like to know whether it is moving its collective objectives forward. By including time for reflection and assessment into each aspect of our work, we can hold the Partnership accountable to its stated goals and measure progress along the way.
1. Audience evaluation
- Outcomes evaluation
H. Sustainability.
NNIP has lasted because its members find value in learning from each other and are committed to working together toward the common goals of advancing the field and spreading the word about the potential of using information locally for change. The Partnership has built a solid reputation, but now needs to consider how to adapt as it grows larger to better serve current partners and accelerate the development of community-oriented data intermediaries in more cities.
1. Raising Visibility and Public Confidence and Support
2. Institutionalization
3. Fundraising