[INSERT LISC OFFICE]
Sustainable Communities
Sample Evaluation Material
July 2010
LISC Sustainable Communities Assessment
Qualitative Analysis Plan Outline
Section 1: Neighborhoods
• List target neighborhoods and define boundaries.
• [Impact sites only: list comparison neighborhood(s) and define boundaries]
• Provide brief background description of each neighborhood, including basic demographics. [Include comparison neighborhoods for Impact sites.]
• Provide brief rationale for neighborhood selection. [Include comparison neighborhoods for Impact sites.]
Section 2: Amended forms
• Discuss any recommended edits or amendments to the reporting forms and explain reasons for the amendments. Attach the amended forms to the end of the analysis plan. (Field report forms and other materials were developed without knowledge of local program characteristics. It is likely that some questions will not apply at all, or will need to be modified to make sense in a local context. Similarly, it is possible that questions of paramount local importance will not have been included, and should be added.)
Section 3: Data sources
• List stakeholders to be interviewed, including name, role, and indicate generally which forms & questions they will help answer. Where appropriate, tie stakeholders to major activities in the quality of life plan for which they can speak to implementation and impact.
• List members of impact panel, including name and background, and reason for inclusion on the panel.
• For each of the five broad categories in the Impact Field Report Form, please generally identify sources of information available to help assess neighborhood change, comment on their quality, and note implications for analysis.
• Describe the intended approach to completing the Target Neighborhood Activity Form. For each of the major elements of the community Quality of Life Plan or other intended implementation activities, briefly identify likely sources of data on project or program outputs. In addition, comment on how you might identify activities that were not emphasized in the quality of life plan, but which emerge as important community development activities in the target neighborhood.
• Describe the intended approach to completing the Baseline Neighborhood Activity Form. For major programs under each category of activity (Housing, Economy and Workforce, etc.) identify the agencies or groups responsible, and how briefly describe how information on these activities will be acquired.
Section 4: Challenges
• Indicate any gaps in data availability or challenges to completion of any of the reporting forms.
Attachments
• Target neighborhood maps
• Final amended reporting forms
• Target neighborhood quality of life plans or equivalent
Sustainable Communities Baseline Target Neighborhood Activity Form
This form solicits information on significant previous and existing activities, programs, and
investments taking place in target neighborhoods at the start-up of the Sustainable Communities
initiative. It is to be administered as part of the Baseline data collection process.
We are not expecting an exhaustive treatment. For existing activities, programs, and investments, we seek information on those that reasonably could be expected to influence the implementation and effects of the Sustainable Communities initiative as it unfolds. For these, provide a brief description of (a) goals, (b) scale, and (c) longevity.
For previous activities, programs, and investments, we seek information on those that have already contributed to (or detracted from) the quality of the neighborhood in some major way easily recognized by community stakeholders. Identify those activities (dating from 1990 forward) and describe their (a) basic, (b) scale, (c) longevity, and (d) estimated effects.
Housing
List programs, projects, or activities which support:
• Increased diversity of housing options across tenure, income, and affordability groups
• Increased residential opportunities for those who work locally
Economy and Workforce
List programs, projects, or activities which support:
• Increased export of goods, services, and labor
• Increased opportunities to work in accessible, upwardly mobile jobs
• Improved access to high-quality shopping
• Improved transportation access
Community Quality and Safety
List programs, projects, or activities which support:
• More attractive physical amenities
• Safer places for residents and visitors
• Improved public urban services
• Improved overall quality of life
Community Institutions and Relationships
List programs, projects, or activities which support:
• Strengthened community-based institutions and local anchors
• Increased bridging and bonding capital
• Increased idea and resource contributions from local institutions
• Increased resident willingness and ability to contribute to the community
Social and Health Services
List programs, projects, or activities which support:
• Broadened opportunities for childcare, youth development, health, and social services for special needs populations
Education and Culture
List programs, projects, or activities which support:
• Higher quality educational opportunities for children and adults
• Improved access to connective technologies
• Widened access to arts and cultural opportunities
Sustainable Communities Impact Analysis Field Report Form
This form synthesizes researcher judgments about changes in the neighborhood over the past year. These judgments should reflect analysis of multiple sources of evidence, including quantitative data, interviews carried out in the process analysis, documentary evidence, and results of neighborhood panel interviews. Please note areas of extraordinary consensus or disagreement among sources. The items below are aspects of Sustainable Communities as LISC defines them. Amendments to improve clarity are indicated by [ ]. Comments on each need not be extensive; the goal is to identify areas where community quality appears to be changing in obvious ways. Answers will be used in conjunction with statistical evidence to compare change across neighborhoods and cities. Where relevant, please briefly note your view of the ties, if any, between specific Sustainable Communities implementation activities and an observed change in the neighborhood. This Form should be thought of in conjunction with Question 16 of the Process Analysis Field Report Form.
Housing
1. This neighborhood offers a variety of housing options for diverse homebuyers and renters of different income levels. [Construction or renovation activity is adding to, subtracting from, or altering the housing stock in ways that are likely to change the racial or income mix of residents.]
2. [The physical quality of the housing stock in the neighborhood is sound, with vacancy rates sufficient to maintain smooth operation of the housing market. Owners of rental and owner-occupied properties have appropriate financial resources to maintain their properties.]
3. The neighborhood preserves housing that is affordable for households of limited means.
Business Activity and Employment
4. The neighborhood produces goods and services that are needed in the broader city or region. [Major employers or clusters of economic activity represent export sectors that contribute to local earnings and tax base.]
5. The neighborhood provides a workforce to support the regional economy, and provides residential opportunities for people who work nearby.
6. The neighborhood offers opportunities to work in upwardly mobile jobs in the community or in
locations easily accessible through public transportation.
7. The neighborhood offers high quality shopping and services within the community or easily accessible nearby, including access to affordable, healthy food and to mainstream financial services.
8. The neighborhood is physically connected to the wider region through transportation options that make movement in and out easy and affordable.
Community Institutions and Supports
9. There are strong local institutions in the neighborhood – for example, community-based organizations, other nonprofits, larger anchor institutions such as colleges, hospitals and larger private employers.
10. These institutions help to build social capital and relationships and contribute ideas and resources to address local problems.
11. The neighborhood nurtures new leadership, by strengthening resident capacities -- especially of lower income families, recent immigrants and youth – to ensure their involvement in shaping the future of the community.
12. The neighborhood offers opportunities for childcare, youth development, health and wellness, and social services for special needs populations.
Community Quality and Safety
13. The neighborhood has attractive physical amenities likes parks, open spaces, recreational facilities and other physical infrastructure that contribute to good quality of life. [Public spaces, the mix of retail and housing, and the design of thoroughfares encourage walking and exercise.]
14. The neighborhood is a safe place where residents and visitors can move about without fear of crime and violence.
15. The neighborhood has high quality public services, such as street cleaning, garbage pick-up, and lighting.
Education and Culture
16. The neighborhood has schools that deliver quality education for children who reside in the community.
17. The neighborhood offers educational opportunities for adults who are working or want to work, with a goal toward helping them participate in the economic mainstream.
18. The neighborhood is technologically connected to the wider region and the world; residents have affordable access to the Internet to provide critical connections and services that enable residents to earn, save, learn, and build assets.
19. The neighborhood is a creative community that offers arts and cultural opportunities in the community or nearby.
Questions for Neighborhood Impact Panel
The Neighborhood Impact Panel consists of 7-8 leaders chosen from the community to represent diverse points of view on changes to the neighborhood over the preceding year. These questions aim to tap the experiences and perceptions of the panel in five broad areas. The panel’s answers will inform your conclusions on the Impact Analysis Field Report Form. Pay attention to areas of agreement or disagreement among respondents to particular questions. Where relevant, explore the panelists’ opinions as to the ties, if any, between specific Sustainable Communities implementation activities and an observed change in the neighborhood.
Housing
Are there signs of housing transition in the neighborhood which indicate a change in the mix of income levels, renters and owners, or households with and without families?
Has the physical quality of housing in the neighborhood gotten better or worse?
Is it easier or more difficult for people of low and moderate income to find an affordable home in the neighborhood?
Economy and Workforce
Have opportunities to work in accessible, upwardly mobile jobs increased?
Has there been any change in residents’ access to high-quality shopping, either within the neighborhood or within easy transportation access?
Community Quality and Safety
Is the neighborhood a safer place for residents and visitors?
Have there been any changes in the neighborhood to make it a more attractive place to live, including better public services, like trash collection or police responsiveness, or new neighborhood amenities?
Community Institutions and Supports
Are there any significant new or strengthened community-based institutions, or evidence that community organizations have become more effective in nurturing community leadership?
Are there expanded opportunities for childcare, youth development, health, and social services in the neighborhood?
Education and Culture
Have educational opportunities for children and adults improved?
Has access to arts and cultural opportunities increased?
LISC Sustainable Communities Assessment
Target Neighborhood Activity Form
This Form records information for each major activity, program or investment linked to the Sustainable Communities initiative in the target neighborhood. It is to be used in data collection to support update reports following completion of the Baseline Form.
In this Form, include only projects, programs or activities that are operational, and for which the expected effects (due to scale, targeting, or other feature) are expected to be significant relative to other efforts in the same neighborhood. If a project or initiative includes subcomponents that are targeted to different Sustainable Communities goals and enough information is available to fill out a separate production form for each subcomponent, please do so. Please include projects, programs or activities that are not directly linked to the Sustainable Communities Initiative if they are major endeavors and are very important to the neighborhood’s attainment of Sustainable Communities goals.
1. Project name:
2. Brief description. Please supply two- or three-sentence description. Attach any documentary information you have available.
3. Project strategy or objectives. Indicate the Sustainable Communities category or categories involved[1]. If appropriate, briefly note the relationship between the project and priority community objectives as outlined in the neighborhood plan.
4. Project participants. Clearly identify the project or program sponsor / developer, as well as any important partners or funders that are also involved in other Sustainable Communities efforts.
5. Budget and sources of funds. Provide the approximate capital or annual operating budget. If applicable, note the approximate LISC funding amount and type of funding (e.g., grant funds, loan funds, etc.)
6. Timeline. Briefly note the project / program beginning and ending date.
7. Location. Which SC neighborhood or neighborhoods? Comment on any project locational characteristics important to understanding expected impacts.
8. Outputs. Describe outputs in the appropriate units that are easily recorded; e.g., number of units for a housing development; number of participants for an after school program.
9. Expected impacts. Comment on the types of impacts that could reasonably expected from the project or program given its scale, location, timing, or connection to other investments.
10. Noteworthy characteristics. Please comment on any unique or innovative aspects of the project that would make it a candidate for attention in national communications on the results of the initiative. Note presence of useful documentary material.
LISC Sustainable Communities Assessment
Baseline Target Neighborhood Activity Form
This form solicits information on significant previous and existing activities, programs, and investments taking place in target neighborhoods at the start-up of the Sustainable Communities initiative. It is to be administered as part of the Baseline data collection process.
We are not expecting an exhaustive treatment. For existing activities, programs, and investments, we seek information on those that reasonably could be expected to influence the implementation and effects of the Sustainable Communities initiative as it unfolds. For these, provide a brief description of (a) goals, (b) scale, and (c) longevity.
For previous activities, programs, and investments, we seek information on those that have already contributed to (or detracted from) the quality of the neighborhood in some major way easily recognized by community stakeholders. Identify those activities (dating from 1990 forward) and describe their (a) basic, (b) scale, (c) longevity, and (d) estimated effects.