Hi all,
There's so much research out there on community development -- but I want to just check what other people use to make a case for doing ABCD work to folks? We're in the beginning (year 1) phase of a neighborhoods project, when we don't have big 'results' to report but rather groundwork completed (people spoken to, assets identified, relationships strengthened, lessons learned)
For instance, what statistics do you draw upon to illustrate that though this work takes time and is sometimes incredibly sticky and unpredictable, it is worthwhile? I often like to use statistics about connection and social capital - ie...
(Joining one group cuts your odds of dying over the next year in half. Communities with higher levels of social capital produce children with higher SAT scores and performance on broad-range testing as well as lower drop out rates, higher retention, less violence; representative government is more responsive in communities with more social capital; road rage is rarer where citizens are more involved in civic life.)
and I like the statistics about health having less than 10% to do with access to health care and more to do with our social, physical environment and our personal decisions.
What else is out there? What do you use?
I'm also seeking powerful case studies that demonstrate in hard numbers how things have changed as a result of ABCD being used. What cases do you bring up often, or have you done a project and produced a convincing evaluation?
This would be super helpful for me.
Thanks!
updated by @april-doner: 10/24/16 04:47:22PM