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Promising Practices

The Promising Practices database informs professionals and community members about documented approaches to improving community health and quality of life.

The ultimate goal is to support the systematic adoption, implementation, and evaluation of successful programs, practices, and policy changes. The database provides carefully reviewed, documented, and ranked practices that range from good ideas to evidence-based practices.
Learn more about the ranking methodology.

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Don't Borrow Trouble Antipredatory Lending Campaign

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Investment & Personal Finance

Goal: The goal of this program is to help homeowners avoid lending practices that strip away their home's equity.

Engaging Elementary Students with Seniors in a Bird Feeder Project (Lewiston, ID)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Older Adults

Goal: The goal of the project was to find a way for elementary school children to learn about the environment and participate in community service.

Engaging Parents and Adults in Educational Activities at School (Princeton, NJ; Philadelphia, PA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Urban

Goal: By providing programs for students and adults in the areas of literacy, the visual and performing arts, and service learning, NSCC's goals include improving students' performance in school and encouraging parents to become more involved.

Extended-Service Schools Initiative (Philadelphia, PA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of this initiative is to promote the development of young people through after-school programs.

Families Facing the Future (Seattle, WA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Families, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent parents who are addicted to drugs from relapsing, and to prevent substance abuse among their children.

Impact: Although studies evaluating the effectiveness of this program on the behaviors of drug-using parents and their children showed some positive findings, the overall evidence suggested no effects.

Fathers at Work Initiative (USA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment, Adults

Goal: The initiative's goal was to help young noncustodial fathers increase their employment and earnings, become more involved in their children's lives, and increase their financial support of their children.

Flex Your Power Case Study: City of Azusa (Azusa, CA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability

Goal: The goal of this program was to conserve energy in Azusa, California.

Flex Your Power Case Study: City of Santa Clara (Santa Clara, CA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Urban

Goal: The goal of these programs was to reduce energy consumption in Santa Clara.

Flex Your Power Case Study: Cypress Semiconductor (San Jose, CA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to improve energy efficiency at Cypress Semiconductor.

Flex Your Power Case Study: Natural Resources Defense Council (Santa Monica, CA)

Note: This practice has been Archived.

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability

Goal: The goal of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Robert Redford Building is to provide an example of sustainable and efficient design.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success and/or promise in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures of improvement in outcome of interest (i.e. increase in voter registration, not just delivery of voter registration drive) and/ or the outcome measure is increased or improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant.

A Good Idea meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
  2. The program evaluation is limited to descriptive measure(s) of success/accomplishment (i.e., program participation rates, number of services/education sessions/radio messages provided). Note: oftentimes, the program has been newly implemented and a program evaluation has not yet been conducted. Programs that have not yet been evaluated, but which show promise in improving health or quality of life, are classified as Good Ideas until an evaluation is conducted.

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.
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