Outcomes Toolkit Offers Solution in Measuring Community Improvement

A major component to evaluate the success of each HCI community improvement project is a viable means to measure its success. HCI is part of the National Accelerating Community Transformation project utilizing the Outcomes Toolkit. The toolkit is a performace-based planning tool that contains an array of indicators, strategies and procedures to help communities evaluate and define health and community improvement issues.

The toolkit provides examples of successful strategies for improving health and quality of life for individuals and entire communities. It also offers instructions for identifying relationships between health and quality of life indicators, while also comparing results, strategies, and progress with other communities. Whatever their use, the indicators and any related outcome measures provide a structure for monitoring the progress of initiatives in achieving desired results.

The Outcomes Toolkit Gives HCI the Ability to:

• Establish a process for setting priorities and tracking progress against strategic goals;
• Focus on community-specific outcomes as the foundation for approaching collaborative efforts—the underlying tenet of evidence-based planning;
• Foster collaboration by linking all sectors of the community;
• Facilitate more effective communication for all community collaboration partners; and,
• Advance a new model of leadership for community stewardship.

HCI has identified core indicators in four broad areas:

• Community capacity
• Economic vitality
• Health
• Quality of life

These indicators consist of information that describes observable and measurable characteristics of people, organizations, and/or communities chosen by a consensus from ACT communities throughout the United States. The information represents reliable, valid, timely, and cost-effective data that most communities can collect in an efficient manner.

HCI presented an Indicators Report on the general well-being of St. Joseph County residents to the community on November 4th, 2000. This report represents an examination of the quality of life in this area, and serves as a baseline of information and gives a better picture of integral community issues, allowing HCI to begin to Prioritize its agenda.

HCI Announces Interactive Community Calendar

HCI is committed to assisting our community's organizations in pooling their resources as well as to enabling the residents of St. Joseph County to take advantage of the many events and opportunities offered by our organizations. Evidence of
this commitment to our community's present and future health is seen in our New Interactive Community Calendar.

Sign up TODAY for your username and password which enables you to enter your organization's events on the HCI Community Calendar.