Articles & Publications
Success Measures has authored and been featured in articles, publications, and blog posts on community development participatory outcome evaluation. These resources, which provide more extensive information on our work in the field, are available here for reading or downloading.
Community-Led Change: How the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation Builds the Capacity of Nonprofits and Communities to Shape Neighborhoods Together
Grantcraft, a service of Foundation Center, November 2018Grantcraft case study highlights Success Measures work with Wells Fargo Regional Foundation Read MoreMeasuring Resident Health Outcomes in Affordable Housing
Build Healthy Places Network Blog, January 8, 2019Mulcahy of Success Measures at NeighborWorks America and De Scisciolo of Enterprise Community Partners discuss their joint development of the Healthy Housing Outcomes Survey that will enable users to measure changes in resident health outcomes most likely to be influenced by healthy housing development. Read MoreMeasuring Health Outcomes: Philanthropy as Catalyst
Views from the Field, Grantmakers in Health, November 2017This essay explores how philanthropy can help lead the way toward healthier communities by supporting health outcome evaluation and the use of new data sources. The lives of children, families, and seniors in vulnerable communities can be enhanced if the right data is used in the right ways. Read MoreSuccess Measures Health Outcome Tools Field Test Report
Success Measures, NeighborWorks America, March 2016After researching and developing more than 65 new tools to measure the health-related outcomes of community development work, Success Measures field tested selected survey questions for validity and credibility. Conducted in English and Spanish with nine diverse organizations throughout the US, the field tests focused on the content, number and wording of questions, including cultural context. Methods, findings and conclusions are included in the summary report. Read More- Field testing its new suite of tools measuring the intersection of health and community development work, Success Measures gained valuable insight into the important nuances of asking questions. Read More
Shared Measurement: Advancing Evaluation of Community Development Outcomes
What Counts: Harnessing Data for America's Communities Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and the Urban Institute, 2014This essay examines the advantages and challenges of using shared measures in community development efforts. Grieve, as one of nearly 50 authors addressing the difficult question of how to improve conditions in distressed communities, explores how nonprofit organizations, intermediaries, and funders apply shared measurement within collective impact strategies and how to evaluate a range of programs. Read MoreEvaluating Community Stabilization Efforts at the Neighborhood Level: A NeighborWorks Pilot with Success Measures
Success Measures, NeighborWorks America, 2011A summary report on the development and piloting of the Success Measures Community Stabilization Evaluation Framework, with an introduction by Alan Mallach. Included are highlights of the nine pilot organizations; and examples of the measurement tools now available to the field. Read More- As cross-sector collaboration at the intersection of health and community development increased, this blog post discussed Success Measures' work to develop a set of data collection tools to evaluate the health-related outcomes of community development work. Read More
- Documents the Financial Capability Demonstration Project, a national multi-year partnership between Citi Foundation and NeighborWorks America, designed to expand the scope and scale of financial capability programs that support low- and moderate-income families and individuals. Includes the findings of 30 nonprofits who received support, training, and coaching over two years. Read More
- A case study of the collaborative evaluation facilitated by Success Measures for the Ford Foundation's Metropolitan Opportunity Unit's assessment of its five year initiative to connect people to economic opportunity, expand access to quality housing, and promote innovative land use in nine metropolitan regions across the country. Read More