Research
United Way believes that leading the way to solutions for a better community begins with solid research and data.
We are committed to accountability through careful evaluation, paying particular attention to the outcomes achieved by local human services programs and systems.
Center for Research & Evaluation
To assist in this work and to assist others in our community, United Way has established the Center for Research & Evaluation.
The Center identifies best practices and promising practices in evaluation and human services; conducts primary and secondary research; provides training, technical assistance, and capacity building to volunteers, staff, and programs in planning, research, and evaluation; and shares the results of research and evaluation with volunteers, staff, and the broader community. Research and assessment reports are available below in PDF format.
Outcome Measurement
United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg is committed to outcome planning and evaluation for human services programs. Outcomes measurement is an important tool that strengthens programs and effectively communicates results. United Way requires all funded programs and projects to complete outcome planning and conduct ongoing evaluation of their programs. These programs must submit logic models and outcome frameworks that demonstrate their measurement plans. In addition, these programs report their evaluation data to United Way on an annual basis.
Because we know the value of outcome planning and evaluation, United Way is also committed to encouraging all human services programs to use outcome measurement. We provide resources and training on developing and implementing outcome measurement plans. As part of this effort, we offer the following documents to assist human service programs.
Guide to Outcome Measurement(PPT)
Logic Model Template(PDF)
Outcome Framework Template(PDF)
Community Indicators Report
2006 Indicators of Community Strength (Entire Report - PDF)
2006 Child Health & Well-Being Indicators(PDF)
2006 Education Indicators(PDF)
2006 Self-Sufficiency Indicators(PDF)
2006 Older Adult Health & Well-Being Indicators(PDF)
2006 Crime Indicators(PDF)
2003 Archived Report - Community Indicators Report; Social Indicators for Greater Richmond and Petersburg (PDF)
Community Needs & Assets Assessment Reports
Children, Youth & Families
Child Care Workforce Study 2005 - Executive Summary (PDF)
Child Care Workforce Study 2005 (PDF)
Child Care Workforce Study 2005 - Verbatim Comments (PDF)
Child Care Workforce Study 2005 - PowerPoint Presentation
Birth Preparation & Parenting Skills Needs & Assets Assessment Report (PDF)
People in Crisis Are Supported Needs & Assets Assessment Report(PDF)
School Readiness & Success Needs & Assets Assessment Report (PDF)
Economic Security Needs & Assets Assessment Report (PDF)
Positive Youth Development Needs & Assets Assessment Report (PDF)
Homelessness
Housing Needs & Assets Assessment Report (PDF)
Economic Security Needs & Assessment Report(PDF)
Health Needs & Assets Assessment Report (PDF)
Social & Emotional Support Networks Needs & Assets Assessment Report (PDF)
Older Adults
Assessing the Needs of Older Adults in the Greater Richmond Area: A Report to the United Way Older Adults Action Council & Older Adult Partnership (PDF)
Assessing the Needs of Older Adults in the Greater Richmond Area: A Summary of Findings & Recommended Indicators (PDF)
Greater Petersburg Region
School Readiness & Success Needs & Assets Assessment Report (PDF)
Economic Security Needs & Assets Assessment Report (PDF)
Birth Preparation & Parenting Skills Needs & Assets Assessment Report (PDF)
People In Crisis Are Supported Needs & Assets Assessment Report (PDF)
Positive Youth Development Needs & Assets Assessment Report (PDF)
SAVY Youth Needs Assessment; City of Petersburg (PDF)
Resources
The Center for Research & Evaluation makes extensive use of national "best practice" efforts and products. A sampling of recommended resources is included below.
Community Indicator Work
National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership: national partner sites active in gathering and making available neighborhood level data for community building work; http://www.urban.org/nnip/
State of Caring Index, United Way of America; http://national.unitedway.org/stateofcaring/
The Community Action Network of Austin/Travis County: community planning and action resource. http://www.caction.org/index.html
Jacksonville Community Council Inc. http://www.jcci.org/statistics/understandingindicators.aspx
Best Practice Research
Blueprints for Violence Prevention: best practice and promising practice reviews and other information on prevention approaches. http://www.colorado.edu/cspv/blueprints/
Public Private Ventures, strong research especially on mentoring; http://www.ppv.org/
Program and Community Planning
Program Development and Evaluation, University of Wisconsin, extensive resources including interactive logic model development tool; http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/
Developing Community-Wide Outcome Indicators; The Urban Institute; http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/310813_OutcomeIndicators.pdf
Evaluation
United Way has taken a leadership role locally in the field of program outcome measurement. We feel that it is vital that all programs clearly identify intended outcomes, develop a logical plan to reach those outcomes, and then effectively measure results. All programs funded by United Way are required to submit outcome plans and measurement results. The following resources are recommended to guide programs in their evaluation and measurement work.
Harvard Family Research Project's evaluation periodical, The Evaluation Exchange, http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~hfrp/eval.html The Evaluation Exchange highlights innovative methods and approaches to evaluation, emerging trends in evaluation practice, and practical applications of evaluation theory.
University of Wisconsin Extension: guides to survey design, data capture and use, etc. Printable. http://learningstore.uwex.edu
United Way of America: Outcome Measurement Resource Network: http://national.unitedway.org/outcomes/
Key Steps in Outcome Measurement; The Urban Institute http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/310776_KeySteps.pdf
“Enhancing Program Performance Through Logic Models”; University of Wisconsin; http://www1.uwex.edu/ces/lmcourse/#
Pathways Mapping Initiative. What works to improve outcomes for children and families. http://www.pathwaystooutcomes.org/
Finding Out What Happens to Former Clients, the Urban Institute, 2003; http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/310815_former_clients.pdf
The American Evaluation Association; general information and great links on evaluation; http://www.eval.org/
Resources for Methods in Evaluation and Social Research http://gsociology.icaap.org/methods/
National Network for Child Care: Evaluation & Assessment Tools; http://www.nncc.org/Evaluation/evaltools.html
Demographic and Other Statistical Information
Child Trend Databank; http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/index.cfm
National Center for Children Exposed to Violence: list of statistical resources; http://www.nccev.org/violence/statistics/sources.html
Kids Count Census; http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/census/
CLIKS: County, City , Community-Level Information on Kids, The Annie E. Casey Foundation; http://www.aecf.org/cgi-bin/cliks.cgi
Tracking the Well-Being of Children and Youth at the State and Local Levels Using the Federal Statistical System http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/occa52.pdf
Self-Sufficiency Standards for Virginia (under publications) http://www.vakids.org/
A Directory of Information Sources About Children and Families (under publications) http://www.vakids.org/
Central Virginia Health Planning Agency; extensive list of Virginia and national data sources; http://www.cvhpa.org
Various census tools; http://www.census.gov/; American Factfinder: http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet