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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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Spark (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia)

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

Goal: Spark's mission is to provide life-changing apprenticeships to youth in underserved communities across the United States.

Springfield Safe Communities (Springfield, IL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Children, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Springfield Safe Communities project was to reduce the number of alcohol-related traffic crash fatalities, and to increase seat belt use throughout the city and surrounding areas.

Stepping Up to Algebra (Santa Clara)

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

Goal: The program is designed to teach students the skills and knowledge required to complete Algebra I by the end of the eighth grade.

Stop Waste (Alameda County, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants

Goal: The Waste Management Authority and the Source Reduction and Recycling Board form an integrated Agency dedicated to achieving the most environmentally sound solid waste management and resource conservation program for the people of Alameda County. Within this context, the Agency is committed to achieving a 75% and beyond diversion goal and promoting sustainable consumption and disposal patterns.

Storytelling to Promote Colorectal Cancer Screening (Arizona)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Cancer, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of this program is to use storytelling to increase colorectal cancer screening and improve nutrition and physical activity among underserved Latina women.

Strategy: Community Beautification (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Families

Goal: The goal of beautification and restoration projects is to restore neighborhoods and communities in order to prevent criminal activity and encourage community engagement.

Strengthening Families Program (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goals of this program are to improve parenting skills and children’s behaviors and decrease conduct disorders; to improve children’s social competencies; and to improve family attachment, harmony, communication, and organization.

Summer Bridge (Marin)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Childcare & Early Childhood Education, Children, Families

Goal: The program's goal is to help four- and five-year old children become better prepared for kindergarten.

Sustainable Design Research Studio (Washington, DC)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants

Goal: The goal of this project is to identify environmentally preferable building materials and products, to specify them in HOK's own projects, and to guide others in the profession in doing the same.

Switch-Play (Melbourne, Australia)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Urban

Goal: The primary goal of the ‘Switch-Play’ promising practice was to develop and test three approaches towards the achievement of healthy weight maintenance among 10-year-old children: (1) through reducing the time spent in sedentary behaviors (e.g. TV viewing, playing electronic games and recreational computer use); (2) through increasing skills and enjoyment of physical activity; or (3) through a combination of these two strategies.

Impact: Children participating in the behavioral modification and motor skills development components of Switch-Play had improved BMI.

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.