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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.

Practices that were submitted by local partners are listed first and will have a green box below them that indicates they are local. Users can also use the search features to find promising practices from across the country.

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Gang Resistance Is Paramount (GRIP) (Paramount, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of this program is to educate students about the dangers of gangs, discourage gang membership, educate parents about the signs of gang involvement, and provide families with resources to reduce gang activities in their homes and neighborhoods.

Get on Board (Tucson, AZ)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Transportation, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Get on Board program is to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality in Tucson, AZ.

Get Real About Violence (Evanston, IL)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children, Teens

Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent violence among children and adolescents.

Going Places, Making Choices

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Transportation, Teens

Goal: The curriculum is designed to build upon a young person's capacity for critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and other life skills essential for a systematic approach to addressing issues of community sustainability. More specifically, they chose transport as a lens through which a community's environment, culture, and value systems are examined.

Goodwill Industries Transitional Jobs Program (San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment

Goal: The goal of this program is to help individuals make a successful transition to employment.

Great Allegheny Passage (Pittsburgh, PA to Washington, D.C.)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Children, Teens, Adults, Families

Goal: The goal of the Great Allegheny Passage is to provide hikers, bicyclists, cross-country skiers and people with disabilities with a trail through the region.

Green and Healthy Homes through People United for Sustainable Housing (Buffalo, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The mission of PUSH Buffalo is to mobilize residents to create strong neighborhoods with quality, affordable housing; to expand local hiring opportunities; and to advance economic and environmental justice in Buffalo.

Green Power Partnership (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability

Goal: The goal of the Green Power Partnership is to promote the use of green power in the United States.

Green Ribbon Month to Reduce Speeding in School and Residential Areas (Utah)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Prevention & Safety, Children, Teens, Adults

Goal: To decrease the number of children hit by motor vehicles in school zones and crosswalks.

GreenScapes (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment

Goal: The goal of GreenScapes is to encourage companies and organizations to make more environmentally conscious landscaping decisions and to reduce, reuse, recycle and rebuy.

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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