2000115-Strengthening-Communities-with-Neighborhood-Data

146 Strengthening Communities with Neighborhood Data
In addition to changes in neighborhoods, the field needs to understand
the changing circumstances of people. A growing body of evidence demonstrates
the effects of neighborhood conditions on individuals and families,
as discussed in more depth in chapter 7. Researchers must use complex
analytic techniques to sort out the effects of neighborhood conditions
from those of individual and family characteristics and behavior. Better
knowledge of the mechanisms by which neighborhood conditions help or
harm people’s life chances can help policymakers and practitioners prioritize
interventions to improve the most influential conditions. Research
on neighborhood change and effects has advanced markedly over the
past two decades, but methodological hurdles remain. Chapter 7 reviews
selected techniques that represent promising approaches to a deeper
understanding of both processes and explores the state of the art of
neighborhood indicators analysis for four purposes: description, classification,
prediction, and explanation.
Conclusion
Using indicators to monitor community well-being (part of situation
analysis) is important. But this chapter has shown that several other types
of applications are critical as well. A considerably more robust view of the
potential uses and usefulness of indicators was put forward by Land when
the social indicators movement first got under way, and the features of
that approach are the seeds of the types of applications that are emerging
as essential for data work in local governance today.
Many clients for this work—ranging from individual neighborhood
groups to civic leaders—are now pushing for smarter designs and
accountability in local initiatives and programs, and they are increasingly
recognizing that data-driven decisionmaking may be key to achieving
their goals. This emphasis means that the years ahead are likely to see
substantially expanded demand for the effective production and use of
community information.
The decision-oriented applications are likely to be emphasized: sharper
diagnosis of community problems and opportunities (situation analysis),
more effective design of action programs in response (policy analysis and
planning), and insistent monitoring and assessment of results (performance
management). But the other applications we have noted will be
essential as well: education and engagement to assure the data get used,