Community Indicators

I don't know about you but one of the things I find the hardest to do is to start with a blank canvas. I need to see examples or templates--something that shows me how it might be done that I can not exactly copy but model from. It's not plagiarism. I just need ideas. Sometimes I start by borrowing structure, then revising to fit what I need to say. Sometimes I look at multiple examples, then pluck from each what works for me. Why reinvent the wheel?

Of course, I willgive credit where credit is due-- I'm not about the plagiarism! But what I'm talking about is different. Sometimes I just...don't...know...how...to...get...started.

If you're like me, then the thought of doing a community assessment from scratch could be a daunting task indeed. That's one reason I've been working on my community assessment workbook (coming soon). I figured I know where the data is hiding so I would create an Excel workbook that has select Healthy People 2010 objectives, US data, and Texas data. (Sorry for those of you in other states--I'm located in Texas and that's been the focus of my work.)

Here's the kicker-- I've also got links to sources of county data for every one of the objectives in my workbook. I've also weeded out the stuff that HP 2010 asks for that isn't easily available. I promise-- I'll have a link to it soon!

But-- you still have to put pen to paper, er, fingers to keyboard and write a descriptive text about your community. You can't hand people a bunch of printouts from a spreadsheet, right?

So, to make a short story long, here is one site that serves as a gateway to bunches of indicator initiators:

http://www.iisd.org/measure/compendium/

Here's a blurb from their web site:

"Welcome to version two of the Compendium of Sustainable Development Indicator Initiatives, a worldwide directory of who is doing what in the field of sustainability indicators. Work on an earlier version of the Compendium was carried out with several partners and donors, including the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Environment Canada, Redefining Progress, the World Bank and the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development."

Just for kicks, go to:

http://www.iisd.org/measure/compendium/searchinitiatives.aspxvv

to do a search for health. Limit the Scope to Local/Community and you'll still get bunches of hits. Try just public health for fewer results.

Happy searching! I hope you find this useful....