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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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Memphis Central Station (Memphis, TN)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Urban

Goal: The goal of this project was to support community revitalization, retain the integrity of an historic district, and provide transportation links to private land development projects.

Michigan State Diversion Project (Michigan)

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide effective and affordable treatment for juvenile offenders.

Migrant Education Even Start (MEES) (California)

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

Goal: The program's mission is to help prepare children of migrant workers in California to be successful in school.

Mornings in Motion (Tennessee)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children

Goal: The goal of Mornings in Motion is to incorporate high quality and structured physical activity into the school day.

MyTeachingPartner-Secondary - Teacher Training, Evaluation, and Compensation (Charlottesville, VA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education, Adults

Goal: MyTeachingPartner, or MTP, is a system of professional-development supports developed through the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning. MTP improves teacher-student interactions, which in turn, increases student learning and development.

Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative (Pennsylvania)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Community & Business Resources

Goal: The goal of the Fresh Food Financing Initiative is to remove financing obstacles and operating barriers for supermarkets in poor communities, stimulate investment of private capital in low-wealth communities, create jobs, prepare and retain a qualified workforce, and reduce diet-related diseases by providing healthy food.

Project ORE (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases, Teens, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of Project ORE is to use a friendship-based sexual education intervention to prevent HIV/STI transmission in high-risk urban African American adolescent girls.

Project TRACK (Teaching, Reaching, and Collaborating for Knowledge) and Steps for Health (Town of Edenton)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children

Goal: The goal of this program is to promote increased physical activity and a balanced diet.

Put Illinois To Work (Illinois)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Economic Climate, Adults

Goal: The program’s goal is to support disadvantaged workers and struggling businesses through the economic recovery process.

Ramp Metering Strategies in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul region of Minnesota)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Urban

Goal: The goal was to evaluate the regionwide impacts of turning off the ramp meters for a six-week period.

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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