Promise Neighborhoods is a federal place-based initiative striving to turn neighborhoods of concentrated poverty into neighborhoods of opportunity. The program’s vision is to ensure that all children growing up in Promise Neighborhoods have access to great schools and strong family and community support systems that will prepare them to attain an excellent education and successfully transition to college and a career.
The Urban Institute plays multiple roles in supporting these important initiatives, including providing technical assistance to all grantees and supporting and documenting individual local initiatives.
National Technical Assistance
Under a contract with the US Department of Education, the Urban Institute provides technical assistance on programming, data collection, community outreach, and sustainability to Promise Neighborhoods implementation grantees across the country. Urban’s technical assistance includes guidance on data collection strategies and data system structures to manage and produce measurable results, guidance on data security and confidentiality and data sharing practices, a national leadership conference and leadership training, site visits, webinars, and virtual peer-learning communities.
Urban annually assesses each grantee’s progress in achieving systems changes and producing measurable results and presents that information to the Department of Education.
Guidance Documents and Briefs
Continually Improving Promise Neighborhoods: The Role of Case Management Data
Promise Neighborhoods Restricted-Use Data Files: Technical Specification and Requirements
Six Steps to Success: Collecting and Using Performance Data in Place-Based Initiatives
Sharing Results: A Guide for Communicating Promise Neighborhoods Outcomes to Diverse Audiences
Features and Videos
Blog Posts
Local Technical Assistance
Independent of the charge from the US Department of Education, Urban Institute also supports and documents individual local initiatives. In some cases, Urban researchers provide direct data collection, performance management, and evaluation support for local initiatives. In others, Urban documents promising practices in other independent cradle-to-career initiatives.
Reports and Briefs
Making a Difference with Data: NNIP and Federal Place-Based Initiatives
Supporting Place-Based Initiatives: Revitalizing San Antonio's EastPoint
Astoria Houses Neighborhood Survey for Zone 126 Promise Neighborhood
Supporting Place-Based Initiatives: Data-Driven Promise in the District of Columbia
Helping Children Succeed: Data and the DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative
Bringing Promise to Washington, DC: The DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative
DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative: Needs Assessment and Segmentation Analysis
