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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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B&O Railroad Station (Oakland, MD)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Economic Climate

Goal: The goal of the restoration of the B&O Railroad Station was to preserve the historic landmark and revitalize the town of Oakland, Maryland.

Backyard Gardens (West Oakland, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Adults, Older Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The Backyard Garden Program builds food self-sufficiency by empowering low-income households to grow fresh produce where they live.

Baltimore Healthy Carryout Project (Baltimore, MD)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Teens, Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Baltimore Healthy Carryout project was to increase healthy food options at carryout facilities and restaurants in Baltimore's low-income neighborhoods.

Impact: The BHC project reached 36.8% more customers during the intervention period than at baseline when comparing intervention carryouts to comparison carryouts. Customers reported purchasing specific foods due to the presence of a photo on the menu board (65.3%) or menu labeling (42.6%).

Bayview Safe Haven (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Teens, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: To provide academic, vocational, recreational and life skills for at risk youth ages 12-21 in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco.

Be a Local Hero, Buy Locally Grown (Massachusetts)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Community & Business Resources, Adults

Goal: The goal of the Be a Local Hero, Buy Locally Grown program is to raise awareness and sales of locally grown farm products.

Ben Schroeder Saddletree Factory Restoration (Madison, IN)

Filed under Good Idea, Art & Recreation / Libraries & Museums, Families, Rural

Goal: The preservation and restoration of the Ben Schroeder Saddletree Factory aims to contribute to the overall economic and cultural development of the community.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (USA)

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

Goal: Big Brothers Big Sisters' mission is to provide supportive relationships for young people to assist them in realizing their potential.

Blue Zones Vitality City Project: Albert Lea, MN (Albert Lea, MN)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Wellness & Lifestyle

Goal: To increase quality of life and longevity among members of a community through community-wide interventions which address community, social network, habitat, and inner self.

Boys and Girls Club Gang Prevention Through Targeted Outreach

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to decrease gang-related activity and to increase socially positive interactions for children and adolescents.

Boys Town (Omaha, NE)

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide abused, abandoned and neglected girls and boys with a safe, caring, loving environment where they gain confidence to get better and learn skills to become productive citizens.

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.