Home > Promising Practices

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.

Submit a Promising Practice

Search Filters Clear all
(2402 results)

Save a link to this search

Ranking
Featured
Primary Target Audience
Topics and Subtopics
Geographic Type
Search

Integration of TANF and Child Welfare Systems in El Paso (El Paso County, CO)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Government Assistance, Children, Families

Goal: The goals of this program are to support healthy child development, to provide economic assistance and social services to families, and to protect abused and neglected children.

Intensive Supervision Juvenile Probation Program (Peoria County, IL)

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

Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent recidivism among juvenile offenders placed on probation for known gang-related behavior or substance abuse offenses.

Interface's Journey to Sustainability (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability

Goal: Interface's sustainability goals involve reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, reducing non-renewable energy use, and increasing renewable energy use in their production process.

Intervention Mapping and the Development of a Peer Supported Diabetes Self-Management Program in Rural Alabama (Alabama)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Diabetes, Teens, Older Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Rural

Goal: The intervention is a diabetes self-management program that utilizes peer advisers to reach patients who have poor health literacy, are physically isolated, and require assistance with managing their diabetes.

It's a Habit, Sammy Rabbit! (USA and international)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Investment & Personal Finance, Children, Families

Goal: The goal of It's a Habit, Sammy Rabbit! is to teach financial literacy and other life skills and habits to young children.

JumpStart (Wisconsin)

Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Transportation, Families

Goal: The goal of this program is to assist low-income households in obtaining a personal vehicle.

Kids' Place (Tazewell County)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Social Environment, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: The goal of Kids' Place is to provide a safe after-school learning enironmental for chidren that is available and affordable to local families.

La Posada Hotel (Winslow, Arizona)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Economic Climate

Goal: The goal of the restoration of La Posada Hotel was to preserve and restore the hotel as a historic landmark, and to reinvigorate the economy of Winslow, Arizona.

Land Value Taxation (Pennsylvania)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Economic Climate

Goal: The goal of the split-rate property tax is to encourage urban renewal and discourage land speculation.

Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) (USA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Air

Goal: The goal of the Landfill Methane Outreach Program is to promote the use of landfill gas as an energy source.

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.