| Baltimore's Vital Signs Indicators
that Take the Pulse of Baltimore City Neighborhoods Vital
Signs IV - Now
Available! The Vital Signs are Baltimore's 40 key
outcome indicators that "take the pulse" of Baltimore neighborhoods
by measuring progress toward common neighborhood results for strong neighborhoods,
good quality of life, and a thriving city over time. There are 40 Vital
Signs organized into 7 Topic Areas
Housing and Community
Development
Children and Family Health, Safety and Well-being
Workforce
and Economic Development
Sanitation
Urban Environment and Transit
Education and Youth
Neighborhood Action and Sense of Community. All
are available by CSA, census tract, and citywide! Like the "vital
signs" a doctor uses to determine a patient's health, these indicators
are Baltimore's Vital Signs - useful measures of our neighborhoods' health
and strength over time.
Power
point regarding the Vital Signs
Why
the Vital Signs? Knowing that those who live, work, play and invest
in Baltimore want safe and clean streets, better schools, good jobs and healthy
children, several stakeholders across Baltimore asked: "How do we know
we are moving in the right direction? How do we know whether our words and
actions are helping create healthy, strong neighborhoods and improved quality
of life for the long term? " Baltimore needed a common way of understanding
how our neighborhoods and overall quality of life are changing over time.
Baltimore needed a common threshold from which to have discussions about what
is best for changing conditions. Baltimore needed a mechanism to hold itself,
and all others who work, live, play, and invest in its neighborhoods, accountable
for moving in the right direction.
That's why the Alliance developed
the Vital Signs a few years ago. These indicators do not evaluate
specific programs. Rather, they provide a common yardstick by which all
stakeholders can know the changing conditions of Baltimore neighborhoods and quality
of life over time and assess the impact their actions, strategies, and
initiatives have on those conditions. The Vital Signs are
used as catalysts for making decisions strategically and cooperatively
for long-term neighborhood improvement ensuring these Vital Signs move
in the right direction. This enables us, as a city of neighborhoods, to
celebrate our success, learn from our failures and hold one another accountable
for our efforts to rejuvenate the city.
Now, each of us - residents, community
leaders, elected officials and policy makers - have a common framework for
measuring progress. Not every indicator is an outcome indicator, and
not every outcome indicator is important enough to be one of the Vital Signs. The
Vital Signs were developed through a community driven process
and vetted through the Alliance Vital Signs Steering Committee as the best
measures of the city's progress, neighborhood by neighborhood (see more about
how we developed the Vital Signs) The
Alliance officially launched the Vital Signs in November of 2002, marked
by the release of the first report - the Vital Signs for Baltimore Neighborhoods
Report. The Vital Signs are updated and published each year.
Developing
the Vital Signs - A Brief History In 2002, specific indicators
were developed through a comprehensive
community
driven process, which used results from various forums and planning
processes, as well as sets of focus groups each consisting of residents
and other stakeholders, key informant interviews, general feedback, and
more. The results of the initial focus groups are in a report you can download
from here. Faced
with the challenge of narrowing the vast information into a meaningful set of
results and trackable outcome indicators, the Alliance's Vital Signs
Steering Committee developed its own
Guiding
Principles, and used standard
Criteria
for Good Indicators that are used nationwide, to
help make the hard decisions. The results are the set of indicators - the Vital
Signs - listed above. The Vital Signs are updated every year and
continually improved upon based on the input and feedback garnered from resident
focus groups, several other stakeholders across Baltimore City and the Vital Signs
Steering Committee. Vital Signs IV is now available! Co-Sponsors
and Endorsements Several Baltimore neighborhoods, businesses, nonprofits,
foundations, faith-based groups, city agencies and individuals have given their
formal co-sponsorship and endorsement, indicating
their commitment to use the Vital Signs in making decisions to move
the Vital Signs in the right direction. Add your name or your organization's
name to the list! Contact the
Alliance
for details!
The Vital Signs effort
is like no other across the nation - Neighborhood improvement
is measured over time and towards end goals that are collectively established
by neighborhood residents, leaders and several others-each having a stake in and
commitment to building the strength and health of our neighborhoods.
- The existing work of several organizations and data providers affiliated
with the Alliance that track trends in specific areas comes together in a neighborhood
context.
- The Vital Signs are measured at the neighborhood
level. Other cities base their work on a regional or city-wide basis.
- Baltimore's Vital Signs do not track specific strategies or programs
in neighborhoods. Rather, they provide a way to understand the IMPACT of specific
programs towards changing the conditions and meeting the goals of our neighborhoods
and our city over time.
Download
Adobe Acrobat Reader | 
