Using the Vital Signs

Now you can use the Vital Signs in a "results-based approach to decision making" process. This approach enables groups and communities to put the Vital Signs and other indicators into action.

To help groups implement this process to their own work, the Alliance has developed an easy to use tool called the "Timeline to Success" and uses this with neighborhoods and others in the training and one-on-one work.

This tool takes a group through a series of key questions and a visual display that lead groups to:

• Understand the issues and develop the long term vision and results for the neighborhoods in which they work,
• Select the Vital Signs to measure progress toward those results,
• Plan strategies that have a positive impact on long-term change, and
• Celebrate success (or re-design the strategies) based on the direction the selected Vital Signs trends move in subsequent years.

The approach helps groups use the Vital Signs to plan strategies and track trends, and more importantly understand whether the strategies are a factor in improving the conditions over time, ultimately moving the Vital Signs in the right directions.

Specific examples of the groups using this approach include: The neighborhoods involved in the Strategic Neighborhood Action Planning Process of the Baltimore City Planning Department including Reservoir Hill, Midtown, Southeast Baltimore, and others, several funders, nonprofit organizations, and more. Click Here for more details!

More details about workshops for using data and indicators, types of trainings, Training Curriculum, and more about the Technical Assistance and Training Strategy see the main Training page.

Contact the Alliance for more information or to schedule a training!