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.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Urban
Goal: The goal of these projects was to find ways to maximize energy conservation and efficiency through measures with a quick payback period.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability
Goal: The energy goals of the committee were to save money, reduce energy usage and to "stay on" during blackouts to avoid sending employees home.
Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health
Goal: The initiative’s goal is to reduce infant sleep-related deaths by promoting safe sleep environments and SIDS risk reduction techniques among healthcare professionals, childcare providers, and all individuals responsible for caring for infants.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Urban
Goal: The goal of this legislation is to promote the design of more efficient buildings; thereby, reducing green house gas emissions, reducing energy costs, decreasing the use of potable water, and reducing the amount of stormwater runoff.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Urban
Goal: Green Guerillas' goal is to help gardeners cultivate and manage community gardens that thrive as parks, urban farms, and outdoor community centers.
Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Children, Teens, Adults, Older Adults, Families, Urban
Goal: Green the Tenderloin provides urban gardening classes, fresh produce, and nutrition education to members of the community.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Urban
Goal: The goal of this program is to foster civic participation and encourage neighborhood revitalization while preserving open space. Community gardens provide green space and easily accessible recreational opportunities in the areas that need them most.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children
Goal: The goal of the HOPS program was to improve overall health status and academic achievement using replicable strategies.
Impact: The HOPS intervention helped students who qualified for free or reduced price meals both stay within the normal BMI percentile and score higher on their state math achievement test.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Children
Goal: The program’s goals are to provide early intervention and greater accountability for juveniles charged with weapons offenses, help juveniles recognize and use nonviolent means to promote their safety and preserve their self-esteem, and effectively deliver the message that gun violence hurts victims, families, and communities.
Filed under Effective Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens, Urban
Goal: The goal of the Juvenile Intervention and Prevention Program is to help at-risk youth who reside in gang-ridden neighborhoods experience success in school, at home, and in the community.