Visit www.healthycommunities.org and www.ncl.org/ncl/hci.htm#Principles

The Civic Index: One of the first tools for understanding a community, the National Civic League developed this index to measure civic infrastructure; the capacity, both formal and informal, processes; and networks through which communities problem solve. It incorporates relationships and responsibilities of citizens, local government, business and non-profits in addressing community challenges.

Asset Mapping: John P. Kretzman and John L. McKnight of The Asset-Based Community Development Institute, have designed numerous guides for developing inventories of community resources that define the community. Once completed inventories of individuals, business, and expenditure can then placed on a grid to see where each of these areas come together. Reading: Building Communities from the Inside Out: a Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing A Community’s Assets by John P. Kretzman and John L. McKnight

The Outcomes Toolkit: This tool is designed for demonstrating community improvement and was designed The Healthcare Forum. It provides software for documenting the process and outcomes of improvement projects. There are three main screen in the program: 1. the community profile, 2. The community description input, and technical assistance and Gateway to the World Wide Web. Reading: The Outcomes Toolkit: The ultimate solution for demonstrating community improvement, outcome screens; The Healthcare Forum

Guided Dialogue: Developed by the Coalition for Healthier Cities and Communities, this is a simplified focus group. It is a dialogue, a conversation with the community that can lead to action. It uses a framework for setting up and executing the dialogue. Tyler Norris and Linde Howell wrote the Dialogue Guide. Reading: Healthy People in Healthy Communities: a dialogue guide by Tyler Norris and Linde Howell.