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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.

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Flex Your Power Case Study: City of La Mesa (La Mesa, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability

Goal: The goal of this project was to reduce energy consumption in La Mesa, California.

Flex Your Power Case Study: City of Pasadena (Pasadena, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Urban

Goal: The goal of these programs was to encourage energy conservation in the public and private sectors.

Flex Your Power Case Study: City of Sacramento (Sacramento, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Urban

Goal: The objectives of the program were to reduce energy consumption (kWh) and maximize energy savings through approved incentive programs administered by the CEC and SMUD and through employee/public education.

Flex Your Power Case Study: City of Visalia (Visalia, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability

Goal: The goal of these projects is to conserve energy and to reduce energy costs.

Flex Your Power Case Study: South Tahoe Public Utility District (South Lake Tahoe, CA)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability

Goal: The overall purpose of the energy evaluation was to demonstrate how operational and process modifications could be made to lower the demand and energy costs for various facilities within STPUD. More specifically, the goal was to reduce electrical energy consumed at the plant and to reduce SPPC billings.

Georgia's Teenage and Adult Driver Responsibility Act (Georgia)

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Public Safety, Teens

Goal: The goal of TADRA is to reduce fatal crashes among teenage drivers.

Impact: After the implementation of TADRA, speed-related fatal crashes were cut by 42%, and alcohol-related fatal crashes decreased nearly 60%.

Get on Board (Tucson, AZ)

Filed under Good Idea, Community / Transportation, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Get on Board program is to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality in Tucson, AZ.

Great Allegheny Passage (Pittsburgh, PA to Washington, D.C.)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Children, Teens, Adults, Families

Goal: The goal of the Great Allegheny Passage is to provide hikers, bicyclists, cross-country skiers and people with disabilities with a trail through the region.

Green Guerillas (New York City, NY)

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.

GreenThumb (New York, NY)

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.

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.