A tool that helps users measure the impact of community development projects designed to improve community health and well-being.
The Build Healthy Places Network (BHPN) is a national network that connects the community development and health sectors, envisioning communities where all people can live rewarding and healthy lives. BHPN provides access to resources and tools that spur cross-sector investment, impact measurement, and collaborative action. Investors, and others, can use BHPN’s resources to identify health-improving outcomes of cross-sector work.
One example is the Metrics for Healthy Communities (M4HC) tool. M4HC is an online tool that helps users measure the impact of multi-sector projects funded and developed to improve community health and well-being. It connects elements of community development to health and well-being with indicators in affordable housing, childcare centers, community health centers, fresh produce access, physical activity and supportive housing. The tool is organized through logic models, which help lay out the path of a project, from intervention to impact. The logic models provide a flexible way for community development and health practitioners to select metrics that best apply to their specific work.
Specific IRIS metrics have been mapped to the Metrics for Healthy Communities tool. These metrics enable investors and their investee organizations to purposefully select IRIS metrics that align with MHC, thereby facilitating stronger reporting.