Identifying and Promoting Best Practices
Key
Steps in Promoting and Fostering Best Practices |
Summary
Current Initiatives in Faith-Based Best Practice Identification
Currently there are a number of initiatives and collaborations underway in both the practitioner and academic communities focused on identifying best practices. A few of these initiatives have been summarized below.
Branch Associates Research, Department
of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and
Families
Funded by CCF, the Branch Associates, located in Philadelphia, PA
are conducting research into best practices and services. The title
of the research project is, “Examining Services and Best Practices
of Intermediary Organizations and the Faith-Based and Community Organizations
They Serve.” The purpose of the project is to examine the role
of intermediaries in building capacity among FBCOs, innovative
and best practices among intermediaries, promising practices among
FBCOs and methods to evaluate the services provided by both intermediaries
and FBCOs. For more information, please visit the website at www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccf/citizens/citz_resrch/citz_resrch_ba.html
Center for Religion and Civic Culture (CRCC),
University of Southern California
The CRCC is a research center studying the civic role of religion in Southern California. Funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts has enabled the launching of a new program to conduct interdisciplinary research on religion. In addition, CRCC's Faith at Work project conducts research regarding public/private partnerships in Southern California involving faith-based organizations. As part of Faith At Work, CRCC has identified promising practices among collaborating organizations and provides a searchable online archive of promising practices. For more information about CRCC, please visit their website at www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/religion_online/index.html.
Center for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society (CRRUCS), University of Pennsylvania CRRUCS was founded in 2000 as part of the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. The purpose of CRRUCS is to produce and disseminate empirical research about the role of religion in contemporary urban America. CRRUCS collaborates with other universities, think tanks and research institutes to examine the following topics: crime and religion; religion, health and spirituality; religion and survey research; religion and evaluation research; and civic engagement and spiritual capital. For more information, please visit the website at www.sas.upenn.edu/crrucs.
Faith and Service Technical Education Network
(FASTEN)
FASTEN is an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts focused on building capacity among faith-based organizations delivering social services in urban communities. The centerpiece of the FASTEN initiative is a website showcasing best practices. To learn more please visit the website at www.fastennetwork.org. The following four key partners work together under the FASTEN initiative, each with its own separate roles:
- Baylor University—Serves as FASTEN's resource for rigorous empirical research focused on identifying promising and exemplary practices in faith-based social service provision.
- National Crime Prevention Council—Conducts program reviews and assessment investigating effective practices in faith-based crime prevention programs, violence reduction efforts and mentoring of prisoners' children.
- Harvard University's “Executive Session on Faith-Based and Community Approaches to Urban Revitalization”—Equips public administrators with the information and skills needed for effective collaboration with local faith communities.
- Hudson Institute's Faith in Communities Initiative—Provides technical assistance, peer-to-peer learning, training and educational materials and research.
Faith in Communities Initiative, The Hudson
Institute
With the new focus on the role of faith-based organizations in providing social services, the Hudson Institute recently launched the Faith in Communities Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to conduct research that contributes to the shaping of public policies that facilitate effective grassroots organizations and empower faith-based community practitioners through a variety of technical assistance and capacity building initiatives. For toolkit resources, ministry models, research articles and other resources, please visit the website at www.hudsonfaithincommunities.org.
Public/Private Ventures (P/PV), Philadelphia,
PA
Public/Private Ventures is an action-based research, public policy and program development organization. As a national nonprofit with offices located in Philadelphia, New York City, and Oakland, CA, P/PV works to improve the effectiveness of social policies, programs and community initiatives, especially as they affect youth and young adults. P/PV's Replication and Expansion Unit works to identify effective practices and assist in the distribution and replication of these practices among social service programs and agencies. For more information, please visit the website at www.ppv.org.
The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare
Policy, Pew Charitable Trusts
The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy is an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts, created to assess the emerging role of faith-based organizations in America's social service sector. This is accomplished through an independent review of current research and conducting new scientific research studies on the effectiveness and efficiency of faith-based organizations as compared to their secular counterparts. For more information about the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, please visit the website at www.religionandsocialpolicy.org.
Key
Steps in Promoting and Fostering Best Practices |
Summary