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Designing an Indicator-based Profile for Evaluating and Identifying Poverty Solutions
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| Presenter(s):
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| Ann A O'Connell, The Ohio State University, aoconnell@ehe.osu.edu
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| Dawn Wallace-Pascoe, The Ohio State University, wallace-pascoe.103@osu.edu
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| Tamar Mott Forrest, The Ohio State University, forrest.97@osu.edu
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| Abstract:
In this paper we review different approaches to the measurement of poverty, and present our work on development of a multidimensional indicator-based system designed to establish community profiles across multiple domains affected by poverty: health, food security, housing, transportation, economic development, employment, safety, family and child well-being, education, community infrastructure, access to community resources, social inclusion, and environmental resources. Given the complexity of poverty and the importance of poverty measures in the evaluation of interventions or programs designed to alleviate poverty, we argue that this holistic approach may enhance capacity for evaluators and researchers to recognize successful solutions to poverty based on a range of indicators. Clarifying how different profiles of communities respond to poverty interventions may help strengthen the design and implementation of these efforts. We discuss the application and interpretation of our community profiles to current poverty intervention sites at the local, regional, national, and international levels.
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Assessing the Economic Impact of Project Funds on a Community: A 'Value-Added' Component
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| Presenter(s):
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| Judith Inazu, University of Hawaii, inazu@hawaii.edu
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| Debbie Gundaya, University of Hawaii, gundaya@hawaii.edu
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| Abstract:
Externally-funded community capacity-building projects infuse funds into a community to improve the infrastructure, provide expertise, develop leadership, and so on. The project is generally evaluated by focusing on impacts on community capacity. Rarely, however, are the economic benefits of those funds assessed. A method for documenting the economic impact of project funds, using an Input-Output model developed by state economists, is provided. The Input-Output model tracks the flow of financial transactions to and from economic sectors (e.g., transportation, agriculture). Each sector is assigned a multiplier (based on census data and previous research), which reflects the impact of each dollar spent in that sector. Detailed expenditure data from project records were entered into the model. Results show that each dollar invested by the project resulted in a two-fold increase in economic benefit to the community. This method provides an approach for documenting the economic 'value-added' of project funds that is often neglected in evaluation studies.
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