An Institute for Social Capital: Enhancing Community Capacity Through Datasharing

Abstract

This paper describes the establishment of a unique entity, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte Institute for Social Capital, Inc. (ISC), to link agencies and organizations serving children, youth, and families in order to allow for information sharing among these groups, with the broader goal of fostering databased community decision-making. In addition, the Institute establishes an important connection between the community and university researchers with expertise in a wide range of areas involving children, youth, and families. The mission of ISC is to foster university social and human capital research and to increase the community's capacity for data-based planning and evaluation of programs. In founding ISC, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte has established a dynamic collaboration with local non-profits, governmental agencies, and community-based organizations to build a research foundation capable of compiling, validating, and analyzing community data to provide feedback on the impact of community initiatives. A pilot Child Ind Res (2010) 3:261-273

Data-Based Child Advocacy

“…There are many examples of how child indicators have been used in a public policy context (Belsky et al 2006: Bernal 2008Portwood et al 2010; Rose and Rowlands 2010). The use of child indicators in a public policy context typically takes place at a national or state/provincial level, but they have also been used at the local level as well (McCroskey 2008).…”