Covering all towns and cities in Connecticut, the 2015 Community Wellbeing Survey will yield neighborhood and regional data from interviews of 15,000 state residents.
NEW HAVEN, CT, April 13, 2015 – DataHaven, a nonprofit group leading the collection and study of public data on key social and economic indicators, has announced the commencement of the 2015 Community Wellbeing Survey, a major initiative. This will be the most comprehensive survey of quality of life ever conducted in Connecticut, covering issues such as community vitality, health, family economic security, and individual happiness.
Supporters of the 2015 survey include dozens of the state’s leading hospitals, government agencies, universities, and charities statewide, including regional community foundations and United Ways located in Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Waterbury, New Britain, Norwalk, Derby, and New London.
Building on the success of its 2012 survey of Greater New Haven — at the time the most in-depth regional survey ever conducted in the state — DataHaven’s 2015 Community Wellbeing Survey will expand this scope to encompass the entire state.
“This is a nationally recognized program that provides neighborhood- and regional-level information not available from any other source, with a mission to produce the highest-quality findings on the issues that are most meaningful to residents of all of Connecticut’s towns and cities,” says Mark Abraham, Executive Director of DataHaven. “With this detailed snapshot, state and local community leaders will be able to better serve the health and well-being needs of communities across Connecticut.”
Abraham adds that unlike most statewide and national data collection programs, the DataHaven program represents the unification of many longstanding grassroots efforts that have focused on bringing information to support local action, and which have been previously embraced by communities and organizations throughout the state. DataHaven designed the 2015 Community Wellbeing Survey with the support of nearly 100 government, academic, health-care, and community partners, many of whom are supplying major funding for its expansion.
Partners providing significant funding for the program are representative of each region of the state. This funding will support DataHaven as it conducts the statewide survey, interviewing 15,000 randomly selected residents about their views on topics related to civic engagement, health, economic security, transportation, housing, and employment, as well as on their individual happiness and satisfaction with government and community life.
- In Fairfield County, $200,000 has been committed by leading organizations such as Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, Bridgeport Hospital, Stamford Hospital, Greenwich Hospital, and the United Way of Coastal Fairfield County.
- In south-central Connecticut, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven along with Yale-New Haven Hospital, Workforce Alliance, United Way of Greater New Haven, and others have joined forces to commit over $100,000 in funding.
- In Greater Hartford and New Britain, the program has drawn over $100,000 in support from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Community Foundation of Greater New Britain, Trinity College Office of the President and Center for Urban and Global Studies, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Johnson Memorial Medical Center, and others.
- Additionally, DataHaven has secured funding to ensure that residents of Connecticut’s smaller cities and rural areas are included to the same degree as those living in its major metropolitan areas. Over $200,000 has been committed to conduct extensive interviews throughout Greater Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Greater New London, and in small towns and rural areas, from organizations such as the Connecticut Community Foundation, Valley Community Foundation, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, Ledge Light Health District, Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut, Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, and others.
“We believe that the 2015 Community Wellbeing Survey, possibly the most comprehensive local-level survey of its type in the United States, will be of great value to neighborhoods and organizations striving to make Connecticut an even better place to live and work,” says Abraham.
Results from the survey will be published in a series of local and statewide reports throughout late 2015 and 2016, helping to shed light on progress made toward various longstanding community priorities, including financial security for families and opportunities for children to succeed. As an example, results from DataHaven’s more localized survey in 2012 were included in the Community Index, a nationally recognized, 86-page study that has been used extensively by governments, funders, journalists, teachers, and researchers in Connecticut. The results were also cited in a number of other landmark reports produced by area agencies and community organizations.
Cell phone and landline telephone surveys, as well as other public outreach, will begin this month, according to DataHaven.
A list of partners for DataHaven’s 2015 Community Wellbeing Survey follows (partial list)
Foundations and Philanthropy
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
Fairfield County’s Community Foundation
Community Foundation of Greater New Britain
Connecticut Community Foundation
Valley Community Foundation
Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut
Westchester Community Foundation
United Way of Greater New Haven
United Way of Coastal Fairfield County
United Way of Greater Waterbury
Valley United Way
United Way of Connecticut
Connecticut Council for Philanthropy
NewAlliance Foundation
Main Street Community Foundation
Carolyn Foundation
Annie E. Casey Foundation
Health Care
Yale-New Haven Hospital
Bridgeport Hospital
St. Vincent’s Medical Center
Greenwich Hospital
Waterbury Hospital
Saint Mary’s Hospital
Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center
Johnson Memorial Medical Center
Lawrence + Memorial Hospital
Stamford Hospital
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center
Griffin Hospital
Hartford HealthCare
StayWell Health Center
BHcare
Connecticut Hospital Association
Government / Agency
Connecticut Housing Finance Authority
Connecticut’s Legislative Commission on Aging
Connecticut General Assembly Committee on Children
Connecticut Civic Health Project
South Central Regional Council of Governments
Capitol Region Council of Governments
Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments
Workforce Alliance
The WorkPlace
Shelton Economic Development Corporation
City of Bridgeport Health Department
City of New Haven Health Department
City of Hartford Health and Human Services Department
Stamford Department of Health & Social Services
City of Waterbury Health Department
Ledge Light Health District
Eastern Highlands Health District
Northeast District Department of Health
Naugatuck Valley Health District
Quinnipiac Valley Health District
Stratford Health Department
Fairfield Health Department
Chesprocott Health District
Pomperaug Health District
East Shore Health District
City of Derby Bureau of Youth Services
Town of Seymour
Colleges and Universities
Office of the President, Trinity College
Center for Urban and Global Studies, Trinity College
Community Alliance for Research and Engagement, Yale School of Public Health
Institution for Social and Policy Studies, Yale University
Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center
Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges
Other Initiatives, Businesses, and Organizations
Bridge to Success Community Partnership
Greater Waterbury Health Improvement Partnership
Partnership for a Healthier Greater New Haven
Community Solutions
Connecticut Voices for Children
Connecticut Association for Human Services
Community Action Agency of Greater New Haven
Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce
TEAM, Inc.
Center Stage Theatre
Down to Earth Consulting Solutions
Lower Naugatuck Valley Parent Child Resource Center
Valley Regional Adult Education
Valley Council for Health and Human Services
Partnership for Strong Communities
Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund
Connecticut Public Health Association
Plus additional public and private partners not listed above.
Selected news coverage:
http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/neighborhood-data-bog-data-planning-phon...
http://www.cpexecutive.com/headlines/datahaven-unveils-first-ever-wellbe...
About DataHaven
DataHaven is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization with a 25-year history of public service to Greater New Haven and Connecticut. DataHaven’s mission is to improve quality of life by collecting, sharing, and interpreting public data for effective decision-making. Since 1992, DataHaven has worked with organizations to develop reports and tools that make information more useful to the community. DataHaven maintains extensive economic, social, and health data, including information collected through its Community Wellbeing Survey. DataHaven is a formal partner of the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, a collaborative national effort by the Urban Institute and approximately 40 local partners to further the development and use of neighborhood information systems in local policymaking and community building. For more, visit www.ctdatahaven.org.
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Contact:
Mark Abraham
Executive Director
DataHaven
mark@ctdatahaven.org
203-500-7059
Website: www.ctdatahaven.org