Community initiatives are notoriously difficult to evaluate. This is because neighborhoods are complex and it is hard to untangle and measure causal outcome drivers among the economic, demographic, and institutional forces that can influence, support, or undermine investments aimed at local improvement. This same complexity also makes it difficult for evaluators to develop a convincing counterfactual, or representation of what might have occurred without the community intervention. Counterfactual comparisons are best established through experimental research designs that ensure that treatment and control groups are alike. But even in the rare cases where neighborhoods, towns, or cities may be part of randomized controlled trials or rigorous quasi-experimental studies, it is unusual to have sufficient numbers of participating communities to reliably determine whether places are truly comparable on average because they may differ in less observable, but still relevant, ways related to institutional factors such as service capacity or political leadership.

Download Network Effectiveness in Neighborhood Collaborations

MDRC’s Chicago Community Networks (CCN) study uses a methodologically innovative approach, known as social network analysis, to develop an extensive understanding of these more intangible features of neighborhood life. Funded by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the CCN study is one of the most extensive attempts yet to characterize and measure the strength of networks among community organizations and show how they contribute to more successful partnerships for service delivery and political leadership.

Table of Contents

Overview 
List of Exhibits 
Preface 
Acknowledgments 
Executive Summary 
Chapter 
Introduction 
Social Network Analysis and the Methodology of the Chicago Community Networks Study
   Methodology and Data Sources
   Distinguishing Features of the CCN Study
   Chicago Neighborhoods Included in the Survey 
Connectivity Among Chicago Neighborhood Organizations
   The Importance of Connectivity for Policy, Public Management, and Communities
   Variation in Connectivity Across Neighborhoods and Domains of Work
   How Connectivity Mattered for Groups and Communities 
Power in Networks of Chicago Neighborhood Organizations
   Defining Power and Influence
   Brokering Power
   The Importance of Centrality for Policy, Public Management, and Communities
   Groups That Occupy Positions of Power and Influence in Networks
   Power in Community Networks as a Whole 
Trust and Longevity in Chicago Community Networks
   Now Trust and the Duration of Partnerships Matter for Policy. Public Management, and Communities
   Duration of Partnerships and How It Varied Across Neighborhoods
   Trust and How It Varied Across Networks
   How Trust and Longevity Mattered for Organizations and Communities 
   The Diversity and Comprehensiveness of Chicago Neighborhood Ties
   How Diversity and Comprehensiveness Matter for Policy, Public Management, and Communities
   How Diversity and Comprehensiveness Varied Across Neighborhoods
How Network Diversity and the Comprehensiveness of Ties
   Helped Preserve Affordable Housing, Improve Schools, and Promote Safety
   Harnessing Educational Improvement Together With Policy Reform Efforts 
Conclusion
References 

Source: www.mdrc.org