Promising Practices
The Promising Practices database informs professionals and community members about documented approaches to improving community health and quality of life.
The ultimate goal is to support the systematic adoption, implementation, and evaluation of successful programs, practices, and policy changes. The database provides carefully reviewed, documented, and ranked practices that range from good ideas to evidence-based practices.
Learn more about the ranking methodology.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability
The goal of these projects was to promote water and energy conservation.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants
The goal of this program was to reduce energy and water consumption, improve efficiency, and save money.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability, Urban
Specific goals included:
-Continue to support SCVWD's mission of water supply and management in spite of external power interruptions,
- Provide 24-hour battery backup for SCADA instrumentation and communications,
-Provide indefinite power backup via backup generators for critical source pumping, water treatment and emergency operations, and
- Reduce HVAC and lighting use to prudent levels.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Energy & Sustainability
The overall purpose of the energy evaluation was to demonstrate how operational and process modifications could be made to lower the demand and energy costs for various facilities within STPUD. More specifically, the goal was to reduce electrical energy consumed at the plant and to reduce SPPC billings.
Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants
Vallejo Sanitation's goals in 2001 were to seek the most cost effective treatment of wastewater and to find financial rebates/grants where possible to implement cost saving measures. In order to qualify for generator replacement rebates, the agency needed to design and complete the project in a short time.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Investment & Personal Finance
The goal of the program is to increase access to financial services for low-income families as well as stimulate economic development in distressed neighborhoods.
Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Urban
SFUSD aimed to provide students with healthy and appealing food choices and to diminish the dependence of schools and school-related organizations on selling unhealthy foods.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Teens, Urban
The primary goal of the School Lunch Initiative is to transform the way Berkeley public school students eat lunch and to educate children about food, health, and the environment.
Three years after its conception, the program successfully eliminated nearly all processed foods from the school district dining halls and introduced fresh and organic foods to the daily menu. There was evidence that greater exposure to the School Lunch Initiative was significantly associated with higher nutrition knowledge scores among fourth graders and seventh graders. Furthermore, elementary school students from the schools with highly developed School Lunch Initiative components clearly expressed a higher preference for fruits and vegetables.
Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Teens, Urban
To improve drinking water consumption among adolescents.
This study shows that provision of filtered, chilled drinking water in school cafeterias coupled with promotion and education is associated with increased consumption of drinking water at school.
Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Investment & Personal Finance, Children
The mission of the Banking on Our Future (BOOF) program is to execute a global delivery system for financial education for youth ages 9-18 at no cost to school districts, with a focus on urban, under-served communities.