Baseline Data and Evaluation

Baseline data are the data gathered at the start of a project. They can form the basis for selection of a strategy and they can serve as indicators for the project's progress. Baseline data must be in a form that makes them accessible to the residents. They are the residents' tools as well. A thorough analysis is the basis of a successful project. Therefore, both time and resources must be set aside for this part of the process. It has generally been found that one must analyse both problems and potentials. The problems must be identified so that one can set up solution models, while the potential must be described so that one can build on them. The data form the basis for evaluation of the projects. Evaluation and control can be done in many different ways and it is important to decide how they are going to be done before the start of the project. It is also important to bear in mind that the processes involved are very complicated and time-consuming, which makes regular evaluation a difficult business. All the projects described are evaluated at regular intervals, and the general experience gained shows the following: Regular evaluations are useful but also very time-consuming. In the projects receiving support from many quarters, a disproportionate amount of time is spent on reporting in different forms. The evaluation must include bath qualitative and quantitative parameters. There are some things that cannot be weighed and measured. Ultimately, it must be the residents' satisfaction that is central. The quantitative data must be thoroughly analysed. Firstly, there are many external parameters that affect measurable factors, such as unemployment and employment. Secondly, poor results can conceal real improvements' In Castlemilk, for example, crime increased drastically when the project started. The reason for this was, however, that the residents had regained their faith in the police and had begun to report crimes.

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From detailed control to a freer framework

NRG manages 171 Neighbourhood Housing Services offices in the USA. They all have to be regularly evaluated so that the organisation can grow wiser and so that offices with problems can get the necessary help.

NRG used to be very tough in its evaluations. However, it has realised that this procedure is unproductive and now evaluates only large investments. The individual offices complete a 3-page evaluation form each quarter and receive a visit from head office every other year. The idea is to develop a computer program that can be used in the daily work so that the staff only have to press a single key to extract the relevant information.

The organisation's employees work in a very targeted way on developing their evaluation methods so that the methods are more qualitative and able to detect factors such as residents satisfaction, resident involvement and area identity.

ExWoSt quality agreement

Together with Framework Planning Region North West, the Güstrow project the environmentally managed town - is part of a model town agreement. The Ministry of Housing, the Länder and the model towns have entered into an agreement to use scientifically based strategies that have been prepared as standard for previous ExWoSt research fields. The model towns undertake to check during the process whether the desired results are achieved and to report on this. They have also undertaken to carry out a residents survey throwing light on the changes in quality of life that have occurred during the project's lifetime.

Wijkonderzek 1994

The "Wijkonderzek" report is issued every 4 years. It is a strategic report containing an analysis of Nijmegen's 8 districts and their local areas. The analysis is carried out with a view to prioritising the holistically oriented measures.

The analysis includes descriptions of the relationships between housing conditions and quality of life in each district.

The indicators include: employment conditions, income, education, social factors, housing conditions, housing surroundings, crime, environment, traffic, etc.

The report contains good baseline data that form the basis for the actual work in the districts.

Analysis of strengths and weaknesses

In the HARP area in Dublin, a thorough analysis has been carried out together with residents and business people of the area's strengths and weaknesses within the following areas: localisation, trade, marketplaces, cultural institutions and tourism, squares and public spaces, housing conditions, historical heritage, vacant sites and buildings, traffic and much, much more. The School of Architecture has analysed the existing buildings and their potentials and Deloitte & Touche, in cooperation with the Dublin Corporation, has carried out a major questionnaire-based survey among business people in the local area Smithfield.

Tools used in the analysis include statistics, interviews and mapping. This is the first project in which Dublin Corporation is using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to gain an overview of data and results.

Investment plan

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