Local Learning Partnership

Vision
The Providence Local Learning Partnership (LLP) connects residents and organizations with information and education to build leadership, increase equity, and improve the lives of children and families in the West End, Southside and Elmwood neighborhoods. The LLP is part of Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Making Connections program – a 10-year initiative that aims to improve the life chances of vulnerable children by strengthening their families and neighborhoods. Through Making Connections, the Foundation intends to demonstrate how families, residents, and communities can succeed economically and socially when connected to the opportunities, resources, and support needed to raise healthy children. Providence was chosen by the Annie E. Casey Foundation as one of 22 original cities to participate in Making Connections. The LLP is charged with increasing the capacity of families, neighborhood groups, and community-based organizations to use data and information to guide decision-making and monitor progress.

History
Since 2000, the LLP has worked to elevate the importance of data as a key element in supporting neighborhood planning in the Southside and West End. The LLP has played a key role in prioritizing a number of key community outcomes, developing strategies to attain these outcomes, developing neighborhood-level indicators to measure progress and the completion of a large-scale community survey.

Objectives
The overall goal of the Providence LLP is to organize neighbors and families to collect, organize, and maintain data and enable community members to access, share, and utilize available data that is useful to them in ways that will help them benefit from economic opportunities, strong social networks, and quality support services. The Providence LLP's anticipated outcomes are that residents of the West End/Southside will:

• Become trained in accessing, interpreting, and analyzing of data relevant to people’s needs.
• Become aware of data available to help improve their understanding of local issues, and use this information to more effectively and strategically improve their communities.
• Come together to develop and lead solutions to important neighborhood issues.

Activities

• Collect, analyze, and share relevant information and data based on desired community outcomes.
• Conduct research and provide data and information to inform planning and decision-making within the initiative and among the initiative’s partner organizations.
• Document and evaluate the larger Making Connections initiative.
• Help build skilled community-based leadership to advance the initiative and realize positive, sustainable, neighborhood change.
• Increase the ability of neighborhood groups to use data to monitor neighborhood and family conditions.
  

Partners and Funders
The Local Learning Partnership enjoys strong support and leadership from Allen Ministries Enriching Neighborhoods (AMEN), The Providence Public Library; West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation; The Genesis Center; Providence YMCA; John Hope Settlement House; and Rhode Island Kids Count.The LLP is funded solely by the Annie E. Casey Foundation as part of the foundation’s Making Connections initiative.