Information for Change-Past Work

Statewide Planning Parcel-Based Land Use Tracking Pilot
The Providence Plan (TPP) explored methods of using parcel-based data to track land use change over time. Using the City of Cranston as a test case, we compared 2002 and 2006 parcel data to se if changes in assessment attributes or physical parcels are a reliable indicator of land use change.

LISC Community Safety Initiative Mapping
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and Greater Elmwood Neighborhood Services (GENS) have engaged ProvPlan for a variety of mapping tasks focusing on assets and liabilities in the Elmwood neighborhood. Key partners include the Providence Police Department and State Probation & Parole.

RIDE Providence Schools Analysis
ProvPlan has had a longstanding relationship with the Rhode Island Department of Education and has performed analysis of student mobility and its relation to test scores as well as the potential for neighborhood schools at elementary and middle school levels. Our current project examines student mobility Statewide using the universal student identifier.

Statewide Internet Map Server for Economic Development
The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation commissioned ProvPlan to build and maintainan Internet Map Server application to support local economic development and planning activities. This online tool provides access to statewide data on demographics, socioeconomics, land use, utilities, transportation, natural features, businesses, and a host of other data related to site suitability and economic analysis. It will also include parcel-based data (where available) paired with search capability.   

Prisoner Re-Entry
Thirty-eight percent of RI prisoners are residents of Providence, a City with 17 percent of the State population. Twelve percent of RI prisoners come from four Providence neighborhoods (West End, Elmwood, Upper & Lower South Providence) whose population makes up only 4 percent of the State's population. Many of these former inmates have few resources to draw on and are excluded from opportunities because of their criminal record. The Rhode Island Department of Corrections contracted ProvPlan to analyze prisoner re-entry in Pawtucket, Central Falls, Woonsocket, and Newport and to identify availability of essential services. Some of the results of this work can be found through the Reentry Portal Page.

Urban Land Reform
ProvPlan worked in partnership with the Department of Planning and Development, Rhode Island Housing, LISC, and a host of other community partners to advance policy and data access around the issue of unutilized and abandoned property in the City of Providence. Much of the work focused on indicators of abandonment and integrating these into an online information-sharing tool. See the project website for data, policy analysis, and best practices from around the country.

ProvStat
In partnership with the Mayor’s Office, ProvPlan provided staffing and technical assistance to launch ProvStat, Mayor Cicilline’s performance tracking and accountability initiative for City departments.


Department of Health
ProvPlan has had a longstanding relationship with the Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH)and has analyzed data related to child health such as births to teens and single mothers, access to prenatal care, and blood-lead levels.

Teen Birth Study: ProvPlan had a three-year project with HEALTH to explore the factors related to positive birth outcomes in order to address issues associated with teen births. ProvPlan identified and gathered pertinent data, performed data analysis and mapping, and shared our findings with HEALTH and its partners.  In addition to identifying the neighborhood indicators associated with teen pregnancy and child well-being, this project involved an in depth exploration of the correlation between poor birth outcomes and health and educational outcomes. 

Through this investigation, ProvPlan identified the health and educational outcomes of children born to teen parents.  We also explored the question of whether children of teens have higher rates of poor educational outcomes compared to children of adults.  Particular attention was given to identifying the determinants of repeat pregnancy as well as missed opportunities to prevent repeat pregnancies.

Data Utilization Training and Technical Assistance: ProvPlan worked with community based HEALTH partners, particularly recipients of CATCH funding, to provide training and technical assistance in understanding how to interpret data and use information tools to guide programs through the stages of analysis, strategic planning, implementation, and evaluation.

This work provided ongoing assistance to six community-based health coalitions throughout the state as well as provided a series of workshops open to all health partners where participants worked on common challenges facing community based health initiatives in Rhode Island.

State Properties Mapping
The RI Department of Administration engaged ProvPlan to map all State-owned land and buildings in order to improve the Accounts and Controls property database. Products include map layers for buildings and land as well as an Internet Map Server that allows full online access and mapping capability.

Current Work...

Questions regarding information projects should be addressed to Jim Lucht.