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Defining The Seven Elements Needed For Program Success.

Posted: January 04, 2002
By: Lina Splichal

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Using the "Seven Elements" to assess your Safe Communities Program.

PROGRESS TOWARD SEVEN ELEMENTS:

A. Citizen Involvement means citizens are involved in and have a voice in the decisions-making process of the coalition pertaining to:


  1. the injury profile of the community
  2. deciding which priority safety issues to address
  3. goals and objectives
  4. budget and funding needs
  5. other decisions about the operational policies of the program.


B. Expanded Partnerships means businesses, organizations, associations, agencies, etc. that are being considered or solicited for addition to the coalition or coalition activities. These entities may become involved for only one event annually, but once involved they are no longer "progress" toward an Expanded Partnership and should not be noted in the "progress" section.


C. Data includes information (numbers) acquired through:

  1. surveys conducted by and for the coalition
  2. data collected from other agencies and organizations important to develop and maintain a safe community; and includes:

  • collecting
  • manipulating and
  • analyzing or evaluating that information.



D. Program Planning means the:

  1. self-assessment of the coalition by the coalition
  2. annual evaluation of the coalition and projects administered by the coalition
  3. development of goals and objectives for the next annual proposal
  4. development of a long-term plan for the program, which includes:

  • goals
  • objectives
  • evaluation
  • funding needs



E. Comprehensive Injury Prevention and Control means maintenance of your injury profile. This means you must have data on all injuries occurring in the community, including motor vehicle injuries and injuries other than motor vehicle injuries. The coalition does not need to address other injuries in the long-term plan, but it must determine where the motor vehicle injuries "fit" in the total injury picture to show the need to reduce motor vehicle injuries in the community.

F. Program Effectiveness means:

  1. preparing monthly reports
  2. annual coalition self-assessment
  3. annual program evaluation and report
  4. progress toward the Safe Communities model by obtaining data (C.) in the time frame stated in the contract
  5. evaluating and making changes as necessary to the goals and objectives outlined in the long-term plan (D)


G. Self-Sufficiency means discussion, plans and efforts of the coalition to provide funding through means other than NDDOT grant funds.


When in doubt, refer to the "1998 NHTSA Safe Community Assessment". This document, prepared for each program with the exception of Trenton, identifies the program's strengths and weaknesses in each element at that time, and is the standard by which your program will be measured for "progress." If no recommendations for improvement were noted in the Assessment, there is no need to document progress on the monthly report. Exceptions would be where the program has regressed due to a lapse in the program or coordinator status, or changes have been made to improve upon the program since the 1998 Assessment. If in doubt, call Deb or Lina, or schedule a Safe Communities coalition training with Deb.[end of article]