Dynamics driving health and well-being are complex. For those working to advance equitable well-being, “frameworks”—a basic structure underlying a system, concept, or text—are a powerful tool that aid in understanding and sense-making. Frameworks provide conceptual infrastructure and help us understand the complex nature of health and well-being. “Framing” is a way of structuring or presenting a problem or an issue; it involves explaining, describing, and adding context.
Frameworks can be applied to quantitative data to help us more effectively use data to inform our work. Data on the IP3 ASSESS platform are organized by frameworks to analyze and present data in a digestible, actionable way. Our frameworks comprise a set of domains (categories) populated by a selection of key indicators. When leveraging data to advance equitable well-being, long lists of indicators aren’t helpful because they fail to spotlight big opportunities to improve your community. Frameworks are a powerful way to frame data, helping us to describe conditions in communities and focus on what matters for well-being instead of generalizing or making assumptions about what is needed.
IP3 has a (growing) suite of data frameworks that are available to IP3 ASSESS users. Each year, the IP3 data team completes a comprehensive audit of our data frameworks to ensure the structure of each framework, and confirm the indicators comprising each domain effectively capture the essence of the domain and are populated by the most relevant, recent, granular, and high-quality data available. This process entails:
A scan of the current data landscape: IP3 will ensure domain relevance and confirm whether any domains should be added or archived
An assessment of indicator recency: indicators are evaluated to determine whether and when an update will be available from the original data source. If an update is not forthcoming and data are getting out of date, IP3 may elect to archive the indicator.
An assessment of indicator availability: IP3 keeps a close eye on the data landscape and will consider updating domains to include new data when it becomes available.
An assessment of indicator balance: IP3 monitors indicators within framework domains to consider the number of indicators in each domain and framework and ensure sufficient balance across domains.
An assessment of alignment with other data models: occasionally, it makes sense for IP3 to consider aligning domains and indicators with field practices.
An assessment of community feedback: domains and indicators may be updated, removed, or renamed, based on feedback received from the IP3 ASSESS community of users.
We encourage you to check out the IP3 suite of data frameworks, and if you’re interested in learning more how IP3 can support your team in using data to drive community change work, get in touch today!
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