The Center for Evaluation and Research has a rich history of working with communities to affect positive change.  Most commonly we work with communities in Iowa and throughout the greater Midwest, however the Center has worked with numerous communities from across the country.  Projects in this area have ranged from explorations of local capacity/needs assessments to evaluations of community-led initiatives.  Current community development projects we are working on include the development of evaluation instruments for the alleviation of a grocery desert in Des Moines.  

The Impact of Home Energy Assistance

People Working Cooperatively (PWC, Cincinnati, Ohio) began an experiment in 2010 to help families facing multiple energy, economic, and family challenges and to answer the question: “can PWC’s whole house services have a greater and longer term impact than low income energy-efficiency assistance alone?”   The Center for Evaluation and Research developed an extensive instrument and training for the reliable administration of the instrument which measured the important life domains of Housing, Home Condition, Energy Security, Health, Employment, Budgeting, Reduced Stress, Community Relations, Childcare and Overall Family Functioning.  One hundred-fifteen families, receiving differing levels of service, were measured in these life areas at three points during the study: prior to any PWC services, immediately following receipt of services, and several months after services to determine the program’s impacts.

For more information about the project, CLICK HERE.