The staff is expected to be in place by the spring of 2001. Our cooperation will allow the community to know itself better, and consequently, to know how to be even more effective in assigning resources to solve problems, said GVSU President Arend D. Lubbers. The Grand Rapids Community Foundation has been a proponent of gathering more hard facts about the community to guide its own activities. That has been especially true since the Foundation this fall adopted a new Community Leadership Model, in which staff will be more active in convening groups and leading initiatives to address critical community issues. We need to base our efforts on credible data, explains Foundation President Diana Sieger.
Businesses take great pains to base their activities on market research.
Well, social data is vital to the entire community. We need to know where there are needs and also to have a way to measure and evaluate the success of what we do. In addition to driving Foundation activities, the institute will be a resource for other organizations. Institute staff will help community groups interpret data for use in grant proposals and program evaluation. Another role for the institute will be to offer recommendations on public policy to government agencies and elected officials.