The final stage of planning is evaluation which involves reassessing the strategies that worked as well as those that were not successful. The Safe Community plan should be developed by the working group or coalition and written in terms that are easily understandable. If you cannot describe what you will do, it will be very difficult to get it done, and even more difficult to evaluate. Data can identify what injury problems a community is experiencing and can help generate financial and political support for an injury prevention program. Data can guide the implementation of programs where they are needed the most and can document what works to reduce the frequency and severity of injuries.
Injury prevention begins with an understanding of the community's injury problems.
The brief overview of the local injury problem developed by the first critical partners and presented at the first community meeting provided a catalyst for establishing the Safe Community coalition. The coalition will likely need to investigate the problem further to develop a greater understanding of the community's motor vehicle injury problem.