value from a communications perspective is a clear statement of the substantive reasons for a policy decision. that statement is the press release announcing our decision. four times during the year, the announcement is supplemented two weeks later with the publication of our semi - annual monetary policy reports ( in may and november ) and updates to the full report ( in february and august ). these publications, which are finalized as of the policy announcement date, elaborate in greater detail the governing council ’ s assessment of the factors that shaped the interest rate decision. another challenge revolves around the fact that the bank ` s communications are with different audiences that may have different degrees of interest in what the bank says and does. the general public, for example, is generally interested in inflation, the value of the dollar, and whether or not interest rates are going up or down – those developments that have an impact on their daily decision - making. financial markets, on the other hand, are intensely interested in both the direction and the intricacies of monetary policy and tend to be highly sensitive to any bank action or comment bearing on these issues. they scrutinize bank publications and speeches by senior bank officials for any shade of meaning about where monetary policy might be heading. this makes communicating monetary policy a difficult task, because some of the subtleties and complexities related to the direction of monetary policy simply can ’ t be reduced to a few words. the challenge is in tailoring messages that communicate as clearly as possible the bank ’ s assessment of the economy and the direction of policy, while bearing in mind the specific concerns and information needs of different audiences. this challenge is all the more difficult when it comes to the media, an audience that is instrumental in whether or not we communicate successfully. there are no two ways about it. the bank relies heavily on the media to get our message to the public, whether it is via tv and radio, newspapers and magazines, or the various wire services that feed financial institution trading rooms as well as news outlets across the country. we also recognize that the media act as a filter for what we say and often determine which of our statements will be reported. it is part of the media ’ s job to interpret our decisions and perspectives and to comment on how they see the bank executing its mandate. it is also their job to reflect the views of third parties on what we say and do. that is healthy for democracy, healthy for our accountability, and can be healthy for raising public awareness of monetary policy issues.

underserved areas. a number of methods have been derived for evaluating the effectiveness of community development projects. the one with which i am most familiar, through my work on the board of neighborworks america, is the success measures data system. this system uses more than forty indicators and a variety of data - collection tools - including surveys, interviews, and focus groups - to quantify the effects of housing, economic development, and community building programs at the personal, organizational, and community levels. this array of tools allows neighborworks to measure success not just quantitatively but qualitatively, looking beyond the numbers to detect sustainable positive change. the underlying philosophy is that a community development initiative cannot be judged successful just because it puts a family in a home ; rather, it must be able to say that, by doing so, it has improved the community, the family ’ s quality of life, and the family ’ s economic potential. these data are also useful to corporate partners insofar as they demonstrate business performance against internal goals and commitment to the community. businesses recognize that demonstrable success enhances their reputation, increases brand recognition, and improves their ability to compete successfully for future partnership opportunities. thus, being able to determine the return on a business ’ investment in a community development initiative in both quantitative and qualitative terms is the next logical step in attracting further private investment. but the social and economic needs of our inner - city neighborhoods extend beyond business investment. effective partnerships with local officials and community leaders are another key element of the revitalization process. at the state and local levels, public officials contribute to the attractiveness of investment conditions by maintaining sound fiscal policies. these policies allow local officials to take the lead from social compact and begin to market local neighborhoods using the analysis that demonstrates the buying - power residing within these more challenging neighborhoods. their willingness to address other neighborhood needs, such as housing, infrastructure, education, health care, and other social supports will also be important to investors. in general, when community development is a cooperative effort, it can lead to more sustainable outcomes along both economic and social dimensions. while the return on investment can be a sufficient gauge of their economic success, success in broader terms can be viewed by assessing the commitment of all segments of the community to the goal of revitalization. moreover, the benefits of such cooperative actions are not always readily measurable in dollars and cents. greater opportunities in local neighborhoods evidence themselves through better schools and stronger ties forged within the