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NNIP PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
HartfordInfo In Fall 2002, the Annie E. Casey Foundation awarded a planning grant to a team of organizations led by the Hartford Public Library to design a community data warehouse for Hartford. HartfordInfo was subsequently launched in April 2003 to promote the well being of Hartford's communities, families, and children by making information accessible and facilitating its interpretation and use. The mission of HartfordInfo is to: (1) build and operate an information system with integrated and recurrently updated information on neighborhood conditions in our city; (2) facilitate the direct practical use of data by community and city leaders in community building and local policy making, and (3) give emphasis to using information to build the capacities of institutions and residents in distressed urban neighborhoods. Through HartfordInfo, access to information and assistance in using it will be substantially broadened and "democratized." Community groups, philanthropies, residents and others without the resources or capacity to acquire, organize and interpret data about Hartford will receive assistance from HartfordInfo through the Hartford Public Library and its collaborators. HartfordInfo Partners Each of the partner organizations brings institutional strengths and subject area expertise to HartfordInfo. Hartford Public Library (HPL) Acts as the home organization for HartfordInfo and provides the people of Hartford with easy accessibility to basic library services in their neighborhoods through nine Branch Libraries as well as intensive specialized services, in person and through telecommunications, from the Central Library. Connecticut Association for Human Services (CAHS) Produces the annual Connecticut KIDSCOUNT data book and other analysis concerning children and families. Connecticut Policy and Economic Council (CPEC) Provides information and analysis to help communities as they set priorities and create a blueprint for change. CPEC works closely with neighborhood groups, parents, civic organizations, nonprofits, businesses, schools and city governments to bring new approaches to the ways that citizens participate in shaping their communities. Institute for Community Research (ICR) Conducts research in collaboration with community partners for the promotion of justice and equity in a diverse, multicultural, multiethnic society. ICR also produces curricula, information, directories and assessment tools that assist communities to move ahead in action research and research partnerships. Citizens Research and Education Network (CREN) Assists up to 75 Hartford community groups each year and serves as a bridge between Hartford's neighborhoods and city government. PARTNER BIOGRAPHIES: Richard Frieder is Coordinator of Community Networking at the Hartford Public Library. He has also worked at Yale University Library, Northwestern University Library, Princeton University Library, and the Folger Shakespeare Library. Richard has worked for many years in community economic development. He was on the board and served as vice-president of the North Side Community Federal Credit Union in Chicago. He also worked for the Shorebank Corporation in Chicago, and has served on various committees for the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions. He presently serves on the board of the Citizens Research and Education Network in Hartford, and on the Economic Development Commission in his home town of New Hartford, CT. Richard holds a masters degree in library science from the University of Chicago. |