NNIP PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

Community Resource Network
334 E. Broadway
Louisville, KY 40202
Contact: Roy Templeton, Interim Executive Director
Roy.templeton@crnky.org
http://www.crnky.org/

The Community Resource Network (CRN) is a consortium of nonprofit organizations, individuals and government agencies who share a belief that both access to information and the tools to use and understand it are fundamental components of a community improvement agenda. As a centralized location for the sharing of accurate, timely and relevant information, the network strives to become a recognized data resource for groups and organizations across the community working on making conditions in Louisville better. The creation of the CRN in 1992 was largely prompted by the need for local entities to consolidate their Information and Referral (I&R) resource files. As one of its primary products, the Network catalogues these files and maintains an online database of health and human service providers in Metropolitan Louisville and Southern Indiana.

The CRN was initially composed of the following entities: the City of Louisville, Jefferson County Government, Jefferson County Public Schools, Seven Counties Services, Inc., the Kentuckiana Region Planning & Development Agency, and Metro United Way. Responsible for oversight, major policy decisions and budget approval, the CRN Managing Board is made up of one representative from each funding partner in addition to two neighborhood leaders. Metro United Way serves as the fiscal agent for the CRN.

The Data Center

Formed in 2001, the CRN Data Center is a relatively new component of the Community Resource Network. The idea for the Data Center began with informal conversations and meetings between representatives from a number of governmental and nonprofit organizations who recognized the value of creating an integrated community data center. In July 2000, an informal partnership was formed. Initially, the Operating Committee of the CRN and the Leadership Committee of the Data Center were two separate bodies with many shared members. In December 2001, the two governing committees decided to merge to provide the CRN, encompassing both I&R and Data Center functions, with a single governing body. The resulting body consists of the original partners, additional funders including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, community residents and nonprofit representatives. CRN serves as the Local Learning Partner (LLP) to the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Making Connections Louisville Initiative.

The Data Center works to bring about knowledge-based community change by providing an accessible, integrated system of neighborhood-level information to a wide variety of users, and to build the capacity of people and organizations to use data for community planning, action and evaluation. The four major components of the Data Center are: 1) a data library for quantitative data to make geo-coded and other data available through interfaces for varying levels of technical expertise; 2) a document center for qualitative data, to provide prepared data and analyses on neighborhood conditions and house information on project progress; 3) support for community capacity building to provide educational opportunities, assistance, policy evaluation and coordination of data use; and 4) a contract services component offering services for a fee and making resources of the project available to business, industry and other non-participating entities.

The CRN data website currently displays Louisville Metro Council District profiles and indicators from a soon-to-be-released 150-page Community Profile of Jefferson County (also known as CAPP 2.0). Louisville Metro Council District profiles contain data on population, students, child abuse and crime, vital statistics and housing. The profiles include an interactive web tool that allows users to compare council districts to each other and to the county as a whole. In addition, the council district dataset can be downloaded in an Access database file. Only partially completed, online CAPP 2.0 coverage consists of topic spreads featuring neighborhood-level maps and charts with supporting text.

PARTNER BIOGRAPHIES:

Dr. C. Anneta Arno was appointed Executive Director of the Community Resource Network (CRN) in April 2003. She is a British trained Chartered Town Planner (MRTPI), and Certified Member, American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), with more than 16 years of mixed public and private professional practice and academic experience in both Europe and North America. She moved to Louisville, Kentucky, in 1993, as Visiting Professor in Urban Policy & Planning at the University of Louisville. From 1995 to 2003 she worked as a private consultant, as Principal, ARNO Au Fait LLC. Major contracts and projects have included the Jefferson County Governance Project; Managing Consultant, Planning & Community Development Division, Louisville Area Chamber of Commerce; Project Director, Coordinated Capital Investment Strategy, Cornerstone 2020; Project Director, African American Strategic Planning Group; and Consultant Director, Community Growth & Development, Greater Louisville Inc. From 2000 to early 2003, Dr. Arno served as Project Manager, Community & Economic Development, Transportation Tomorrow (T2) Light Rail Project, Transit Authority of River City (TARC). Accomplishments include drafting a new zoning category, 'Planned Transit Development (PTD) District', adopted as part of the new Louisville/Jefferson County Land Development Code 2002.

Dr. C. Anneta Arno served as an Advisory Team Member to the West Louisville Competitive Assessment and Strategy Project in 2001. In fall 2002, she served as Program Content Facilitator, to the 'Champions for West Louisville Development Initiative', a Neighborhood Resident Economic Development Education and Empowerment initiative.

Dr. Arno has served on several committees, and engaged in numerous civic and volunteer activities, including Cornerstone 2020; the Air Pollution Control District; KIPDA; the Regional Airport Authority; Current affiliations include: