The ultimate horizon for CBI is neighborhoods with the capacities to resolve “upstream issues.”
Policy and systems-level changes that improve local conditions and ultimately improve the health of a community do not occur as a result of action by a single individual, neighborhood, group, organization or institution. Changes that reduce health inequalities and promote healthy communities are the result of actions at various community levels, from neighbors to government. CBI holds that neighborhood engagement and action is not sufficient to ensure needed changes, but it is necessary as the foundation of lasting change. CBI communities assess the success of their grant work based upon achieving various planned outcomes. These outcomes always serve two purposes: the resolution of neighborhood problems, and the progressive building of neighborhoods’ capacities to work toward the resolution of upstream issues. In general, the ultimate success of a CBI Site is judged by these two criteria. The success of the Initiative, by comparison, is determined by neighborhoods’ sustained action, post-CBI grant, toward the resolution of upstream issues. In short — organized, community-driven, sustained planning, and action with a clear vision of their ultimate aims.