How to Co-Create a Community Profile
PDF document, 4.5 MB
This toolkit outlines a community‑engaged process for co‑creating a “community profile” with residents and local partners that can be replicated across geographies. A community profile can be more than simply a data report: when co‑created, it can become a tool for community voice, shared learning, dialogue, and collective action. Data is often collected about communities rather than with them. Similarly, data analysis most often happens without the input or perspectives of those people that data purports to describe. Co‑creation shifts this dynamic by valuing residents and community partners as experts of their own experience. The "How to Co-Create a Community Profile" toolkit includes: A Toolkit Case Example (Norris Square Neighborhood, Philadelphia) Facilitator Guide – Supports how the process is led, with reflection prompts and facilitation guidance Process Workbook – Documents what decisions are made, what is learned, and how the work evolves Community Partner Guide – Explains the process in clear, plain language and outlines how community members can engage Additional resources such as a Reflection Checklist, an example survey and questions to help guide community conversations The process and toolkit information draws on Penn State’s Center for Economic Development and Penn State Extension’s collaboration with residents and community organizations in Philadelphia’s Norris Square neighborhood and is grounded in well‑established research on community‑based participatory research (CBPR), asset‑based community development (ABCD), and participatory data practices.
