Measuring connection & participation
Practical tools and frameworks for understanding whether people are returning, building trust, forming relationships, and developing stronger support networks.
Social Connection Program Evaluation Toolkit
Swinburne University of Technology, 2024
A practical framework designed specifically to help programs measure both the quality of their work and whether participants are experiencing stronger social connection. It is built for real-world program evaluation rather than academic measurement alone.
Explore the toolkit: Social Connection Program Evaluation Toolkit
Measuring Social Capital
Foundation for Social Connection
A particularly practical resource with sample survey questions for measuring trust, belonging, participation, access to community spaces, willingness to help neighbors, and involvement in local groups and decision-making.
Explore the resource: Measuring Social Capital
Evaluation and Measurement
Campaign to End Loneliness
A straightforward guide to measuring change in loneliness, including a short three-question tool focused on satisfaction with relationships, having people to ask for help, and whether relationships meet a person's needs.
Explore the guide: Evaluation and Measurement
Program Evaluation for Community-Based Organizations
Community Tool Box, University of Kansas
A practical guide to evaluating community programs, including how to define outcomes, choose indicators, collect feedback, and assess whether an effort is producing meaningful change.
Explore the guide: Evaluating Community Programs and Initiatives
Brief Sense of Community Scale
Peterson, Speer & McMillan, 2008
A short, practical scale designed for applied community settings. It measures four dimensions of sense of community: needs fulfillment, group membership, influence, and emotional connection.
Explore the tool: Brief Sense of Community Scale