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Facts That Matter Blog

At the ncIMPACT Initiative, we ground our research in the challenges faced by North Carolina’s state and local leaders and their communities. Through compelling story telling, the Facts That Matter blog shares data and evidence about collaborative problem solving efforts that chart a path forward in communities across the state. We share these stories for the benefit of other communities in pursuit of our mission to improve the lives of North Carolinians.


March 31, 2020

A Note to Human Services Agencies: Think About What Type of Social Capital You Most Need to Build Online

As human service agencies help program participants take social capital activities online, it is important to be clear about the purpose for the social capital – what program-related purpose does it seek to serve?

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March 31, 2020

A Note to Human Services Programs: You Can Still Build Social Connections in a Time of Social Isolation

There is a cost to social isolation, and many of us have spent our first weeks of social distancing fighting against loneliness by using virtual platforms, such as Zoom, Google Hangouts, Webex, Talky.io, Facebook groups, and Instagram as our means of being together. We are working hard to minimize our sense of loss by trading in our usual face-to-face connections for virtual ones. We are finding ways to continue building and leveraging our social capital online.

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March 27, 2020

Opioid Response Project Team Spotlight: Transylvania County

The Transylvania team’s work throughout the Opioid Response Project faced challenges, but the benefits have been many.

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March 23, 2020

Emerging Healthcare Technologies in the Time of COVID-19

Several advantages to telehealth have surfaced as critical during COVID-19.

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March 2, 2020

The Dos and Don’ts of Working in Rural Communities

Those working in rural communities often come across situations in which it may be unclear what the next step is or how to go about that next step.

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February 28, 2020

Opioid Response Project Team Focus: Onslow County

Learning and networking at forums through the Opioid Response Project has been extremely valuable to the learning and planning process.

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February 11, 2020

Impacts of Safety Nets for Families on Health Outcomes

When we look at moving the needle toward  health outcomes, a natural place to address future outcomes is by addressing the need for investment in children’s health.

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January 30, 2020

ncIMPACT Town Hall: Constructing North Carolina’s Creative Placemaking Economy

North Carolina’s creative industries are responsible for more than 417,000 jobs, representing 7 percent of the state’s workforce.

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January 22, 2020

Opioid Response Project Team Focus: Cumberland County

The C-FORT team is working hard to become the creative and recovery-ready community they see as necessary to tackle the opioid epidemic.

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December 19, 2019

Broadband’s Impact on Economic Development: A Lack of Access to Social Capital

North Carolina residents with no or low access to quality broadband are missing out on important economic benefits of cultivating social capital through connections.

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