Equitable Community-Designed Outdoor Spaces is sponsored by The Colorado Health Foundation. This funding opportunity supports planning grants for the design and construction of outdoor spaces, such as playgrounds and parks across Colorado.

Colorado Health Foundation Equitable Community-Designed Outdoor Spaces Grants Evaluation | Omni Institute Enter your email address below to download this resource and receive updates about similar content. Download the Resource below Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Publications & Resources Insights Contact Us Evaluate the impact of community-designed outdoor spaces funded by the Colorado Health Foundation by collecting insights through interviews, site visits, and focus groups. Promote equity in data collection processes by offering flexible scheduling and adapting engagement techniques for participants of all ages and backgrounds.

Elevate community voice in funding and design conversations by using participatory methods like PhotoVoice and centering local leadership and resident experience. Support future grantees with practical tools and findings by developing a full evaluation report and concise, accessible one-pagers to inform future engagement strategies.

The Colorado Health Foundation contracted with Omni to evaluate their Equitable Community-Designed Outdoor Spaces funding initiative, which aims to support communities in leading the design of inclusive, welcoming outdoor environments. Omni conducted 11 interviews with leaders from funded organizations , visited two project sites, and facilitated focus groups with residents who participated in the community-engaged design process.

The goal of the evaluation was to better understand both the community engagement strategies used and the impact of these spaces on those involved. To ensure equity in data collection, Omni offered flexible scheduling to accommodate participants' diverse needs , and adapted engagement methods to be age-inclusive— incorporating PhotoVoice techniques to help younger participants express their experiences through images and discussion.

The deliverables included a detailed report summarizing findings, along with two one-page tools designed to guide future grantees in their funding and community engagement work. Omni concluded the project by presenting findings to the Colorado Health Foundation team and facilitating a discussion on next steps for the funding strategy.

As a capstone, Omni authored a blog post resource sharing its approach to equitable evaluation and key lessons learned from the project. We saw firsthand how intentional design and inclusive engagement can transform not just outdoor spaces—but the sense of belonging and pride within a community.