Communities need tools and frameworks to evaluate and strengthen their resilience across systems and sectors.

The Palix Foundation developed the Brain Story and Resilience Scale Framework to promote resilience at individual, organizational, and community levels. As the Foundation prepared to roll out these tools across Alberta, it recognized the need for a community-level evaluation framework to guide implementation and assess outcomes. The Foundation partnered with NORC to develop an evaluation framework that communities could adapt to their own goals and contexts. This work supports broader efforts to improve mental health, reduce adversity, and build capacity for resilience across health, education, justice, and human service sectors.

NORC developed a community-level evaluation framework using a systems approach.

NORC conducted site visits, stakeholder interviews, and literature reviews to inform the development of a flexible evaluation framework for the Resilience Scale tools. The team visited three Alberta communities—High Level, Lethbridge, and Medicine Hat—to gather insights from local leaders and service providers. NORC also reviewed data practices, indicators, and implementation barriers across sectors.

Using implementation science models, NORC created a set of community and implementation indicators aligned with the Brain Story and Resilience Scale Framework. These indicators span individual, organizational, and systems levels and are designed to assess dissemination, uptake, fidelity, and outcomes. The framework includes sector-specific examples and tools for tracking progress in health, education, justice, and human services.