PERFORM Reports: A Genuine Leap Forward for Data-Driven Practice
Anyone who has spent time supporting neighborhood-based prevention and intervention programs knows the problem well: it isn’t always a lack of data. It’s the time, capacity, and tools needed to turn that data into something programs can actually use — to show progress, understand what’s working, and make the case to funders and stakeholders.
That’s the gap Adam Serlin and the team at Independent Variable Consulting have built a genuinely smart solution for with PERFORM Reports.
What it does
At its core, PERFORM Reports takes your data — or open, public datasets — and turns it into clear, standardized reports in seconds. It’s built to reduce the time and technical expertise required to analyze and present data, so organizations can focus on what the numbers actually mean for their program, their staff, and the risk and resiliency factors they care about.
The proof of concept uses Philadelphia’s open shooting-victim data, and it’s worth exploring firsthand on Independent Variable’s site to see what the tool can do.
Why it stands out
Time savings that are transformational, not marginal. PERFORM Reports collapses work that normally eats up dozens or hundreds of hours — sourcing and cleaning data, building maps and visuals, and translating dashboards into presentation-ready output — into a matter of seconds.
Spatial analysis that matches how programs actually operate. Reports can be generated at the zip code level, the neighborhood level, and — notably — at the grid level, using 10×10, 5×5, and 2×2 street block grids. For place-based programs and CVI initiatives in particular, this is a real shift: it lets teams align program activity with micro-geographies, compare outcomes across multiple spatial scales, and ask sharper questions about exactly where change is happening.
Output built for the room, not just the analyst. The result is a clean, standardized report — complete with charts, maps, news links, and raw data — that downloads straight into PowerPoint, ready for a strategy session or a funder conversation. There’s also a companion dashboard for teams that want to explore the zip, neighborhood, and grid-level data more interactively.
The bigger picture
This is what good data infrastructure looks like: lower barriers, higher usability, and a direct line from data to action. PERFORM Reports isn’t just a reporting tool — it’s an enabler of better strategy for anyone serious about using data to drive change in their community.
If you run social service programming or conduct applied research on social problems — not just in violence reduction, but across social impact work broadly — this is worth ten minutes of your time. Take a look at what it can do, and reach out to Adam about what it could do for your organization. It works with any dataset, and it’s available at low cost.