Reviewing the Diversity of NNIP

Why This Matters

The National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP) helps local communities use data to shape strategies and investments so that all neighborhoods are places where people can thrive. The NNIP network has recognized the need to better reflect the diversity of the communities it serves across several dimensions. A diverse staff and network will improve the relevance and quality of the services provided to communities and ultimately the influence NNIP has on local and national policy.

What We Found

Overall, the racial diversity of NNIP staff compares favorably with that of the nonprofit sector as a whole, and NNIP boards are substantially more diverse than nonprofit boards nationwide.

We find that across all NNIP partner staff, the share of people of color increased from 37.0 percent in 2018 to 47.7 percent in 2023. The diversity of leadership in NNIP partner organizations also increased, with the share of people of color increasing from 22.0 to 35.7 percent over the same period, though leaders remain a less diverse group than staff overall.

We also find that NNIP partners’ boards of directors and advisory committees are more diverse than their staff overall. Specifically, the shares of Black and Hispanic members across both board types are higher than either group’s share of NNIP staff overall. However, the reverse is true for Asian board members, who represent a smaller share of boards of directors and advisory committees than staff overall.

How We Did It

The Urban Institute, as the national partner of NNIP, surveyed local NNIP partners in 2018 and 2023 on the demographics of their staff and their project-specific committees, advisory committees, and governing boards of directors, as well as their practices in hiring and retention of staff and board development. In total, 28 of the 32 partner organizations completed data collection, a response rate of 87.5 percent.