ABOUT our work
what we do
Community Focus, housed in Ozarks Public Health Institute at Missouri State University, provides a dynamic, data-driven, and action-oriented collective impact approach around shared priorities in order to create sustainable, positive changes in the greater Springfield region.
We work with Community Partnership of the Ozarks’ Collaboratives program to support their cross-sectional efforts by supplying data, expediting cooperative opportunities, and assisting in tracking their progress.
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BUILD
CONSENSUS
We facilitate open dialogue with existing collaboratives and coalitions to select metrics that will demonstrate each group's progress on the issues while monitoring identified strengths .
SUPPORT A COMMON AGENDA
Community partner groups meet to discuss their individual goals and learn how each group may interact and collaborate to achieve higher impact results through a collective action approach.
Publicize Efforts
In addition to the biennial report, our index features local metrics, while capturing correlated programs and initiatives.
The community has a snapshot of what actions are underway to support our community's growth.
our history
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Following a 2003 community leadership trip to Lexington, Kentucky, a group of Springfield’s civic leaders partnered to create a report that would take an honest, comprehensive look at the city’s strengths and weaknesses. The report was made possible by Community Foundation of the Ozarks, United Way of the Ozarks, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, Springfield-Greene County Library District, Junior League of Springfield, and dozens of committeed volunteers.
For the next twenty years, community leaders came together to produce Springfield’s Community Focus Report. Eleven topic area committees composed of subject matter experts wrote a comprehensive chapter that named three Red Flags and three Blue Ribbons, using numbers and narrative to give a complete picture.
The Community Focus Report became a vital guide to the Springfield region, relied upon by local institutions ranging from community groups, nonprofits, direct service agencies, churches, universities, and more. The report never lost its original intent of taking an unvarnished look at the weaknesses while celebrating its strengths.
As Springfield’s Community Focus Report neared its 20th anniversary, an effort was initiated to revise the report. The original purpose was to improve community engagement and ownership, with additional work requested to add measurable goals and a data dashboard. In 2022, a small team of faculty and staff at Missouri State University was tasked with envisioning the next phase of the report, and after two years of local, state, and national research, an expanded program was created.
Building upon the project’s foundation, the Community Focus program now includes reporting, a data dashboard and strategic, community-generated action to support the regions’ shared agenda around priority issues.
The MSU team sought a suitable home for this new project, and after months of talks with local organizations, Ozarks Public Health Institute at Missouri State University emerged as a leader to host Community Focus.
With Community Focus now housed in OPHI at MSU, we are expanding our collaborative network, enhancing our digital presence, and bolstering research capabilities to tackle longstanding challenges head-on, while continuing to celebrate our strengths.
Join us as we embark on this journey to drive meaningful change and empower every member of our community to make a difference!
IN THE NEWS
 OPHI Accepts New Role Facilitating CFROct. 2024 | After two decades of data collection and community needs assessment, the Community Focus Report is being turned over to a professional staff in the Missouri State University-based Ozarks Public Health Institute. The 20th anniversary edition of the Community Focus Report was released this morning to community stakeholders at the Efactory. |  CFR Moves to OPHI at MSUNov. 2024 | In this episode of Making Democracy Work, host Amanda Stadler speaks with Dr. Jonathan Groves, chair of Drury University’s Communications Department and Traci Nash, transition consultant with Missouri State University’s Ozarks Public Health Institute about the Community Focus Report's move to Ozarks Public Health Institute at MSU. |  New Group Begins Work to Expand CFRDec. 2024 | The Ozarks Public Health Institute at MSU plans to add dynamic reporting alongside its biennial, published report. |
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 OPHI Awarded MFH GrantFeb. 2025 | Missouri State University's Ozarks Public Health Institute accepts a role as the new lead organization for the Community Focus Report that examines progress and challenges in the Springfield area. |  Next Steps for Community FocusMar. 2025 | Leadership Springfield director Carrie Richardson interviews Traci Nash regarding the next steps for the Community Focus Report. |  CF Report to take on New LifeMar. 2025 | Traci Nash announces MSU's Ozarks Public Health Institute received a grant of more than $500,000 from Missouri Foundation for Health to help shift the CFR to a holistic data-driven approach to action. |
 CFR to Take on New LifeMar. 2025 | Emily Letterman, PR Strategist in Strategic Communication, interviews Traci Nash on KSMU radio on the grant award from Missouri Foundation for Health and what comes next for the Community Focus program. |  CF Shifts to Grant Funded Community ResourceJune 2025 | In this episode of Making Democracy Work, host Amanda Stadler speaks with Traci Nash about changes to the Community Focus Report that will increase the availability of critical data for local programs in an effort to increase community collaboration. |
