CREN Programs and Services

 

Services at a Glance

The Citizens’ Research Education Network is a non-partisan, non-profit organization devoted to action research and creating informed and empowered citizens. CREN was founded in 1981 by a group of Hartford activists who realized that power comes from knowledge, and knowledge requires information.

Today, CREN reports on issues such as predatory lending, access to health care, and city government. CREN provides information services to the Hartford community, and occasionally beyond, such as:

* Primary and archival research on community development topics such as housing, economic development, health, education, financial institutions, and more.

* Participatory research involving neighborhood residents and college students in information gathering

* Action research that can be applied in the community to create change

* Door to door neighborhood surveys

* Client satisfaction surveys

* Focus groups for planning and evaluation of programs

* Needs assessments

* Business district surveys to support neighborhood economic development

* GIS neighborhood and city-wide mapping to demonstrate data visually and geographically

* City Hall and Board of Education updates

* Workshops on how to access city government

* Coalition development

* Issue forums

* Special topic research

If you have information/research needs not mentioned here, contact us to discuss them. Visit our website at www.CREN.info, call us at (860) 509-3701 / 3702, e-mail us at cren@hartnet.org, or write us at 34 Sequassen Street, Hartford, Connecticut 06106. We welcome your inquiries!