This article describes a framework for assessing the positive influence of music activities in community development programs. It examines hybrid music, health and rich media approaches to creative case study with the purpose of developing more compelling evidence based advocacy that examines the claims of a causal link. This preliminary study examines the problems with the research methods and seeks to design a more media inclusive approach that allows music experience to be heard in more compelling ways than text alone. The framework outlined in this paper provides a measure of effectiveness for community development programs that integrates social and cultural aspects. The framework connects notions of resilience as a fundamental building block for healthy communities with indicators of musical meaning and engagement. These indicators have previously been used individually in evaluating the effectiveness of music experience. This article reports on an exploratory research project that utilises this framework across a series of case studies in several culturally diverse Australian communities. The relevance of the research is that it seeks to identify the critical components of music education that have significant transferable implications for community development programs. (Contains 1 figure.)