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Program
Outcomes for Communities
Sources and Annotations
CURRENT OVER ALL LIST
OF COMMNOWG ANNOTATIONS (Not including Policy Development):
Arnstein, S. R. (1969). A Ladder of Citizen Participation.
AIP Journal.
Arnstein posits that "citizen participation is a categorical term for
citizen power" (216). She maintains that it is a method enabling citizens
to bring about social reform that permits them to share society's benefits.
Arnstein emphasizes the importance of redistributing power so that all
citizens have genuine power to influence outcomes. Arnstein devised a
typology of eight levels of participation that are illustrated by making
each level a rung of a ladder. The first two levels represent nonparticipation.
The next three indicate degrees of tokenism, and the last three levels
illustrate degrees of citizen power. The eight levels are as follows:
1. Manipulation: citizens are arranged on advisory committees or boards
merely to "educate" them or to get their support; participation becomes
distorted into the powerholders' public relations instrument
2. Therapy: powerholders involve citizens in extensive activity, but the
focus is on curing them of their "pathology" instead of changing the social
structures that create their "pathologies"
3. Informing: involves advising citizens of their rights, responsibilities,
and options; often involves one-way communication (from officials to citizens)
with no means for citizens to express their opinions and no power for
negotiation
4. Consultation: involves inviting citizens' opinions (often through surveys,
meetings, etc.); powerholders gain evidence that they have gone through
the necessary steps for involving "those people"
5. Placation: occurs when groundrules allow the have-nots to advise, but
the powerholders still have the decision-making power; truly appeasing
citizens depends on the quality of technical support they have in expressing
their priorities and the extent to which the community has been organized
to argue for those priorities
6. Partnership: power is redistributed through negotiation between citizens
and powrerholders and they agree to share planning and decision making
responsibilities
7. Delegated power: negotiations occur between citizens and public officials
that give citizens the power to make decisions and maintain control over
plans and programs
8. Citizen Control: participants and residents are able to control a program
or an institution, govern policy an managerial aspects, and negotiate
the conditions under which "outsiders" can make changes
Arnstein posits that an eight-rung ladder is a simplified way to describe
citizen participation, but that the ladder provides a useful illustration
that there are notable levels of citizen participation. Arnstein asserts
that in the real wold, there might be many more rungs, and the distinctions
between the rungs might be less clear.
Beaulieu, L. J., & Mulkey, D. (Eds.). (1995). Investing
in People. The Human Capital Needs of Rural America. Boulder, CO: Westview
Press.
This book begins with an introduction of human capital theory, and it
includes a compilation of chapters written by experts in the field discussing
issues relating to human capital. Beaulieu and Mulkey discuss how investments
made by people, such as education and/or on the job training, can improve
one's human capital stock, which includes cognitive skills, knowledge,
and experience. This improved human capital stock, in turn, enhances productivity,
which should lead to higher earnings. Human Capital Theory assumes that
people decide whether to invest in their human capital based on analyses
of the expected costs and future returns from the investments. Some researchers
claim that human capital theory is insensitive to forces beyond an individual's
control, such as family and community attributes, which can affect his
or her ability to invest in himself or herself. The authors acknowledge
that it is also important to account for factors affecting labor demand.
Killian and Beaulieu discuss the lack of jobs that adequately use available
human capital, which is a common problem in rural America. Rural job growth
is much slower than that in metro areas, and there is a need to improve
human capital resources in rural America.
Pulver writes about major structural changes in America that are influencing
both rural and urban America such as the following:
1. Most job growth is in the services-producing sector. For rural areas
that cannot attract service-producing industries that provide good jobs,
the future looks bleak.
2. The population of much of the developed world is aging. Therefore,
rural regions must have health care, educational, and cultural opportunities
to ensure their regions are competitive retirement locations.
3. Because small businesses are the primary generators of new jobs, rural
areas must be able to create an entrepreneurial environment to attract
new businesses.
4. Nearly all businesses are affected directly by the global economy,
and rural areas must provide ready access to the factors (well-educated
workers, transportation systems, etc.) that enable private businesses
to compete effectively.
Pulver posits that one of the most important human resource development
initiatives would be to improve the economic well-being of rural America
by providing educational and technical assistance in community economic
development policy to national, state, and local leaders.
Wilkinson discusses how rural communities are being confronted by social
problems and issues that might not be resolved unless communities are
strengthened, which requires an improved capability of local people to
act collectively to achieve commonly held goals. Essential steps in the
process of community development are suggested in the extensive literature
on community action and self-help and include:
1. Create the opportunity for people to participate as the main players
in the process of identifying and tackling community problems
2. Provide education and opportunity to overcome the pervasive problem
where the disadvantaged community members accept that the advantaged have
the most power
3. Reorganize the community to break out of ingrained patterns of patronage
and exclusion and focus collective efforts on problems common to all local
groupings
4. Mobilize resources both within and outside the locality
5. Allow for informed decision making
6. Create action - community action builds the capacity for subsequent
community actions as it creates networks, roles, and a pool of shared
experience
Hyman, Gamm, and Shingler discuss how technology can provide rural communities
with expert systems to schedule planting and harvesting, optimize nutrient
and pesticide applications, linkages to national weather, marketing, etc.
However, the current infrastructure, resources, and training necessary
to make these promises a reality are targeted primarily to areas of high
population density, which might leave rural areas behind. Rural community
members must be educated with problems solving and resource utilization
skills, and they must be multidisciplinary, multi-skilled, and flexible.
Jensen and McLaughlin discuss how human capital is higher among non-poor
than poor household heads. To increase educational achievement among nonmetro
youth, they suggest implementing Head Start and other programs to better
prepare disadvantaged youth. For those already in school, states need
to become more attentive to differences across nonmetro and metro school
districts in their ability to fund quality education. However, societal
investments in the human capital endowments of disadvantaged populations
will do little good without corresponding concern for generating a demand
for their labor through economic development.
Swaim discusses worker displacement in rural labor markets and offers
evidence of the significant explanatory power that human capital deficiencies
and labor market conditions provide to the worker displacement problem
in rural America. Swaim discusses a need to create new jobs to replace
those lost to economic change, to diversify the economic base in many
rural communities, and to help workers gain flexibility to adapt to changing
employment opportunities (by improving education, job counseling and retraining
programs).
Hobbs discusses that the limiting condition for rural communities is not
so much a lack of human capital, but instead is a lack of employment opportunities
that provide a return on human capital investments. A major challenge
for rural communities is to more effectively link the skills and abilities
of their workforce with attracting and creating higher paying employment.
Schools can play a major part in this challenge by making instruction
more meaningful and effective, while simultaneously adding to community
resources and contributing to achieving community goals.
Vogel and Coward discuss how health care sectors contribute to the economic
vitality of rural communities. The health care sector contributes to the
local economy by:
1. Enhancing the health of its residents, which in turn, improves their
potential participation and productivity in the work force, which contributes
to the local economy.
2. Providing salaries and wages paid to employees, and goods and services
purchased in the community.
Policy makers and rural community leaders should be aware of the important
contributions of health care when formulating both community development
policies and financial policies that might affect the vitality and well-being
of the rural health care sector.
Wenk and Hardesty discuss how structural attributes of the family/household
can affect educational attainment. They suggest that policies to improve
human capital resources should focus on the social and financial disadvantages
facing teenagers in single parent and non-parent households. Communities
need to promote education as a resource and help teens in nontraditional
family arrangements obtain the economic and social resources they need
to advance, by offering student grants and scholarships.
Luloff and Swanson note that no matter what the socioeconomic assets (or
weaknesses) of a community, its ability to effectively mobilize these
resources depends on the presence of community agency--the capacity of
local residents to work in concert in addressing local needs. They stress
the importance of finding strategies to remove barriers to the effective
emergence of community agency.
The final chapter of this book summarizes some of the book's
important points. The editors stress that human capital deficiencies remain
in rural areas. They maintain that rural areas need to develop the means
to mobilize new and innovative institutional arrangements to focus on
human capital issues in a number of areas. The editors posit that these
efforts should start with communities and families and address factors
such as poverty, inadequate employment opportunities, public services
and facilities, and various obstacles to people's ability to actualize
their human potential.
Benson, P. L. (1997). All Kids are Our Kids. San
Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass Publishers.
In the book's preface, Benson asks how we can respond collectively and
individually to our society's failure to take care of its younger generation.
He posits that three strategies are needed:
1. Strengthen our national ability to ensure that everyone has economic
security, food, shelter, good and useful work, and safety.
2. Target and reduce the risks and deficits that impair
the healthy development of children and adolescents.
3. Build asset-promoting communities.
Benson also discusses the evidence of growing problems with our society's
infrastructure including:
1. The prevalence of high-risk behaviors
2. Growing risks for youths
3. Higher risks in the US compared to other countries (compared with other
technologically advanced nations, the US has the highest teen pregnancy,
adolescent alcohol and drug use, and school dropout rates)
4. Absence of prosocial commitments
Benson asserts that many cultural trends have contributed to society's
current problems such as:
1. A decrease in family support: family life is often characterized by
a lack of parental psychological and/or emotional support
2. Dissolution of community support for young people: young people are
often viewed as inconveniences or burdens to families and communities
3. The loss of consistency in socialization: socializing systems (family,
school, media, etc.) need to be on the same wavelength to encourage a
consistent and constructive world view
4. The modern creation of disconnection: communities do not engage youth
in the community matters
5. The increase in negative influences or realities, such as poverty,
time alone, physical and sexual abuse, and TV overexposure
Benson maintains that in trying to devise solutions for society's current
problems, we all must:
1. recognize the interelatedness and complexity of issues; we need comprehensive
services attacking all problems
2. understand the problems associated with deficit thinking, which emphasizes
individual risks and problems; we need to revise how society takes care
of youth instead of thinking that professional services can fix young
people
3. adopt an asset building vision with long term goals of encouraging
developmental assets, targeting all youth instead of only those at risk,
and mobilizing all citizens to act
Benson discusses forty developmental building blocks, which
he characterizes as assets that represent a model of essential socialization
experiences for all young people. These building blocks include various
types of assets such as:
1. support assets (family support, caring neighborhood, etc.)
2. empowerment (youth as resources, service to others, etc.)
3. boundaries and expectations (family boundaries, adult role models,
etc.) 4. constructive use of time (creative activities, youth programs,
etc)
5. commitment to learning (school engagement, reading for pleasure, etc.)
6. positive values (caring, integrity, etc.)
7. social competencies (planning and decision making, peaceful conflict
resolution, etc.)
8. positive identity (personal power, self-esteem, etc.)
Benson maintains that families, neighborhoods, communities, etc. should
do everything necessary to ensure that all American children and adolescents
have most of these assets because they offer major contributions to healthy
development such as:
1. They serve as protective factors: inhibit negative outcomes.
2. They serve as enhancement factors: promote positive development.
3. They serve as resiliency factors: help weather adversity.
Benson also discusses twelve important cultural changes that are critical
for building the developmental infrastructure for children and adolescents.
These changes require communities to come together around a shared vision
and commitment to rebuild the developmental foundation for all children
and youth. These changes involve moving:
1. from deficit language to asset language
2. from some youth to all youth
3. from early childhood only to the first two decades of life
4. from age segregation to intergenerational community
5. from self-interest to shared responsibility
6. from a program focus to a relational focus
7. from fragmented agenda to a unifying vision
8. from conflicting signals to consistent messages
9. from efficiency to redundancy in asset building
10. from youth as objects to youth as assets
11. from shifting priorities to long-term commitment
12. from civic disengagement to engagement
Benson discusses some basic principles for effective community change,
which include:
1. comprehensiveness: social issues are interconnected
2. collaboration: all socializing systems must be active players in asset-building
3. long-term: lasting and sustained efforts
4. citizen engagement: people who will benefit must participate
Benson likens growing a community to growing a garden, and he gives examples
of community tasks during each season:
1. Envisioning the garden: learn about the framework of developmental
assets and its benefit to the community
2. Preparing the soil: identify and cultivate leadership, gather information,
engage in ongoing dialogue, create a positive, shared vision, develop
initial action plans.
3. Planting the seeds: initiate leadership; develop an organizational
structure; broaden involvement and ownership; plan for early, visible
successes; keep activities and expectations to manageable levels; raise
awareness and increase knowledge; monitor, coordinate, and celebrate action;
draw on existing institutions; embrace innovations for the community;
fill gaps with community wide activities; establish mechanisms for evaluation.
4. Tending the growing garden: keep the end in mind, do not neglect maintenance
tasks, network with other communities, and renew the energy.
5. Harvest: evaluation, celebrate and share the harvest, honor and affirm
people who have been involved, bring closure to efforts that are no longer
needed.
Benson highlights the importance of strengthening families, which he posits
should be a high priority in communities committed to children and adolescents.
However, the following barriers impede families' ability to be effective
in their purpose of building assets in young people:
1. The focus of blame: parents are often blamed for young people's problems
2. Unrealistic expectations: society has high expectations for families
as the principal solution to the nation's economic, social, and moral
problems
3. Lack of support for families: high expectations are not matched with
high support
4. Family isolation: many families have become detached from traditional
supports including extended family, cohesive neighborhood, congregation,
or civic organizations
5. Problem-centered parenting resources: when support is available, it
is usually available only to families experiencing problems
6. Changes in families and parenting: family changes, such as 2 career
families, single parent homes, etc., have altered the family's ability
to provide a foundation for young people
Benson posits that strategies for preparing families for asset building
include the following:
1. supporting family: empower them to build their own strengths and resources
2. educating parents: help them learn new skills and perspectives
3. providing opportunities for families together: parent-youth events,
activities, and classes
4. advocacy on behalf of families: change policies, public awareness,
businesses, etc.
Benson also discusses some strategies to use to gain the support and interest
of multiple community sectors in asset building such as:
1. identify needs and self-interest
2. assess readiness
3. hand off the vision
4. address costs and benefits
5. build on capacity and strengths
6. increase social pressure
7. offer training, tools, and support
8. challenge organizations to move toward transformation
9. add incentives, recognition, and celebration
Finally, Benson discusses the important roles of secondary socializing
systems, such as business and industry, health care systems, the government,
the media, etc., on fostering healthy communities. These roles include
the following:
1. shaping programs and services to advance the vision
2. examining internal practices
3. providing impetus and leadership
4. lending expertise and access
5. engaging in advocacy
6. providing financial support
Bergstrom, A., Clark, R., Hogue, T., Perkins, D.,
& Slinski, M. (1995). Collaboration framework: Addressing community capacity.
University of New Mexico: The National Network for Collaboration.
Collaboration Framework...Addressing Community Capacity
Identifies five common elements of a collaboration framework as well as
discusses and/or notes factors of each:
1. Grounding: Shared desire to collaborate is formed through: a. valuing
diversity of individuals and groups within the collaboration and community.
b. valuing diversity of opinions and perspectives. c. reverence for shared
vision.
2. Core Foundation: represents a common level of understanding and purpose
upon which members of the collaboration, in a continual process address:
a. vision - an image of the desired future. b. mission - defines purpose
or goal of the collaboration. c. values and principles - the beliefs individuals
and the group hold.
3. Outcomes: are the desired results of the collaborations efforts to
help or improve the community. The following are the six most often identified
outcomes as well as examples of their possible indicators, or short-term
measures of accomplishment.
a. Public safety - Indicators: lower index in crime rate and increase
youth participation in out-of-school programs.
b. Education - Indicators: increase in student skill levels and literacy
rates. c. Economic Well-being - Indicators: increase in personal income,
employment rate increases and contained costs.
d. Family Support - Indicators: civic and occupational participation,
family participation in intergenerational support.
e. Health - Indicators: live birth rates, lower alcohol and drug rates,
and number of people receiving prenatal care.
f. Environment - Indicators: air quality, land use policy, transportation
services available housing.
4. Process Factors: are part of the "how to" elements of collaboration,
which include specific skills that can enhance their efforts and results.
a. Understanding the community: includes its people, cultures, values
and habits.
b. Community Development: involves ability to mobilize the community and
its resources.
c. Leadership: effective and diverse members who can appropriately bring
about change within their community.
d. Communication: clear communication, with established informal and formal
methods, including terminology and language which is acceptable to all
members.
e. Research and Evaluation: Data is collected which establishes markpoints
of impact in the future as well as outcome analysis.
f. Sustainability: Ensuring methods retaining members and participation
of various organization as well as systems of program planning.
5. Contextual Factors: are conditions that either exist or are lacking
within an environment which can enhance or inhibit collaborations.
a. Connectedness: linkages between individuals, groups, and organizations;
networks of communication.
b. History of Working Together/Customs: a communities past with regard
to working cooperatively or competitively.
c. Political Climate: the history and environment of decision making and
power within the community.
d. Resources: What is available in terms of environmental, in-kind, financial,
and human capitol, as well as how well it is utilized.
e. Catalysts: The existing problems which get a collaboration started
as well as conveners, people who initiate and gather the collaborative
group.
Christenson, J. A., & Robinson, J. W. Jr., (Eds.)
(1980). Community Development in America. Ames, IA: Iowa State University
Press.
The purpose of this book is to comment on several perspectives, themes,
efforts, and orientations in the area of community development. Several
researchers (Hillery, 1955, Sutton & Kilaja, 1960, and Willis, 1977) have
suggested four main components useful for defining the concept of community:
1. a community involves people
2. a community involves a territory or area
3. a community involves social interaction
4. a community involves common psychological ties
The editors begin with an introduction to community development, and then
several authors write chapters about specific aspects of community development.
According to the editors, community development involves a group of people
working together to initiate social action to improve their life chances.
Phifer, List, and Faulkner discuss the history of community development
in America. These authors explain how the unique quality of the American
spirit has inspired people to improve the quality of their lives. These
authors posit that community development has shifted its major focus from
economic development to a holistic approach toward community capacity
building.
Christenson describes 3 major themes found throughout the Journal of the
Community Development Society, which is the major community development
journal in America:
1. Self-help approach: assumes people can improve their situation by working
together; emphasizes process over task (assumes that the subject matter
is not as important as the process people go through); role of change
agent is to help people understand the self-directed educational or decision-making
process that can help them accomplish a particular task
2. Conflict approach: claims that there should be more equal distribution
of resources; usually focuses on those outside the power structure such
as the poor and minorities; procedure is to get people together, to express
the problems, to develop local leadership, and to help organize feasible
groups; emphasizes polarization of groups based on important issues and
confrontation between opposing sides; role of change agent is to get people
together to show them that they have power numbers and that an organized
voice spoken by an active minority can influence what is done within a
community
3. Technical assistance approach: implies that structure determines behavior;
advocates usually work for people instead of with them; role of technical
planner is to appraise the situation in a community, county, etc., and
to suggest the most economically attainable and socially responsible approaches
for improving the situation
Gamm and Fisher describe how the technical assistance approach to community
development has evolved into major governmental programs during the past
10 years. Both government and university programs have given community
groups technical assistance in the form of grants, education, and information
to improve the quality of life in communities. These authors maintain
that communities should retain powerful roles in technical assistance,
which should increasingly concentrate on giving communities the ability
to foresee needs and problems. Furthermore, communities should be given
greater responsibility in determining how technical assistance will be
given.
Littrell discusses the self-help approach, which is the most commonly
used approach to community development. Littrell comments that the self-help
approach is often depicted as using only local resources. Litrell posits
that in today_s world, all possible resources should be carefully examined,
and the most appropriate resources should be used.
Robinson discusses the conflict approach and demonstrates that the self-help
approach to community development might be impossible for those who do
not possess economic or political resources. Robinson posits that people
external to the political process have little influence on the technical
assistance or the self-help approach, so they often resort to confrontation.
Significant change cannot occur unless there is a redistribution of benefits,
which will not happen without conflict in many communities. Robinson offers
three basic strategies for dealing with conflict including utilizing it
preventing it, or managing it. Robinson offers the following basic rules
for using conflict appropriately:
1. Appraise the local leadership
2. Analyze the community power structure
3. Analyze the situation and territoriality
4. Stimulate dissidents to voice grievances
5. Define a problem
6. Organize, organize, organize
7. Demonstrate the value of power
8. Never confront the power structure directly
9. Be realistic, compromise
10. Develop permanent organizational structure
11. Begin again
Robinson also offers the following ways to prevent community conflict:
1. Fragment the conflict: reduce the proposed issue or project to a series
of smaller components
2. Co-opt the leadership: redirect the key leadership to another issue
3. Employ outside experts who espouse established position: experts can
sometimes persuade the opposition if they support your point of view and
if the opposition respects the expert
4. Conduct an educational program: effective educational programs are
aimed at specific issues or at individual and organizational policies
and goals instead of values
5. Implement a PR campaign: news releases and public meetings discuss
the benefits of the proposed change in concrete, specific terms that the
citizens can identify with and understand
Finally, Robinson offers the following ways to manage conflict:
1. Initiate dialogue objectively
2. Involve all parties
3. Assimilate feelings and information
4. Reinforce agreements
5. Negotiate differences
6. Solidify agreements
Voth, Bothereau, and Cohen discuss the difficulties associated with evaluating
community development efforts. They resolve that a great deal of work
in community development is performed in a process framework, which helps
people accomplish community improvement through their own efforts. Although
these process efforts are very hard to evaluate, evaluation research serves
several purposes including the following:
1. It directly contributes to the community development process
2. It facilitates decision making about community development programs
or projects
3. It develops generalizations about the community development process
These authors also offer some suggestions for evaluating both process
and task achievement in community development programs.
Chynoweth, J. K. (1994). A Guide to Community-based,
Collaborative Strategic Planning. Washington, DC Council of Governors'
Policy Advisors.
A practical guide that provides tips and indicators for assessing community
system change.
Community Planning Council of Greenville County.
(1993, August). Community Indicators: A Report Card for Greenville County.
Listing of community indicators focusing on education and family.
Dombro, A.L., O'Donnell, N.S., Galinsky, E., Malcher,
S.G., & Garber, A. (1996). Community Mobilization: Strategies to Support
Young Children and Their Families. New York: Families and Work Institute.
A practical guide for establishing, supporting, and evaluating community
wide initiatives focused on youth and families.
Fetterman, R., Kaftarian, S., Wandersman, A. (eds.).
1996, Empowerment Evaluation: Knowledge and Tools for Self-Assessment
and Accountability, Newbury Park: Sage Publications.
Describes an innovative approach to evaluation of a wide range of programs.
Empowerment evaluations is the use of evaluation concepts, techniques,
and findings to foster improvement and self-determination. Samples of
evaluation studies and instruments are included Empowerment evaluation
uses both qualitative and quantitative techniques and can be applied to
individuals, organizations, communities, and societies. The focus of the
evaluation is on programs.
Chapter 10, Evaluation and Self-Direction In Community Prevention Coalitions,
outlines the use of empowerment evaluation within these coalitions. These
authors suggest that evaluators have a critical role in identifying the
conditions and support that may enhance or impede the effectiveness of
a coalition. Evaluation can be viewed as part of the support system and
can build the learning capacity of the organizations we are evaluating.
The authors' believe empowerment evaluation can only happen through local
control of the evaluation process. The authors suggest several evaluation
methods to build individual and organizational capacity within the local
coalition. These methods include:
· designing, conducting and reporting evaluations
that give client greater control through improving usability of the evaluation
· developing and applying an usable framework for feedback in the evaluation
process
· developing a classification system of prevention activities
· providing workshop training and follow-up technical assistance to enhance
the ability of local nonprofessionals.
The authors do include a list of challenges when empowerment evaluation
is used. These challenges include:
· clarifying role definitions with the coalition,
· identifying the level at which to target the empowerment effort,
· holding realistic expectations of community partners and residents,
and
· identifying when, how and why to share control of the evaluation or
when to have community members proceed with the evaluation.
Chapter 15 outlines a number of activities and techniques to use in build
community capacity. The activities focus on three issues: (1) create a
constructive environment for the evaluation, (2) include the voices of
intended beneficiaries, and (3) assist communities in using evaluation
findings to strength community responses. The chapter includes several
tools and examples of how to use these tools in an evaluation process.
Implications for CYFAR Initiatives:
This article provides an approach that builds the learning capacity of
individual and organizations we are evaluating. Evaluators of projects
with similar goals will want to incorporate some of the evaluation methods
in the empowerment approach.
Flora, C. B., Flora, J. L., Spears, J. D., Swanson,
L. E., Lapping, M. B., & Weinberg, M. L. (1992). Rural Communities: Legacy
and Change. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
These authors characterize a community as providing a locality, which
they call a "geographically defined place where people interact" (p. 15).
These authors also discuss rural communities and change, and they discuss
how definitions of what is considered a rural community have changed over
time.
These authors also maintain that rural communities generally exhibit three
general types of responses to social and economic change:
1. rapid growth
2. low income
3. population decline
These authors offer the following assumptions used in their focus on rural
communities:
1. Change in rural America should be explained, not merely taken for granted
or vaguely attributed to industrialization, population growth, or heterogeneity.
2. The analysis of change in rural America must take into account the
history of the region and the shifting relationship between urban and
rural society.
3. The analysis of change in rural America must take into account the
economy-the changing practices of production and shifting values of market
exchange.
4. The analysis of change in rural America must take into account political
action at the state and federal level.
5. The experiences felt in rural America depend in part on the community
responses to both political constraints and individual choice.
The authors also discuss issues related to economy and community. These
authors discuss how the economic foundation of rural communities has traditionally
been based on the extraction or distribution of natural resources. However,
the following factors have changed the way these economies are able to
support rural communities:
1. Technology: has increased productivity but has also reduced the need
for low-skill workers in many industries.
2. Changes in transportation networks: some rural communities have become
isolated from the distribution of natural resources and manufactured goods.
3. Economic restructuring: has created opportunities such as jobs but
has also threatened locally owned business and services in many rural
communities.
These authors discuss two ways to characterize community's labor markets:
1. Primary labor market: recruits people based on educational and skill
level; jobs pay well and are fairly stable
2. Secondary labor market: jobs often require less skill, offer lower
wages and are often unstable
These authors also discuss how rural communities' employment is most likely
to be in the secondary labor market.
These authors also discuss community and culture, and they define culture
as "the shared products of society, consisting f values, norms, and material
culture (p.77)." these authors also claim that people learn a particular
culture through socialization within a community's social organizations
including the family, school, and church. These authors also illustrate
that several factors are important for establishing community solidarity
including the following:
1. a sense of social equality among community members
2. a high density of acquaintanceship (frequent opportunities to interact)
3. role homogeneity (frequent interactions across a wide variety of situations)
These authors discuss how the particular culture in a community impacts
how they that community defines and solves social problems. They maintain
that communities with high cohesion often define problems as being externally
caused, and they join together against the external cause. They may also
define problems as individual rather than social, which leads the community
to ignore the problems, leaving individuals responsible to solve their
own problems. The problem that many rural communities encounter is to
acquire ways to utilize the strength of community cohesion while limiting
the ways in which cohesion impedes useful responses to social problems.
These authors also discuss legacy, which is what parents attempt to leave
to their children (such as possessions, values, and norms), and social
class. These authors discuss how issues of gender, race, and ethnicity
affect the relationship between legacy and social class. They conclude
that social inequalities still exist, and these inequalities continue
to limit both individuals and communities.
These authors also discuss capital and community. They define capital
as "any resource capable of producing other resources" (p.132). They maintain
that there are four types of capital:
1. capital goods: objects to produce goods or resources
2. land: can be viewed as capital when it is used to produce other resources
3. financial capital: includes money, stocks, bonds, market futures, and
letters of credit
4. human capital: results when investments (such as education and trainign)
made in people produce other goods or resources
The authors also discuss how virtually all communities rely on capital,
for either private investments in local business or public investment
in community services.
These authors also discuss the increasingly global economy. They discuss
three major features of the new global economy including:
1. the industrial economy is less dependent on the natural-resource economy
2. manufacturing production is less dependent on labor
3. the movement of capital is the driving force in the world economy.
These authors posit that because rural communities need to do the following
to survive in this changing environment:
1. diversify their economies
2. be creative in locating market niches or finding new uses for existing
resources
3. develop regional, national, and international linkages to help local
businesses remain competitive
These authors also discuss the character of rural governments. They posit
that local governments are important to rural areas due to the following:
1. they offer a structure that gives community members the means to participate
in local decisions
2. they provide services and community facilities
3. they link local revenue to local needs
These authors also discuss the economic infrastructure of community which
they define as including "the permanent physical facilities and services
needed to support businesses and community life" (p.227).
These authors also discuss the social infrastructure, which is "both the
social capacity and the collective will of local communities to provide
for their social and economic well-being" (p. 246). These authors maintain
that a the social infrastructure of a community consists of the following:
1. local social institutions: including police, churches, community kitchens
2. human resources: educational attainment, vocational skills, state of
health, entrepreneurship
3. quality of social networks: webs of relationships that link individual
within a community
The quality of a community's social infrastructure partially depends on
the stratification of the community. Those with higher social equality
and a significant middle class generally have strong social infrastructures,
whereas polarized communities commonly have weak social infrastructures.
These authors also discuss power in communities. They define community
power as "the ability to affect the distribution of both public and private
resources within the community" (p. 272). These authors demonstrate three
ways in which power can be used:
1. physical force
2. institutionalized force
3. influence
The authors also discuss theories of power including:
1. Pluralism: assumes power is a characteristic of individual and that
the potential for acquiring power is broadly distributed in the population
2. Elitist: assumes that power often corresponds to the system of stratification,
and that wealth, prestige, and power tend to be associated
3. Class-based: assumes that those who control the economic system control
the community
4. Growth-machine: a coalition of groups that seek to use power to encourage
growth and reap its benefits
These authors also discuss special needs populations, such as people with
physical or mental impairments, the elderly, the poor, substance abusers,
and illiterates. The authors discuss how in rural areas, providing for
special needs is often viewed as an individual problem, which is characteristic
of the denial syndrome. Denying the problem leads to two characteristics
of community response to special needs:
1. Blaming the victim: treating special populations as people who could
change and become like everyone else if they were motivated to do so
2. Allows communities to rely on individuals or families instead of on
a community solution
These authors also discuss generating community change. They discuss three
models of community development:
1. self-help model: focuses on the process by which people work together
to arrive at group decisions and take action; assumes that communities
are homogenous and consensus-based
2. technical assistance model: focuses on the task to be accomplished
and uses outside expertise to help community leaders accomplish that task;
assumes that answers can be arrived at objectively by using the scientific
method
3. conflict model: focuses on the redistribution of power among community
members; assumes power is never given but must be taken
Goodman, R. M., Wandersman, A., Chinman, M., Imm,
P., & Morrissey, E. (1996). An ecological assessment of community-based
interventions for prevention and health promotion: Approaches to measuring
community coalitions. American Journal of Community Psychology, 24 (1),33-61.
The authors present an ecological assessment of a community coalition
along a continuum of coalition readiness and across multiple social levels.
Stages of coalition readiness include: coalition formation, implementation
of initiatives, and community impact. Multiple social levels include:
intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, community and public policy.
The authors also stress the use of triangulation, which combines assessment
methods to increase validity and limit the bias inherent in the use of
any one method of assessment. Assessments used in each stage included:
Coalition development: Forecast system (reference), community survey,
profiles, feedback, needs assessment, and plan quality index
Implementation of initiatives: tracking of coalition actions, Prevention
Plus III (references), and policy analysis case study
Community impact: key informants, community survey, trend analysis of
archival data, and institutionalization of initiatives
Implications for CYFAR initiatives:
The authors provide an assessment model for local CYFAR initiatives to
assess the work of community coalitions. Many of the CYFAR initiatives
include coalitions focusing on policy development. This article provides
CYFAR initiatives a model to evaluate the coalition progress based on
coalition readiness and levels of social interaction.
Goodman, R.M., & Wandersman, A. (1994). FORECAST:
A formative approach to evaluating community coalitions and community-based
initiatives. Journal of Community Psychology (Monograph Series-CSAP Special
Issue), 625.
The article describes the FORECAST (FORmative Evaluation, Consultation
and Systems Techniques) model which uses a conceptual model of a problem
to understand the assumption upon which a project intervention is based
and model of project action to discern how the intervention is relevant
in addressing the assumptions.
Hart, M. (1995). Guide to Sustainable Community
Indicators. QLF/Atlantic Center for the Environment.
Listing of sustainable community indicators in the environment, economy,
and society.
Hassinger, E. W., & Pinkerton, J. R. (1986). The
Human Community. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Hassinger and Pinkerton present and explain important community concepts
and ideas related to the importance of social interaction in communities.
These authors also illustrate major concepts with case studies. They define
community as "an area in which groups and individuals interact as
they carry on daily activities and in which regularized means of solving
common problems have been developed"(p. 25). These authors discuss
several approaches to the study of the community:
1. The ecological approach: views the community as space;
people and groups compete for space, and similar kinds of activities emerge
in distinct areas
2. The ethnographic approach: characterized by in-depth study of a society
through personal contact; examines all facets of community life as individual
cases
3. The organizational approach--the community is viewed as emergent, developing
from ongoing relationships
a. The closed systems approach--regards the community as a closed system;
each subsystem fulfills certain needs of the community, and parts blend
together to form the whole; if one subsystem is not consistent with others,
there will be adjustments within the entire system to correct the disequilibrium
b. The conflict approach--conflict is seen as normal and depends on divisions
in the community; sources of conflict include economic an social inequalities,
and other sources such as influx of newcomers
c. The open systems approach--concerned with the interactions between
individuals and groups in community situations; often involves exchanges
between parties that are reciprocally profitable, but may also involve
conflict
Hassinger and Pinkerton define human ecology as the study of the social
and spatial relationships developed by human populations in their communities.
Human ecology accentuates the means by which populations become classified
into various positions and integrated into a functioning community. While
investigating the patterns of interdependence that form and change as
populations adjust to their habitats, human ecologists focus on four major
variables:
1. Population--an aggregation of people operating as a unit and dwelling
in a particular area
2. Organization--the social system that allows the population to support
itself in an environment
3. Environment--all conditions external to the population
4. Technology--the tools and utilization of knowledge enabling the population
to adjust to and modify its environment
Human ecologists are concerned with the effects among and between these
four variables because changes in one will affect the other variables.
Hassinger and Pinkerton also discuss the concept of Community Population.
The study of population is called demography. Population information is
important for both understanding individual communities and for obtaining
knowledge about trends in different kinds of communities. Demographers
examine not only the contributions of basic demographic processes in population
growth, but also factors that affect these processes.
These authors also illustrate the importance of primary groups and interpersonal
networks in the community. Primary groups are typified by close association
and cooperation, and they are crucial for the development of the social
nature and ideals of the individual. Examples of primary groups include
the family, play groups, and neighborhood groups. The endurance of communal
cohesion based on informal relationships greatly influences whether the
community is a workable social entity. The informal structures of the
community are ready-made communication networks. Practitioners such as
agricultural extension agents, community development agents, and social
workers can expand their productiveness by understanding and utilizing
informal networks.
Hassinger and Pinkerton also explain task-oriented group relationships
in the community. They posit that the community presents a resource base
for groups as they pursue goals. In fact, a significant human achievement
is the capacity to form groups to carry out designated tasks. Task-oriented
groups must first establish and sustain identity and acquire resources
to achieve goals. Examples of such groups include churches, schools, local
government, Boy Scout troops, etc. Voluntary associations play important
roles in communities and allow individuals to combine their resources
to accomplish precise goals.
These authors also discuss extralocal community relationships. All communities
are connected to organizations outside of their communities and are influenced
by decisions made outside the community. However, one must recognize that
communities as a whole do not associate to the bigger society, but instead,
particular local organizations or units associate with specific extralocal
organizations. Furthermore, the relationships between local and extralocal
organizations are often unequal, with the extralocal organization having
greater resources. To understand these relationships, one must recognize
the mechanisms for linkages between the organizations.
These authors also discuss institutional fields in the community, which
include the normative interaction of component groups and individuals
in particular areas of activity. One goal of community analysis is to
identify patterns of relationships in various institutional fields and
to understand the processes involved in their development and change.
The norms in a community guide informal interactions, and institutionalized
thought structures guide those in task-oriented formal groups.
Hassinger and Pinkerton also explain social stratification in the community,
which is the ranking of individuals based on socially esteemed qualities
or resources such as wealth, ethnicity, educational attainment, occupation,
and lifestyle. Poverty is generally associated with the lower end of the
stratification composition. There are disagreements about what leads to
poverty, and this book discusses two different ideas:
1. A culture of poverty hypothesis: people are socialized into a culture
that impedes taking part in an achievement-oriented society
2. Idea that the social structure causes poverty because opportunities
are not equally available to all categories of people.
These authors also discuss community power. They define social power as"the
process of people bringing the resources they command to attain the goals
they desire in relationships with other people"(p. 261). In communities,
power structures are complex, composed of different levels. Those with
little or no power can organize and accomplish goals, but this is often
difficult due to a lack of resources.
These authors conclude their book with several chapters of case studies
of rural, urban, and intentional communities, which illustrate many important
concepts of the human community.
Hawley, A. (1950). Human Ecology. New York: The
Ronald Press Company.
In this book, Hawley develops a theory of human ecology. Hawley describes
human ecology as "the study of the form and the development of the community
in human population"(p.68). Hawley first discusses issues of habitat and
population. Hawley explains that areas of concentrated population usually
occur near places with fertile soil in nonindustrial areas and around
places that are easily accessible in industrial areas. The density ratio,
which Hawley interprets as an approximate measure of the frequency and
variety of interhuman connections, can serve as an indicator of the potential
complexity of group organization. Hawley also posits that the composition
of population has two general uses in ecological work:
1. It provides information about changes in growth trends, the origins
of growth, and the circumstances surrounding the settlement of the population
in its habitat.
2. It can help evaluate the conceivable limits in the organization of
population.
Hawley also discusses population balance, which refers to the adjustment
of numbers of people in relation to the opportunities for living. The
problem of adjustment, or equilibrium, is one of relating numbers of people
to the job opportunities locally available. Hawley maintains that this
"level of living" is a function of the population size, available resources,
and organization of the population. When the group is isolated and self-sufficient,
the organization of the community does not generally change, but the amount
of resources tends to vary. Therefore, the group must modify its size
to the fluctuations in the environment, which generally occurs through
changes in the death rate, although mobility may also serve as a means
of adjustment.
In a discussion of community structure, Hawley posits that the individual
is not the effective element of the community, but rather a combination
of individuals makes up the effective element. Hawley also discusses two
classifications of communities:
1. the independent community: highly self-sufficient, isolated, generally
has a small population, and maintains simple technology
2. the dependent community: involved in a network of intercommunity exchange
relationships, may have a very large population, and usually has very
advanced technology.
Hawley also discusses the spatial aspects of communities.
The central area of a community is where interdependencies are connected
and carried out. The central area of an independent community is usually
the village itself, whose location depends on the location of natural
resources. As there have been increases in dependent communities, the
central area has become a community that specializes in service and administrative
functions. The community consists of the region where occupants are functionally
interrelated. Units of the community arrange themselves around the central
area depending on their capacity to handle the time and cost of going
to and from the central area.
Hawley concludes the book with a discussion of community expansion. Community
expansion occurs when transportation and communication facilities are
improved and extended, allowing the community to expand beyond the city
(or other heavily traveled area). Both changes in land use and contacts
with other communities often lead to population movement. Hawley maintains
that the growth of cities occurs primarily due to migration of people
who originate as surplus population. He also explains that expansion of
the local community did not occur until efficient, highly flexible means
of movement and communication, such as cars, telephones, radios, etc.,
appeared. These changes made it much easier to gain access to the central
city, which created a more complex and more scattered community organization.
Healthy City Toronto. (1993). Modeling Quality of
Life Indicators in Canada: A Pilot Test of Quality of Life Indicators
in Toronto. Toronto, Ontario: Healthy City Office.
A pilot test of quality of life indicators in Canada.
Heberlein, T. A. (1976). Principles of public involvement.
University of Wisconsin: Cooperative Extension Programs.
This paper begins with an introduction to public involvement.
Heberlein posits that people often want to become involved in issues when
they mistrust decision-makers or when the agency involved serves several
different interest groups, which creates the opportunity for conflict.
According to Heberlein, the goal of involving the public in decisions
is to help planners and managers make better decisions, which should save
both time and money by creating inclusive action and decisions that are
less likely to be reversed. Heberlein acknowledges the importance of the
role of expert judgment in public involvement, illustrating the importance
of relying on knowledgeable people rather than just trying to improve
public relations.
Heberlein discusses several common complaints about public involvement
and illustrates how typical problems can be avoided. Ways of avoiding
typical problems involve identifying representative publics (solicit different
types of publics), contacting representative publics (locate and communicate
with all publics who are affected), understanding the importance of the
meeting place (small groups on their turf), documenting public input (assures
public that their ideas were heard), disaggregating public input, and
facilitating public input (small meetings so people can really communicate
with each other). Herberlein notes that public involvement must be a continuing
effort and that planners must make a conscious effort to reach the "hard-to-reach"
public, continue contact with local interest groups, and continue contact
with the public.
Heberlein posits that in addition to simply asking for people's wishes
about an issue, it is also important to engage in systematic observation
to gain information about real behavior. Heberlein also discusses the
importance about gauging the need for public involvement when one is determining
how to involve the public. In addition, Heberlein illustrates factors
that might lead to a higher demand for public involvement such as conflicting
interests between groups and large expensive projects.
Heberlein highlights four functions that are served by public involvement,
including giving and getting information, interacting with the public,
assuring the public, and ritualism (legal requirements). Furthermore,
Heberlein discusses forms of public involvement, such as public meetings
(often ineffective because they often are not representative of all publics),
workshops (potentially good), contacts with established groups (often
transfers information reasonably well), ad hoc and advisory groups (potentially
good if representative), contacts with key individuals (contacts might
not be representative), analyzing mail (generally a poor method), direct
mailing to solicit information (potentially a good method), reports from
key staff (useful if staff has direct contact with public), using the
media (poor and often biased), and day-to-day contacts (often poor because
contacts are unrepresentative).
Heberlein completes this paper with a discussion about how to analyze
and evaluate information gained from public input. Heberlein notes the
importance of letting the decision makers' questions lead the analysis,
and he acknowledges the importance of systematic, objective, visible,
and traceable analysis. Finally, Heberlein acknowledges that although
the analysis can be done by people working for the manager or planner,
the decision-makers are responsible for the evaluation . This paper includes
an appendix with a hypothetical case of public involvement in the planning
process and an annotated bibliography for those wishing to learn more
about public involvement.
Hertzberg, H. (1998, April 20). Tap Dance: The big,
scary, hard-to-figure, American people. New Yorker, 7-8.
An editorial focusing on the critical role played by polling
of the general population in the United States in an era of declining
citizen participation in the formal electorial process. The US House of
Representatives "represents" at best only about a quarter of the country's
eligible voters: that's how many of us voted for one of its 435 members.
And only about a fifth of that quarter, which is to say around five percent
of the total, ever gets to help elect someone in a competitive district
where the result isn't a foregone conclusion. Bill Clinton, the incumbent
President, fell short of a majority of votes cast in 1996 and his plurality
added up to about a quarter of the eligible electorate - by which measure,
incidentally, no president in this century has been elected by a popular
majority, e.g. over 50% of those eligible to vote.
Institute for Children, Youth, and Families. Vermont
Cooperative Extension's Capacity to Support Programs for Children, Youth,
and Families at Risk: Results of the Organizational Change Survey. Tucson,
Arizona: University of Arizona. March 1998. An assessment of the six components
of the USDA-CSREES Children, Youth, and Families (CYFAR) National Initiative
as it relates to Vermont's Cooperative Extension.
Hogue, T., Perkins, D., Clark, R., Bergstrom, A.,
Slinski, M. and Associates (1995). Collaboration Framework: Addressing
Community Capacity. Colombus, OH: National Network for Collaboration.
Identifies five common elements of a collaboration framework as well as
discusses and/or notes factors of each:
1. Grounding: Shared desire to collaborate is formed through: a. valuing
diversity of individuals and groups within the collaboration and community.
b. valuing diversity of opinions and perspectives. c. reverence for shared
vision.
2. Core Foundation: represents a common level of understanding and purpose
upon which members of the collaboration, in a continual process address:
a. vision - an image of the desired future. b. mission - defines purpose
or goal of the collaboration. c. values and principles - the beliefs individuals
and the group hold.
3. Outcomes: are the desired results of the collaborations efforts to
help or improve the community. The following are the six most often identified
outcomes as well as examples of their possible indicators, or short-term
measures of accomplishment. a. Public safety - Indicators: lower index
in crime rate and increase youth participation in out-of-school programs.
b. Education - Indicators: increase in student skill levels and literacy
rates. c. Economic Well-being - Indicators: increase in personal income,
employment rate increases and contained costs. d. Family Support - Indicators:
civic and occupational participation, family participation in intergenerational
support. e. Health - Indicators: live birth rates, lower alcohol and drug
rates, and number of people receiving prenatal care. f. Environment -
Indicators: air quality, land use policy, transportation services available
housing.
4. Process Factors: are part of the "how to" elements of collaboration,
which include specific skills that can enhance their efforts and results.
a. Understanding the community: includes its people, cultures, values
and habits. b. Community Development: involves ability to mobilize the
community and its resources. c. Leadership: effective and diverse members
who can appropriately bring about change within their community. d. Communication:
clear communication, with established informal and formal methods, including
terminology and language which is acceptable to all members. e. Research
and Evaluation: Data is collected which establishes markpoints of impact
in the future as well as outcome analysis. f. Sustainability: Ensuring
methods retaining members and participation of various organization as
well as systems of program planning.
5. Contextual Factors: are conditions that either exist or are lacking
within an environment which can enhance or inhibit collaborations. a.
Connectedness: linkages between individuals, groups, and organizations;
networks of communication. b. History of Working Together/Customs: a communities
past with regard to working cooperatively or competitively. c. Political
Climate: the history and environment of decision making and power within
the community. d. Resources: What is available in terms of environmental,
in-kind, financial, and human capitol, as well as how well it is utilized.
e. Catalysts: The existing problems which get a collaboration started
as well as conveners, people who initiate and gather the collaborative
group.
Kaye, G., & Wolff, T. (Eds.). (1997). From the ground
up: A workbook on coalition building and community development (2nd Ed.).
Massachusetts: AHEC/Community Partners.
I. Coalition Building: 1. The path to healthy and empowered communities
2. Problems facing American communities 3. Deficits versus assets view
of community
II. Empowerment in coalition building: 1. What is a coalition? 2. What
is collaboration? 3. Collaborative betterment versus collaborative empowerment
III. Principles of success: 1. Assumptions 2. Principles 3. Missions and
goals 4. Inclusive membership 5. Organizational competence 6. Planning
7. Action and advocacy 8. Hope and celebration 9. Time and persistence
10. Monitoring and Assessment
IV. Barriers to Success: 1. Turf and competition 2. Bad history 3. Failure
to act 4. Dominance by professionals 5. Poor links to community 6. Minimal
organizational capacity 7. Funding - too much or too little 8. Failure
to provide and create leadership 9. Costs outweigh benefits
V. Multicultural Issues in Coalitions: 1. Why it is advantageous 2. What
problems to expect 3. How to use them effectively
VI. Dealing with conflict: 1. Guidelines for conflict management 2. Types
of conflict 3. Types of resolution and intervention
VII. Involving and mobilizing the grassroots: 1. Why they will get involved
2. The six r's of participation 3. Creating community ownership VIII.
Community assessment
IX. Developing action plans
X. Monitoring and evaluation of coalition activities and success
Kretzman, J. P., & McKnight, J. L. (1993). Building Communities from the
Inside Out. Chicago, IL: ACTA Publications.
This book, presented in workbook style, emphasizes community inventory
building with an assets orientation. These authors emphasize an asset-based
community development emphasis, which "leads toward the development
of policies and activities based on the capacities, skills, and assets
of lower income people ant their neighborhoods" (p. 5). According
to McKnight and Kretzmann (1993), a community of associations (collaborating
organizations) is one key to building healthy communities. Healthy communities
and healthy families create a self-strengthening bond. McKnight and Kretzmann
(1993) describe three interrelated characteristics that define asset-based
community development:
1. It begins with what is present in the community, including the capacities
of the members, people who work there, as well as the associations and
organizational base, not what is absent, problematic or needed.
2. This process is internally focused; i.e., it concentrates on the agenda
building and problem solving capacities of local residents, associations
and organizations.
3. Asset based community development needs to be relationship driven;
in other words, a critical focus for community development work must be
on the relationships between and among local residents, associations and
organizations.
While McKnight and Kretzmann (1993) argue that communities need external
resources to assist them with their efforts, all communities (and their
organizations and individual members) possess significant assets that
can be mobilized and utilized. This assets based approach, the authors
feel, is particularly important in the approach to citizen participation
in low-income communities where the tradition has been to begin with deficits
rather than strengths. These authors take the needs assessment folks head
on, stressing the critical point of starting with a positive assessment
of existing capacity as opposed to gaps, or deficiencies. Some call this
the just say "yes" approach.
Kreuter, M., & Lezin, N. (1997, May). Social capital:
A brief synopsis. Paper presented at the National Conference on Health
Education and Health Promotion and the SOPHE Midyear Scientific Conference,
Atlanta, GA.
A. Social Capital: The Theory The authors define social capital as: The
specific processes among people and organizations, working collaboratively
in an atmosphere of trust, that lead to accomplishing... 1. a goal of
mutual social benefit 2. measurement of previously evasive community-level
indicators 3. a stronger social fabric through information, trust, and
solidarity by way of activities 4. further generation of social capital
5. produces reciprocity
B. Social Capital: The four constructs The authors constructs as the concepts
that collectively provide causal explanation or underlying theory. 1.
Trust: the belief that an individual, group, or organization can be relied
upon to act consistently, fairly, and rationally. 2. Civic Involvement:
participation in activities that directly or indirectly contribute to
a community's overall well being. a. includes activities like: voting,
newspaper readership, membership organizations with civic improvement
agendas. b. measured by informed active population, contribution of time
and effort. c. civic consciousness: measured by involvement in activities
that are altruistic, for the common good. 3. Social Engagement: refers
to the interactions that foster connections among community members or
organizations. a. organized groups that characterize civic involvement.
b. informal connections such as socializing with neighbors. 4. Reciprocity:
refers to the expectation of a return on an investment, faith that a good
deed will be returned in some form in the future. a. the exchange need
not be perfectly matched to be mutually satisfactory. b. it is not necessarily
defined or even prime objective. c. expectation of exchange if it became
necessary.
C. The authors believe a case can be made for a cross-national social
capital research agenda. 1. They based their decision upon: a. their experience
with community -based public health interventions. b. their understanding
of social capital theory. c. the conclusion that trust, civic involvement,
social engagement, and reciprocity are principles common to both community
health promotion and social capital.
Linney, J.A., & Wandersman, A. (1991). Prevention
Plus III. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Described as a four-step guide to useful program assessment developed
to access alcohol and other drug prevention programs at the school or
community level. Worksheets, checklists, and sample assessment tools are
included. [Available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Office for Substance Abuse Prevention, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockwell II,
Rockville, MD 208571
Lofquist, W. A. (1983). Discovering the Meaning
of Prevention. A Practical Approach to Positive Change. Tucson: AYD Publications.
This book begins with a discussion of what prevention means and provides
a definition of key words on which the concept of prevention is based.
Lofquist defines prevention as an "active, assertive process of creating
conditions and/or personal attributes that promote the well-being of people"
(p.2). Lofquist's definition of prevention stresses the idea of actively
creating conditions that will prevent the outcomes one wishes to avoid.
Lofquist acknowledges an important distinction between reacting and activating.
Reacting is responding to something after it has occurred. Being active,
or proactive, is taking assertive action that deals with the factors that
cause or contribute to the problem. Lofquist also highlights the importance
of quality leadership in a community. He maintains that it is important
that both people in positions of responsibility and power and concerned
citizens be quality leaders.
Lofquist illustrates how a community development approach to prevention
can make people more likely to take action. This type of approach can
make people feel empowered to make things better, and it can mobilize
people to take shared responsibility for improving their community. Lofquist
also discusses workable strategies for prevention: 1. Engaging: the approach
should get and keep people's attention and interest 2. Sound in concept:
the approach should make sense, provide a clear motive, and stand up to
examination 3. Easy to communicate: the approach should be understandable
and allow people to keep in touch with each other and understand what
is happening to others 4. Skill oriented: the approach should give people
workable, teachable, and usable skills 5. Results oriented: the approach
should lead to discernible action based on a practical evaluation of both
current and desired conditions
Lofquist illustrates the beliefs on which his approach to prevention is
based including the following:
? _People can become responsible, within realistic limits, for shaping
the conditions under which they live, work, learn, use their leisure and
otherwise spend their time_(p.19).
? _People are their own best resources for bringing about change which
is important to them_ (p.19).
? _Participation by people in shaping the conditions that affect them
promotes ownership and vested interest in the change being sought and
increases commitment to seeing that the change is achieved and maintained_(p.
19).
? _It is desirable to promote change through the use of the existing human,
physical, and financial resources of the community_(p.19).
? _Prevention is essentially a local activity that focuses upon local
conditions and concerns that affect people locally_(p.20).
Before one attempts to implement change, Lofquist suggests that he or
she answer the following three important questions:
1. Where are you now?
2. Where do you want to be?
3. How will you get there?
In addition, Lofqist highlights importance of engaging key allies in one's
plans for prevention, and he suggests the following steps to help identify
key players:
1. list those strategic persons who can be counted on to actively support
the effort
2. list those who it would be desirable to have involved but whose commitment
to the goal may not be known
3. list those strategic persons who are capable of blocking the path to
achieving the goal and who it is believed will not wish to participate
in the effort
Lofquist also stresses the importance of viewing the community from a
prevention perspective. He asserts that creating effective prevention
approaches requires people with diverse opinions, perspectives, and experiences
to combine their ideas and form specific plans to achieve the desired
outcomes. He offers the following steps to shape a preventative strategy:
1. Identification of contributing factors: participants identify factors
in the community that contribute to problems
2. Analysis of the factors: analysis gives specific information to help
plan the program
3. Application of the factors for action planning: provides a framework
for developing strategies for doing something about each of the selected
factors in the community
Lofquist also suggests and describes tools that can be used to help groups
plan their actions. One tool is a worksheet including the following steps
to develop a work plan:
1. Briefly describe the essential aspects of condition A (the current
situation)
2. Briefly describe the essential aspects of condition B (the desired
result) 3. List those specific people who are in a position to exercise
some control over condition A
4. Briefly describe the kinds of behavior change that will enable a change
from condition A to condition B
5. Briefly describe the human, physical, and financial resources needed
to enable a change from condition A to condition B
Mattessich, P. N., & Mansey, B. R. (1992). Collaboration:
What makes it work. Minnesota: Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.
A Review of Research Literature on Factors Influencing
Successful
Collaboration
1. Factors Related to the Environment:
A. History of collaboration or cooperation in the community.
B. Collaborative group seen as a leader in the community.
A. Political/social climate favorable.
2. Factors Related to Membership Characteristics:
A. Mutual respect, understanding, and trust.
B. Appropriate cross-section of members.
A. Members see collaboration as in their self-interest.
B. Ability to compromise.
3. Factors Related to Process/structure:
A. Members share a stake in both process and outcome.
B. Multiple layers of decision-making.
C. Flexibility.
D. Development of clear roles and policy guidelines.
E. Adaptability.
4. Factors Related to Communication:
A. Open and frequent communication.
B. Established informal and formal communication links.
5. Factors Related to Purpose:
A. Concrete, attainable goals and objectives.
A. Shared Vision.
B. Unique purpose.
6. Factors Related to Resources:
A. Sufficient funds.
B. Skilled convener.
Melaville, A. I., Blank, M. J., & Asayesh, G. (1993).
Together we can: A guide for crafting a profamily system of education
and human services. Maryland: PrismDAE. [For sale by the U.S. Government
Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington,
D.C., 20402-9328, ISBN 0-16-041721-X.]
The authors outline the problems that communities today are facing, how
their systems of assistance, intervention and general infrastructure fail
to meet the needs of today's society:
1. Services are crises oriented.
2. The current social welfare system divides problems into categories
that may not reflect their interrelated causes and solutions.
3. There is a lack of functional communication among various children
and family agencies.
4. Agencies are showing an inability to create comprehensive solutions
to complex problems.
5. Services needed are often not available.
6. Available services are not always accessible.
7. Some services are unacceptable and contradict the cultures of the families
and communities they are meant to serve.
8. Systems focus on family weaknesses, rather than strengths which can
be built upon.
In response to these points the authors provide a solution in the form
of collaborative profamily systems of service delivery. They list it's
characteristics as:
1. comprehensive
2. preventive
3. family centered and family driven
4. integrated
5. developmental
6. flexible
7. sensitive to race, culture, gender, and individuals with disabilities
8. outcomes oriented
The authors also suggest effective initiatives for change in service delivery
systems:
1. school linked
2. rooted in community and connected to state government
3. use place-specific service delivery prototypes to create systems change
4. data driven
5. financially pragmatic
6. use new forms of interprofessional pre service and inservice education,
training, and leadership development
7. use the collaborative's influence to engage all citizens in decisions
about the social and economic well-being of children and families
8. balance the political and technical dimensions of systems change
These outlines for change are followed in the text with a five stage process
for realizing the changes as well as examples of communities that are
moving through them.
Stage one: Getting together, initial organizing
Stage two: Building trust and ownership
Stage three: Developing a strategic plan
Stage four: Taking action, selection, implementation, incorporation, evaluation
Stage five: Going to scale, adapting, expanding, maintenance, and long-range
strategy
North Central Regional Center for Rural Development.
(1997). Working Toward Community Goals: Helping Communities Succeed. Ames,
IA: Iowa State University.
Helps communities measure effects of rural community development efforts.
Perkins, D. D., Florin, P., Rich, R. C., Wandersman,
A., & Chavis, D. M. (1990). Participation and the social and physical
environment of residential blocks: Crime and community context. American
Journal of Community Psychology, 18 (1), 83 - 115.
Perkins, Florin, Rich, Wandersman, and Chavis explain that to understand
participation, one must consider the social and environmental context
of communities. They also explain a model of contextual determinants of
participation that is comprised of several different factors. The distal/
permanent factors include the demographic characteristics of the community,
such as years of residence, race, income, home ownership, and the built
environment, which involves the architectural and urban planning features.
Another important component of the model is the level of crime in the
area. Finally, the proximal/ transient factors comprise the final component
of the model. These factors consist of the transient physical environment,
which involves symbols of incivility and territoriality, and the social
climate, which involves perceptions of crime, community problems, sense
of community, organization efficacy, etc. Perkins et al. posit that in
addition to impacting participation, these factors can influence each
other in many different ways.
Perkins, Florin, Rich, Wandersman, and Chavis also discuss why blocks
are useful for studying communities. First, boundaries of blocks are usually
quite clear. In addition, they are often more culturally uniform than
larger units of analysis. Moreover, blocks often have higher rates of
participation than other levels of community organization. Finally, because
blocks offer intimate settings, various association processes (such as
informal social control and territoriality) should function more successfully
than larger units of analysis.
Perkins, Florin, Rich, Wandersman, and Chavis investigated the relationship
of various social and environmental conditions on participation in block
associations and tested a new instrument for assessing the built and transient
physical environment of residential blocks. They collected their data
using the following methods: 1) a phone survey of residents from blocks
in New York City selected for the study, 2) an appraisal of the physical
environment of each block conducted by an observer, 3) police crime records,
and 4) surveying members of block associations. The results demonstrated
that the permanent and transient physical environment and the social climate
were all related to collective participation after controlling for demographic
conditions. Specifically, they found that within a general level of income,
there was a positive relationship between minority status and participation.
Interestingly, results indicated that length of residence, home ownership,
and income were not related to block-level participation, but they were
all related to individual-level participation. In addition, results demonstrated
a positive relationship between block-level participation and several
features in the built environment, such as fewer barriers on residents'
property and greater street width and lighting. The results demonstrated
no relationship between reported crime and collective participation or
between fear of crime, perceived crime problems, and informal social control
and participation. However, there was a positive relationship between
other social climate scales and participation, including neighboring,
perceived incivilities, block satisfaction, and perceived block association
efficacy. Finally, several factors of the transient environment were related
to participation such as: evidence of dogs (positively associated) and
exterior maintenance and tress, shrubbery, and gardens (unexpectedly negatively
associated). There was no relationship between objective incivilities,
such a slitter and graffiti, and participation. In conclusion, this study
suggests that aspects of a community's social and physical environment
are more important for participation at the block-level than demographic
attributes or crime-related problems, perceptions, or fears.
The authors also discuss the concept of empowerment. They note that Zimmerman
and Rappaport (1988) try to distinguish psychological empowerment from
other collective levels of empowerment by defining psychological empowerment
as "the connection between a sense of personal competence, a desire for,
and a willingness to take action in the public domain" (p. 725). The authors
point out that although Zimmerman and Rappaport explore citizen participation
as a predictor of psychological empowerment, and although their empowerment
measure encompasses political efficacy and civic duty in addition to cognitive
and personality factors, their approach appears to be primarily an individualistic
psychological orientation, instead of a community psychological or ecological
orientation. These authors highlight the importance of understanding that
empowerment happens in a context. The following passage highlights their
view of empowerment:
On theoretical grounds alone however, we feel that empowerment,
even at the psychological level, should have a clear communitarian,
or collectivist orientation. This would have the conceptual benefit
of distinguishing empowerment from self-efficacy and internal focus
of control. It might also have the practical benefit of focusing interventions
on collective action, which is likely to be more effective than individual
action in solving collective problems. pg. 108 |
Perkins, D. D., Brown, B. B., & Taylor,
R. B. (1996). The ecology of empowerment: Predicting participation in
community organizations. Journal of Social Issues, 52 (1), 85 - 110.
Perkins, Brown, and Taylor discuss the community empowerment model of
grassroots organizing. They highlight the three kinds of grassroots organizing
identified by Kahn (1991), including 1) labor organizing, 2) issue or
advocacy organizing, and 3) community organizing. In addition, Kahn suggests
that one of the biggest challenges faced by grassroots organizing is obtaining
and maintaining active participation.
Perkins, Brown, and Taylor also consider how citizen participation and
empowerment are very closely associated. They discuss the ecology of community
grassroots participation and empowerment, and they explore several factors
that might predict participation. The current study separates community
predictors of participation into social, economic, and physical environmental
attributes and addresses issues concerning the stability of these attributes.
Factors that are generally stable include the built environment and economic
and demographic attributes of the community. These factors shape the more
transient characteristics of the environment and social climate, including
residents' behaviors, perceptions, and attitudes.
Perkins, Brown, and Taylor posit that social and community psychological
characteristics influence the development of community organizations.
Based on the work of Perkins, Florin, Rich, Wandersman, and Chavis (1990),
these researchers developed a model containing five major clusters of
predictor variables. The first cluster involves the physical environment,
which contains distal and relatively correlates (e.g., architectural features
and features of the built environment), and more proximal and transient
factors (e.g., incivilities such aslitter, vandalism, etc.). The second
cluster of variables includes the economic factors, such as income, and
home ownership. The third cluster comprises social demographics, such
as race and length of residence. The fourth cluster involves community
cognitions (e.g., sense of community), and the fifth cluster involves
community behaviors (e.g., volunteering), both of which are the most proximal
variables affecting participation.
Perkins, Brown, and Taylor explored data from three studies: one in Salt
Lake City, one in Baltimore, and one in New York city. They investigated
resident survey data and observational ratings of the physical environment
to determine predictors of participation in grassroots community organizations.
Their results demonstrated that the cluster of physical environment factors
predicted participation in nine out of 11 analyses. The cluster of economic
environment factors predicted participation in six out of 11 analyses,
and the cluster of social demographics predicted participation in four
out of 11 analyses. The cluster of social cognition factors predicted
participation in eight out of 11 analyses, and the cluster of social behaviors
predicted participation in eight out of 11 analyses. It is interesting
to note that crime victimization and perceptions and fears about crime
did not predict participation in any of the cities. There was a positive
relationship between community focused social cognitions and behaviors
at the individual and block levels. Across all three cities, informal
neighboring and involvement in community organizations (such as religion)
consistently predicted participation, suggesting that people who are more
involved in helping their neighbors are generally more involved in grassroots
community issues.
Putnam, Robert D. 1995 "Bowling Alone: America's
Declining Social Capital. Current, Nos. 373, pp: 3-10.
The classic Putnam piece that gained the attention of America's mass media
by focusing on the decline in blue collar bowling as evidence that we
are losing our capacity to socialize and interact with a purpose, albeit
recreation. In fact, Putnam's piece shows a variety of other indicators,
all pointing to the conclusion that we are indeed experiencing a dramatic
decline in our civic culture.
Senge, Peter M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline The
Art & Practice of The Learning Organization. New York: Currency Doubleday.
Although written from a business perspective, the concepts of learning
organizations as presented in The Fifth Discipline are applicable to any
group working toward a common goal ie. a collaboration. Senge's five component
technologies, Systems Thinking, Personal Mastery, Mental Models, Building
Shared Vision and Team Learning, are developed separately yet prove critical
to the others success. These five elements provide the blueprints for
an organization where people expand their capacity to create the results
they truly desire, where unconstrained thinking is nurtured and where
the participants are allowed and encouraged to learn together.
Implications for CYFAR
As the Targeted Community Projects within the CYFAR Initiative often involve
collaborative groups in the planning, development and implementation of
their goals, the adoption of Senge's principles could enhance their work.
Senge, P. M., Kleiner, A., Roberts, C., Ross, R.,
Smith, B. (1994). The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook. New York: Doubleday.
Written as a companion to The Fifth Discipline, The Fieldbook is a practical
guide which provides the user with tools and methods, stories and reflections,
guiding ideas, and exercised and resources which have been used in the
field by organizations attempting to redefine themselves.
Application to CYFAR
Practical tools and stories are provided which can be studied
and adapted by the collaborative groups working in CYFAR Targeted Community
Projects to assist in the development of: Systems Thinking, Personal Mastery,
Mental Models, Shared Vision, and Team Learning.
Sippanen, P., Bloomberg, L., Ingram, D., & Hirsch,
J. (1996). Collaborative Initiatives to Develop Integrated Services for
Children and Families: An Outcome Evaluation Resource Manual. Minneapolis,
MN: Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI).
Contains many useful tools for assessing organizational
and systemic change including a list of broad evaluation questions, examples
of key elements of collaborative initiatives focused on children and families.
Smith, P., & Bell, C. H. (1996). Structure-construction
of a coalition (On-line). Available:
http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ohioline/lines/kids.html#COALI
The authors define structure as the form through which a collaboration
accomplishes its mission. In forming a coalition the following questions
should be kept in mind/answered.
1. What do you want to achieve?
2. Who can help or hurt your efforts?
3. What are the rewards for joining a coalition?
4. What action is needed to meet the objectives?
As a general rule the collaboration should be structured to:
1. involve all key players
2. choose a realistic strategy
3. establish a shared vision
4. agree to disagree in the process
5. make promises that can be kept
6. build ownership at all levels
7. institutionalize change
8. publicize successes
I. Who Should Initiate a Coalition?
1. persons who can demonstrate their credibility and commitment
2. those capable of developing loyalty to the core group
3. must be strong enough to cope with competing pressures form their organization
4. those who complement each other but are not necessarily similar
II. Support For The Coalition -
A. factors likely to influence:
1. information
2. visibility with community leadership and the press
3. numbers of people involved and amount of widespread coordinated activity
B. suggestions:
1. solicit support form state and local policy making boards
2. obtain agreement on plans
3. develop awareness of services within a agency and community
4. involve officials in problem solving
5. seek advice and evaluation
6. share planning, implementation and local support received
7. ask elected officials to endorse policies and plans
III. Who should Belong To The Coalition?
1. resource people
2. agency administrators
3. youth (critical)
4. people who have traits like: patience, persistence, initiative, flexibility,
risk- taking, empathy, self-assurance and self-realization
5. groups and persons likely to be affected either affirmatively or negatively
by issues taken
6. interested and civic minded groups
IV. How To Recruit Members:
A. Be prepared to discuss:
1. the relationship of the coalition to issues or activities already undertaken
or contemplated by the organization
2. evidence that the issue to be pursued by the coalition is best served
through a coalition rather than through other existing organizational
efforts.
3. the immediate and long-range consequences for the public, government,
beneficiaries and so forth
4. the specific impact the organization is likely to experience because
of the coalition effort and the effect it will have on the coalition
5. the major decisions that must be made about the coalition and it's
goals.
6. an assessment of the resources (staff, financial, in-kind) available
to and necessary for the coalition to function adequately
V. Keeping Momentum
1. have a governing board that establishes policy and generates funds
2. maintain credibility - board should represent the focused-on segments
of the community
3. form committees to oversee coalition's projects
4. committee's may enlist help of additional participants/volunteers
VII. Formal vs. Informal Coalitions
1. decide whether coalition will be cooperative or collaborative in nature
a. collaborative strategy: where
need and intent is to change way
services are designed and delivered throughout the
system
b. types of collaborative
missions:
1. service oriented - direct services provided
2. system oriented - efforts targeted at improvement
3. dual mission - encompasses both service and system initiatives
4. service collaborations - more easily accomplished goals
5. system collaborations - long term process
VII. Maintaining The Coalition
1. essential condition is flexibility
2. common reasons for disintegration:
a. failure to keep members informed - lack of information sharing
b. lack of interim rewards for members
c. loss of key leaders - need more than one leader, diffusion of power
d. irreconcilable splits over coalition's direction
e. inability to adapt
f. too long a delay in goal achievement
Smith, B., Miller, A.W., Archer, T., & Hague, C. (1996). Working with
diverse cultures (On-line). Available: http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ohioline/bc-fact/0014.html
I. Culturally Diverse Coalitions
A. Diversity: the human differences that play an important part in the
culture and operation of organizations.
1. Dimensions of diversity:
a. Age
b. Educational background
c. Ethnicity
d. Family status
e. Gender
f. Income
g. Military experience
h. National, regional, or other geographic areas of origin
I. Ownership of property and assets
j. Physical and mental ability
k. Race
l. Sexual orientation
m. Social class
n. Spiritual practice
o. Work experience
B. Culture of an organization: includes customs, assumptions, beliefs,
values, rules, norms, practices, arts and skills which define/guide members
about:
1. Reasons organizations should exist
2. How it's work should be conducted
3. The rules of membership
4. How to relate to others within and outside the organization
C. Prejudices: negative personal attitudes toward a member(s) of a cultural
group
D. Discrimination: observable adverse behavior toward a member(s) of a
cultural group which leads to denial of recognition, power, and privilege
1. Requires prejudice
2. Is brought about by organizational or dominant group power
E. Heterogeneous group/culturally diverse
1. Can work together effectively on mutual goals and objectives through
consensus and cooperation
2. Is composed of representatives of the cultures living in an area or
community
3. Critical to consider varied beliefs:
a. Between cultures
b. Within Cultures II.
Making the most of diversity
1. Make a concerted effort to become aware of the dimensions of diversity
in your organization
2. Acknowledge that there are differences between individuals and between
groups
3. Talk openly about cultural diversity
4. Remember in discussions that:
a. It is difficult not to resort to stereotypes
b. In reality stereotypes do not exist
c. No person is exactly like another person
d. No individual is a clone of another member
of a group
e. As diversity increases so does the complexity
of communication and the necessity
of it's improvement
5. Cultural diversity means not simply tolerance but nurturance of differences
6. A variety of skills, ideas, talents and knowledge are desirable attributes
7. It is often easier to change behavior than deep-seated attitudes
8. A coalition must mirror the community it serves to be successful
III. Factors that impact the extent to which diverse cultures interact
with existing cultures:
1. The reason for immigration: what was sought/left behind
2. The place of residence, an ethnic or non-ethnic neighborhood
3. The socioeconomic status, education and upward mobility
4. The political and religious ties to the ethnic group
5. The spoken languages
6. The extent of family intermarriage with or connection to other ethnic
groups
7. The individual's attitude toward the ethnic group and its values
IV. Why coalitions should make the most of diversity:
1. Multiple perspectives benefit an organization's approach to opportunities
and problem-solving
2. They must keep up with the drastic change in status quo of the U.S.
population, labor force, race and ethnicity, and citizen status which
demands adaptation
V. Managing cultural diversity
Smith, P., & Siek, G. P. (1996). Extra resources
for a coalition (On-line). Available: http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ohioline/bc-fact/0008.html
I. Fundraising
A. Requires:
1. Good planner, organizer, manager, and marketer
2. Preplanning
3. Cannot be done in response to crisis
4. Designate a chief fund-raiser
5. Provide the chief with support, do not expect immediate results
B. Six steps to raising money
1. Set program goals
2. Inventory all your resources
3. Develop fundraising campaign with vision, cultivation, solicitation,
and recognition
4. Assess your financial and personal needs
5. Implement fundraising activities
6. Evaluate your results
II. Foundation grants, government grants and contracts
A. Foundation requests should address:
1. The nature of the problem to be addressed
2. Solution proposed
3. Documentation of ability to carry out activities
4. Financial needs associated with request
5. Evidence that effort not solely dependent upon funder's support
6. Documentation that evaluation will be made to demonstrate funding effects
B. Government funding- follow these standard sections:
1. Proposal summary - should be interesting
2. Institutional background and qualifications
3. Statement of the problem- most important
4. Program objectives
5. Methods or technical approach
6. Evaluation
7. Future and other necessary funding
8. The budget - be specific to best of ability
C. Concerns for problem solving projects in contracting
1. There are always more requests than funds available
2. Is the project realistic / within capability?
3. Period of funding may not be long enough
4. there may be limitations on client eligibility
5. Qualifications may be required of staff
6. Fiscal accounting review may be required
7. Conflicts between funder control and organization autonomy
8. Effects of the programs possible discontinuance
9. Cash flow- reimbursement delays
10. Know what you are getting into
III. Identifying sources
A. Funding sources
1. To learn about community, private and corporate foundations, contact:
foundation Center, 888 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10106 / (212) -620-
4230
2. Federal Register, published each weekday, provides information on available
grant programs: Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 -also avail. in most libraries
B. In-kind Services: (Document for auditing)
1. Space, including maintenance and utilities
2. Staffing
3. Equipment and furniture
4. Construction and renovation
5. Printing facilities
6. Transportation
7. Public relations/promotional activities
8. Recreational activities
Social and Environmental Research Institute. Sustainable Rural Community
Development Project: Outcome Evaluation Workshop Proceedings. November
1996.
Sustainable Seattle. Indicators of Sustainable Community. 1995. Very diverse
set of indicators focusing on long-term cultural, economic, and environmental
health.
Sustainable Seattle. Indicators of Sustainable Community: A Report to
Citizens on Long-Term Trends in Our Community. 1993.
[The] Aspen Institute Rural Economic Policy Program
1996 Measuring Community Capacity Building. 1996.
Workbook for community leaders and citizens designed to build their community's
capacity.
The Ohio Center for Action on Coalition Development.
(1996). Tapping private sector resources (On-line). Available:
http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ohioline/bc-fact/0016.html
I. Introduction
A. Private sector is more involved with non profit groups than ever before
B. To use the private sector effectively make them an integral part of
your program:
1. Include members of industry on your board of directors
2. Include private citizens
3. Representatives from small business
4. Use volunteers form private sector
II. Self examination- (feedback at least once a year)
A. Ask what your program is
B. Figure out where you are
C. Decide where you want to be
D. Decide what you need to get there
III. Identify total resources
A. Money
1. Eighty-six percent of Americans give to one or more charitable organizations.
2. Ninety percent of donations come from individuals
3. Ten percent of donations are form foundations and corporations
4. Corporations are more likely to give money if they know the community
is supportive of your efforts
5. Other money sources are: investment income, membership dues, earned
income form businesses, goods and services, government grants and contracts,
and program related investments
B. People
1. Are the key to all resources
2. Are persons giving their time free of charge, for a small fee, or for
payment by third party on non profit's behalf
3. Essentially volunteers
4. sometimes employees of companies supporting coalition efforts
C. Goods
1. Any personal property (excluding money and securities)
2. Examples include: office furniture, equipment, and supplies
3. Used or surplus goods
4. New products and merchandise
5. Loaned goods
6. Goods purchased cooperatively with another group
D. Services
1. In-kind gifts
2. Often overlooked because not tax deductible
3. Corporations are best contributors
4. Also, small businesses, vendors, colleges, other non profits, individual
professionals, and trades people
Winer, M., & Ray, K. (1994). Collaboration handbook:
Creating, sustaining and enjoying the journey. Minnesota: Amherst H. Wilder
Foundation.
I. The authors begin by sharing a story, of three real communities within
a state. They discuss their situations and their needs. The story is referred
to throughout the rest of the text to help the reader gain a greater perspective
on the collaborative process.
II. In the second part of the text the authors set about to define a collaboration:
they see it as the most intense way of working together while still retaining
the separate identities of the organizations involved. It is recognized
in a collaboration that each organization involved has a special function,
a critical power that it brings to the joint effort. The authors supply
the metaphor of travelers on a journey to further explain the collaborative
process and to create a framework for the rest of the book.
III. This section of the book discusses in detail the four stages of collaboration
and their relative challenges as seen on a journey. The following are
brief summary of the stages in the book:
Stage 1. Envision Results by Working Individual-to-Individual
a. Bringing people together
b. Enhance trust
c. Confirm our vision
d. Specify desired results
Stage 2. Empower Ourselves by Working Individual-to-Organization
a. Confirm organizational roles
b. Resolve conflicts
c. Organize the effort
d. Support the members
Stage 3. Ensure Success by Working Organization-to-Organization
a. Manage the Work
b. Create joint systems
c. Evaluate the results
d. Renew the effort
Stage 4. Endow Continuity by Working Collaboration-to-Community
a. Create visibility
b. Involve the community
c. Change the system
d. End the collaboration
IV. This final section of the text contains appendices, the research basis
for collaboration forming, a resource section of books and articles, as
well as worksheets for documenting progress through each of the challenges
as described in section three.
Zimmerman, M. A., & Rappaport, J. (1988). Citizen
participation, perceived control, and psychological empowerment. American
Journal of Community Psychology, 16 (5), 725 - 750.
Zimmerman and Rappaport discuss three studies examining
citizen participation and empowerment. Previous research by Kieffer (1984)
suggests that political activists' empowerment encompasses perceived efficacy,
self-esteem, and a sense of causal importance. The current research by
Zimmerman and Rappaport further explores the construct of psychological
empowerment in three studies.
The purpose of the first study was to identify four different types of
citizen participants and to distinguish each type's level of psychological
empowerment. The four types of participants included a group willing to
change personally and community relevant situations, a group inclined
to change only the personally relevant situation, a group willing to change
only the community relevant situation, and a group not inclined to change
either one. Zimmerman and Rappaport assessed psychological empowerment
with measures depicting personality, cognitive, and motivational dimensions
of empowerment. Results demonstrated that the group willing to change
both situations had higher scores in self-efficacy, perceived competence,
desire for control, civic duty, and more of an internal locus of control
than the group not willing to change either situation.
The second study used the same empowerment measures as the first study,
but in the second study participants were classified in terms of involvement
in community activities and membership in voluntary organizations rather
than by a willingness to change a hypothetical situation. The results
of the second study demonstrated that highly active participants scored
higher on all measures of empowerment except for internal locus of control,
which was not significantly different among groups, than participants
who were not very active in community activities. Participants who were
very involved in voluntary organizations scored higher on all measures
of empowerment except for mastery, self efficacy, chance control, and
powerful others, which were not significantly different across groups.
The third study replicated the second study with a group of community
residents. Again, community members who were very active in activities
scored higher on all empowerment measures other than self-efficacy, control
ideology, and internal control. Upon examining level of involvement in
voluntary organizations, researchers found that although political efficacy
was the only variable significantly different among groups, external political
efficacy, mastery, perceived competence, civic duty, chance control, and
powerful other all demonstrated scores in the expected direction, with
more involved residents showing higher scores.
The results of these three studies suggest that greater community participation
is related to psychological empowerment. Zimmerman and Rappaport state
that "psychological empowerment may be generally described as the connection
between a sense of personal competence, a desire for, and a willingness
to take action in, the public domain" (p. 746).
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