Tim Cullenen, Cornell Community and Rural Development Institute
Most communities will face special challenges over the next decade. The world is experiencing major transitions. One of the most important changes is that the community is emerging as the "place where the action is". As a result, communities have to determine "what needs to be done" and "how to do it" to secure a successful future. Whether the issue is community revitalization, health care, education, telecommunications, economic development, or the delivery of social services, communities will be required to make far more complex decisions than in the past.
The purpose of community development is to empower communities to be in charge of their future. They can give direction to this effort by the pursuing the following activities:
- Building the social capacity for vital and healthy communities
- Developing informed citizen participation
- Developing, expanding and retaining a community's agricultural industry
- Developing the workforce
- Fostering Healthy Families
- Promoting Life-long learning
- Improving community services
- Protecting the natural environment while increasing economic vitality
- Promoting and encouraging the "sustainability" of communities
One of the largest problems facing many local governments is people-power. It takes extensive effort to build partnerships and coalitions for community action. In the past, many (if not most) community strategic or comprehensive plans came about from a "top down" approach, that is, professional planners or elected officials made plans and then presented them to their community. This had lead citizens to feel that they had no ownership or involvement in the goals. Without this involvement, there is little or no support for implementation or completion of plans and projects.
The Alternative -- Citizen Participation
Successful community planning comes from citizen participation.
Involved citizens must:
- Determine when their community is ready to engage in an action planning or visioning process;
- Create and organize a community planning process that is inclusive in nature; for all citizens, officials, and stakeholders, that focuses on community purpose, vision, action planning, and implementation;
- Develop follow-up strategies and provide assistance to sustainthe community's energy and momentum as it implements short-term and longer-term strategies for creating its future.
Communities have many options as to how to design their own "visioning" process. It is important to make a preliminary assessment of the issues to be addressed. Most processes are similar in nature and in the derived outcomes; and all have plenty of room for adaptation to local needs and circumstances.
The most commonly known is "charting". This process uses a core group of individuals to identify a larger working group (30 -40 people) within the community who have been identified as principle stakeholders. These 30 -40 citizens then proceed through the "charting" process - a basic SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis, consensus building and goal identification, and then action plans to achieve those goals. It is generally assumed that the process will take between 3 to 6 months - depending upon how quickly the "core" group comes together and can get the required commitment from the other participants.
Another popular process has been developed by the Rocky Mountain Institute; a model known as Community Economic Renewal. Very similar in process, the difference lies in that it encourages a broader community participation - not limiting the number of participants, but basing much of it's success on average citizen participation and hence, community capacity building. The process actively encourages community surveys, numerous meetings, small group dynamics, and ultimately, group actions to achieve the identified project's success. A significant element of this process is that it builds in educational opportunities for the participants; about their community, about issues of community development, and about economic components of the "community renewal " process. There is no set time frame - it is determined by the level of participation and commitment of the citizens.
From a visioning effort, communities or organizations will be positioned to move forward and achieve the goals and objectives they have identified. By having a clearer understanding of what they are and what they hope to be, they will have a better "road map" on how to arrive to that point.
The most critical element is to arrive at an "action plan" - a more developed idea, written down for future use, that clearly articulates the "who" will do "what" and "how".
Ultimately, it is the sustainability of the community that most important - to the organization, to the participants, and most importantly, to the citizens of the community.
Next steps for Communities
After having developed a shared vision, many groups are apt to ask "now what?"
Depending upon the identified needs, assistance can be provided to link the communities to various resources for more specific technical assistance - such as design work, small business and agricultural development, youth development, and local government issue identification.
Direct technical assistance may be available from a variety of sources including local or regional planning departments, non-profit associations, local/state/federal government agencies, and many universities and local colleges.
The Cornell Cooperative Extension / CaRDI Visioning Initiative
The Community and Rural Development Institute & CCE are developing a program and materials to support CCE educators in their efforts with community "visioning ". It is the local knowledge and commitment that helps to ensure success and buy-in from local stakeholders.
Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations are uniquely positioned to provide unbiased assistance and education to communities in order for them to pursue their goals. Educators can provide the kind of initial facilitation and organizational skills necessary for a successful visioning process and thereby assist their communities to improve or enhance their quality of life.
If you are interested in a visioning process within the State of
The Penn State Cooperative "Charting the Future" program
PSU Cooperative Extension is also developing a program for communities in