Community Progress on Poverty, Leadership and Community
Friday, June 27th, 2008As we reach the end of another phase of the Horizons process that has been focused on capacity building, it is time to evaluate our community’s progress on stated desired outcomes of the Horizon’s project. It has been a busy and interesting process. Sometimes visible progress seems slow in materializing. However, many, many people have been working very hard and though it may not always be readily apparent, Whitehall is making headway.
The Community Development Board is evaluating our progress based on the following:
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Poverty |
Leadership |
Community |
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Building Knowledge and Awareness |
1. Building knowledge and awareness about poverty
In what ways has this community’s knowledge about poverty changed?What evidence do you have of this? Are more community members talking about poverty? What kind of difference does it make if people in your community better understand the causes of poverty? Do you see any evidence that the community understands how public policy (local, state, national) can affect poverty? |
5. Building knowledge and awareness about leadership
In what ways has your community’s knowledge about leadership changed? How do you know? Do community members see leadership as an individual or a community issue? How does it differ? Is there any evidence that more people in the community feel like they can be or are leaders? How would your community be different if more people think they have a role to play in community leadership? |
9. Building knowledge and awareness about community
In what ways is your community more aware of its strengths or assets? What evidence do you have that people are more aware of all of the diverse people who live in your community? What difference, if any, does that make? Have you learned anything about nearby communities like yours? About resources that your community can take advantage of? What difference does that make? |
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Building Skills and Mobilizing |
2. Building skills and mobilizing around poverty
What evidence do you have that people in the community feel like they can do something to reduce poverty? In what ways have community members made a commitment to reduce poverty? How does the community plan to make sure the entire community supports its plans and actions to reduce poverty? In what ways are community members working to assure low income people are involved in a poverty reduction planning and activities? What partnerships has your community made to support its work on poverty reduction? |
6. Building skills and mobilizing around leadership
What changes are you seeing in the way community leadership is exercised or carried out? How is it different? How has your community changed after LeadershipPlenty® training? In what ways have leadership skills been improved/enhanced? What is different? What changes are you seeing in the way leadership is carried out? How decisions get made in your community? What difference does the involvement of low income people make in community leadership? |
10. Building skills and mobilizing around community
How has your community changed since joining Horizons? Is your community more hopeful about the future? How do you know? What evidence do you have that community members see poverty as a community issue? Are more people involved in creating ideas, plans and taking actions on behalf of the community? What difference does this make? What new partnerships have been created (within your community, or between your community and others)? |
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Taking Action |
3. Taking action on poverty
What kinds of concrete steps are being taken by your community to address poverty? How did your community make choices about the actions most likely to have an impact on poverty? How are low income involved? How does your plan for poverty reduction link with existing leaders, groups and organizations? What other partnership will help your community carry out its poverty reduction plan? |
7. Taking action on leadership
How has your community leadership expanded? What changes have been made in who is now involved in leadership positions?
What changes have been made in the way your community recruits and trains new leaders? Sustains existing leaders? |
11. Taking action on community
In what ways is your community operating or working differently? In what new or expanded ways are people contributing to your community? How are low income involved? What structures have been created or changed that will help your community? What new partnerships have been created, and what difference have they made for your community? Have you learned anything about how nearby communities like yours are taking action to reduce poverty? Do you see any opportunities to exchange information or combine efforts in this work? |
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Sustaining Action/Creating Structural Change |
4. Sustaining action and creating structural change around poverty
What structures have been changed that will enable your community to address poverty in the long-term? How will you monitor and evaluate your community’s progress in reducing poverty? What community resources will be needed to sustain the community plan to reduce poverty? What additional resources would make a difference in your community’s work to reduce poverty? |
8. Sustaining action and creating structural change around leadership
What is your community’s plan for maintaining a strong community leadership system? How can your community sustain the changes it has already made in its leadership? What structural changes have been made in how the community does its work/makes decisions? What structural changes have been made so that your community leadership sustains partnerships with others? |
12. Sustaining action and creating structural change around community
How will your community make decisions about seeking further resources to support its plans? Is a system in place to seek, receive, monitor and report on new resources to support community work? Is a system in place to maintain contact with, or to continue to work with other communities?With your Delivery Organization? In other partnerships? What new resources have been secured to assist the work of the community? |