Community Building Strengthening Communities Through Education

1
Community BuildingStrengthening Communities
Through Education
2

• The best way to fight poverty and increase
  economic opportunity in poor neighborhoods is to
  invest in the kinds of social capital that
  comprise the fabric of community mutual
  assistance networks, social and economic
  relationships, public safety, and education, to
  name a few. While the term community building
  tends to cover a wide range of approaches, it has
  come to be defined by a number of important
  shifts in the practice of community development.
• William Traynor, Executive Director, Lawrence
  Community Works
• Community Building Hope and Caution.1995
  National Housing Institute.

3

• Community Building Encompasses
• A shift toward more comprehensive approaches to
  community development that involve a wide range
  of non-bricks and mortar activities.
• A heavier emphasis on community organizing as a
  strategy for identifying and developing community
  leaders and shaping the kinds of local issues
  that effect the progress of the community renewal
  effort.
• A renewed emphasis on community planning, and the
  development of a community building plan, as a
  prerequisite to development activities.
• A more intensive effort to include and involve
  neighborhood residents in the organization,
  planning, and implementation of community renewal
  efforts.
• More emphasis on making sure there are clear
  lines of accountability between the organization
  and the community that it represents.

4
Cambridge Colleges mission is to provide
academically excellent, time-efficient, and cost
effective higher education to a diverse
population of working adults for whom these
opportunities may have been limited or denied.
5
Community Building Phase One The first phase of
Cambridge Colleges Community Building program
was the collaboration between the College, The
Boston Foundation and The Interaction Institute
for Social Change to develop a course required
for all Human Service students based on the 7
principles of Community Building.
Bachelor of Science in Human ServicesThe Human
Service Major is a direct response to needs
identified by human service agencies and
providers. Our students gain a dynamic framework
within which to understand the complex needs of
families and communities and learn how they can
make a positive and meaningful impact on the
people they work with.
6
Seven Principles of Community Building(developed
by The Boston Foundation)

• Incorporate those directly affected by policies
  at the heart of dialogue and community building.
• Value racial and cultural diversity as the
  foundation for wholeness.
• Promote active citizenship and political
  empowerment.
• Build on community strengths and assets.
• Ensure access to fundamental opportunities and
  remove obstacles to equal opportunity.
• Support and enhance the well being of children
  and their families.
• Foster sustained commitment, coordination and
  collaboration based on a shared vision and mutual
  respect.

7
Incorporate those directly affected by policies
at the heart of dialogue and
community building.
People living below the poverty line are the
experts about poverty. They know what they need
to succeed, based on personal experience about
what does and does not work. They can provide
critical advice and assistance in making
difficult choices in an era of scarce resources.
To forge this working partnership, they need more
opportunities to be heard and policy makers in
the public and private sectors need more
opportunities to listen and respond.
Interaction Institute for Social Change
8
Value racial and cultural diversity as the
foundation for wholeness.
Racial and cultural diversity can ensure that a
community has access to many ways of approaching
its challenges. By deliberately involving
diverse people and ideas, community building
activities make the rich history, knowledge,
skills, and achievements of every group, family,
and individual available to the community.
Interaction Institute for Social Change
9
Promote active citizenship and political
empowerment.
No distinctions are made between people who
are U.S. citizens and other residents of a
community. All residents can take an active role
in the life of a community because a strong sense
of self-determination, active participation in
the democratic process, and creative problem
solving central to any healthy community.
Developing active citizenship and political
empowerment includes activities like
participating in the electoral process belonging
to associations, organizations, and political
parties and participating in community-based
strategic planning, research, policy
recommendations, and evaluation.
Interaction Institute for Social Change
10
Build on community strengths and assets.
All communities and their residents possess a
variety of abilities and strengths, assets and
resources. However, people often focus only on
the deficits of our communities, blinding us to
all of the inherent possibilities. Neighborhood
residents are experts on their own communities
strengths, assets, resources, challenges, and
opportunities. Residents who are aware of all of
their available resources can then build the
skills necessary to put those resources to use to
address community problems.
Interaction Institute for Social Change
11
Ensure access to fundamental opportunities and
remove obstacles to equal opportunity.
Equal access to fundamental opportunities, such
as housing, health care, food, and education, is
the foundation for strong individuals and
communities. Members of a community who do not
have equal access to opportunities must organize
and strategize to overcome the obstacles to them.
Interaction Institute for Social Change
12
Support and enhance the well being of children
and their families.
To thrive, children need a supportive family
environment bound by love, loyalty, and care.
Families, whether defined by blood relationships,
caring bonds or friendships, are at the core of
peoples support systems. Healthy families are
at the core of healthy communities. Healthy
communities provide supports that build on
strengths within families and neighborhoods.
Interaction Institute for Social Change
13
Foster sustained commitment, coordination and
collaboration based on a shared vision and
mutual respect.
Mutual respect is achieved by recognizing the
ideas and resources that people can bring to
community activities, and by involving them
appropriately in the planning process. Bringing
the right people together in constructive ways
with good information helps them to create
authentic visions and strategies for addressing
their shared concerns When community members
have the skills and tools to work and plan
together, their impact far outweighs and outlasts
what any single person can accomplish alone.
Interaction Institute for Social Change
14
Common Characteristics of Community Building

• Well-developed system of communication.
• Minimal competition in pursuit of goals.
• Development of group identity, principles, and
  goals.
• Movement from simple to more complex activities.
• Careful measurement and analysis of needs and
  problems.
• Participant training.
• Ongoing leadership development.
• Mutual responsibility and respect.
• Well defined and documented commitment to the
  community.
• Solid relationship building.
• Sense of pride and hope.

15
Cambridge CollegesDefinition of Community
Building

• Community building is an approach to working with
  communities that provides meaningful experiences
  and assistance to enable people to become
  empowered to improve their conditions, expand
  opportunities and sustain positive change. This
  is accomplished by developing, enhancing and
  sustaining the relationships, skills, networks,
  and partnerships among those who make up the
  community, and with resources external to that
  community. Resources within and beyond the
  community include individuals, grassroots groups,
  human service organizations, businesses,
  governmental agencies and others that impact the
  community.

16

• Community Building Phase Two
• The second phase of Cambridge Colleges program
  was the creation of courses for the undergraduate
  Human Services department by the Community
  Building Board. These courses formed the
  Community Building Concentration, with the goal
  of providing students with the knowledge and
  skills to work in careers related to community
  work.

17
Highlights of the Community Building Program

• First Year Of Planning (2002/2003)
• Secured funding from the Annie E. Casey
  Foundation.
• Established the Planning Board that included
  grassroots community leaders, human service
  providers, residents representing a variety of
  communities, and faculty.
• Conducted extensive research, interviews, and
  focus groups that laid the groundwork for the
  development of courses.

18
Highlights of the Community Building Program

• Second Year of Planning (2003/2004)
• Developed and implemented 50 of the courses.
• Created a city-wide Youth Council with the City
  of Somerville.
• Collaborated to develop competency-based youth
  worker courses.
• Piloted leadership courses for groups of diverse
  learners.

19
Highlights of the Community Building Program

• Third Year (2004/2005)
• Released final courses to Cambridge College Human
  Service students.
• Opened Community Building courses to College as a
  whole and to community residents.
• Held National Invitational Community Building
  Conference in Cambridge, funded by major
  foundations .
• Established a Time Banking program for senior
  citizens in Somerville, and for a limited number
  of Cambridge College students, who contributed
  time and services in exchange for a course.

20
Courses Developed for the Concentration
21
Community Building Phase Three

• Established the Institute for Lifelong Learning
  and Community Building. The Institute works with
  communities to craft specific educational
  opportunities for organizations, residents and
  workers, aimed at strengthening their academic,
  economic and social development.

22
Major Learnings of the Colleges Community
Building Program

• Higher education has a central role to play in
  community building.
• Higher education can integrate community building
  principles and practices across disciplines.
• Higher education needs to work collaboratively
  with communities in the development of
  nontraditional degrees and programs.

23
Major Learnings of the Colleges Community
Building Program

• Community building helps residents and workers to
  continually develop the skills and credentials
  needed for changing workplaces.
• The tools and processes for community development
  are developed through active partnerships and
  effective communication.
• New curricular materials, teaching methodology,
  and support services need to be continually
  updated based on community needs.

24
Major Learnings of the Colleges Community
Building Program

• Measurable and evolving outcomes must be designed
  and validated.
• New and expanded strategies for sustaining these
  efforts need to be discovered.
• Community Building requires time to be fully
  effective and to see the outcomes that impact
  people and organizations.

25
Summation

• For higher education to be effective and
  communities successful, institutions must be
  flexible and become well integrated with the
• developmental needs of those communities.

intellectual, economic, physical, and social
26
Next Steps for Higher Education

• Offer a wide range of educational offerings to
  develop well-educated and productive citizens.
• Provide the skills, knowledge and access
  necessary for success in the 21st century.
• Be responsive and flexible in addressing the
  needs of diverse community members including
  immigrants and emerging populations.
• Discover innovative ways to deliver services to
  nontraditional learners.

27

• In the Spring of 2005, The Institute for
  Lifelong Learning and Community Building was
  established at Cambridge College.

The Institute encourages individuals and
organizations to act as catalysts to transform
their lives, institutions and communities.
28
The Underlying Issues for Other Institutions to
Consider

• What is Community Building? Whos doing it?
  Where? And How?
• What is it that Community Building is trying to
  do?
• How can we refashion the relationship between
  communities and higher education to make it a
  true partnership?
• What are the critical questions relating to the
  long-term viability of Community Building as an
  approach to social and community change?
• What are the research and policy issues that are
  most critical to the future of Community Building?

29
For further information on The Institute for
Lifelong Learning and Community Building at
Cambridge College, contact Director Joel
Nitzberg, MEd, LCSW
Cambridge College 1000 Massachusetts
Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 [phone] fax
[phone] jnitzberg_at_cambridgecollege.edu
http//www.cambridgecollege.edu/community