Defining a Community Change Agenda for the

Future: Applying Lessons from Recent History

Tom Dewar and Anne KubischRoundtable on Community

ChangeThe Aspen InstituteNovember 3, 2009

The Aspen Roundtable:Voices from the Field

Combination of program documents, evaluations, and interviews/focus groups

Voices 1 (1997): Description of comprehensiveness, community building, process-product tension

Voices 2 (2002): Emphasis on capacity building and connections

Place-Based Efforts Are Here for the Foreseeable Future

Voices from the Field III: Refers to 40 community change efforts over 20 years$1 billion in philanthropic investment over the last two decades More than $10 billion in public sector investmentFuture: Stimulus package, Neighborhood Stabilization Program, Choice Neighborhoods, Promise Neighborhoods, transit funding, green jobs

Goals

• Individual/ Family Change • Neighbor-

hood Change• Systems

Change

Principles

• Community Building• Comprehen-

siveness

Operational Strategies

• Governance• Funding• Staffing• Technical

Assistance • Evaluation

Programs

• Social Support• Education/

Training• Economic

Development • Physical

Revitalization• Quality-of-Life

Community Change Efforts Vary:

The general model

How we will present the findings

1. Three levels: Individual level Community level: Includes both

physical/economic change and community capacity building

Policy and system level2. General findings3. Some keys to success4. Unresolved problems, challenges for the

future

Individual-Level Outcomes:People-oriented strategies

Put into place “best practices” Outcomes seen for the individuals who

received the services Many focused on EITC uptake (low-

hanging fruit)

Community-Level Outcomes:Type I, Physical/economic-oriented strategies

Major physical revitalization causes real change in communities

Large and/or mission-driven CDCs have effectively balanced physical with other strategies; small CDCs can’t seem to get to scale

Developers (non-profit and for-profit) are efficient housing producers and have a growing track record re: social, environmental and civic community well-being

Community-Level Outcomes:Type II, Increased community capacity

New leadership emerged New connections were made across

community residents Many organizations’ capacities were

built Community “civic” capacity increased:

organized, planful, stronger voice city-wide

Data: collect, analyze and consider implications of data about the community

Inclusive community visioning and planning process: goals to work toward, ability to take advantage of opportunities, aim for alignment

Locally-based broker/mediator: convener, organizer, network builder, policy advocate, focus on alignment

Community-Level Outcomes:Common strategies to build community capacity

Policy and Systems Change

Many attracted and leveraged new funding

Partnerships between communities and powerful allies triggered system responsiveness

Parallel policy and advocacy track to support community agendas

Keys to success: Some big themes

Clarity about goals, definition of success and theory of change

Intentionality Proportionality Valuing community capacity building Brokering and alignment

Keys to success: Effective roles of foundations

Use all philanthropic “capitals:” Financial: grants and investments Technical: access to national research and practices Civic: convening, helping to set the agenda, taking on

policy and systems change Moral: embracing equity and empowerment Reputational: ability to take risks Intellectual: learning and creating a learning culture

Not all foundations should do CCI-type work The role of national foundations should be

revisited: Local work? Field-building? Policy?

Individual Level: Unresolved problems and challenges for the future

How to attain population-level change through human investment strategies?

What is the added-value of delivering good services through a community change effort?

What do we mean by “synergy”? Is co-location good enough?

What do we mean by “overcoming funding silos”? What does it look like in practice?

Community Level (Physical/economic): Unresolved problems and challenges for the future

Can community efforts succeed in promoting economic development (beyond commercial development)?

Who, aside from private developers, should do physical development?

How to do development without displacement?

Can mixed income work, and be stable?

Community Level (Capacity): Unresolved problems and challenges for the future

How to take advantage of new forms of organizing that is reaching new and different audiences?

Community capacity-building requires staff and funding? Who will pay?

How to strengthen cross-sector alignment (public, private and community) on behalf of the community?

How to improve the evidence that increased community capacity results in improved “hard” outcomes?

Policy Level: Unresolved problems and challenges for the future

What does community level work have to do with system change? How to maximize the community-system change link?

How will the current economic crisis affect all of this work?

Racial segregation is increasing: how to tackle the race/place/poverty knot?

Thank you