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Dorfman, DianeBuilding Partnerships Workbook. Strengthening CommunityEducation: The Basis for Sustainable Community Renewal.Northwest Regional Educational Lab., Portland, OR.Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED),Washington, DC.1998-05-0046p.; Adapted from "Strengthening Community Education: TheBasis for Sustainable Community Renewal" by Brett Lane andDiane Dorfman.RJ6006501Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, 101 S.W. Main,Suite 500, Portland, OR 97204-3297.Guides - Non-Classroom (055)MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.Change Strategies; Community Development; *CommunityEducation; *Educational Development; Elementary SecondaryEducation; *Partnerships in Education; *School CommunityRelationship; Workbooks

This workbook presents suggestions for people who yearn tobuild strong, active, involved communities. It discusses how organizers canconceptualize networks and the practices that will help to bring this about.The guide discusses issues that arise in the first stages of communitydevelopment, beginning with basic questions about understanding the conceptand practice of community. The overriding theme explores community as arelationship among people that is the foundation of organizational andinstitutional partnerships. The guide allows persons to identify andunderstand social networks in communities, and it examines a number of modelsof collaborative networks to understand the various bases on whichpartnerships can form. It compares assumptions about what makes a strong,effective partnership by looking at what different kinds of partnershipsshould be able to do. The workbook also asks how questions surroundingcommunity development may be reformulated to include issues particular toboth rural areas and to small schools. The text should be useful fororganizing community groups, discovering who wants to commit to the process,and practicing the art of social relations. (RJM)

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U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and Improvement

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)

17This document has been reproduced asreceived from the person or organizationoriginating it

Minor changes have been made toimprove reproduction quality

Points of view or opinions stated in thisdocument do not necessarily representofficial OERI position or policy

Building Partnerships Workbook

by Diane Dorfman

adapted from Strengthening Community Networks:The Basis for Sustainable Community Renewalby Brett Lane and Diane Dorfman

Northwest Regional Educational LaboratoryRural Education ProgramSteve Nelson, Director

1-800-547-6339

Fax: 503-275-0654http://www.nwrel.org/ruraled/

Clipart provided by Art Parts""Workbook design by Gambee Hammons Creative

Permission to reproduce in whole or part for use in educational and other not-for-profit groups is grantedwith the acknowledgement of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory as the source on all copies.

The contents of this publication is based on work sponsored wholly, or in part, by the Office ofEducational Research and Improvement (OERI), Department of Education, under Contract NumberRJ6006501.The contents of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views OERI, the Department,or any other agency of the U.S. Government.

,© Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory:. May, 1998.

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory101 SW Main Street, Suite 500, Portland, OR 97204

3

The

Strengthening Community Education:asis for Sustainable Community Renewal

BUILDING' SHIPS

WORKBOOK.

by Diane Dorfman

adapted fromStrengthening Community Networks:

The Basis for Sustainable Community Renewalby Brett Lane and Diane Dorfman

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Introduction:What This Workbook Does

Chapter 1: Community Building:A Community of Social Relations

Familiar and Active Relationships

Relationships to Networks

Social Capital

Chapter 2:The Relational DesertTherapeutic State

Rural Deserts

1

Chapter 3: Collaboration = A Highly Participatory Process 17

The School

The Collaborative Process

Chapter 4:The Collaborative ProcessPeer-based Power Structures

Leaders

Complex Partnership Structures

Chapter 5: Partnerships and Change AgentsThe School As Partner

Change Agents

Process and Task Orientation

Chapter 6:The.ModelsSelf-Help

Conflict

21

29

35

Chapter 7: Conclusion 41

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Are you a community organizer? A concerned citi-zen? Do you wish to bring together diverse fac-tions in your neighborhood? Save ihe.dying mainstreet? Block an invasive developer? How do youget started? How do you bring people to the table?Get them talking to one another? Get them talk-ing? This workbook is for community organizersand for people who yearn to build strong, active,involved communities. People who have an ideafor renewal and development often do not knowhow to organize themselves or their neighborsinto social and political networks.This workbooktalks about how you can begin to conceptualizenetworks and the practices that will help to bringthem about.

This workbook walks through issues that arise inthe first stages of community development. Itbegins with basic questions about how we under-stand the concept and practice of community toexplore the premises under which we engage incommunity action.The premises that guide com-munity development work significantly affect theoutcome of community oriented projects.The pre-dominating view offered here is that community isabout relationships among people that are thefoundation of organizational and institutional part-nerships. It is by cultivating, enhancing, and active-ly participating in various kinds of relationshipsthat communities thrive and are sustained.Relationships are the basis of the broad based part-nerships and networks that strengthen communities.

We ask: What types of relationships exist withincommunities? What kind of relationship workneeds to be done to build strong partnershipsacross social, economic, and political groups?Active, engaged partnerships contribute collectiveeffort, resources, skills, and ideas to the community

V

renewal process. Partners join together to create aforce stronger than the sum of its parts.

This workbook allows us to identify and understandsocial networks in communities. We look at a num-ber of models of collaborative networks to under-stand the various bases on which partnerships canform. We compare assumptions about what makesa strong, effective partnership by looking at whatdifferent kinds of partnerships should, theoreticallybe able to do. We learn what types of relationshipscreate networks that sustain healthy communities?

Finally the workbook asks how questions sur-rounding community development may be refor-mulated to include issues particular to both ruralareas and to small schools. Why must collaborationamong partners include the school? How are rela-tionships different in rural areas? What do -we needto do to involve young people?

The ideas and activities in this book are designedto be part of the community building process andto bring out the power of relationships in commu-nity work.This workbook will be useful for orga-nizing community groups, discovering who wantsto commit to the process, and practicing the art ofsocial relations.

6

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What do we think of when we speakof "community?"

Is it basically a group of people living in the samegeographic area? Is it a group of people who sharecommon values, ideas, and beliefs about the world?

Community is often defined as:

a group of people with a shared locality and ashared set of common values.

However, it seems as if something is missing fromthis definition-especially when we talk about ourown communities. What is missing is a sense of thelinkages, the interrelationships, between communi-ty members that serve to identify individuals aspart of a community and allow others to recognizeindividuals as part of a community.The strength ofthe linkages in the social network is the definingaspect of a strong community.

Interrelationships: Social Networks

A community, in this sense, is constituted by therelationships in which people interact on an every-day basis.

In order for a group of people to have shared valuesand interests, they need to have the capacity tocome together, share, relate, and talk about theirvalues and interests. Social networks are the meansby which individual community members interre-late and create a sense of community. Socialnetworks are the interpersonal connections thatpeople participate in as they carry out day-to-dayactivities. Members of a community meet anddevelop relationships every day at sporting events,school, church, parks, social events, and a variety of

other arenas.The capacity to share values andinterests allows a community to develop strongbonds and a high level of trust among individuals.

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Strong community affiliation creates a sense ofsecurity, a sense of belonging that reaffirms ourexistence as social beings.

A strong community allows for diversity whileincorporating that diversity into its whole. Astrong, effective community creates a sense ofownership and responsibility for the entiregroup that goes beyond individual self-interest.

Strong social networks shape a community'sunderstanding of itself and contribute to suc-cessful community adaptation and sustainability.

The community provides "...individuals with aweb of trust and social support that is desper-ately needed in this transient, swiftly changingsociety" (Gardner, 1995).

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When social networks producelasting ties, linkages, trust, and acollection of shared values, thesurvival of the communitybecomes more important thanindividual self-interest or gain.Community members realize thattheir own personal well being isclosely linked to the health of thecommunity as a whole.

Social networks are strength-ened when members of thecommunity from different posi-tions, roles, and cultures cometogether to discuss and debateissues of importance to the com-munity. However, many commu-nities do not possess strongsocial networks.

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Communities that lack strong social networks, orlack the means to use their existing social net-works, are at a disadvantage when faced withexternal conditions that require community actionand community renewal.

What relationships anchorstrong communities?

Communities consist of, in varying degrees, a myriadof connections, interrelationships, webs of affilia-tion, and collaborative networks involving individu-als from different social roles, positions and groups.These relationships form the social infrastructure ofthe community.These connections already exist atsome level within the community.Teachers haverelationships with students, parents have relation-ships with their children, and children have relation-ships with friends. Many of us have relationshipswith the people we work with, with friends, mem-bers of a book club, or a bowling league.

However, frequently these connections do not gobeyond traditional roles and community norms.Teachers don't regularly talk to members of thebusiness community. Parents do not usually haveconversations with members of the town council.Individuals in different roles, as defined by ourcommunity and society, do not really have achance to come together and share ideas.Thismeans social networks are weaker and the com-munity is not as strong as it could be.

Weaker networks result when particular kinds ofrelationships are prevalent and others are not.Theexistence or prevalence of two types of relation-ships is a barometer of the strength of a communi-ty's social networks. The relationships are calledfamiliar and active relationships.The communi-ty's social infrastructure is weak when familiarrelationships exist but active relationships do not.Active relationships can, and often do grow out offamiliar relationships. However they grow, they areat the heart of sustainable social networks.

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Familiar Relationships

A familiar relationship is a relationship or connec-tion between community members that does notcross role boundaries. Individuals engaged in famil-iar relationships are limited by the roles they play.Relationships between friends and family membersare familiar; relationships between people outsideof families but bound by roles are also familiar. Forexample, when a parent goes to see his son's

teacher the interaction is one of parent andteacher. Identities are linked to the relation to achild/student.The parent and teacher do not inter-act as "Isaac and Fran," but as Leo's father and Leo'steacher. Familiar interactions connect a school, ateacher, a student, a parent, and the work (or work-place) of a parent in a linear connection:

Schoo0 (institution) -D. teacher -) student parent -0 parent as worker -D workplace (institution)

The teacher interacts with a student or the parentof the student, but the teacher would not interactwith the parent as a worker or with the parent'sworkplace. Familiar connections are interactionsthat do not move across individual or institutionalroles. Familiar relationships offer little chance ofinteraction between the school as an institutionand the parent's workplace as an institution.Thereis no opportunity for different members of thecommunity to come together outside of theirroles, share ideas, and build social networks.

Familiar relationships are:

Some of the most important relationships in aperson's life, such as friends, colleagues, team-mates, and associates.

Bound by roles.

As important as these relationships are, they donot support resilient, growing communities.Resilient growing communities are defined by:

Relationships that define community networks.

Relationships that enable a community to adaptin response to external and internal changes.

Relationships that contribute to the civicSense of identity, recognition, belonging,and empowerment.

Relationships that contribute to a wideranging atmosphere of trust that defines adynamic community

swe crief]edans?

List five people you know who live in your community. Describe what they,do, hOw you met, and some ofthe things you last spoke about.

Person I:

Occupation:

How we met:

What we last spoke about.

Person 2:

Occupation:

How we met:

What we last spoke about

Person 3:

Occupation:

How we met:

What we last spoke about

Person 4:

Occupation.

How we met:

What we last spoke about

Person 5:

Occupation.

How we met:

What we last spoke about-

1 04

Would these five relationships be characterized asfamiliar? Do your interactions with these peopleremain within the bounds of their and your roles?What other kinds of relationships move beyond theseboundaries and forge a greater sense of community?

Active Relationships

An active relationship is: a relationship of repeatedand significant interaction across two or more per-sons or institutions. Looking at the example offamiliar relationships we just outlined, an activerelationship would involve interaction betweenthe parent and teacher in which they left theirrespective roles and met as neighbors, friends, ormembers of a community development project;they go beyond their roles to work together.Imagine two mothers sitting at their children'sLittle League game.They sit together and chatthroughout the summer about their kids' progress,their busy schedules,books and films,developing a familiar.relationship. One daythey begin to discussplans to close thepark in which theirkids are playing andsell the land to adeveloper. This dis-cussion moves theirrelationship from familiar to active.This kind ofmovement occurs all the time and may go unno-ticed, but it requires conscious, engaged effort. Itbegins a process that may further the activity withtime spent protesting the closure, lobbying townofficials, and organizing other community mem-bers against the closure.The Little League, its spon-sors, the kids' school, the parents workplaces...etc.,become partners in an active network.

5

Is this type of relationship feasible?

Yes.There are multiple examples such as the inter-actions between the business sponsors of the LittleLeague and the players' parents. School-to-work ini-tiatives require direct interaction between theschool, the student, and the business community.

Is this type of relationship desiredor beneficial?

Yes. Communities which exhibit this type of activerelationship present the greatest potential for sus-tainable community action and renewal.

How does this type of relationship develop?

We believe that an atmosphere enabling all com-munity members to participate must be madeavailable. Active relationships can grow from famil-iar relationships or they can result when there arelocal forums through which all people can voicetheir opinions.

How do active and familiar relationships affectcommunity renewal projects?

The question of sustainable community action andrenewal is a question of how to turn familiar rela-tionships into active relationships.

What are the implications of active and famil-iar relationships for rural communities?

These relationships have special implications forrural communities because of the close knit natureof rural relationships. Many rural communitiesdemonstrate a high level of contact and cohesionbetween members from different roles and sec-tions of the community based on their proximity.However, these relationships, although diverse,remain familiar because they do not focus specifi-cally on discussions in which people are conscious-ly speaking from their role in the community asopposed to simply speaking as members of the

community as a whole. Rural people know eachother more as whole persons rather than throughsingle roles. They know a farmer as Tim's father,Jan's husband, a mean pool player, and a fine musi-cian. But these holistic relationships are still famil-iar. The tendency in rural communities to maintaincloseness and develop familiar relationships canmake active relationships seem less desired.

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How do active relationships create the kinds ofstrong, united communities that collaborate inbuilding partnerships, associations; and new insti-tutions? Strong social networks and high levels ofactive relationships between individuals from dif-ferent roles in the community tend to:

"...foster sturdy norms of generalized reciprocityand encourage the emergence of socialtrust"(Putnam, 1995).

In any community, it is necessary that there be:

"...stocks of social trust, norms, and networksthat people can draw upon to solve commonproblems"(Putnam, 1993a).

With trust, community members expect and under-stand that important issues can be dealt with by allmembers of the community and that multiple view-points can be expressed and will be valued. Itbecomes normal for diverse community membersand institutions to engage in dialogue and debateabout issues that affect the entire community.Community members also' trust community leadersand peers to include diverse members and viewswhen decisions affecting the entire community arebeing made.

A term used to describe the levels of social trustand active relation'ships present in the social net-works of a community is social capital. Social capi-tal, along with active relationships, must be at theheart of all community renewal work.

Social Capital

Social capital is a concept which has undergone arevitalization over the past 20 years. Contemporaryuse of the term originates in the work of PierreBourdieu and James Coleman of the 1970s.Bourdieu first used the term in conjunction with"cultural capital" to refer to the stocks of knowl-edge an individual acquires based through infor-mal social networksbasically where that persongrew up and who their parents and friends were.

Social capital is the resources, assets, and advan-tages individuals acquire as participants in a socialor community setting. The recent work of Putnam(1993b) and Fukuyama (1995) has extended theconcept of social capital to apply not only to indi-viduals but also to groups, communities, and evennations. This transition allows them to claim that acommunity, rather than an individual, has a certainamount of social capital. Communities "build"social capital through the development of activerelationships, democratic participation, and thestrengthening of community ownership and trust.

According to Cortes (1993), social capital is:

A measure of how much collaborative time andenergy people have for each other, how muchtime parents have for their children, how muchattention neighbors will give to each other'sfamilies, what kind of relationships people incongregations have with each other...and thequality of many other potential webs of relation-ships in a community.

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of modva ransidomships.

A way to look at all relationships in a community

A means to measure how strong the familiarrelationships such as the parent/child relation-ship are.

A means to measure how strong the activerelationships between diverse members of thecommunity are.

In essence, social capital is expressive of thestrength of the entire social network of a commu-nity. It is the strength of these social networks andthe stock of social capital that truly define a commu-nity and increase the capacity of the community todeal with internal and external problems or changes.

In the words of Cortes, Social capital implies a

"richness and robustness of relationships amongpeople, that the members of a community arewilling and eager to invest in. one another"

Rural Social Capital

Social capital takes on particular importance inrural communities. Rural communities have tradi-tionally been told that they must depend on out-side sources of economic and human capital toprovide assistance and needed resources. Ruralcommunities often lack:

A 'relatively diversified economy.

An extensive economic or social base from whichthey can draw monetary and social resources.

However, rural communities are blessed with:

Individuals who are highly motivated.

Unrecognized internal assets and resources.

The potential to build the trust, norms of reci-procity and autonomy that can unite motivatedindividuals and build a community capable ofrecognizing and utilizing both external andinternal resources.

13

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What does social capital look like? How do we know if we have it? Draw a map of a "material landscape."With yourself in the center, link yourself to several things you encounter regularly: people, services, busi-nesses, and institutions. Each link is a piece of the network of relationships you engage in and that rely onyour participation.

8

Now, with each link, write in what people thoseinstitutions or businesses represent.

How is your connection to a café or library a con-nection to a person or people? Now add a phrasedescribing the reasons you choose to visit theplace you named on the material landscape. Is apersonal connection involved in your reason?

The networks we build around us begin with ourdaily encounters. It is in these encounters that, wecreate small interactions that are the foundationfor elaborate linkages and active partnerships.

How do we create social capital?

We will look at two tools that contribute to the cre-ation and application of social capital, particularlyin the rural context: dialogue and school-communi-ty interaction.

How can we use it?

The use of social capital, in terms of trust, activerelationships, democratic participation, and collab-oration can produce real changes in the social, eco-nomic, and political life of the community.

First, we must look at what happens when socialrelationships are not nurtured or are fragmented.

15

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L--)2F s Irhe Urroarzpetedic neasWhat happens when a community is fragmentedand lacks the strong partnerships on which renew-al relies? When the local relational landscape is dryand Uninviting, communities must turn outwardfor ideas, assistance, and resources. For not only isthe relational landscape dry, but the terrain ofresources and ideas is a desert as well.The deterio-ration of local partnerships is part of a nationwidetrend towards relying on outside assistance fromoutside experts.

The irony of democratic participation over the past40 years is that while both the public (government)and private (professional/specialists) capacity toassist with and attempt to solve the ills of urbanand rural communities has risen, the capacity of ,

the actual community to help itself has declined.

Local participation has decreased.

Individuals no longer see themselves as part of acommunity of shared values and norms.

Individuals have lost "...the conviction that theycan influence the events and circumstancesof their lives or the world around them"(Gardner, 1995).

Sources of this ironic twist of fate are numerousand complex. Some researchers point to:

The rising complexity of problems facing urbanand rural communities.

The increase in.specialized knowledge neces-sary to deal with complex problems.

Inability of redistributive policies to deal withinequality (Sirianni & Friedland, 1995).

Boyte explains that "norms of the broaderAmerican culture conspire to make us into anation of clients seeking benefits. No longer arewe a nation of citizens who, see ourselves asdoing politics" (Keith, 1996).

The result of this movement toward relying onoutside assistance is the creation of a "TherapeuticState."The therapeutic state is characterized by:

The loss of responsibility or ownership that acommunity should have for itself

The "we" of community has been replaced by the"I," and the "they" by the private and the public.

Communities look for help from experts, spe-cialists, or the government to give direction andsolve problems.

Quite simply, instead of looking for internal assets,positives, and solutions within their own commu-nity, individuals seek solutions from external spe-cialists or agencies.

How does the therapeutic state look in our owncommunities? What does it mean to say we nolonger seek or recognize "internal assets, positives,and solutions" in our own communities?

12

CUIven do me seek gmtsncla camper-Co t© sgOuce Ilacg20 proglillems?

Describe a community issue that arose in the past six months. Discuss three ways put forth to solvethe issue.

Issue.

Solution I.

Solution 2

Solution .3

Which of the solutions relied on outside experts? Look them over and think about whether the resourcesyou sought outside your community are available locally.

If they are not available, what alternative, local resources or experts could be considered?

Alternative, Local Solution I:

Alternative Local Solution 2:

13 .-e_

Does relying on local resources and people makeyou think differently about the community issueyou identified? Does a problem, such as businessfailures, turn into an opportunity for the schooland/or other businesses to create new markets, jobskills, or economic development programs?

When We Are Not Our Own Experts

The number and complexity of the problems fac-ing communities has risen over the past 40 yearsin conjunction with a rise in the creation of spe-cialists to study, test, and provide solutions to theseproblems (Sirianni & Friedland, 1995). However,this move toward specialization has deprived com-munities of a sense of responsibility, power, andownership about their own destiny and autonomy.

The recent movement toward civic participation isaimed at reuniting communities so that they areable to turn to specialized individuals, tools, skills,and knowledge without losing their sense of soli-darity. The individuals who make up a communitymust regain trust in each other as well as trustingspecialists who have knowledge which could behelpful.A return to democratic participation, civicengagement, and the creation of active relation-ships capable of sustaining and fostering trust andcollaboration is necessary. But we must ask, Wheredo rural communities fit in the movement towardcivic participation?

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Conflict Aversion

The therapeutic state is one reason why people inrural communities may be less likely to form activerelationships. But the specific reasons rural peopleform familiar relationships also inhibit the forma-tion of active relationships.

14

Flora and Flora(1993) point outthat: "members ofrural communitiestend to view eachother withoutregard to their rolein the communitybecause of the relatively high visibility and con-tact community members experience."

As a result, community members develop a norm'of conflict aversion:

Community members do not want to offendother members or unsettle the status quo.

A community member "...risks too many rela-tionships when one disagrees in public..."(Flora & Flora, 1993).

While this may foster a strong sense of communityat a familiar leveleveryone knows each other andwatches out for each otherit is not conducive todeveloping active relationships and discussion ofimportant, and possibly 'divisive, community issues.Rural community members, following the norm ofconflict aversion, may have difficulty engaging inproductive dialogue or debate.

Rural communities need to develop the belief andtrust that it is acceptable and beneficial to engagein active relationships that isolate and transcendaccepted social roles in the community. Only inthis way can strong linkages pervade the entirecommunity. A weak web will let many beneficialopportunities slip through the gaps.

19

In sum, active relationships are relationships basedon trust, understanding, and an equal base. Moreimportantly, active relationships unite individuals,institutions, specialists, lay people, and profession-als within that atmosphere of trust, understandingand equality. In an active relationship, individualsand institutions who might never have had anopportunity, or a reason (so they thought), to talk toone another come together, communicate with eachother, and hopefully, realize that they have commonalties in some area of life or in their community

Members of rwirel communiths%egad, to view each other

withowt regard. to thcar raaLa the commaniaity bemuse ofthe rektAveny v'AsErdlity

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Collaboration among members in a community isthe active relationship necessary for democraticparticipation. Such a collaboration not only buildsa culture of trust and brings the "we" of communi-ty back into the political dialogue, it allows for thecreation and implementation of new solutions tothe problems facing urban and rural communities.

But now we are back at the beginning. Perhaps wehave begun to answer the "why" of communitydevelopment. The development of active relation-ships, democratic participation, and collaboration isnecessary because communities need to reacquireownership, rebuild trust, and become a communitybefore sustainable development can take place;

18

But how do relationships build a community? Howdo you build active relationships? The creation ofactive relationships is an initial step towardstrengthening social capital.

This first step is about: .

Bringing people and groups together.

Initiating a democratic process ofuniversal participation.

This is the initial phase of the collaborativeproCess of community development. Becominginvolved in relationships with others meansbecoming involved in the community.The processof bringing people together builds social capital, butfor this process to succeed, people must enter intoit as equals and as equally involved participants. Inother words, the process must be collaborative.

In enjoining all people to become activein their community, it would be counter-productive to approach them with apreconceived agenda such as, "Ourschool needs 50 computers, will youhelp?" Such an approach detaches com-munity members from critical phases ofcollaborative community building bypositioning the persons or group makingthe request as the leaders and spokes-people. Setting up the power dynamic ofleaders and followers defuses the poten-tial for collaboration by offering peoplethe choice of following you, if they agreewith your agenda; remaining inactiveand uninvolved or setting up their own,rival position if they do not agree withyour agenda. Even the choice of creatingfollowers is not preferable to refusals toparticipate or rivalries because followersdo not own the entire process and maytherefore see their participation as con-tingent on a particular event (the pur-chase of computers) and not as an ongo-ing commitment to the community.Furthermore, if you enter into communi-ty partnerships with one group as theleader, an irrevocable process of hierar-chy building is begun that negates thedemocratic, participatory process collab-oration must be founded upon. Peoplewill look to the leader for answersrather than recognizing their own powerto contribute to creating and identifyingsolutions to community problems.

16

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A highly participatory process demands:

True universal participation.

Interactions with community members in whichall are equally responsible for and to the processof building community.

This kind of participatory interaction can beachieved through initial Dialogues in which com-munity members come together around issues.Through open, focused dialogue, they learn what itmeans to be a member of a community.

Fundamentally, dialogues are about deliberation,inquiry, and the creation and dissemination ofknowledge. Dialogues are designed to "promotediscussion, universal participation and deepeningunderstandings as opposed to specific actions oroutcomes." There are no fixed, pre-determinedgoals.Although a dialogue is primarily a discussionabout an issue of local or national concern, partici7pants are not obligated to come to consensus or to"solve the problem." Participants are obligated toexpress their opinions and listen respectfully toothers' opinions; they fulfill their roles as listenersby suspending judgment and hearing the merits ofopposing views. Rather than judging opposingopinions, participants learn to respect the engage-ment of other people and to understand how dif-ferent people with different experiences can formdifferent views. ,

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Learning, talking to one another, recognizing mutu-ality, and respecting others' commitment engagesand invests one's own ability to listen and con-tribute. Neighbors create collective understandingson issues enabling them to make informed deci-sions and plans for actions.

Dialogue's ability to bring together diverse peoplesand diverse viewpoints is essential to the processof creating the active relationships critical to com-munity development.

To learn more about Dialogues,see the second workbook in this seriesor contact one of the three main centerspromoting it. The three centers are StudyCircles, Kettering Foundation, andNational Issues Forum.

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While Dialogues bring critical issues into an openforum, they are principally concerned with humanrelationships.When people are coming together totalk, they are forming or transforming a relationship.

What kind of relationship is being formed?

An ideal one?

On one level, the idea that respectful listening andopenness to diverse points of view must be mandat-ed in a systematized process is likely founded uponthe realization that common community interac-tions are not necessarily respectful and open.

Organized dialogue is founded on the assumption thatall people have pre-existing relationshipsno matterwhether adversarial, friendly, or tenuouswhich mustbe overcome. Familiar and unequal relationships areovercome by building active relationships.

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18

The very difficult task of working across bound-aries of social roles, wealth, ethnicity, race, gender,and occupation is facilitated by dialogue's focus onissues, no matter how contentious.

Dialogue and Collaborative Networks

Through dialogue, contact is made and collabora-tions begin. Collaboration exists when social rela-tionships ground interactions and therefore mustbe based on people talking to and working withone another. Collaborative networks build onmutual involvement to incorporate an extensiverange of relations. Rather than the network beingthe sum of its relations, it comes into being onlythrough myriad relationships.

While it is evident that any move toward, collabora-tion must begin with an initial dialogue, it is lessevident, particularly in some of the collaborativemodels reviewed below, how crucial the philo-sophical approach to dialogue that emerges is tothe foundation of any community developmentefforts. When we look at a variety of models, itbecomes clear that without an initial approachfounded on the mutual, open, democratic princi-ples of dialogue theories, sustained school-commu-nity development will be difficult to achieve.

Why "School-Community" Collaboration

The need to strengthen social capital is not initself difficult to understand.To meet the chal-lenges of continued growth and development,a broad-based, integrated network of citizensmust contribute all that they can. Less compre-hensive integration results in a weaker communitythat is less able to envision goals much less realizethem. But if all people or institutions are impor-tant, why do we focus on the school's role incommunity development?

Our work at Northwest Regional EducationalLaboratory may make us inclined to focus onschools, but only because schools are vital to com-munity survival. Thecommunity relies onthe school.The school,particularly in ruralcommunities, is oftenthe strongest (and insome cases the onlyremaining) communityinstitution. It is a gathering point, a center symbol-izing community and a resource that can, unitethe community.

What is the school?

Schools are:

A building, a learning environment, a placewhere teachers help define and impart therealm of knowledge, and a concentrated collec-tion of local youth.

Primarily about students and students are anoften unrecognized and underused resource interms of physical bodies and in terms of makingdecisions about community.

Spaces in which the next generation and thelabor force are forming.

Spaces in which teachers, students, parents,community members can meet and learn oncommon ground.

Communities need schools because communityrenewal must be concerned with:

Economic revitalization.

Defining the community as a discrete, identi-fied entity.

Maintaining continuity.

None of these goals can be met without people. Ifa community is not a place people identify withand stay in, young people will grow and leave.

Simply, if young people do not' learn to recognizethe places where they live as unique and worthyof'their concern and effort, and if they do notlearn how to participate in local job opportunities,they will leave, or wish very much to leave. If thenext generation is gone or wishing it were gone,community has little chance to continue or develop.

If we want teachers to impart knowledge aboutcommunity, teachers need the community to pre-sent itself to them as an identified, conscious entitythat wishes to become known. Many rural teacherscome from other places so the community mustimpart its identity and value to them. Communityinvolvement with teachers, teachers' involvementwith students, and all groups' involvement witheach other creates an integrated system unitingschool, teachers, parents and all local residents.

Mona off these g©i can Tosmet wAthout peoyle.

The integral role a school plays in a rural commu-nity is enhanced by a number of concrete ways inwhich schools can play a vital role in buildingcommunity networks:

Context: In a rural area, a school is a very localresource that can meet local needs as nothingelse can. Students learn science, geography, his-tory, literature...etc., through learning about thephysical place in which they live.

Linkages: If students learn about the places inwhich they" dwell, they will know their homesas historically, geographically, geologically, andeconomically significant places.They will seethemselves as part of something at once greaterthan themselves and wholly dependent ontheir participation.

1924

Authentic Engagement: If you determinewhat kind of community you want to build, theschool is the place in which it will be built; thatis where members of the community will learnthe skills they need to be productive and activein the enterprises and industries that are devel-oping.The local school is the best place to learnlocally useful skills. Community schools cannotbe teaching students skills that are only usefulin or are considered useful by non-local orurban viewpoints.

Norms: The school is the transmitter of culture(Flora, et al., 1992). People learn to be citizens ofa place when they learn what it means to be acitizen in a particular place.

Intergenerational Links: The school is also aphysical space in which people can gather.Adults can take classes or meet to play cards.

But within that space, gatherings can cross ordissolve boundaries.Adults can offer classes toyoung students, childcare to parents attendingadult education classes, ESL, or communitymeetings.The school can be the venue fordebate on local, regional, or national politicalissues, community discussions, or dialogues.

Rural community development will be enhancedby school-community interaction and engagementof students in the community. Aside from the richnatural resources, tremendous stores of skill andknowledge, and historical legacies, youth are a vitalresource in rural places.Their energy, commitment,knowledge, and vision can contribute to the devel-opment of a community that will be sustained forgenerations to come.

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What would an active relationship to a school look like?

Is your relationship to your school active?

20 25

UG=M ICCO1 /tgb`Atf'DWI PMCDECM.2)

We have now had a chance to look at why it isessential for communities to have strong social net-works as well as the two tools, Dialogue andSchool Community Development that helpstrengthen relationships in social networks. Wehave analyzed social capital as the basis of sustain-able community renewal and the result of strongsocial networks. However, it has also been notedthat the existence of social capital does not itselfensure sustainable community renewal.

P21Crit 0 8 Vq1121t doss reneN9:20 resquOrs?

How does collaboration contribute to thedevelopment and use of social capital?

Collaborative Process

Sustainable community renewal and development,in both rural and urban settings, is characterizedby a collection of strategies, tools, methods, andprocesses that fall under the rubric of the "collabo-rative process." Collaboration combines variousprocesses, tools, and methods in pursuit of twomain goals:

Strengthen and increase social capital by form-ing strong social networks, developing active,democratic participation, and fostering a senseof trust and community.

Increase the ability and capacity of the peopleto use stocks of social capital to produce mean-ingful and sustainable community renewal.

21

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#

A review of recent literature on community devel-opment theory and specific case studies highlightsfive general themes, or dimensions, of collaborativecommunity development that encompass the spiritof collaboration.

A collaborative, fully integrated, level of involve-ment and participation.

A peer-based, amateur/insider source of knowl-edge and a collaborative leader willing and capa-ble of developing peer-based, active relation-ships among diverse stakeholders.

A complex partnership structure that includesmultiple partners and multiple partnership levels.

A strong emphasis on the community as thechange agent, with particular focus on theschool as a main component, or asset, contribut-ing to community development.

26

A goal orientation that is both process oriented(building of social capital) and task oriented(utilization of social capital to attain specificcommunity defined goals).

These five dimensions serve as tools to analyzemodels of community development as well asways to critique specific efforts at school-commu-nity collaboration and renewal.

The current literature also presents a general seriesof "steps" that seem to characterize successfulcommunity development.These "steps" do notdefine a successful community renewal process.They serve only as a guide that community leadersmay use when they see fit. The process typicallyfollows the following steps*:

Step 1: Initiate the partnership/collaboration.

Identify diverse stakeholders and invite tocommunity meeting.

-Identify/select coordinator/facilitator (collabo-rative leader).

Step 2: Build partnership/collaboration.

Develop community wide, broad-based support.

Identify resources and assets.

Step 3: Develop a shared community vision.

Step 4: Develop an action plan based onshared vision.

Identify new community leaders.

Increase/maintain community visionand awareness.

Step 5: Initiate collaborative action.

Step 6: Review/renew vision and goals.

Celebrate goals.

*These steps are not requirements of successful and sustain-able community development. They are simply representa-tive of current efforts to incorporate the collaborativeprocess into community development. Further. these stepsare not necessarily linear

22

1. Initiate

2. Build

3. Develop vision

4. Develop action plan

5. Initiate action

6. Review/renew

A Collaborative Initiative that integrates the schooland community, that uses Dialogue to facilitateinteraction, will create the social capital, democrat-ic participation, active relationships, and the senseof community ownership necessary to produceand sustain renewal and development.

Collaborative processes are needed to produce:

Democratic participation.

Active relationships among diverse stakeholdersin the community.

An excellent facilitator, or collaborative leadercapable of clearly expressing the collaborativeprocess, using collaborative techniques, beingopen to all views and beliefs, is essential.

j

27

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The belief is that collaborative planning and actionwill build the social capital needed for sustainablecommunity development and the renewal of a"civic community."

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A collaborative community:

Promotes active relationships among all mem-bers-of the community

Represents community diversity: all views andopinions are welcome and heard equally.

Enables social and financial diversification: citycouncil members, business owners, communitymembers, and students meet together to tackletough community issues as equal members ofthe community; resources are received frommultiple sources in the community.

The concept of collaboration can mean differentthings in different contexts.

Community Organizations

In the context of community organizations, collab-oration refers to the creation of active, peer-basedrelationships and the full integration of all partici-pants. It represents an overarching process thatincorporates not only peer-based relationships andcomplex partnership structures, but also activerelationships and democratic participation.

Community Development

Collaboration, in the context of various models ofcommunity development integrates peer-basedrelationships and complex partnership structuressocial capital, civic renewal, and sustainable com-munity development. collaboration has a recipro-cal nature. Collaboration is the tool used to createa community vision and identity as well as themeans by which people translate the communityvision into objectives and actions.

Collaboration is the basis for sustainable corn:munity development.

Collaboration is both the means by which acommunity recognizes its hidden assets and themechanism that allows the community to usethose assets for community renewal.

Collaboration is the source of social capital andthe means to use social capital.

"Collaboration must be based on shared valueand purpose, not only between the externalagency and the community, but among externalagencies working in the same community"(Wallis, 1996).

Collaborative relationships are the basis for theentire matrix of "Collaborative Processes" neededto build sustainable communities.

Memo from all members of thecommuoity are seem Es eonally

kayortmato

The Collaborative Process links the seven stepspreviously identified to the intent to create a com-munity organization that is collaborative, peer-based, community- (or school-community) focused,and process and task oriented. Let's look at theseaspects of the process.

EP PeeT-liszed PcmierMTLICti178

Collaborative community organizations are charac-terized by a peer-based power structure. Apeer-based power structure is:

Highly participatory.

Democratic.

Diverse.

23 28

Ideas from all members of the community are seenas equally valid and important.

Peer-based power structures are the opposite ofhierarchical power structures, or what Cortesdescribes as unilateral." Unilateral power tends tobe coercive and domineering. The use of unilater-al power is that in which one party of authoritytreats the other party as an object to be instruct-ed and directed" (Cortes, 1993).

Peer-based power structures and the creation ofpeer-based, democratic relationships within a com-munity lie at the heart of the collaborative process.

Peer-based relationships facilitate the creation oftrust among various members of a community bygiving every person an equal voice and developinga shared vision based on these voices.

Commumity members we taught"how to speak, to a6t9 amdl to

engage 'Aza politics fozo themzenveson

As Cortes (1993) points out, community membersare taught "...how to speak, to act, and to engagein politics for themselves" by allowing "... ordinarypeople to engage others in conversation and argu-ments, to reflect upon their actions, and enablethem to make informed political judgments."

24

Cortes is, in effect, talking about Dialogue, or whathe calls "conversation." Dialogue as a means ofbreaking down traditional walls and boundariesand creating shared understanding, is the strategyused to create the shared vision and, ultimately,stocks of social capital.The development of socialcapital, seen as community trust and the formationof new relationships breaking traditional boundaries,replaces the I of the fragmented, "therapeutic" com-munity with the we of a community rich in socialcapital and prepared to deploy that social capital.

The community is now perceived as "...a neigh-borhood alive with activity and cross-cut withnetworks of relationships, providing a locus forinformal support and mutual aid as well as act-ing as a base for social and political action inwider arenas" (Butcher, et al.,1993). Peer-basedpower structures contribute to the collaborativeprocess by creating the locus of social capital aswell as the base for community action.The collab-orative process allows individuals to do for them-selves what they might have otherwise askedsomeone else to do.

Pavt 4i 11,eaderps

A peer-based power structure, however, does notmean that there are no leadership roles in thecommunity. Rather, a peer-based power structurerequires a specific type of leader or leaders:Collaborative Leaders.

A collaborative leader is an individual whounderstands the collaborative process and iswilling to "keep the ball rolling" at all times.

Collaborative community development "...needsleaders who can safeguard the process, facili-tate interaction, and patiently deal with highlevels of frustration" Chrislip and Larson (1994).

Chrislip and Larson, through analysis of multiplesuccessful collaborative initiatives, identify fourprinciples of collaborative leadership.

29

Inspire commitment and action

Lead as peer problem solver

Build broad-based involvement

Sustain hope and participation

Each of these four principles correspond to acollaborative involvement level, peer-based powerstructure, and a complex partnership structure.Chris lip and Larson point out, and rightly so, thata collaborative leader is a necessary componentof collaborative community development."Tacticalor positional leadership simply will not work.Someone has to attend to the roles and tasksof collaborative leadership for collaborationto succeed" (Chrislip & Larson, 1994). Peer-basedrelationships do not simply occur by chance,they require close- attention, care, and active anddirect leadership.,

This may not be what normally comes to mindwhen we think of "leadership." How do we usuallyunderstand this term?

25

Who leads?

What is the nature of leadership? How does itaffect others involved? Do you like to take charge?

Think of the last time you and your family or agroup of friends or coworkers planned an outing(a meal, .a movie, a visit to a relative). How do yourfamily or friends decide what to do on a weekend?Whether to buy a car? What to getfor dinner? Do you start by some-one saying, "What do you want todo?" Does it continue with,"I don'tknow, what do you want to do?".When you said, "I don't know," didyou really know but not want tobe the one to say what should bedone? So who decided? Did you goalong because it was easier thanchallenging someone else's plan?Did you feel as though you were being draggedsomewhere against your will? Did a casual outingend up sounding like a forced march led by a bor-ing, overbearing master?

30

11.82dOng COtrizens

Who do you think of as the greatest leader?

What qualities do you admire in this leader?

What qualities in this leader make you uncomfortable?

What qualities of leadership in general make you uncomfortable?

31

26

We may think of leaders as those in control, but inmany situations their real work is guiding, organiz-ing, disclosing alternatives, and opening the forumto all voices.

That is how leadership must work in the collabora-tive process.This is because the process involvesequal partners in what we call a complex partner-ship structure.The nature of relationships in thiscomplex partnership structure requires collabora-tive leaders and democratic participation.Sometimes the balance between leadership anddemocracy is not easy to achieve.

To achieve the balance, you 'must first form a com-plex partnerShip structure, which we look at moreclosely below..

PgirPt Os CaympllaK PsIrtnershOpMnicturfaA collaborative organization has a complex part-nership structure which is a shared, multiple part-nership that manages the community developmentinitiative.

For example, a complex community organizationmight include membership from:

The city council.

The chamber of commerce.

The school board.

Other influential business and community leaders.

Furthermore, each partner would invest time,resources, and input into community development.

Social capital is produced and used when commu-nity leaders become involved and interested in thewell being of the entire community.

A cnmplex partnership structure contributes to thecollaborative process when all, or nearly-all, individu-

als and institutions become actively and equallyengaged in the community development initiative.:

27

Pzrpt 60 1_\ ar2nd Pelt-nenUhe 2¢11©©1]

Within the partnership structure there can be anynumber and kind of partners. One critical partneris, of course, the school.The School has been frequently documented as an important and substan-tial resource forrural communities.The school is animportant elementof sustainable com-munity renewal,and, as such, needsto be a member of acomplex partner-ship structure aswell as an equal participantin the collaborative process.

Many models of communitydevelopment rely on a col-laborative process but do .

not actively include theschool as a partner.

The current literature andfield experience demonstrate that a complex part-nership structure that includes the school within aPeer-based power structure and a collaborativeenvironment will greatly enhance the productionof social capital and the, resources necessary forcommunity action.

But how is the school included? How, in general, arerelationships formed so that they lead to complexpartnerships and are part of a collaborative process?

School-community interactions may not always bemarked by mutuality and democratic participation.We must consider' how various elements of a part-nership come together:

Who directs their interaction? Who initiates thechange process?

32

gmzamco zaa

Part B g 'Mara Dote Ch2Ings[Sagan? Ala Changer andthe ChangedWhen any partnership is formed, parties cometogether and agree to work with one anothertoward a mutually agreed on goal. But who isinvolved with whom? Does one party initiate theproceedings and thereby assume a dominant rolein what is being billed as a demoCratic process ofinteraction among equals? Does the way a collabo-rative partnership is initiated affect the way therelationship develops? What, if anything, is signifi-cant about who approaches whom with the ideaof working together? The significance lies in theassumptions various parties bring to the partner-ship about dominant and subordinate roles.

It lies in the ways in which partners conceptualizethe meaning and direction of the project.

It lies .in the nature of the Change Agent which wewill now examine.

Change Agent is a measure of the relative position ofthe school within the community, and identifies thesource, or agent, of change within the community.

SX111-12

Chsimga Agamt-Agammy =madam

Community Serves School

School Serves Community

Measure of AgencyMeasure of Role

Community Serves the Schoolcommunity is change agent

Community and School Collaborationcommunity is change agent

School Serves the Communityschool is 'change agent

ISCOnOnliC Development Serves Commuiatitylimited school involvement,-

economy is change agent

Commumulty Serves the Communitylimited school involvementcommunity is change agent

29 33

Agency: The capacity,condition, or stateof acting or ofexerting power I

The change agent typology is a measure of agency:

In the various types of school community part-nerships that may be built, depending on who isthe change agent:

-the school may be the object of service; or

-the school may be the giver of service.

School-community partnerships that fall some-where in between are the most beneficial to sus-tainable community renewal.

The change agent could be:

independent, "non- community" changeagent (such as economic renewal or infrastruc-ture renewal); or

-a "community" change agent:

The community as change agent is considered to bemost beneficial to sustainable community renewal.

A variety of different community partnerships arepossible. Different community partnerships vary intheir core assumptions, focus of renewal, and posi-tion of the change agent. For example, three differ-ent possible partnerships are shown below.

Service-based School-Community Partnership

In a service-based partnerships the change agentis the community: the community uses theschool as a means to provide service (i.e. after-school and all-day child care; adult night school;community meeting center).

The assumption is that a strong school is neces-sary for community renewal and development:the school is at the center of community renewal.

Social institutions use the school as a base to pro-vide service, training, mentoring, and social andhuman services to students, parents, and teachers.

30

Service LearningSchool-Community Partnership'

In a service learning partnership the changeagent is the school: the school uses the commu-nity as a means to provide service (i.e. intern-ships; work-study; business ventures).

The assumptions is that a strong school is neces-sary for community renewal and development:the school is at the center of community renewal.

There is a structured process which originatesin schools or through professional technicalassistance. Curriculum changes are initiated byteachers, administrators, or legislation whichnecessitates service learning.

Community and SchoolCollaborative Partnerships

In a community and school partnership thechange agent is the community: the school is amain component of the community.

The assumption is that a strong school is anintegral component of community renewal butis not solely responsible for renewal: the corn-munity is at the center of community renewal.

The goal is a collaborative and democraticprocess based upon reciprocal partnerships andrelationships between all members of the com-munity: include components of service-basedand service-learning community development.

The issue of agency centers on twospecific questions:

Who is the change agent?

What is the change focused on?

The answers to these questions havedramatic implications for the success ofschool-community partnerships as well ascommunity development which may notfocus heavily on the school. Each questionshould be asked when analyzing a specificmodel of community development.

34

Part 20'27110 are thechange agents?

The School

Service learning (in which the school providesservice to the community through curriculum .and work-based service projects) is similar toservice-based partnerships in that the school isat the center of community renewal and there isan assumption that a strong school is necessaryfor success.

While service learning does not necessarily lead toa full blown collaboration process, the fact that the

:school is actively involved with the communityinstead of being an object to be treated by it leads toactive relationships and the creation of social capital.

Community. as Change Agent

Collaborative community development initiativesfocus on the community as the center of renewal,but their success rests on the assumption that thegreatest potential for sustainable development willarise from a collaborative process.

Thus a tension arisesin school-communi-ty partnerships interms of who isleading the change. -

School- communitypartnerships typical-ly view the school hitwo distinct ways:

The school is themain source orinstitution forcommunityrenewal.

An important component or community asset,but not the sole source of community renewal.

These partnerships may lead to successful collabo-ration, but when we look at who is responsible forchange and who that change is focused on, we mayfind drastic differences between the school and thecommunity in terms of processes and results.

Typioal. 28Tvies-baset,schoon-oompoolty partnerships are

those that use the sohoon as a&moos mid site to provide service

to the oommumagnity.

These partnerships tend to .create a client-basedatmosphere and deny community members theability to help themselves (Keith,1996).

In the school-based, community partnership thechange agent is the community and the school isat the center of community renewal.

The school is at the center and there is a,partnership;but the active, democratic, and collaborative partner-

' ships needed for social capital are not fully develoPed.

31

It is Important to Remember

The change agent and focus of the change con-tribute heavily to the type of collaboration thatoccurs and this may determine the success or- fail-ure of community development.

Therefore,we believe that successful collaborativecommunity development will be characterized by:

The community as change agent with theschool a main component of the community.

35

The direction of action as reciprocal betweenschool, community, business, and other institu-tional partners.

The focus of the community renewal onthe community

A core assumption that a strong school, especial-ly in a rural context, is a necessary but notsufficient component of community renewal.

A collaborative leader who facilitates a collabo-rative and democratic process, creating stocks ofsocial capital and a sense of community owner-ship and empowerment leading to communityaction and sustainable community renewal.

EP G o Z=\17ocl eerazt ease?

Process and Task Orientation

Collaborative community organization is also char-aaerized by a process and task orientation. Aprocess and task orientated initiative:

Reinforces sustainable social networks.

Enables the achievement of multiple tasks.

In

0L7

Process oriented goals maintain orenhance social networks, active relation-ships, and social capital.

Task oriented goals achieve a single task.

The ideal is for a community organization to provideboth immediate task goals and future process goals.

The best of all possible worlds occurs when a spe-cific task is accomplished and the horizontal tiesare simultaneously strengthened. Lyons (cited inKeith, 1996)

32

Collaboration, as a method of community engagement:

Creates trust and social capital among diversecommunity members (process).

Acts as the catalyst for community action (task).

Consider your community to be a system that mustmaintain itself internally by forming a common visionand building social capital.Your community must beable to adapt to changing conditions. For example,some residents might propose tourism as a solu-tion to economic instability. However, if the com-munity has a strong tradition of independence,tourism might disrupt local, values and result incommunity distress.

A sustainable community renewal process must beable to align community action necessary to adaptto changes with the internal values and culturethat define that community.

The collaborative process focuses specifically on:

Creating a strong sense of community and socialcapital (process),

which in turn is responsible for...

Promoting community empowerment and corn-munity action (task).

Generalizations on the Collaborative Process

Sustainable community renewal and development,in both rural and urban settings, is characterizedby a collection of strategies, tools, methods, andprocesses that fall under the rubric of the "collabo-

rative process." The strategies and tools can helpyou analyze various models of community develop-ment and critique current efforts at school-com-munity collaboration and renewal.

Certain generalizations can be made based onthese tools and strategies.

The collaborative process is: a conglomerate of var-ious processes, tools, methods, and steps with twomain goals:

Strengthen and increase social capital by form-ing strong social networks, developing active,democratic participation, and fostering a senseof trust. and Community

Increase the ability and capacity of the commu-.nity to use stocks of social capital to producemeaningful and sustainable community renewal.

A community development initiative that uses a col-laborative processincluding the integration of theschool and the community and dialogue to facilitateconsensuswill create the social capital, democrat-ic participation, active relationships, and sense ofcommunity ownership necessary to produce andsustain community renewal and development.

A successful collaborative community develop-ment process will contain most, if not all, of thefollowing dimensions:

A collaborative, fully integrated, level of involve-ment and participation.

A peer- based, amateur/insider source of knowl-edge and a collaborative leader willing and capa-ble of developing peer-based, active relation-ships among diverse stakeholders.

A complex partnership structure that includes ,

multiple partners and multiple partnership levels.

A strong emphasis on the 'community as thechange agent, with particular focus ontheschool as a main component, or asset, contribut-ing to community development.

A goal orientation that is both process oriented(building of social capital) and task oriented(utilization of social, capital to attain specificcommunity-defined goals);

3733

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There are three models of collaborative communi-ty development:

Self-Help.

Technical Assistance.

Conflict.

Do they involve The School or Dialogue?

None of these models specifically focus on theintegration of the school and the community orthe use of dialogue to facilitate collaboration, butvariations. of the self-help and technical assistancemodels that incorporate The School into communi-

, ty development are:

Service-based learning.

Community and school integration (communityof learners).

Service learning.

Variations of the self-help and conflict models thatincorporate the use of Dialogue to facilitate collab-oration include:

The Industrial Areas Foundation's Model.

The consensus building model.

The collaboration framework model.

Variations of Study Circles Dialogue.

How about the collaborative process? Self-help andconflict models of community development areusually consistent with the collaborative processwe discussed above.

35

l"

Purely technical assistance models (such as com-munity development through infrastructure renew-al) are not consistent with the collaborativeprocess.They will not be discussed here.

Let's look first at some self-help and conflict modelsin an attempt to tease out the significant compo-nents of collaborative network models. We are look-ing for the benefits of school/community integrationand the use of dialogue in collaborative process.

38

It will be helpful here to recall our original questions:

How effective is each model in producing socialcapital in the form of active participation anddemocratic participation?

How effective is each model in utilizing socialcapital to produce sustainable community devel-opment and active collaborative networks?

What role does dialogue play in the formation ofsocial capital and the production of sustainablecollaborative networks?

Pzt-i; 0 g Sellf-Me0p

The self-help model of community development is:

A process by which members of a communitycollaborate to create a community vision andsolve community problems.

A process that builds, or develops, the capacityof a community to help itself.

One can think of self-help as simply another wayof talking about community.The strength of a com-munity comes from its sense of ownership andrealization that they have the power to define, orredefine, their community and take 'measures toreach that vision. Self-help is, in essence, an ideolo-gy and a process designed to create stocks ofsocial capital in the community. Community mem-bers define their Own sense of community, high-light and envision where their community is andwhere they think it should be, and find internaland external assets to use to facilitate this develop.ment. Key to the self-help process is the acquisi-tion of community ownership and the develop-ment of a broad-base of support in the form ofactive relationships.The two ,guiding principles ofthe self-help model are:

That it is "...through community that individu-als come to embrace a framework of mean-ings and values that provide some overallsense of their world, and their relations andactivities with others in it"(Butcher, et al.,1993); and

36

" ...that the process by which (community)improvements are achieved is essential todevelopment of the community" (Christenson& Robinson, 1989).

So, what have we learned?

Is self-help process or task oriented?

Process.The intent of self-help is to create strongbonds, ties, and links between members of a commu-nity and use these ties to promote community action.

Is self -help externally or internally initiated?

The self-help process is frequently described asfocused on "locality developmentLocality devel-opment presupposes that community change maybe pursued through broad participation of a widespectrum of people at the local community level"(Rothman & Tropman, 1989). Locality developmentis primarily focused on increasing communitycapacity and integration through process.Characteristics of locality development include theinvolvement of a broad cross section of individu-als, decisionmaking based on consensus, and devel-opment of community ownership based on collab-oration (Rothman & Tropman, 1989).

Examples of self-help models of community devel-opment include the Consensus Building Model, theCollaboration Framework, and variations of StudyCircle groups.

39

The self-help model does meet most of the require-ments for a collaborative community developmentinitiative. In fact, much of the theory and reasoningbehind collaboration is derived directly fromself-help theories and is based on many of thesame assumptions.

A strong emphasis on collaboration, peer-basedpower structures, and a desire to recreate the "we"of community ownership through social capitalare all important components of the collaborativeprocess and the self-help model. Dialogue is fre-quently used as a method to facilitate collaborationalthough it is not usually discussed in the literature:

So are there any pitfalls in this model?

As we see it, one pitfall is the substantial emphasisplaced on the collaborative, community-buildingprocess as an end in and of itself. This raises ques-tions about the viability of the self-help model.While the process used to create social, capital isindeed an essential aspect of community develop-.ment, it is not the ultimate goal. Social capital willnot, by itself, produce sustainable communityrenewal. For a self-help model to be successful, it

37

must be able to translate the existing and pro-duced social capital into understandable and con-crete community actions.

A second pitfall of the model would be the lack ofdiscussion about, and involvement of, the school.Most of the literature on self-help, while doing anexcellent job of explaining the process used tocreate social capital, does not mention the schoolas an important component 'of community devel-opment. Community development models that do

Much of the theory mild. reamoonfithoratfiom L Eertived.

elhosotny from senf-heEp theorlse&pd. fie based ma mow of the

same mesumptfiome.

11

use the school usually focus on the school as thechange agent and/or present the school as anobjeCt to be treated and not as a member of thecollaborative process.There are two exceptions:Miller's (1995) treatment of rural school- communi-ty renewal, specifically his conception of a "com-munity of learners"; and Keith's (1996) treatmentof urban community development focusing onschool community, integration. Both consider theschool as an active participant in the collaborativeprocess, not as an object to be treated upon or thesole solution to the ills of the community.

A final pitfall of the self-help models is the ambiguitysurrounding the use of outside technical assistance.Some variations of self-help endorse the use of out-side technical assistance (leading to a client-based

40

relationship) while other variations use little or notechnical assistance (possibly leading to misdirec-tion or failure due to unidentified internal. difficul-ties). It is agreed that a successful communitydevelopment initiative must involve some type ofleader who is able to generate participation, keepan open mind, and engage the community in a col-laborative process. Chris lip and Larson's (1994)work on collaborative leadership describes how acivic leader can engage a community in a processof self-help, collaboration, and community action.

'However, most self-help theories do not properlydeal with the requirements of leadership.This is anarea that needs to be addressed.

Self-help models are extremely effective in produc-ing social capital. In fact, that is exactly what theyare designed to do. However, self-help models havea tendency to focus too heavily on process orienta-tion and they fail to use all that social capital.

Dialogue, as a component of the collaborativeprocess, frequently plays a large part in the forma-tion of social capital although it is not usuallyexplicitly acknowledged. Finally, there are only lim-ited forms of self-help that actively use school-com-munity interaction to contribute to the formationof social capital and the production of sustainablecommunity networks.

LDzt 2,g CC(DEfflkg

The conflict model of community developmentargues that community members organize arounda specific problem or project, and work to solvethat problem. The conflict model traditionallyfocuses on mobilizing a disadvantaged group ofpeople in order to make demands and change thecurrent situation in the community.

The philosophy behind the conflict approachemphasizes justice, equality and the belief that

38

resources (money, food, services) should be equallydistributed in society.The conflict model of com-munity development aims to redistribute powerand resources in a community by empowering adisadvantaged community group to actively con-front the institution or group responsible for thespecific injustice (Rothman &Tropman, 1989).

Specific emphasis is placed on enhancing socialcapital and community integration by mobilizingthe community under a single goal or conflict. Thetwo guiding principles of the conflict model are:

Community empowerment.

Redistribution of power relationshipsand resources.

The organization responsible for much of thew ork on conflict theory is the Industrial AreasFoundation (IAF) founded by Saul Alinsky andcurrently headed by Ernesto Cortes.

Is the conflict model task oriented?

The Conflict Model is both task and process ori-ented (trick question). It is task oriented in thatgroups that use the conflict model of communitydevelopment focus on a specific goal, task, or pro-ject that will rectify the perceived injustice.Theattainment of the identified goal is the motivatingforce behind the action and organizing of the group.

The conflict approach is process oriented in that itstresses that the problem should be community

41

defined and that all action and decisionmakingcome from the community group and not an out-side source.

The IAF, the foremost proponent of the conflictapproach, emphasizes community empowermentand ownership through the Iron Rule of communi-ty development."Neverdo for others what theycan do for themselves."

fls Oft igl][1211)graidup8

What do you say?

The IAF works to teach'people ".. Mow to speak, toact, and to engage in politics for themselves"(Cortes, 1993). So although the conflict approach isstructured around a specific task, or problem to besolved, the real emphasis, according to Cortes, ison "building and strengthening equal and peel,based relationships among individuals so that theyare capable of acting and engaging in politicalaction."

We'd have to say: at a working level, the conflictmodel does not meet the requirements for a col-laborative community development initiative.

The conflict approach stresses collaborationamong members of the disadvantaged groupstruggling against institutions or individuals inpower. The very nature of the conflict approach'determines that there is no collaborationbetween the disadvantaged group and the pow-ers that be. For collaboration and empowermentto occur within the disadvantaged group, a specif-ic adversary must be identified and highlighted.

39

The emphasis on task orientation, whileenabling:

Action,

Quick decisionmaking,

An immediate collaboration and cooperationbetween members of the disadvantaged group,

is susceptible to failure over time.The action takenby the community group may not be. sustainable:

42

-The relationships developed during the prob-.lerfi-oriented mobilization and organization maynot survive after the problem has been solved.

-The immediate problem may -have been solved,but the community may still lack the ability toward Off new problems.

-The adversarial relationship used to organizethe community might result in future, andmore problematic, conflict between groups.

Proponents of the conflict approach realize thatthe emphasis on task orientation is a potentiallydestabilizing component of community develop-ment. So they stress, the need to build strong rela-tionships between community members andstrengthen social capital.The IAF attempts to rede-fine political action so that it is not solely depen-dent on the completion of a certain task or goal.For the IAF, the conflict approach and politicalaction are more about building strong communi-ties than identifying a single goal or problem inthe community. Cortes states that:

"...politics, properly understood, is about collec-tive action initiated by people who have engagedin public discourse. Politics is about relationshipsenabling people to disagree, argue, interrupt oneanothei; clarify, confront, and negotiate, andthrough this process of debate and conversationto forge a compromise and a consensus thatenables them to act." (1993)

However, the majority of community developmentinitiatives using the conflict approach continue tofocus mainly on the identification of tasks andproblems while limiting development of activerelationships and social capital. The conflictapproach does produce social capital and clemoc-

40

ratic participation at the community level.The dis-advantaged group, trained in non-violent anddemocratic methods of social action, uses and cre-ates social capital as a source of political action,but the conflict approach does not fully use allthat social capital to produce sustainable commu-nity development. After the tasks are completed,the social networks organized around them tendto disintegrate.

YToposaants of the conflict"agyzoomok. ett.ese-the mad to 'build

strozag ranatAcaaships Toetwasal,

oommumity le hem eancastnenigthem. oayAtall.

The conflict approach does incorporate dialogueas a tool to develop social capital and produce sus-tainable collaborative networks. So it does containall the necessary components for collaborativecommunity development; however, greater empha-sis is usually placed upon completion of a specifictask rather than the development of sustainablesocial networks and social capital.

Finally, conflict models of community developmentdo not traditionally incorporate the school intocommunity development initiatives unless theschool is a component of the identified issue.

4 3

CIOMQ11,U2KDKI7

UliOnIcring AL avat Vgazt CgrrmonOtv

The dimensions of successful collaborative deVel-opment provide a guide to use when assessingefforts at sustainable community development.Creating and developing strong linkages in thesocial network, active relationships that cross tradi-tional role boundaries, and democratic_participa-tion that fosters a sense of community ownershipand empowerment are all important componentsof the collaborative process.

V7harre CRDSS Vg&liggunnannotv stgoci?

Do diverse members of the community talk toeach other?

Can community members debate difficult issues?

Do community members feel that the communi-ty well-being is important?

VC NIZIT CaThillMilliHrIt'y 2, CgEMLIGIIntr8.

John Gardner proposes an excellent starting pointfrom which to begin thinking about your commu-nity. This is a very simple way to begin to measurethe strength of your social networks, the extent ofyour community's social capital, and your capacityto use that social capital.

Determine who are the most influential citizens inevery segment and at every level of your city(community)in the neighborhOods, in civic orga-

41

nizations, corporations, unions, churches, minoritygroups, the professions and so on.Then ask your-self the following questions:

Do they know one another?

Have they ever met to discuss the future oftheir city?

Have they made, a real effort to understandone another, a real effort to work together?(Gardner, 1995)

When you can answer "yes" to each of these ques-tions, you not only are ready for communityrenewal, you are probably already engaging in it.

44

MUMIDOCORn,R=M .RMRIM,QM2

Butcher, H; Glen,A; Henderson, P; Smith, J. (Eds.) 1993. Community and Public Policy. Boulder, CO:Pluto Press

Chrislip, D; Larson, C. 1994. Collaborative Leadership: how citizens and civic leaders can make adifference. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Christenson, J.A.; Robinson, J. W., Jr. (Eds.) 1989. Community development in perspective. Ames, IA: IowaState University Press.

Cortes, E. Jr. (1993). Interwoven Destinies: Cities and the Nation. Henry G. Cisneros, ed. New York:W.W.Norton & Company, 295-319.

Flora, C; Flora, J; Spears, J; Swanson, L. 1992. Rural Communities: Legacy and 'Change. Boulder, CO:Westview Press.

Fukuyama, F. 1995. Trust. The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity. New York: Free Press.

Gardner, J.W 1995. National Renewal. National Conference on Governance.

Keith, N.Z. 1996. Can Urban School Reform and Community Development be Joined? The Potential ofCommunity Schools. Education and Urban Society 28:2 (February), 237-268.

Miller, B. 1995.The Role of Rural Schools in Community Development: Policy Issues and Implications.Journal of Research in Rural Education 11:3 (Winter) 163-172.

Putnam, R. 1993a. Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Press.

Putnam. R. 1993b.The Prosperous Community: Social Capital and Public Life. The American ProsPect 13(spring), 35-42.

Putnam, R. 1995. Bowling Mone:America's Declining Social Capital. ourna/ of Democracy 6:1(January), 65-78.

Rothman, J. and Tropman, J. E. (1989) Models of Community Organization and Macro PracticePerspectives.: Their MiXing and Phasing. In E M. Cox, et al, Eds., Strategies of Community Organization:Macro Practice. Itasca, IL: F.E. Peacock Publishers.

Sirianni, C; and Friedland, L. (1995). Learning and Capacity Building from the 960's to the 1990's. CivicPractices Network. (http://www.cpn.org).

Wallis, A. D. 1996. Toward A Paradigm of Community-Making Alliance for National Renewal, Denver, CO:Carnegie Corporation of New York.

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