Strategic Planning
Number of unique resources found: 59
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Comprehensive Planning and Citizen Participation 
Description: This publication is designed to provide an understanding
of the comprehensive planning process
and the complementary role that citizen participation
plays throughout the entire effort.You will be
presented with content-based information related
to comprehensive planning and citizen participation,
examples of its application in real communities
across the state, and resources that will help
you work your way through the development of a
citizen participation plan for your community—a
plan that walks in lock-step with your comprehensive
planning approach.
Description: Website for the Effective Communities Project (ECP), which seeks to help foundations, donors, and nonprofits increase their effectiveness. The website provides an overview of their programs and services, which focus on program evaluation, organizational effectiveness, strategic grantmaking, and capacity building.
Preparing For the Future: A Guide to Community Based Planning
Description: Across the nation, the desire for rural and small town community and economic development stakeholders to solve local problems and reduce socioeconomic disparities is increasingly recognized by state policymakers, local elected officials and citizens. Moreover, the need to attract and retain sufficient levels of human capital in rural areas to improve the overall quality of life is often a major priority for many communities. In the southern United States, county Extension agents (hereafter referred to as CEAs), particularly those located in nonmetropolitan counties, are increasingly being called upon to provide leadership for community and economic development efforts.
The overall intent of community-based planning is to develop a comprehensive and well-managed plan that individual and associational actors can utilize to guide local community development initiatives. The process
directly engages community leaders and the broad-based citizenry in an active effort to move their community from today’s reality to tomorrow’s possibilities. With a basic understanding of community and community development, along with the techniques involved in the process of community-based planning, CEAs can become actively involved at the community level and serve as an influential resource in moving the planning process forward.
Social Psychology Network - Community Psychology Resources
Description: A webpage with links related to community psychology, including community building, community health, action teaching, service learning, and more.
– Evaluation –
Applying CYFERnet Resources to Evaluate Community Outcomes: Using Timelines
Author: Jakes, Susan (21 more by this author); Garcia, Aleta; Peterson, Donna J.; Shannon, Lisa Cassidy
Description: A bulletin that discusses applying CYFERnet resources to evaluate community outcomes. It includes a discussion of using timelines in program and evaluation planning applied to a program seeking to increase teen involvement in social action in the community.
Building & Maintaining Community Coalitions on Behalf of CYF
Author: Keith, Joanne; Margaret C. Clifford; Zongqing Zhou; Daniel F. Perkins
Description: A programming resource that discusses examples of collaborative efforts in Michigan to aid children, youth, and families; illustrates current situation of children, youth, and families; and provides a plan for understanding and action.
Clues to Rural Community Survival Workbook
Author: Luther, Vicki (1 more by this author); Milan Wall
Description: A workbook to accompany the Clues to Rural Community Survival booklet. The workbook provides community assessment tools related to the characteristics of successful communities.
Collaboration Framework: Addressing Community Capacity
Author: Hogue, Teresa (1 more by this author); Ted Iyechad; Arno Bergstrom; Richard Clark
Description: Understanding the complexities of collaboration and applying the key elements involved in collaboration increase the likelihood of achieving shared goals and outcomes. The Collaboration Framework is designed to help individuals and practitioners who are either starting collaborations, or need help in strengthening an existing collaboration. Specifically, the Framework assists people, groups and organizations to achieve clearly defined outcomes. Drawing from a diversity of people and opinions, the Framework is based on a Core Foundation of shared vision, mission, principles and values. It clarifies the Factors, both Process and Contextual, which can either promote or inhibit the effectiveness of a collaboration which, in turn, affects its desired Outcomes. The Framework can be used as a tool while developing and sustaining collaborations.
Description: This website offers a host of tools for community building, covering over 200 topics including group management, leadership development, collaboration, the arts, and advocacy. Also included are links to other community resources and information on program evaluation.
Endgames: The Challenge of Sustainability
Author: Cutler, Ira
Description: This report was created based on interviews with over 20 key informants representing foundations and community-based initiatives. Report outlines the issues related to sustainability, provides recommendations and proposes a theory of sustainability.
Evaluating the National Outcomes: Community: Process Development Introduction
Description: An introduction to process development, which is change either to the process of creating community groups or to the functioning of existing groups that results in improvement in the group's efficiency and effectiveness. It includes links to indicators and measures, overall process development tools, and sources and annotations.
Description: A list and explanations of indicators, measures, and tools that can be used to measure process development efforts to improve the creation of new linkages. This is one of the Evaluating the National Outcomes resources for community.
Evaluating the National Outcomes: Community: Process Development: Overall Process Development Tools
Description: An Evaluating the National Outcomes resource that provides information about overall process development tools that can be used for evaluation purposes.
Evaluating the National Outcomes: Community: Process Development: Sources and Annotations
Description: An Evaluating the National Outcomes resource that provides sources and annotations for process development, which is one component of community change.
Evaluating the National Outcomes: Program Outcomes for Communities: Sources and Annotations
Description: A list of sources and annotations for community national outcome resources.
Laboratory for Community and Economic Development (LCED)
Description: This is the website for the Laboratory for Community and Economic Development of the University of Illinois Extension Department. It contains information about conferences for community development, community development and strategic planning information, community initiatives and how these can be implemented in specific communities, community evaluation tools and templates for conducting community evaluations, and economic information about specific counties in Illinois. It also contains information about developing tourism resources, and numerous links to other information.
Lessons from the Field: Community Anti-drug Coalitions as Catalysts for Change
Description: This report provides analytic insights into the organization, operation, sustainability, and impact of community anti-drug coalitions across America. The study involved in-depth case studies of eight highly-effective community coalitions and a cross-site analysis that examines characteristics shared among them, such as leadership, outcomes, planning, institutionalization, and diversification of funding sources.
Non-Profit Organizational Assessment Tool: Strategic Planning
Author: Lewis, Andrew (6 more by this author)
Description: Part of a series of evaluation questions to assess a non-profit's organizational capacity. This piece addresses strategic planning.
– General Information –
Clues To Rural Community Survival
Author: Luther, Vicki (1 more by this author); Milan Wall
Description: Discusses 20 clues to rural community survival, which are characteristics of "winning" communities. Also includes case studies of 18 small towns from 14 states.
Clues to Rural Community Survival Workbook
Author: Luther, Vicki (1 more by this author); Milan Wall
Description: A workbook to accompany the Clues to Rural Community Survival booklet. The workbook provides community assessment tools related to the characteristics of successful communities.
Coping with Cutbacks: The Non-Profit Guide to Success When Times Are Tough
Author: Angelica, Emil; Vincent Hyman
Description: A list of 185 strategies for addressing the budget reductions in a non-profit, community agency. The list is drawn from a book titled Coping with Cutbacks: The Nonprofit Guide to Success when Times are Tight published by the Amherst Wilder Foundation.
Endgames: The Challenge of Sustainability
Author: Cutler, Ira
Description: This report was created based on interviews with over 20 key informants representing foundations and community-based initiatives. Report outlines the issues related to sustainability, provides recommendations and proposes a theory of sustainability.
Evaluating the National Outcomes: Program Outcomes for Communities: Sources and Annotations
Description: A list of sources and annotations for community national outcome resources.
Facilitating Strategic Planning
Author: Sharpe, Dave (1 more by this author)
Description: A fact sheet providing background and guidance for conducting organizational strategic planning.
Author: Nakazawa, Anthony ; Arlot "Bill" Hall; Anthony Garcia; Edgar Boone; Edgar Blatchford
Description: This is an excellent "how to" guide for community members who wish to effect change within their community. It provides a step-by-step approach to solving a problem, with chapters on Identifying the Issues, Building a Coalition, Making Personal Contacts, Utilizing the Media, Writing Letters, Giving Public Testimony, Understanding the Referendum/Initiative Process and Evaluating Your Progress. At the end of each chapter is an "action checklist" that outlines the steps you need to follow to most effectively solve your problem or resolve your issue.
Nonprofit Center: Useful Links
Description: This website hosts a number of links that provide a wealth of information for and about nonprofit organizations. It includes links to advocacy resources, career development resources, fundraising resources, strategic planning resources, and links to many other resources for nonprofit organizations and for people interested in nonprofit organizations.
Pew Partnership for Civic Change
Description: A website that offers research-based information on building healthy communities. The information is broken down into several topics, including building safe neighborhoods, living wage jobs, viable economics, healthy families and children, and collaborative leadership.
Pew Partnership for Civic Change: Civic Change Project
Description: An overview of an initiative designed to address tough issues that communities face, such as at-risk youth, affordable housing, etc.
Pew Partnership for Civic Change: Wanted: Solutions for America
Description: An overview of a national initiative to document and disseminate what works to build stronger communities.
Center for Urban Policy Research.
Description: Update of an excellent status of the south report. Covers a number of dimensions related to social change.
Strategic Planning for Rural Community Economic Development
Author: Renkow, Mitch; Simon K. Garber
Description: A fact sheet that discusses the need for stategic planning and briefly discusses how to conduct strategic planning.
The Planning Process and People
Author: Cook, James (1 more by this author); John A. Croll
Description: A fact sheet that offers insights about the community planning process and shares experiences to validate these insights.
Tourism and Amenity-Based Development in Rural Communities
Description: Issue brief that describes the impact of tourism-based economies on rural communities.
– Professional Development –
Building Family, School and Community Connections for Greater Program Intensity
Author: DeBord, Karen (61 more by this author); Madelyn Ridgeway, Iowa State University; Susan Jakes, North Carolina State University; Barbara Woods, Iowa State University
Description: This is the archived recording of the Building Family, School and Community Connections for Greater Program Intensity webinar conducted by the CYFERnet Parent/Family and CYFERnet Community Editorial Boards, November 16, 2010. The webinar focuses on using an ecological model to strengthen the interface between families, schools and communities and thus maximize program outcomes.
– Programming Resource –
About IFAS Leadership Development: Problem Solving in Groups
Author: Bolton, Elizabeth (26 more by this author)
Description: Part 4 of the IFAS Leadership curriculum. Describes the stages of problem solving and gives 2 processes for problem solving in groups, the Shapes model and the STP model.
Accessing Resources for Community & Faith-based Organizations Curriculum
Description: The National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) site, a program of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention provides additional links to resources and tools for “Determining your organizational capacity and readiness.”
Applying CYFERnet Resources to Evaluate Community Outcomes: Using Timelines
Author: Jakes, Susan (21 more by this author); Garcia, Aleta; Peterson, Donna J.; Shannon, Lisa Cassidy
Description: A bulletin that discusses applying CYFERnet resources to evaluate community outcomes. It includes a discussion of using timelines in program and evaluation planning applied to a program seeking to increase teen involvement in social action in the community.
Building & Maintaining Community Coalitions on Behalf of CYF
Author: Keith, Joanne; Margaret C. Clifford; Zongqing Zhou; Daniel F. Perkins
Description: A programming resource that discusses examples of collaborative efforts in Michigan to aid children, youth, and families; illustrates current situation of children, youth, and families; and provides a plan for understanding and action.
Building a Foundation for Community Leadership: Involving Youth in Community Development Projects
Description: This handbook is designed to guide Extension agents, high school teachers, or adult leaders of youth organizations in creating and implementing their own youth leadership and community development project.
Building Communities for Tomorrow
Description: Comprehensive tool kit provides directions for a community building program involving visioning, planning, and data gathering. Includes checklists and extensive resource links. Discusses five kinds of community capital: financial, physical, environmental, human, and social. Includes tutorials and worksheets to carry out, analyze, and present a community data analysis.
Building Communities for Tomorrow Checklist
Description: A step by step guide through the model programs for Building Communities for Tomorrow.
Description: Extract and Summary of a comprehensive guidebook to a set curriculum addressing purposive community change.
Collaboration Framework: Addressing Community Capacity
Author: Hogue, Teresa (1 more by this author); Ted Iyechad; Arno Bergstrom; Richard Clark
Description: Understanding the complexities of collaboration and applying the key elements involved in collaboration increase the likelihood of achieving shared goals and outcomes. The Collaboration Framework is designed to help individuals and practitioners who are either starting collaborations, or need help in strengthening an existing collaboration. Specifically, the Framework assists people, groups and organizations to achieve clearly defined outcomes. Drawing from a diversity of people and opinions, the Framework is based on a Core Foundation of shared vision, mission, principles and values. It clarifies the Factors, both Process and Contextual, which can either promote or inhibit the effectiveness of a collaboration which, in turn, affects its desired Outcomes. The Framework can be used as a tool while developing and sustaining collaborations.
Colorado State University Tri-Ethnic Center Community Readiness Model
Description: Colorado State University's Tri-Ethnic Center for Prevention Research Community Readiness Model provides a step-by-step guide to conduct community readiness assessments. The model includes the following 6 dimensions: Community Efforts, Community Knowledge of the Efforts, Leadership, Community Climate, Community Knowledge about the Issue, and Resources Related to the Issue
Description: A program overview discussing a program in which community teams visit a different community while another team visits theirs. The information gained can help them learn about their respective communities.
Description: This website offers a host of tools for community building, covering over 200 topics including group management, leadership development, collaboration, the arts, and advocacy. Also included are links to other community resources and information on program evaluation.
Community-Based Collaboration: Community Wellness Multiplied
Author: Hogue, Teresa (1 more by this author)
Description: A programming resource designed to help communities effectively plan, develop and
implement community based collaboration.
Cross-Cutting Tool Stakeholder Analysis
Description: From the World Wildlife Federation, this 8-page document defines stakeholder analysis and provides guidance on stakeholder identification.
Diverse Partners in Planning and Decision Making
Author: Parker, Louise; Drew Betz
Description: A fact sheet and five case studies on diversity and community building.
Effective Capacity Building in Nonprofit Organizations
Description:
This guide from Venture Philanthropy Partners discusses the importance of nonprofit capacity building and provides general lessons about capacity building based on case studies of 13 organizations. A practical framework (defining nonprofit capacity in a coherent pyramid of seven essential elements) and user-friendly capacity assessment grid (a diagnostic tool for measuring an organization’s strength in each capacity element specified by the Capacity Framework) is provided.
Evaluating the National Outcomes: Community: Process Development Introduction
Description: An introduction to process development, which is change either to the process of creating community groups or to the functioning of existing groups that results in improvement in the group's efficiency and effectiveness. It includes links to indicators and measures, overall process development tools, and sources and annotations.
Description: A list and explanations of indicators, measures, and tools that can be used to measure process development efforts to improve the creation of new linkages. This is one of the Evaluating the National Outcomes resources for community.
Evaluating the National Outcomes: Community: Process Development: Overall Process Development Tools
Description: An Evaluating the National Outcomes resource that provides information about overall process development tools that can be used for evaluation purposes.
Evaluating the National Outcomes: Community: Process Development: Sources and Annotations
Description: An Evaluating the National Outcomes resource that provides sources and annotations for process development, which is one component of community change.
Evaluating the National Outcomes: Program Outcomes for Communities: Sources and Annotations
Description: A list of sources and annotations for community national outcome resources.
Evaluation brief: Measuring implementation fidelity
Description: This is an 11-page brief that discusses the five dimensions of program implementation fidelity (adherence, exposure, quality of program delivery, participant responsiveness, and program differentiation). Also discussed are the importance and common methods of establishing fidelity criteria, collecting implementation data, and measuring implementation fidelity.
Evidence-Based Practice for the Helping Professionals - Selecting a Database
Description: This site includes a table of evidence-based sources and web links sorted by discipline (Social Work, Psychology, Nursing, Medicine) and client type (e.g., Teaching & Learning EBP, Children, Families and Groups, Mental Health).
Evidence-Based Program Directory
Description: Find Youth Info provides an “Evidence-Based Program Directory” featuring evidence-based programs that aim to prevent and/or reduce delinquency and other problem behaviors among young people. This online directory is searchable by keywords, risk factor, or protective factor.
Evidende: Organizational Readiness for Change
Description: From the Texas Christian University (Institute of Behavioral Research) website, a measure that can be used to assess organizational capacity and readiness of an organization to pursue programming. This particular instrument has 115 items in four scales: Motivation readiness, Institutional resources, Staff attributes, Organizational Climate
Getting the Lay of the Land on Health: A Guide for Using Interviews to Gather Information
Description: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Access Project produced this guide for conducting key informant interviews. The guide includes information about purposes of key informant interviews, who and how many people to interview, factors to consider when deciding who should conduct the interviews, and how to record, analyze, and report the results. Sample interview protocols are included.
Guidelines for program priority setting 2000-2004.
Description: From the University of Wisconsin Extension, “Guidelines for program priority setting 2000-2004” outlines an approach to statewide and county program planning which includes situational analysis, priority setting, action planning, and implementation, and evaluation. The first section focusing on situational analysis elaborates upon identification of community needs and assets, and the process of building community involvement and ownership in asset-based programming.
Author: Nakazawa, Anthony ; Arlot "Bill" Hall; Anthony Garcia; Edgar Boone; Edgar Blatchford
Description: This is an excellent "how to" guide for community members who wish to effect change within their community. It provides a step-by-step approach to solving a problem, with chapters on Identifying the Issues, Building a Coalition, Making Personal Contacts, Utilizing the Media, Writing Letters, Giving Public Testimony, Understanding the Referendum/Initiative Process and Evaluating Your Progress. At the end of each chapter is an "action checklist" that outlines the steps you need to follow to most effectively solve your problem or resolve your issue.
Description: World Health Organization’s “Health service planning and policy making: A toolkit for nurses and midwives. (Module 1 – Defining the problem)” is a 52-page guidebook that is geared towards helping nurses/midwives/health center workers identify and define a problem, use a problem solving approach to generate a solution, carry out a force field and SWOT analysis, and find, appraise, and apply evidence. Worksheets are provided to assist with each of these steps.
Laboratory for Community and Economic Development (LCED)
Description: This is the website for the Laboratory for Community and Economic Development of the University of Illinois Extension Department. It contains information about conferences for community development, community development and strategic planning information, community initiatives and how these can be implemented in specific communities, community evaluation tools and templates for conducting community evaluations, and economic information about specific counties in Illinois. It also contains information about developing tourism resources, and numerous links to other information.
Lessons from the Field: Community Anti-drug Coalitions as Catalysts for Change
Description: This report provides analytic insights into the organization, operation, sustainability, and impact of community anti-drug coalitions across America. The study involved in-depth case studies of eight highly-effective community coalitions and a cross-site analysis that examines characteristics shared among them, such as leadership, outcomes, planning, institutionalization, and diversification of funding sources.
Logic Models from the Center for Civic Partnerships
Description: The Center for Civic Partnerships explains “Logic Models” and links to additional online tools, how-to guides, and practical resources about logic models.
Mobilizing the Community, CDFS-10
Author: Brahm, Barbara (1 more by this author); Margaret E. Griffiths
Description: A fact sheet that discusses community mobilization. Specifically, it discusses prerequisites for mobilization, what is needed to mobilize a community, who needs to be involved, and strategies for mobilization.
Nonprofit Center: Useful Links
Description: This website hosts a number of links that provide a wealth of information for and about nonprofit organizations. It includes links to advocacy resources, career development resources, fundraising resources, strategic planning resources, and links to many other resources for nonprofit organizations and for people interested in nonprofit organizations.
Nonprofit Organizational Assessment Tool
Description: From the University of Wisconsin Extension, this organizational assessment tool is designed to help guide group discussion about nonprofit operations. It includes action plan examples and question checklists for: Strategic Planning, Resource Development, Board Development, Marketing, Financial Empowerment, Social Entrepreneurship, Volunteer Management, and Strategic Alliances.
Pew Partnership for Civic Change: Civic Change Project
Description: An overview of an initiative designed to address tough issues that communities face, such as at-risk youth, affordable housing, etc.
Pew Partnership for Civic Change: Wanted: Solutions for America
Description: An overview of a national initiative to document and disseminate what works to build stronger communities.
Center for Urban Policy Research.
Planning Tools: Stakeholder Analsysi
Description: From the Overseas Development Institute, this is a brief 2-page description of stakeholder analysis including types of stakeholders and ways to conceptualize stakeholders in terms of their interest in a particular project and their power to influence that project.
Results of an Inquiry into Capacity Building Program for Nonprofit Programs
Description: A report that discusses the findings from an inquiry into organizational capacity building. The report seeks to help foundations and nonprofits understand the importance of capacity building and to help them succeed in their capacity building efforts.
Self Assessment Tool for Community Development Organizations
Description: A tool designed by The Enterprise Foundation for use by staff and boards of nonprofit community development organizations to take a systematic look at key aspects of their organization’s operations, performance, and overall state. This tool covers the following organizational issues: Legal, financial management, and budgeting; Human resources; Governance and planning; Information technology; Communications; and Program management and resource development.
Strategic Planning for Rural Community Economic Development
Author: Renkow, Mitch; Simon K. Garber
Description: A fact sheet that discusses the need for stategic planning and briefly discusses how to conduct strategic planning.
Author: Wasteney, Sharon; Suzanne Johnston
Description: This presentation provides an overview of a CYFAR workshop in which presenters shared some concrete tools, principles and guidelines that can be the catalyst for sustainability of funding and programming.
Tourism and Amenity-Based Development in Rural Communities
Description: Issue brief that describes the impact of tourism-based economies on rural communities.
Volunteers and Community Economic Development
Author: Hustedde, Ronald; Andrea Freeman
Description: A fact sheet that discusses job creation strategies, how to develop a community plan of action, and issues concerning volunteers.
Volunteers and Community Economic Development
Author: Woods, Mike; Andrea Freeman
Description: A fact sheet that discusses job creation strategies, how to develop a community plan of action, and issues concerning volunteers.
– Research –
Building & Maintaining Community Coalitions on Behalf of CYF
Author: Keith, Joanne; Margaret C. Clifford; Zongqing Zhou; Daniel F. Perkins
Description: A programming resource that discusses examples of collaborative efforts in Michigan to aid children, youth, and families; illustrates current situation of children, youth, and families; and provides a plan for understanding and action.
Clues To Rural Community Survival
Author: Luther, Vicki (1 more by this author); Milan Wall
Description: Discusses 20 clues to rural community survival, which are characteristics of "winning" communities. Also includes case studies of 18 small towns from 14 states.
Laboratory for Community and Economic Development (LCED)
Description: This is the website for the Laboratory for Community and Economic Development of the University of Illinois Extension Department. It contains information about conferences for community development, community development and strategic planning information, community initiatives and how these can be implemented in specific communities, community evaluation tools and templates for conducting community evaluations, and economic information about specific counties in Illinois. It also contains information about developing tourism resources, and numerous links to other information.
Lessons from the Field: Community Anti-drug Coalitions as Catalysts for Change
Description: This report provides analytic insights into the organization, operation, sustainability, and impact of community anti-drug coalitions across America. The study involved in-depth case studies of eight highly-effective community coalitions and a cross-site analysis that examines characteristics shared among them, such as leadership, outcomes, planning, institutionalization, and diversification of funding sources.
Pew Partnership for Civic Change
Description: A website that offers research-based information on building healthy communities. The information is broken down into several topics, including building safe neighborhoods, living wage jobs, viable economics, healthy families and children, and collaborative leadership.
Pew Partnership for Civic Change: Wanted: Solutions for America
Description: An overview of a national initiative to document and disseminate what works to build stronger communities.
Center for Urban Policy Research.
Results of an Inquiry into Capacity Building Program for Nonprofit Programs
Description: A report that discusses the findings from an inquiry into organizational capacity building. The report seeks to help foundations and nonprofits understand the importance of capacity building and to help them succeed in their capacity building efforts.
Description: Update of an excellent status of the south report. Covers a number of dimensions related to social change.
The Planning Process and People
Author: Cook, James (1 more by this author); John A. Croll
Description: A fact sheet that offers insights about the community planning process and shares experiences to validate these insights.