**Practical Questions for Community Builders**

**1. Characteristics of the Community**

**1A. Community Awareness of an Issue**

-   Are the objectives for our community-building project based on the
    immediate concerns of the neighborhood? Can we broaden them later
    into a more comprehensive effort?

-   Do community members understand -- and are they aware of -- how the
    issues affect them?

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### 1B. Motivation from within the Community

-   Does motivation already exist in our community?

-   Do people in our community have the interest to work together to
    address an issue?

-   Do the goals and tasks in our community building effort come
    directly from community members?

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### 1C. Small Geographic Area

-   Is the focus for our activity within a defined and manageable
    geographic area?

-   Do the people we are working with consider themselves part of the
    same community?

### 1D. Flexibility and Adaptability

-   Are community members open to change?

-   Do community norms place rigid restrictions on the methods of a
    community building process? Are there ways to remove or lessen these
    restrictions?

-   Can we switch tasks, goals, or objectives if necessary?

-   Are we stuck thinking about the issues or the process of community
    building in one way?

### 

### 1E. Preexisting Social Cohesion

-   Is there a stable population of people to work with, or are people
    continuously moving in and out?

-   Do organizations or associational groups (religious, sports,
    business, other) operate effectively in the community? Can they be
    tapped as a resource for community building efforts?

-   Are there particular groups in the community that are not well
    connected? Are there ways to strengthen the interrelationships among
    these groups so all residents can participate more fully?

-   Do any commonly held values among community members offer a basis
    for building cohesion (for example, the desire for better health
    services or education)?

### 1F. Ability to Discuss, Reach Consensus, and Cooperate

-   Do the people in this community have a history of working together
    to solve problems or help people?

-   Do any activities offer community members the opportunity to
    practice open dialogue, develop trust, and increase group
    decision-making skills?

### 1G. Existing Identifiable Leadership

-   Does the community have members who are already taking on visible
    leadership positions (scout leaders, religious leaders, people who
    organize community events)? Are these people available and
    interested in doing additional community building?

-   Does the community have a reservoir of leadership, as yet
    overlooked, in the form of leaders such as Head Start parents or
    block-watchers?

-   What would it take to involve and train people who have not taken on
    leadership positions in the past?

### 1H. Prior Success with Community Building

-   Does this community have a history of working with community
    building? Was it a successful experience?

-   If it was unsuccessful, what needs to be done to increase trust and
    confidence in the present community building process?

-   If the community has no experience, what is the best way to get
    started, taking some small steps, rather than moving immediately
    into a full-grown initiative?

**2. Characteristics of the Community Building Process**

**2A. Widespread Participation**

-   Do the people participating in the community building initiative
    represent the population? Are some groups of community members not
    involved? How will this affect problem solving and decision making?

-   Do mechanisms exist to help new participants feel accepted and part
    of the process?

-   Does enough energy go into ongoing recruitment and outreach?

-   What options exist to reach out to groups not already involved?

**2B. Good System of Communication**

-   Does communication about community building activities occur in a
    timely way?

-   Is communication a part of the overall community building process
    and not just an add-on responsibility?

-   Does the community building effort have a variety of techniques and
    strategies to reach as many people as possible?

**2C. Minimal Competition in Pursuit of Goals**

-   Do multiple community building efforts presently operate in the
    community? Do they have similar activities working with the same
    people? Is this a source of conflict?

-   Are leadership and resources in this community building effort
    stretched because of competition between groups?

**2D. Develop Self-Understanding**

-   Do community members agree on important aspects of their identity?
    Who they represent? What geographical area they represent? What
    their purpose is?

-   Do community members have a clear understanding of priorities?

-   Does a fair process exist for making decisions?

-   Do group members know what steps need to occur to accomplish tasks
    and ultimately to reach goals?

# 2E. Benefits to Many Residents

-   Do goals and activities reflect the needs of most members of the
    community?

-   Do people in the community know about the benefits expected from the
    community building activities and goals?

**2F. Focus on Product and Process Concurrently**

-   Is there a balance in our community building efforts between
    achieving ultimate goals and paying attention to the process?

-   Do we have the funding available for the aspects of community
    building that are not tied to achieving goals?

**2G. Linkage to Organizations Outside the Community**

-   Do community members have formal or informal links to people and
    organizations in government and other communities? If not, can they
    develop these links?

-   Should people from outside the community be invited to join in the
    community building effort (for example, as members of a board or an
    advisory committee)?

-   Do we have efforts going on to build relationships with outside
    agencies, political officials, the media, and funders as we are
    building relationships within the community?

-   Have we examined other community building efforts like ours, so we
    can learn from them?

**2H. Progression from Simple to Complex Activities**

-   Are the activities planned for this effort reasonable, given
    community members\' abilities to accomplish tasks?

-   Does the community building effort have both long- and short-term
    goals as a way to develop community members\' skills?

**2I. Systematic Gathering of Information and Analysis of Community
Issues**

-   Does the community building effort have enough information about the
    issues in the community to take action?

-   Would additional information about community issues help to direct
    discussions? Provide background for developing solutions? Assist in
    solving problems and developing consensus?

**2J. Training to Gain Community-Building Skills**

-   What training do participants need in this community building
    effort?

-   How can it be obtained?

-   Do participants see a need for training in a particular area?

-   What would be most beneficial?

-   Is training an ongoing part of the community building process
    (tasks, activities, meetings are considered a learning experience),
    or is it a one-time effort?

-   Do experienced participants train new people?

**2K. Early Involvement and Support from Existing, Indigenous
Organizations**

-   What organizations or groups in the community, such as religious
    congregations, parent-teacher groups, or business associations, have
    strong ties to the community?

-   How can we recruit these groups to help with the community building
    effort?

**2L. Use of Technical Assistance**

-   Could we advance our community building process faster with the help
    of an outside expert?

-   Do we want technical assistance experts to just provide information
    or a service, or do we want them to also be teachers?

-   Will the technical experts we hire support our community building
    process?

**2M. Continual Emergence of Leaders, as Needed**

-   Does this community building effort rely too heavily on the person
    who provided the spark for initiating the group?

-   What needs does our effort have for leadership from multiple
    sources, and for leaders with different styles?

**2N. Community Control Over Decision Making**

-   Do we have the flexibility in this community building effort to make
    decisions about how best to use funds?

-   What are the needs and agendas of our funders? Do they coincide with
    our needs?

**2O. The Right Mix of Resources**

-   Is the community building effort being overwhelmed by too many
    resources and not being allowed to build its internal strength?

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-   Is the community building effort at a point where it needs outside
    resources to grow?

-   Does the community building effort include an investment of
    resources from within the community?

**3. Characteristics of Community Building Organizers**

**3A. Understanding the Community**

-   Do the organizers for this community building effort understand how
    decisions are made in the community?

-   Do the organizers for this community building effort understand the
    social norms, values, and culture of the community?

-   Do the organizers for this community building effort understand the
    history of the community?

-   Do the organizers for this community building effort understand the
    demographic make-up of different groups in the community and how
    they relate to each other?

-   Do organizers of this effort understand the needs, frustrations, and
    problems facing the community?

**3B. Sincerity of Commitment**

-   Do the organizers for this community building effort have the best
    interest of the community in mind?

-   Do community members believe the organizers are fair?

-   Do the organizers spend time in the community getting to know
    people?

-   Do the organizers plan to be involved over a long period of time?

-   Do the organizers stay with the effort even through the hard times
    to help the community overcome obstacles?

**3C. A Relationship of Trust**

-   Has the organizer spent time developing relationships with people in
    the community?

-   Does the person organizing this community building initiative have
    the skills to build trusting relationships with community members?

-   Does the community organizer have the same goals and mission as the
    rest of the community?

-   Do community members trust the organizer will follow through on
    commitments?

**3D. Level of Organizing Experience**

-   What type of experience do we want a community organizer to have?

-   Do community organizer candidates for this effort have the
    experience needed?

-   Is there training or technical assistance available to fill in the
    gaps in the organizer's experience?

**3E. Able to be Flexible and Adaptable?**

-   Are the organizers able to adapt to changing situations, people,
    politics, and social climates?

-   Are the organizers and the organizations they represent flexible in
    their approach and able to adapt to the needs of the community?

From *Collaboration: What Makes It Work*, by Paul Mattessich & Barbara
Monsey (pp. 83-89). Copyright 2001 Amherst H. Wilder Foundation. Used
with permission. For more information on Wilder Foundation Publications
([www.wilder.org/pubs/](http://www.wilder.org/pubs/)), call
1-800-274-6024.