All key players need to be involved. Too often, a request for technical assistance comes from a staff or board member s frustration at unsuccessful attempts to resolve a problem with everyone else. For TA to work, all parties affected by a problem need not agree on the nature or cause of that problem, but they do need to share an interest in and commitment to exploring it openly and reasonably. CTAC insists that all important players be committed to and engaged actively in the technical assistance process. Part of that process, is, of course, identifying who the key players are.
Building capacity takes time.
Typically, CTAC works with a group over a period of months or even years, building skills upon other skills and adjusting emphases and approaches as the organization grows and changes. Both the amount and type of assistance needed change over time as an organization becomes better established and approaches various transitions. Technical assistance should promote networking. In addition to providing direct, on-site help, a technical assistance provider should be able to identify other groups that have dealt successfully with similar issues. The neighborhood goals and priorities that emerge from the answers to these questions should serve as a starting point for organizational self-assessment and planning.