The Institute for Citizens & Scholars (C&S) is fundamentally rethinking how young people prepare to be productive lifelong citizens. A critical element of this work is engaging youth at the intersection of community and civic life. C&S' work has proven that significant civic learning takes place in after-school programs, on the sports…

This booklet is about what people say and do with regard to citizen participation. Explanations and key resources are provided for eleven techniques to obtain citizen participation: Alinsky Organizations, charrettes, citizen advisory committees, community audio and video access, community development corporations, community resource/information…

This model, developed and tested in Vermont, involved a two-day assembly using a technique concentrating on small-group dynamics to encourage productive community assessment and decision-making. Included are exhaustive documentation of an example assembly to consider options for integrating human and environmental requirements in Vermont as a…

The first rule for setting up and working with an advisory is to know that their advice is needed and should be valued. An advisory ensures that advice is received from segments of the community that usually have no voice in policy making. The purpose of the advisory should be established immediately. Familiarization with holidays, vacations,…

This resource guide is a teacher's handbook to locating persons in the community who are willing, upon request, to talk with students in grades one through twelve on subjects being taught in the schools. The guide also informs the teacher as to what tours or field trips are available and lists alphabetically 279 different topics for which…

This guide for the public provides information on ways to address homelessness within the context of community development. The following articles issued by the Homelessness Information Exchange are included as Sections 1, 2, and 3: (1) "The Problem of Homelessness Nationwide"; (2) "Ways You Can Help the Homeless"; and (3) "Building a Coalition in…

This paper is designed to assist city staffs and transportation agencies in organizing effective community involvement programs. The role of nontechnical information in the decision making process is addressed first, to help professional engineers and planners consider its importance in planning and implementation. In a chapter on value…

This guide is the first in a series of eleven generated in 1978 as the result of workshops that focused on peer training, a different approach to teaching. By sharing summaries of group discussions, the authors of this booklet hope to encourage citizens to work cooperatively within their communities to solve problems. The booklet also is intended…

The Friends of the San Francisco Public Library have compiled detailed information about its benefit book sales and presents it here as a guide for those who wish to organize sales in their own communities. The committees needed to operate the sale are listed, and the duties of the chairmen are described. Suggestions are given for collecting…

It is vitally important for all U.S. citizens to know that they can make a difference, that they can affect the futures of their towns, cities, and nation. The grass roots tradition is alive and flourishing in communities all over the country. This document proposes programs in which members of different generations work together as partners on…

In 1977 and 1978, Black Hawk College sponsored two series of community discussion forums paralleling the year's Courses by Newspaper (CbN). With the fall series, based on "Crime and Justice in America," Black Hawk became one of eleven national demonstration models. In the spring, the college sponsored "The Impact of Mass Media on…

Directed to the local government of smaller cities, this guide discusses five techniques for valid and feasible citizen participation. In each of the five selections the author describes the technique and indicates when its use is appropriate and what both its advantages and disadvantages are. The sections are arranged in order from the least to…

This training model and accompanying a handbook (see related note) are based on the University of Georgia Rural Women Project, a two-year leadership training project which tested the model in Morgan County, Georgia, and had some success in developing effective community problem solving with the rural black community in that county. The following…

Control of urban development and preservations of open space have become increasingly controversial issues in recent years. This booklet was prepared to help citizens and local officials resolve these types of issues. It is intended to provide a framework for positive discussions between citizens and local officials, and includes an introduction…

This manual is intended to help citizen groups set up their own on-the-job training activities, tailored to their own individual needs, issues, learning styles, and experiences. Specifically, it discusses planning for change in the community and program development. Chapters are written chronologically, from the first step in the planning process…