This booklet discusses the importance of a community-wide approach to asset building, exploring how individuals, organizations, and communities can collaborate to build developmental assets. Principles to guide community asset-building efforts include: strengths versus risks or deficits, relationships versus programs, engagement with youth versus…

This booklet presents ideas based on actions taken by community leaders to recruit new and emerging leaders to join in the improvement of a community. The discussion includes: (1) asking the question "who's not here?" to make sure the community organization is representative; (2) looking for skills, not names to discover leadership…

This extension education publication contains insights and tools to help community members develop a strategic vision and action plan for their community. Presented first are an executive summary and an introduction that includes 10 reasons for a strategic visioning process. The first section, which deals with harnessing the power of vision,…

This booklet is written from the perspective that small towns can survive in changing times with the right leadership. It is intended for use by educators involved with community development or by extension educators. The attitudes and behaviors of leaders are key factors that will help communities cope with change. No longer will a town survive…

The paper addresses the importance of developing a rural community's commercial sector for economic development by providing some analytical tools. Procedures are outlined to estimate commercial sector activity in a community, to estimate commercial sector activity for various counties within a state (Nevada is used as an example), and to develop…

A new county extension agent, having community development responsibilities, will be concerned with identifying projects, organizing for action, identifying key people for the projects, and identifying the resources needed to undertake new initiatives. Three methods of community action planning are discussed step by step. The social action process…

Many communities are unaware of the power they have and are therefore unfamiliar with how to use it. This document, by the Regeneration Project in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, is directed toward helping community leaders identify and develop opportunities that will help them expand their businesses, employment, and tax base, and improve their overall…

Presenting a base of general information that local business people and government officials involved with downtown revitalization should be familiar with in order to understand the range of options available and factors that will influence the outcomes of any revitalization program, the paper summarizes current theories, trends, studies, and…

In changing economies, local leaders need guidance in collaborative, multicommunity approaches to problem solving. This book is comprised of three sections organized around the steps necessary to develop and manage a comprehensive leadership program. The first section describes the mechanics of organization. A series of questions is presented to…

Part of the Small Town Strategy series, this publication is designed to help communities decide whether further local economic growth is possible and desirable. The publication provides a discussion outline to be used to study the costs and benefits of growing or not growing. Questions are listed which should be raised by the community when…

Designed to assist individuals who need to bring information to citizen groups or decision makers concerned with community economic development, this manual uses a question-answer format to cover topics that might occur to someone just starting to build an understanding of community economic analysis. Among topics covered are: strategies for…

Community colleges across the United States have initiated programs that are making an impact on the productivity of rural America and its residents. Profiles of 20 community and technical college initiatives in rural economic development are contained in this report intended for use by community and technical college administrators. The programs…

The systematic, practical ideas presented for improving the quality of life in a community are based on the belief that people, working together, sometimes with and through local government and sometimes through the vigorous efforts of voluntary organizations and associations, can help their communities increasingly become the kinds of places that…

This workbook is primarily for use in a workshop to provide information on how land-use decisions are made in Idaho, for what reasons, and with what effect. For students, there are classroom activities that correspond to actual problems of land-use decision making, and suggestions for further study and investigation. For teachers, there are…

This guide is designed to involve people in study circles in discussing and taking action on community changes caused by immigration. A foreword introduces immigration and race relations, education, language differences, and job opportunities and defines study circles. Session 1 gives individuals the opportunity to share their personal…