Csw community change work short

Engaging
Communities
in
Creating

Prosperous
Futures

COMMUNITY
INITIATIVES
TEAM,
JULY
2009

www.skilledwork.org

2

Background

Corporation
for
a
Skilled
Workforce
is
the
partner
leaders
trust
most
to
help
their

communities
thrive
in
the
changing
economy.

We
help
communities
innovate
so
they
can
compete.

We
help
businesses
cultivate
talent
so
they
can
grow.

We
help
people
learn
so
they
can
find
good
jobs
–
or
create
their
own.

A
national
non-‐profit
organization,
CSW
is
headquartered
in
Ann
Arbor,
Michigan
and

maintains
offices
in
nine
states.
Our
mission
is
to
reimagine
everything
about
work
and

learning
in
the
global
economy
for
the
prosperity
of
people,
firms,
and
communities.

We
offer
nearly
two
decades
of
experience
supporting
community
change
efforts
in
48

states
and
U.S.
territories.
We
have
partnered
with
community
and
economic

development
organizations,
educational
institutions,
industry
networks,
and
workforce

boards.
Our
work
is
supported
through
a
mix
of
state-‐
and
community-‐level
consulting

projects,
partnerships
with
national
associations
and
organizations,
and
foundations.

We
do
research.

We
do
policy.

And
we
engage
communities
in
the
hands-‐on
practice
that
makes
policy
and

research
worth
doing.

Our
roots
are
in
workforce.
Our
work
is
in
communities.
Our
approach
is

multidisciplinary,
partnership-‐based,
and
grounded
in
the
belief
that
the
wisdom
of

crowds1
can
help
communities
prosper.
With
this
in
mind,
we
work
closely
with

workforce
and
economic
development
organizations,
academia,
government,
and

community
stakeholders
to
make
change
happen.

“A
victory
small
enough
to
be
organized
is
too
small
to
be
decisive.”

Eliot
Janeway

1
James Surowiecki, The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many are Smarter than the Few and How Collective Wisdom
Shapes Business, Economies, Societies, and Nations (Anchor Press, 2005).

3

CSW’s
Community
Engagement
Work

This
document
provides
an
overview
of
CSW’s
community
engagement
approach
and

describes
specific
initiatives
we
are
advancing
to
support
entrepreneurship
in

communities
aspiring
toward
better
tomorrows.

We
do
research
that
generates
intelligence

and
insight,
not
just
data.

Community
change
efforts
often
start
with
a
hunch.
People
get
the
feeling
the

challenges
they
face
are
not
theirs
alone.
They
wonder,
“What
if
…
?”,
and
the
desire
to

drive
change
is
born.

But
articulating
these
challenges,
and
developing
a
strategy
for
addressing
them,
can
be

humbling.
Most
of
our
community
issues
–
the
ones
that
really
matter
–
are
what
Horst

Rittel
identified
in
the
early
1960s
as
“wicked
problems.”2
While
scholars,
analysts,
even

artists
have
debated
the
definition
ever
since,
they
generally
agree3
that
wicked

problems
are:

 Unstructured
–
they
cannot
be
simply
characterized,
nor
can
their
precise

causes.

 Cross-‐cutting
–
they
are
embedded
in
unique
social,
political,
geographic,

economic
and
other
contexts
that
constrain
the
actions
that
can
be
taken
to

address
them.

 Relentless
–
They
can
get
better
or
worse,
but
are
never
really
“solved.”

But
these
are
exactly
the
kinds
of
problems
worth
solving.

In
our
practice,
“wicked
problems”
include:

2
Horst Rittel developed and presented this idea, eventually sharing it publically in
Horst W. J. Rittel and Melvin M.
Webber, "Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning," a working paper presented at the Institute of Urban and
Regional Development, University of California, Berkeley, November 1972.
3
This characterization is offered by Edward Weber and Anne Khademian in “Wicked Problems, Knowledge
Challenges, and Collaborative Capacity Builders in Network Settings,” (Public Administration Review, March-April
2008).

4

 Building
leadership
capacity
and
community
agility
to
help
“stuck”4
communities

adjust
to
economic,
industrial,
demographic,
and
social
change.

 Creating
good
(and
“green”)
jobs
in
communities
whose
key
industries
are
just

emerging,
in
decline,
or
undergoing
radical,
structural
change.

 Increasing
the
entrepreneurial
capacity
of
“big
company”
communities.

 Helping
communities
invest
in
broad-‐based
innovation-‐centric,
knowledge-‐
driven,
sustainable
futures,
one
step
at
a
time.

The
current
recession
has
exposed
many
wicked
problems
at
many
different
levels.

But

despite
its
speed,
magnitude,
and
reach,
different
communities
are
weathering
the

downturn
in
widely
divergent
ways.

Jobs
are
still
easy
to
come
by
in
Bismarck,
ND,
for

example,
where
the
unemployment
rate
is
3.5%.
The
same
is
not
true
for
the
many
job-‐
hunters
in
El
Centro,
CA,
where
unemployment
stands
at
27%5

–
nearly
eight
times

higher.
Community
context
matters.

That’s
why
data
is
such
an
important
starting
point

for
our
work.

We
do
research
that
helps
communities
learn
about
themselves
and
the

issues
they
face.
This
means
giving
name,
shape,
and
dimension
to
their
“wicked

problems”
through
data
and
narrative.
By
collaborating
with
key
stakeholders
and

partners,
we:

 Craft
data
products
using
quantitative
and
qualitative
methods
and
sources.

We
offer
labor
market
analyses,
literature
reviews,
subject-‐specific
summaries

and
reports,
and
our
own
signature
product,
the
State
of
the
Workforce

Report.

 Conduct
surveys
and/or
public
opinion
polls
in
person,
by
mail,
or
via

telephone
or
the
Internet.

 Convene
focus
groups
and/or
group
interviews
in
person
or
via
telephone,

conference
call
or
virtual
meeting
(e.g.,
Web-‐Ex).

 Conduct
individual
interviews
with
stakeholders,
experts,
or
community

members
in
person
or
via
telephone
or
the
Internet
(e.g.,
Skype).

Data
is
different
from
intelligence.

Some
of
the
most
important
work
we
do
is
in
translation.
While
we
are
collecting
and

analyzing
data,
we
work
with
our
partners
and
stakeholders
to
make
meaning
out
of
it
–

4
A reference to the many descriptions of “stuckness” and remedies for getting out of it, including Keith Yamashita and
Sandra Spataro’s Unstuck: A Tool for Yourself, Your Team, and Your World (Portfolio Trade, 2007).
5
Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2009

5

to
see
whether
it
rings
true,
to
connect
data
points
in
ways
that
generate
deeper

understanding,
and
to
elicit
context
that
begins
to
explain
the
“whys”
behind
the
data.

We
then
turn
numbers
into
meaningful
storylines
that
stakeholders
can
easily

communicate
and
their
communities
can
easily
understand.

We
engage
communities
in
connecting
and

doing,
not
just
meeting.

Wicked
problems
cannot
be
“solved”
by
single
programs
or
interventions,
but
lots
of

people
doing
lots
of
different
things
can
make
a
difference.
This
makes
community

engagement
central
to
public
policy
work
aimed
at
wicked
problems.
And
Web2.06
is

changing
the
context
for
community
engagement
in
exciting
ways.

Once,
engaging
community
meant
launching
a
(traditional)
campaign—designating
a

small
group
to
define
the
problem,
identify
solutions,
and
shape
and
market
“the

message”
so
that
others
“buy”
it.
We
used
the
metaphor
of
the
funnel
to
describe
our

practice
of
broadcasting
widely
to
identify
people
interested
in
our
cause,
recruiting

them
to
our
cause,
and
then
asking
them
for
support
(time
or
money).
Big
donors
and

champions
were
at
the
narrow
end
of
the
funnel,
close
to
our
small
group.
We
simply

shouted
at
those
further
away
in
hopes
a
few
might
hear
us
through
the
noise.

Borrowing
from
Seth
Godin,7
the
web
makes
it
possible
to
flip
the
funnel
on
its
side
and

turn
it
into
a
megaphone.
But
rather
than
just
shouting
into
the
megaphone,
we
can

share
it,
and
let
the
people
who
are
passionate
about
our
cause
recruit
their
colleagues,

friends,
and
neighbors
to
help
advance
it.

Today,
it
is
easier
than
ever
before
to
give
people
the
tools
they
need
to
drive
change

with
or
without
us.
Practically,
this
is
the
equivalent
of
turning
board
members
who

meet
once
a
month
to
make
sure
our
programs
are
performing
into
evangelists8
who

work
for
change
within
their
own
families,
workplaces,
and
neighborhoods.

This
is

community
engagement
2.0,
made
possible
by
the
increasingly
hyper-‐connected
web.

Importantly,
community
engagement
2.0
does
not
eliminate
the
need
for
the
tools
of
its

earlier
incarnation:
we
still
need
messaging,
talking
points,
high-‐quality
programs
and

deep
subject-‐matter
knowledge
to
inform
them.
But
as
the
web
becomes
more

ubiquitous—and
doing
this
work
raises
the
pressure
on
communities
to
increase

broadband
access—its
tools
become
easier,
cheaper,
and
more
accessible.
Our

6
We wish there were an easy way to explain the simultaneous rise of the interactive web and the social and behavioral
changes that accompanied it without using this kind of jargon, and we’re open to suggestions. To us, web2.0 is about
the shift from web as place to web as platform, experience, and way-of-working. See the Wikipedia entry on the origin
of the term http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0.
7
See “Flipping the Funnel”, http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/01/flipping_the_fu.html.
8
We use “evangelist” here in the way Guy Kawasaki describes in “The Art of Evangelism,” his January 2006 post on
his blog, How to Change the World. See http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/01/the_art_of_evan.html.

6

evangelists
no
longer
refer
people
to
us
one
at
a
time,
they
use
their
networks
and
the

“share
app”9
to
make
their
own
change.
As
a
result,
our
reach
and
impact
increase

geometrically
with
each
new
evangelist
to
whom
we
provide
the
appropriate
toolkit,

whether
we
know
about
these
evangelists
or
not.

CSW’s
Community
Initiatives
Team
is
helping
communities
understand

this
new
model
of
engagement,
and
begin
to
explore
it.
We
work
with
partner

organizations
and
local
stakeholders
to
help
communities:

 Find
and
map
their
assets.
We
have
completed
dozens
of
asset
maps
for

communities
engaged
in
change
efforts.
While
the
scope
and
scale
vary,
we
use

similar
processes—working
with
stakeholders
to
identify
the
intended
use
of
the

asset
map,
the
kinds
of
assets
they
seek
to
map,
and
the
key
information
they

need
about
the
assets.
We
typically
collect
information
through
a
combination
of

surveys,
focus
groups,
interviews,
secondary
(and
sometime
primary)
research

and
facilitated
discussion.
Final
products
include
maps,
databases,
reports,
and

web-‐based
tools
that
make
information
easy
to
search,
share,
and
keep
current.

 Learn
about
Web2.0
and
what
it
means
for
work,
learning,
and

community
change.
In
our
Innovators
Networks10
we
are
exploring
the

impact
of
new
technologies
on
work,
learning,
and
leadership,
looking
at
social

media
and
the
implications
of
web-‐based
microlending11
on
entrepreneurs,

families
and
communities.
In
much
of
our
project
work,
we
are
setting
up
on-‐line

social
networks,
community
media
libraries,
and
encouraging
the
use
of
blogs

and
wikis.

 Analyze
and
improve
their
community,
professional,
and
social

networks.
We
have
worked
with
many
communities
to
launch
change

initiatives,
facilitating
sessions
on
“growing
the
circle”
or
“expanding
the
table”

in
which
we
help
stakeholders
grow
their
networks.
Through
a
partnership
with

June
Holley
(www.networkweaving.com),
we
are
integrating
the
ability
to

visually
map
and
analyze
social
networks
using
technology.
Based
on
current

network
theory12
we
can
develop
strategies
for
not
just
growing
these
networks,

but
making
them
more
robust.
This
is
an
important
means
of
building
the

collaborative
capacity
of
communities
and
helping
them
become
more
agile
and

adaptable,
and
more
likely
to
prosper.

9
A reference to the many tools available on a typical web-site that allow users to forward information to the peers,
friends, and colleagues – ShareThis (http://www.sharethis.com/) is one example.
10
CSW has supported many professional networks over the years. Two of these –our own Innovators Networks –
comprise workforce leaders from across the country and have sustained themselves for nearly a decade.
11
Microlending is the provision of small loans offered by groups of investors. See kiva.org, prosper.com, and the
Wikipedia entry on microcredit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcredit.
12
There is an emerging field of network theory that uses visualization techniques to illustrate how networks of different
shapes have different levels of efficacy. See for example, Sean Safford’s work, “Why the Garden Club Couldn’t Save
Youngstown” http://web.mit.edu/ipc/publications/pdf/04-002.pdf.

7

 Cultivate
leader-‐evangelists.
One
of
the
most
important
assets

communities
have
is
engaged
leaders.
Typically,
these
leaders
are
asked
to

attend
meetings
and
provide
counsel
to
governing
boards,
but
rarely
to
engage

their
families,
workplaces,
and
neighborhoods
in
the
issues
these
boards
and

their
members
care
about.
The
new
role
of
policy
leader
is
to
make
such

engagement
easy,
providing
information
and
tools
passionate
community

leaders
can
use
to
change
hearts,
minds,
and
ultimately,
behaviors.
We
help

facilitate
this
shift
and
develop
toolkits
leaders
can
use
to
drive
change
wherever

they
are
–
not
just
in
the
boardroom.

 Document
and
share
community
stories.
For
nearly
two
years,
we
have

been
integrating
social
media
and
documentary
methods
(video,
audio,
narrative

and
direct
communications
support),
into
our
community
change
work.
The

interdisciplinary,
multi-‐jurisdictional,
and
cross-‐organizational
nature
of
change

work
makes
communications
central
to
its
success.
Moreover,
because
this
kind

of
work
is
typically
over
and
above
stakeholders’
“day
jobs,”
leaders
need
to

provide
engaging
ways
for
stakeholders
to
learn
about
its
content,
meaning,
and

progress
quickly.
They
also
need
to
help
individual
stakeholders
see
how
their

efforts
connect
to
those
of
others.
Video
work
is
especially
effective
on
both

fronts.
It
also
leaves
a
trail
of
history,
context,
and
knowledge
that
can
be

analyzed,
remixed,
and
shared
over
and
over
again.13

 Plan
events,
competitions,
and
other
ways
to
engage
the
public
in

community
change.
We
have
helped
communities
plan
and
implement

activities
ranging
from
formal
summits
and
forums
to
informal
video
contests.
In

addition
to
identifying
new
potential
stakeholders,
evangelists,
and
sources
of

information,
organizing
public
engagement
activities
is
an
effective
way
to

generate
new
ideas
for
solving
community
problems.

 Build
shared
platforms
for
action.
We
are
experimenting
with
a
variety
of

shared
platforms,
from
project-‐based
Flickr
and
YouTube/Vimeo
accounts
to
do-‐
it-‐yourself
social
networks
using
Ning
and
LinkedIn,14
to
www.wetoo.org,

launched
as
a
region-‐based
community
of
entrepreneurs
and
entrepreneurship

support
organizations
growing
business
in
mid
Michigan,
and
more
recently

supporting
the
work
of
the
Innovation
Frontier
Arizona
project
in
Southern

Arizona.

 Measure
impact.
For
some
stakeholders,
the
results
of
community
change

work
will
be
clear
and
measurable
–
the
building
of
a
tool,
a
measurable
change

in
attitudes
or
behaviors,
the
growth
of
new
businesses
and
creation
of
jobs,

13
We typically work with local videographers and storytellers, forging what we hope are long-term connections
between these artists and our policy stakeholders and the issues they care about.
14
Flickr is a photosharing community. YouTube and Vimeo are video-sharing communities. Ning and LinkedIn are
platforms on which users can organize their own social networks.

8

increased
graduation
rates.
For
others,
however,
results
may
be
less
tangible.

Using
Jim
Collins’s
“preponderance
of
evidence”
frame,15
we
help
communities

create
innovative
and
low-‐cost
ways
to
track
and
measure
their
progress.

These
activities
are
typically
combined
and
integrated
in
different
ways
depending
upon

the
needs
of
our
community
partners.

We
treat
community
engagement
like
a

conversation,
not
an
event.

Community
engagement
processes
are
fun,
exciting,
and
inspiring.
Typically,
once

leaders
and
stakeholders
adopt
their
evangelist
roles,
they
can
hardly
wait
to
get
into

the
community
and
talk
to
people.

At
some
point,
however,
the
stories
that
families,
colleagues,
and
neighbors
initially

embrace
evolve
into
a
specific
set
of
challenges
that
need
to
be
addressed
by
actors

outside
of
the
community.
Sometimes
evangelists
recruit
more
champions
than
project

leaders
anticipate,
creating
an
unforeseen
demand
to
scale
toolkits.
And
sometimes
the

change
narrative
makes
it
possible
to
talk
about
a
more
specific
set
of
problems
than

the
original
evangelists
are
prepared
to
solve.

Communities
should
be
ready
for
these
eventualities.
CSW
can
help.

We
partner
with
communities
over
time
to
plan,
implement,
and
sustain

change
efforts.

From
concept
and
resource
development
to
the
identification
of
new
partners
and

strategic
approaches
as
project
needs
evolve,
CSW
values
the
opportunity
to
stick
with

communities,
supporting
the
kind
of
change
efforts
that
make
sense
for
them
over
time.

While
community
change
efforts
come
in
all
shapes
and
sizes,
the
best
ones
aspire
to

create
the
connective
tissue
that
helps
stakeholders
collaborate
not
once,
but
over
and

over
again,
building
their
agility
and
capacity
for
innovation,
and
increasing
the

likelihood
that
they
will
prosper.

15
Jim Collins, Good to Great for the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great (HarperCollins, 2005).

9

For
more
information,
contact:

Kristin
Wolff
(Portland,
OR)
at
kwolff@skilledwork.org

Rebecca
Cohen
(Ann
Arbor,
MI)
at
rcohen@skilledwork.org

Sandy
Marshall
(Ann
Arbor,
MI)
at
smarshall@skilledwork.org

John
Metcalf
(Charlotte,
NC)
at
jmetcalf@skilledwork.org

Lewis
Humphreys
(Tucson,
AZ)
at
lhumphreys@skilledwork.org

Lisa
Katz
(Rochester
Hills,
MI)
at
lkatz@skilledwork.org

Melodee
Hagensen
(Flint,
MI)
at
mhagenson@skilledwork.org

Or
contact
CSW’s
main
office
in
Ann
Arbor,
MI
at
734.769.2900.

Csw community change work short

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