Building networks, capacities and institutions for collaborative action across individuals and sectors.

An essential component of a resilient community is “the capacity of individuals to come together and share their knowledge and skills to solve local problems. Partnerships and collaboration in communities mean a wider range of skills are acquired by people, and this enhances community capacity to manage change.”iv If people and groups are unable to bridge their diverse perspectives and experiences, then it becomes more difficult to imagine how the communication and joint action necessary for community improvement will occur.

There is much evidence that the presence and strength of networks within communities is a key ingredient for effective, vital communities.[i] Networks – among group/organizational members, between different groups, and between public and private institutions – facilitate the flow of information, resources and the formation of a sense of connectedness, trust and ethic of reciprocity among community members that enables more effective collaborative action. In addition, they enhance access to the wide range of internal resources available to a community through its various community members, local government and private organizations, as well as the resources (knowledge, $’s, etc.) available from other surrounding communities.

In addition to a rich set of networks, the presence of “convening organizations’ – institutions who function (and are widely perceived) as both neutral and credible facilitators of cross-sector deliberation within a community – can play a critical role in creating the necessary space for groups to collectively learn about and from each other, and to co-create an explicit vision, shared story, or set of desired outcomes for their future that continues to be referred to and enriched by members as they act.

Recognizing that sustained community change results from the combined behaviors, actions, practices and policies of all the individuals and groups in and serving a community – the notion of where leadership is centered must be expanded. Leadership is distributed, even if unequally, wherever choices are made: in the kitchen, schoolyard, senior center, place of worship, etc., as well as halls of government and agency board rooms. Tapping the power of shared aspiration, positive choice and caring in every corner of the community is a prerequisite to a healthy community and a healthy democracy.
iv Sue Kilpatrick, “Community Learning and Sustainability: Practice and Policy,” CRLRA Discussion Paper D6/2000 (2000), p. 4

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