Community Driven Development

Community Visioning

Tim Cullenen, Cornell Community and Rural Development Institute

Most communities will face special challenges over the next decade. The world is experiencing major transitions. One of the most important changes is that the community is emerging as the "place where the action is". As a result, communities have to determine "what needs to be done" and "how to do it" to secure a successful future. Whether the issue is community revitalization, health care, education, telecommunications, economic development, or the delivery of social services, communities will be required to make far more complex decisions than in the past.

The purpose of community development is to empower communities to be in charge of their future. They can give direction to this effort by the pursuing the following activities:

• Building the social capacity for vital and healthy communities
• Developing informed citizen participation
• Developing, expanding and retaining a community's agricultural industry
• Developing the workforce
• Fostering Healthy Families
• Promoting Life-long learning
• Improving community services
• Protecting the natural environment while increasing economic vitality
• Promoting and encouraging the "sustainability" of communities

One of the largest problems facing many local governments is people-power. It takes extensive effort to build partnerships and coalitions for community action. In the past, many (if not most) community strategic or comprehensive plans came about from a "top down" approach, that is, professional planners or elected officials made plans and then presented them to their community. This had lead citizens to feel that they had no ownership or involvement in the goals. Without this involvement, there is little or no support for implementation or completion of plans and projects.

The Alternative -- Citizen Participation

Successful community planning comes from citizen participation.

Involved citizens must:

• Determine when their community is ready to engage in an action planning or visioning process;
• Create and organize a community planning process that is inclusive in nature; for all citizens, officials, and stakeholders, that focuses on community purpose, vision, action planning, and implementation;
• Develop follow-up strategies and provide assistance to sustainthe community's energy and momentum as it implements short-term and longer-term strategies for creating its future.

Communities have many options as to how to design their own "visioning" process. It is important to make a preliminary assessment of the issues to be addressed. Most processes are similar in nature and in the derived outcomes; and all have plenty of room for adaptation to local needs and circumstances.

The most commonly known is "charting". This process uses a core group of individuals to identify a larger working group (30 -40 people) within the community who have been identified as principle stakeholders. These 30 -40 citizens then proceed through the "charting" process - a basic SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis, consensus building and goal identification, and then action plans to achieve those goals. It is generally assumed that the process will take between 3 to 6 months - depending upon how quickly the "core" group comes together and can get the required commitment from the other participants.

Another popular process has been developed by the Rocky Mountain Institute; a model known as Community Economic Renewal. Very similar in process, the difference lies in that it encourages a broader community participation - not limiting the number of participants, but basing much of it's success on average citizen participation and hence, community capacity building. The process actively encourages community surveys, numerous meetings, small group dynamics, and ultimately, group actions to achieve the identified project's success. A significant element of this process is that it builds in educational opportunities for the participants; about their community, about issues of community development, and about economic components of the "community renewal " process. There is no set time frame - it is determined by the level of participation and commitment of the citizens.

Outcomes

From a visioning effort, communities or organizations will be positioned to move forward and achieve the goals and objectives they have identified. By having a clearer understanding of what they are and what they hope to be, they will have a better "road map" on how to arrive to that point.

The most critical element is to arrive at an "action plan" - a more developed idea, written down for future use, that clearly articulates the "who" will do "what" and "how".

Ultimately, it is the sustainability of the community that most important - to the organization, to the participants, and most importantly, to the citizens of the community.

Next steps for Communities

After having developed a shared vision, many groups are apt to ask "now what?"

Depending upon the identified needs, assistance can be provided to link the communities to various resources for more specific technical assistance - such as design work, small business and agricultural development, youth development, and local government issue identification.

Direct technical assistance may be available from a variety of sources including local or regional planning departments, non-profit associations, local/state/federal government agencies, and many universities and local colleges.

The Cornell Cooperative Extension / CaRDI Visioning Initiative

The Community and Rural Development Institute & CCE are developing a program and materials to support CCE educators in their efforts with community "visioning ". It is the local knowledge and commitment that helps to ensure success and buy-in from local stakeholders.

Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations are uniquely positioned to provide unbiased assistance and education to communities in order for them to pursue their goals. Educators can provide the kind of initial facilitation and organizational skills necessary for a successful visioning process and thereby assist their communities to improve or enhance their quality of life.

If you are interested in a visioning process within the State of New York, please contact your local county Cornell Cooperative Extension office, or contact Tim Cullenen, Extension Support Specialist, CaRDI at 607-255-9510.

The Penn State Cooperative "Charting the Future" program

PSU Cooperative Extension is also developing a program for communities in Pennsylvania. "Charting the Future of Your Community" is a tool that local citizens can use to build consensus for planning their community's future. PSU Extension, along with numerous other public and private agencies, such as the Pennsylvania Rural Development Council, offer assistance to CHARTING communities through out the process.

Manajemen

Mengatur Waktu Yang Amat Berharga...

Berikut beberapa tips untuk membangun perilaku yang peduli dengan manajemen waktu. (dikutip dari tulisan di email..untuk selalu dikenang dan dilaksanakan)

1--Susun rencana kerja anda

Tetapkan sasaran dan rencana kerja untuk satu hari, minggu, bulan, bahkan tahun. Susun sesuai dengan prioritas yang harus anda selesaikan. Anda hanya bisa mengerjakan satu misi pada satu waktu. Maka, pilah-pilahlah mana yang harus anda lakukan, mana yang sebaiknya anda lakukan, dan mana yang tidak begitu penting. Alokasikan waktu anda sesuai dengan rencana-rencana yang telah anda susun. Jangan biarkan apa yang kurang penting menghabiskan lebih banyak waktu anda.

2--Gunakan alat bantu manajemen waktu

Jangan hanya mengandalkan ingatan. Jangan ragu untuk menggunakan alat bantu manajemen waktu. Ada banyak alat bantu tersedia, seperti, formulir "to-do-list", "planner", "chart", dan masih banyak lain, baik yang konvensional maupun canggih. Atau anda bisa mencoba membuat formulir sesuai dengan kebutuhan anda. Bahkan, sebenarnya selembar kertas kosong pun sudah cukup. Yang terpenting adalah anda menuliskannya.

3--Jangan menunda-nunda !!

Memang bagian tersulit adalah memulai. Terlebih lagi bila anda tak punya cukup bekal untuk mengerjakan suatu proyek. Jangan termangu-mangu. Jangan menunggu datangnya ide. Lakukan saja. Segera mulai pekerjaan anda. Jangan tunda-tunda lagi. Begitu anda memulai, anda akan mengetahui apa yang harus anda kerja. Pokoknya, mulailah. Jika anda bisa mengerjakannya sekarang, jangan tunda sampai esok.

4--Jadilah Proaktif

Tak semua yang anda butuhkan datang sendiri ke meja anda. Menunggu dapat menghabiskan waktu anda. Bersikaplah proaktif. Jangan hanya bisa berharap dan mengeluhkan keadaan. Bangkit dari kursi anda, dan temui masalah yang menghambat kerja anda. Selesaikan di tempatnya dengan segera. Memang, kata pepatah, waktu adalah the best inhaller. Tetapi bila anda tak melakukan apa-apa, anda pun tak mendapatkan apa-apa.

5--Hentikan kegiatan yang menghabiskan waktu

Singgah di kursi tetangga kerja, mengobrol di telepon, menjelajah dan chatting di internet, saling berkirim email, memang mengasyikkan, bisa menambah wawasan dan jaringan kerja, bahkan mengatasi kelelahan dan stress anda. Namun, bila itu tak ada hubungannya dengan apa yang harus anda kerjakan dan tak berujung pangkal, maka anda hanya menyia-nyiakan waktu anda yang berharga. Hentikan semua itu. Lakukan sesuatu yang benar-benar berharga.

6--Delegasikan tugas-tugas

Salah satu pembunuh waktu adalah mengerjakan semuanya sendiri. Salah satu idiom manajemen yang kesohor adalah "melakukan sesuatu melalui orang lain". Ini bukan untuk menyiksa orang lain, namun agar kita bisa mengerjakan sesuatu yang jauh lebih penting dan produktif sesuai dengan kapasitas dan tanggung jawab kita. Belajarlah mendelegasikan tugas-tugas. Namun pertimbangkan dengan baik, jangan sampai pendelegasian itu justru menyia-nyiakan waktu orang lain. Waktu anda dan orang lain adalah sama berharganya.

7--Katakan saja "tidak"

Katakan saja "tidak" pada siapa pun dan apa pun yang mengganggu manajemen waktu anda. Ini juga termasuk mengatakan "tidak" pada apa pun yang berusaha menghabiskan waktu anda untuk menikmati kehidupan anda sendiri. Anda pun berhak beristirahat, berrekreasi, memompakan energi. Pastikan ini pun masuk dalam manajemen waktu anda.