This section is under construction but already includes useful initial materials on Issue-Focused Courses followed by an outline of the section on Powerful Strategies.
Introductions to Specialized Careers and Issue-Focused Courses
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One of the great advantages of career pathway programs in community colleges or universities is that students have opportunities to supplement courses on community organizing, community-based research and other broad foundational courses by also concentrating on the particular issues they most want to tackle in the future.
2-year and 4-year institutions already offer Intro courses providing students with a grounding in a particular set of issues or profession like community health or planning or social work. With some adjustments, these introductory courses can include an emphasis on how to make change on those issues or in that specialized field, building on the students' earlier grounding in community leadership, organizing, issue analysis, critical thinking, teamwork, and change strategies. These courses add greatly by familiarizing students with the specialized issues they will face, the key institutions and interest groups, the policy framework, key actors and decision-makers. They also study the history of efforts to change policies as well as an introduction to current controversies. This can add greatly to someone's effectiveness in organizing and to their preparation for a long-range career making significant change on a major issue. |
Learning About Key Issues and Careers
An increasing number of programs in Community Leadership and Organizing are beginning to add such Intro courses as electives to be taken after their core courses. The educational requirements for the California Youth Leadership Corps, for example, supplement courses in leadership and community organizing with introductory courses and internships related to specific occupations. These include Community or Behavioral Health, Climate and Sustainable Community Development, and Immigration Rights and Services.
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Click the subjects below for more information
Public Safety and Criminal Justice
Sample Syllabi
Syllabus from Professor Ginger Robinson, Montgomery College -- TBA
Reentry and Rights of Returning Citizens
Community Centered Policing -- TBA
Restorative Justice and Organizing excerpt Diversion Toolkit from the Restorative Justice Project
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School Safety and Organizing
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Peace Centers in Chicago Schools :
Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) (https://cofionline.org) -- an excellent web-site on community organizing on many issues including the following materials on Issues related to community safety
Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) (https://cofionline.org) -- an excellent web-site on community organizing on many issues including the following materials on Issues related to community safety
A self-produced video about Elementary Justice Campaign co-founder and mother-leader Lynn Morton: Karen Lynn Morton : Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) (https://cofionline.org). Co-founder mother-leader Felipa Mena: https://cofionline.org/COFI/parents/felipa-mena/
Community Safety and Criminal Justice -- Intro Course Materials
Draft syllabus and extensive links by Professor Hector Soto of Hostos Community College and former director of the NYC Neighborhood Leadership Program and Andy Mott of CLP
Draft syllabus and extensive links by Professor Hector Soto of Hostos Community College and former director of the NYC Neighborhood Leadership Program and Andy Mott of CLP
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Community-Centered Policing: A Force for Change
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Restorative Justice and Organizing
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Peel's Rules
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Community and Behavioral Health
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Sue Sherry Syllabus
Syllabus for postgraduate course at Harvard School of Public Health taught by Sue Sherry, an organizer and expert on public health, formerly with Community Catalyst |
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Community Health and Organizing- Intro Course Materials TBA
Community Organizing and Community Building for Health, Meredith Minkler, UC Berkeley
This and the following book are excellent texts for teachers, and include case studies and other materials which can be used for student handouts and use.
This and the following book are excellent texts for teachers, and include case studies and other materials which can be used for student handouts and use.
Community Based Participatory Research for Health, Meredith Minkler and Nina Wallerstein, Editors
(Invaluable resource for case studies)
(Invaluable resource for case studies)
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Behavioral Health and Organizing
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BPI Public Health Fellowship
Innovative fellowship program to prepare returning citizens and others for public health careers |
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Mental Health Access & Ending Criminalization of Mental Health
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For additional Information Resources on health-reform issues and advocacy strategies -- Community Catalyst
Jobs and Economic Development
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Organizing on Economic Development and Jobs
Syllabus developed by Professor Ron Applegate of Cornell's College of Labor Studies, former CDC economic developer |
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Black Workers Matter
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Construction Jobs TBA
- Hartford Jobs Funnel and HART Organizing
- Guide by Mary Ochs
- East LA Building Public Housing and TELACU Organizing
- Nehemiah Projects and IAF Organizing
Community Benefits Agreements --TBA
Public Service Employment - Rick McGahey report TBA
New Careers and Paraprofessional jobs TBA
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Reports on Economic Development & Job Strategies
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Economic development and jobs
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Expanding Economic Opportunity
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Course Syllabus
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Housing and Community Planning
Resource Organizations
National Low Income Housing Coalition
The national coalition of local, statewide, and national organizations committed to collaborating on public policy issues related to the central goal of Housing as a Human Right; great source of information, advice, opportunities to collaborate, etc; strong website and publications. https:// nlihc.org
The national coalition of local, statewide, and national organizations committed to collaborating on public policy issues related to the central goal of Housing as a Human Right; great source of information, advice, opportunities to collaborate, etc; strong website and publications. https:// nlihc.org
National Housing Law Project
National organization through which highly expert attorneys provide back up to Legal Services programs, tenant groups and other advocates on housing issues. http://www.nhlp.org
National organization through which highly expert attorneys provide back up to Legal Services programs, tenant groups and other advocates on housing issues. http://www.nhlp.org
Shelterforce
An invaluable newsletter and information service on housing issues, campaigns and recent developments
An invaluable newsletter and information service on housing issues, campaigns and recent developments
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Department of Urban and Regional Planning Syllabus
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Organizing on Youth and housing Issues -- To be added
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Environmental and climate issues
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Youths Raise Voices in Climate Crisis for People of Color Like Themselves
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Climate, Sustainability and Environmental Justice -- Intro course materials
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Family Issues
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Powerful Strategies: Syllabi and teaching materials
Click the subjects below for more information
MONITORING AND INFLUENCING PUBLIC POLICIES THROUGH OMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH SND POPULAR EDUCATION
Combining policy evaluation and organizing in many cities at once — key elements for maximum impact
Over the years, a number of grassroots community organizations, university-based researchers, and others have experimented with ways of helping ordinary citizens understand and evaluate how they are affected by the policies of large public and private institutions. These approaches vary quite widely, with some oriented solely to evaluation, and others using evaluation as the basis for educating citizens to take informed action while making major institutions more accountable and improving their performance. Different terms are used to describe these approaches – community-based action research, citizen monitoring, participatory evaluation, popular education, learning initiatives, research for issue campaigns — but each shares a common vision of the value of helping citizens thoroughly understand the policies which have such a huge impact upon their lives and their communities
During this time organizations have launched a number of these “citizen monitoring” projects. Some have been elaborate and sophisticated, and have produced definitive analyses of the impacts of various federal programs or other key policies. In some cases these have had a very substantial impact on policy implementation and reform. In recent years a number of groups have adopted a simpler, yet very effective “testing” approach – having people eligible for Medicaid or job training apply for assistance and document how they are treated. This approach has a powerful impact – it provides facts, educates people who are going through the process of “testing” and research, and often leads to major pressure for reform.
Experience with better financed, more ambitious community-based projects has produced lessons concerning the approaches which are particularly effective in helping citizen groups gain and use information about critical policy issues.
These include:
None of these elements are unique. However, combining them carefully has led to a remarkable combination of leadership, constituency, and issue development and to a lasting impact. On CDBG (Community Development Block Grants), for example, the victories won at the national level still hold today. 60% of Philadelphia’s CD funding still goes to nonprofits, and a very high percentage of that goes to low income housing. In 2005 a top researcher with the Urban Institute found that San Francisco’s entire municipal budgeting process was still being influenced by the reforms won more than twenty-five year earlier by the local CDBG monitoring coalition.
Community-based monitoring developed remarkably well-informed leaders as well. The former chair of the National Low Income Housing Coalition and several other members of its Executive Committee were people trained through their experience researching community and city-wide issues through the monitoring project. Several leaders in philanthropy were deeply involved with similar community-led research efforts earlier in their careers, including the Presidents of three foundations. Former US Congressmen Esteban Torres and Tom Andrews also learned from and increased their power and influence by participating in the project. The power and knowledge brought together through community-based research and monitoring is a key strategy for creating more accountable, responsive and effective government and increasing social justice.
During this time organizations have launched a number of these “citizen monitoring” projects. Some have been elaborate and sophisticated, and have produced definitive analyses of the impacts of various federal programs or other key policies. In some cases these have had a very substantial impact on policy implementation and reform. In recent years a number of groups have adopted a simpler, yet very effective “testing” approach – having people eligible for Medicaid or job training apply for assistance and document how they are treated. This approach has a powerful impact – it provides facts, educates people who are going through the process of “testing” and research, and often leads to major pressure for reform.
Experience with better financed, more ambitious community-based projects has produced lessons concerning the approaches which are particularly effective in helping citizen groups gain and use information about critical policy issues.
These include:
- a central staff with skills in:
- the subject area
- participatory and action research techniques
- training and skill transfer, and
- the organizing, strengthening, and maintenance of local and state coalitions of grassroots organizations, service providers, and others
- funding for local and state groups so they could employ and assign staff to the research, organizing, and coalition-building work.
- a research design which enabled ordinary citizens to participate in conducting the research and — through that research process — to discover how decisions are made, who the key decision-makers are, what the decisions had been so far, to what extent they complied with the law, whether they reflected local needs and the citizens’ priorities, what handles there were for changing policies, etc.; in short, the research design combined the gathering and analysis of facts, learning applicable laws and regulations and applying them, conducting a power analysis, and developing an action plan.
- inclusion in the research design of: review of data, reports, and records; interviews with key decision-makers; participation in public meetings and discussions with decision-makers; and other activities designed to expand the knowledge base and leadership experience of the local team.
- inclusion in the research design of measures for helping the group/coalition to research issues which are of local priority as well as issues for which we wanted information at the national level; this has been critical to motivating local people and helping them identify unique local opportunities to mobilize people, develop media attention, win victories, and build their strength.
- training for the local monitors regarding: the substantive issue; related laws, regulations, etc.; use of the research instruments and participatory research techniques; issue development; organizing and coalition-building techniques; etc.
- several on-site technical assistance visits each year by the central staff; this assistance has included:
- review and advice on the research and analysis;
- advice and assistance on strengthening the coalition (broadening the coalition’s membership, board and committee development, board/staff relations, fundraising, planning and management, techniques for involving people across broad distances, techniques for involving people in isolated inner city or rural communities, diversity issues, etc.);
- help with strategy development (selection of issues, alliances, use of media, etc.)
- preparation by each site of a local report which met national standards but which was also used for local advocacy and publicity
- submission by each site of reports to the national staff, which used them to aggregate the data and draft national reports describing the common trends, citing specific abuses and problems, and analyzing the overall impact of current policies
- national meetings 2-3 times a year to bring the sites together to review drafts of the national report and participate in developing the conclusions and, especially, the policy recommendations, to advocate on the issue, and to plan the next year’s joint work
- publication of the national reports, with press conferences in Washington and at all bthe local sites, giving the monitors an opportunity to get publicity for their local report and the national report, increasing the impact and visibility of each
- use of the cross-site meetings as opportunities to develop a network among the local and state groups, and to create opportunities for local and state people to assume increasing national leadership responsibilities; they not only played a very influential role in developing the national report’s policy recommendations but also became spokespeople on the issues which, by that time, they understood superbly well; we found that their intimate knowledge of local situations and the sophisticated understanding of the “macro” picture they developed through this research/leadership development experience made them uniquely influential with policy-makers
- selection of several sites because information gathered there would be especially influential in policy debates
None of these elements are unique. However, combining them carefully has led to a remarkable combination of leadership, constituency, and issue development and to a lasting impact. On CDBG (Community Development Block Grants), for example, the victories won at the national level still hold today. 60% of Philadelphia’s CD funding still goes to nonprofits, and a very high percentage of that goes to low income housing. In 2005 a top researcher with the Urban Institute found that San Francisco’s entire municipal budgeting process was still being influenced by the reforms won more than twenty-five year earlier by the local CDBG monitoring coalition.
Community-based monitoring developed remarkably well-informed leaders as well. The former chair of the National Low Income Housing Coalition and several other members of its Executive Committee were people trained through their experience researching community and city-wide issues through the monitoring project. Several leaders in philanthropy were deeply involved with similar community-led research efforts earlier in their careers, including the Presidents of three foundations. Former US Congressmen Esteban Torres and Tom Andrews also learned from and increased their power and influence by participating in the project. The power and knowledge brought together through community-based research and monitoring is a key strategy for creating more accountable, responsive and effective government and increasing social justice.
Social Change Education
STUDENT ASSIGNMENT
Provide a brief narrative description of alternative strategies for increasing community involvement in increasing safety in the community, the reasoning behind each strategy, and provide several brief examples of these community-based approaches.
- Serious consultation with community to explore alternative ways to reduce crime and violence
- Support community organizations in becoming partners in providing first responders
- Create new systems for deescalating police-community confrontations including community involvement in mediation, conflict resolution, and providing violence interrupters.
- Decentralize policing to the community level, with oversight and partnership with communities
- Support community-based patrols and watches; "Participatory Defense" efforts
- Create youth 'Safe Harbors" in housing projects or neighborhoods
Key Concepts
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Strengthening coalition efforts to spur organizing by members
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Book on 3 eras of major US government action for social change
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Evaluation as a Tool for Strengthening an Organization and Its Impact
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Community Leadership and Organizing
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A Force More Powerful
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Building Government Power to Make the World We Know
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Creating Public Policy Changes
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Government Supported Social Reform- TBA