This practical guide shows you what really does (and doesn't) contribute to community building success. It reveals 28 keys to help you build community more effectively and efficiently. You won't find another single report that pulls out common lessons from across community building initiatives about what works. You can use this report to find out what community characteristics contribute to successful community building, make sure key processes such as communications and technical assistance are in place, determine if community leaders or organizers have essential qualities such as a relationship of trust and flexibility, and evaluate the likely success of a proposed project or get a struggling effort back on track. Examples, definitions, and a detailed bibliography make this report even more valuable. Wilder Research Center scoured the literature, contacted resource centers, and spoke with community development experts across the country. The result is concrete, understandable research based on real-life experiences. The 28 factors in this report are grouped by: 1) characteristics of the community, 2) characteristics of the community building process, and 3) characteristics of community building organizers. Detailed descriptions and case examples of how each factor plays out are followed by practical questions you can use to assess your work. In addition to the factors, you also get working definitions for community, community building, and many other terms; a list of resources and contacts in the field; an explanation of how the research was done; and a complete bibliography of all the studies used in this report. Now you can save time looking for best-practice information. With this concise report, you've got the tools to help your community building work succeed!

Community Building: What Makes It Work: A Review of Factors Influencing Successful Community Building

Business & Money

Wilder Research Center

Mattessich, Paul

Monsey, Barbara

Mattessich, Paul W.

Business Development & Entrepreneurship

Wilder Publishing Center

Manager's Guide to Program Evaluation: 2nd Edition: Planning, Contracting, & Managing for Useful Results

Your Guide to Getting a Useful Evaluation, now updated and revised in this second edition. 
Evaluation is vital and beneficial to any nonprofit organization. An effective evaluation can help identify an organization's successes, share information with key audiences, and improve services. It can confirm that an organization is truly making a difference, or what changes an organization needs to make in order to improve. This book describes what types of information to collect and what questions this information can answer, details the four phases of evaluation and the steps involved in each phase, and provides information on various types of research consultants and advice on selecting one. If you are an organization manager, decision maker, policymaker, funder, researcher, or student studying applied social service research, this guide is an essential resource for your knowledge of effective organizational management.

Management & Leadership

Fieldstone Alliance

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Books by Mattessich, Paul