Promoting vital cities by building thriving neighborhoods…

• Enabling communities to shape both practices and policies for measurable results

• Establishing institutional partnerships to improve programs & fund community initiatives

• Expanding a citywide network for “community-led collective impact”

DRAFT – 05/2015 William M. Snyder — CivicStewardship.com — Text Overview Overview 1-15 / A1 - Case 16-28 / A2 - Capabilities 29-40

2008 3:34_

¹Paraq Khanna, Global Governance Initiative, Foreign Policy, 2010

Cities are intricately inter-woven webs of communities, and our global civilization is bound together by a vital network of cities

“The age of nations is over: The new urban age has begun.”

…get cities right, and we can get the world right.

Cities are

• 50% of global population, 70% by 2050

• Economic engines: 100 U.S. metro areas produce 70% of GDP; 300 worldwide account for 50% of global GDP

• Social change agents

• Forces for creativity & culture

• Nexus of institutions & communities

• Networked across nations, spurring shifts worldwide

¹

2

3

Local socio-behavioral norms and practices drive results in many areas—health, early childhood, youth employment, safety, etc.²

Disproportionate emphasis on technical solutions vs. social factors

City police department implements a “community policing” program

Long-standing mutual distrust between police & residents undermines collaboration

Many parents with much to gain do not attend due to cultural and logistical barriers

Safety

City launches new program to promote child development in crucial 0-3 phase

Education

X

Misalignment between top-down policy/ program design & bottom-up buy-in

From 1970-2010, rates of poverty, drop-outs, incarceration, affordable housing, income inequities, and many chronic diseases have not improved, and here’s why:

¹Sources: Income, Income / Education / Safety / Housing, Housing / Health ²For example, the NIH Fact Sheet states that 40% of premature deaths are related to socio-behavioral factors such as health habits (vs. genes, etc.). The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that by eating healthy diets, U.S. residents would save $17b annually (2013); and research shows that increased screening for colectoral cancer alone could save $15b in Medicare costs per year. Yet National Cancer Institute funding (2012) for research on socio-behavioral factors is less than $50 million dollars, vs. $3 billion oriented to technical solutions (drugs, etc.).

¹

4

Community context shapes neighbors’ attitudes & behaviors, which in turn influence results

Peer Groups

Family Influence Role Models

Collective Efficacy Local Organizations

Social Norms Social Networks

Place Identity Built Environment

Norms & Practices

Neighborhood Effects

¹In Great American City: Chicago and the Enduring Neighborhood Effect, Sampson documents the influence of communities on outcomes such as health and safety, via “collective efficacy” and related factors, 2012). Galster describes a range of social influences—called “neighborhood effects”—that drive local outcomes (2010, pp. 2-3). See also Sampson et al. 2002, for review of research on neighborhood effects. Research on “social determinants of health” cites related factors, such as social isolation, culture, behavioral norms, organization access, and built environment (WHO, 2003). Framingham Heart Study Research Milestones (e.g., 1960, 1967, 1978, 2007, 2008) highlight the influential role of social cohorts. See also research by David R. Williams et al. 2009, on social determinants and health outcomes.

¹

Policies & Programs

Products & Services

Application

Products & Services

Participation

Policies & Programs

Local organizations

5

Family engagement & influence

Peer groups

Communities of practice share ideas & practices and influence policy by connecting communities and institutions citywide

Social Networks

Role Models

Felt needs & priorities

Participatory problem-solving groups and “innovation circles”

create solutions & lead initiatives

Social Media provides news, updates & information; facilitates

connections & collaboration

Social norms

Community Identity

Funding model provides funds & incentives for local efforts that

achieve measurable goals

Measures of outcomes and influencing factors motivate action

and guide solutions

Desired Outcomes Community Outcomes

Practices

Norms

Block stewards collect & share information; connect people; and

organize events

Neighborhood coalition sets goals, supports initiatives, and

reports on progress

Shared vision & values for learning, connecting & aligning

Civic Stewardship Capabilities

¹For more on civic stewardship capabilities, see Appendix 2 - Capabilities, slides 29-37.

¹

Knowledge base on outcomes, programs, policies, and practices (health, etc.)

http://vimeo.com/114074910

Youth surveyors went to every household in the neighborhood to interview peers and identify gaps and opportunities

Youth participated in “innovation circles” to improve current programs and generate new initiatives for improving youth employment

Opportunity: Many youth seeking employment are unaware of

jobs programs or have trouble completing the application process

YouthHub response • Started a campaign to raise awareness about jobs

•Organized job fair to help youth to fill out apps. & meet employers

• Leading a peer-group job readiness course to build skills

• Building a youth jobs website and social media tools

• Surveying employers to identify their needs and capacity

¹Click on arrows in photos for 2-minute videos of YouthHub survey & innovation efforts (see also YouthHub’s job fair video); for more, see Appendix 1 - Case or URBAN Boston slides.

¹

6

http://vimeo.com/114074675

Youth coalition surveyed the neighborhood to find ways to increase youth employment

Q #71: Comment on your experience with the following youth employment agencies:

ABCD / SummerWorks

I’ve never heard of this I’ve heard of it, but never applied

I’ve been placed in more than 1 job

I’ve been placed in a job I’ve applied, but never been placed in a job

10

20

30

40%

0

7

Coalitions and block stewards identify ripe opportunities, organize initiatives, and expand efforts over time to achieve community goals

Legend: Arrow lengths indicate first-phase cycle times; colors represent issue types

Time

1x

2x

5x

10x

Identify

Design Apply

Initiative cycle

Youth Workshops

Job Fairs

Youth Survey

Youth HUB Online

Housing Survey

Education Surveys

Collective Efficacy increases with skills, relationships & belief gained

via shared experience & success

Employer Workshops

Housing finance strategies

Health Outreach

Community policing

partnership

Youth Workshops – 6 months

Education Survey – 90 days

Media Methods Coalitions Block Stewards Measures

Adapt / Extend

Monetization…

Socio-economic return vs. cost (x)

8

Issue-based coalitions steward community initiatives & institutional offerings for results

Neighborhood Coalition

Health

Housing

Employment Coalition

Safety

Education

Built Environment Culture/Arts

Neighborhood coalition provides overall coordination and builds capacity to enhance wellbeing

Issue coalition functions • Engage residents & stakeholders • Survey neighborhood priorities • Set measurable goals • Design & implement initiatives • Partner with institutions & communities • Assess & report progress • Promote community stewardship

¹

¹For more on issue-based coalitions and block steward roles, see Appendix 2 - Capabilities, slides 34 & 36. Photos feature members of the TNT neighborhood coalition.

Employment Health Education Housing Safety

Indicators •Youth employment •Adult employment •Income levels •Local economy

• Asthma • Hypertension • Cancer screening • Diabetes

•Early childhood •Kindergarten ready •Third-grade reading •H.S./College grad. rate

•Defaults / Evictions •Displacement •Dilapidation •Energy costs

•Violent crime •Property crime •Perceived safety •Incarceration

Goal(s) vs. Actual Increase youth employment from 30% to goal 60% in 5 years

Reduce pediatric asthma rate from current 12% to goal 3% in 5 years

Societal $ value Income value ~$.7m; long-term societal value ~$2m/yr.

Reduction from 60 to 15 children = 45 x $750/year/child = ~$35,000/year

Programs/ Providers/ Payers

• Youth programs • Non-profit employers • Businesses • Government programs

• Health Center • School • Employers • Mass Health, Etc.

Targeted Partner(s)

Youth programs seek to increase youth readiness and apps.; businesses seeking to hire more qualified youth

Health center seeks to increase program participation to double screening and early treatment

“Pay for Success” contract goals

• Double enrollment in youth jobs programs

• Increase participation and retention rates

• Willing to pay $15,000/year for outreach & improved results

• ROI 10:1; long-term ~30:1

• Increase enrollment in “breathe well” program to 40 families

• Increasing screening & early treatment rates from 40 to 80%

• Reduce prevalence 10% in 2 years • Willing to pay $5,000/year for outreach

& measurable improvements

Partner learning & innovation goals

• Improve design of application process

• Develop new roles for youth outreach workers

• Scale approach to neighborhoods citywide to expand impact

• Improve impact of “breathe well” program on clinical results

• Reduce outreach, etc. costs of program • Identify new program opportunities • Willing to pay $2,500 for community-

based action-research to improve results

Communities and partners can identify areas where providers are willing to pay for success

TNT

Illustrative Illustrative

Note: “Platform costs” (for community measures, media, etc.) can be leveraged across multiple issues, and as more initiatives are launched, allocated platform costs decrease. Over a 5 to 10-year time horizon, new norms and practices become established; & socialized improvements persist while intervention costs decline. 9

Note: “Platform costs” (for community measures, media, etc.) can be leveraged across multiple issues, and as more initiatives are launched, allocated platform costs decrease. Over a 5 to 10-year time horizon, new norms and practices become established; & socialized improvements persist while intervention costs decline. Pilot is in the Talbot-Norfolk Triangle Neighborhood, pop. ~1,500

¹This schematic figure illustrates the estimated increased impact of interventions, including products and services as well as policies and programs. The white space under the “with stewardship” line accounts for costs of the civic stewardship platform, which are minor compared to the impact. For research on the influence of collective efficacy and associated neighborhood effects, see Sampson (2012) and Galster (2010, pp. 2-3).

Enhanced Outreach & Implementation

Accelerated Learning & Innovation

Sustained Participation & Enculturation

Time

Efficacy of Intervention

Results with civic stewardship

Results without civic stewardship

Increased impact by leveraging the neighborhood effect ¹

Depreciation, Turnover, Reduced Funding & Support

Adaptivity & Resilience

Providers dramatically improve results by partnering with capable community coalitions

10

11

Residents

Residents

Residents

Residents

Residents

Non-Profit Providers

Government Agencies

Social Enterprises

Businesses

Provider Benefits • Participation/Purchases • Implementation • Retention • Innovation • Lower costs, Higher returns • Sustainability • Dissemination

Resident Benefits • Awareness & Access • Confidence & Motivation • Coaching & Support • Solutions that fit needs • Funding for initiatives • Increased wellbeing • Collective efficacy

Residents

¹Direct platform costs cover funding for coalition coordinator(s) and block stewards (including social media moderation), about $50,000 for a neighborhood of 2000; indirect costs for measures, media, coaching, etc. are approximately $25K/year, decreasing as local capacity increases. (Estimated value of potential financial benefits for overall increased savings and revenues are over $2m per year.) Of course, the preponderance of platform contributions are voluntary time and resource commitments by neighbors and local organizations, which the platform facilitates.

Providers (all sectors) help fund the platform, which community members lead & support ¹

Resources

Initiatives

Measures

Social Media

Monetization

Communities of practice

Block Stewards Coalitions

Innovation

Shared vision & values

Knowledge base

Stewardship

Neighborhoods with goals, measures,

and capable coalitions can partner with institutions to leverage their collective knowledge, influence & ownership for results

Communities and institutions can work together to define shared goals; measure results; and improve programs & policies as well as practices

Institutions provide an array of

programs and policies citywide; but “collective impact” is limited without community partners¹

12

¹Several sources highlight the importance of community partnership for “collective impact”: A recent article featured by the Collective Impact Forum asserts: “Collective impact efforts must always have the community in their line of sight” (2015: 14; see also 5-7). And a comprehensive review of place-based initiatives in the U.S. argued for a “nested” approach to integrating institutional policy-making and community engagement: “In a nesting scheme, neighborhood initiatives fit together within larger system reforms in a mutually reinforcing way” (Placed-Based Initiatives in the Context of Public Policy and Markets, E. Hopkins, 2014: 20; blog summary).

Media

Methods Coalitions Block Stewards Measures

Monetization Communities of Practice… Knowledge Base

13

• Enhancing and expanding the pilot initiative: neighborhoods, capabilities, issues & organizations

• Identifying providers and investors to develop the “partner to providers” funding model

• Cultivating a community of practice on civic stewardship, including community activists,

capability partners (measures, media, etc.), provider organizations, funders, and researchers ¹

___________

2015 Goals: Demonstrate pilot efficacy, establish funding model, and build capabilities

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Number of participating

neighborhoods (N) (~2000 pop.)

1.5 5 10 15 25

Neighborhood Staff: coalition

coordinators & stewards

75K 250K 500K 750K 1.25m

Neighborhood seed funds

for locally led initiatives

25K 125K 250K 375K 625K

CSI Capabilities Platform

(measures, media, etc.)

75K

(50K/N)

200K

(40K/N)

325K

(33K/N)

450K

(30/N)

575K

(23K/N)

CSI Storefronts (125K each) — — 125K 125K 250K

Total Costs $175K $575K $1.2m $1.7m $2.7m

Outlook¹ • Leverage CSI Platform across a

growing number of communities for increased impact and reduced cost

• Tipping point in Boston for establishing CSI capabilities is about 25 high-opportunity neighborhoods; including a critical mass of institutions for partnerships & system adaptation

• Neighborhood storefronts (p. 38) help support and institutionalize local application of stewardship capabilities

• CSI community of practice builds the discipline and spreads the work within and across a growing number of cities (in U.S., about 70% of the population lives in 100 metro areas)

Scaling strategy

14

¹Over time, costs are increasingly covered via provider partnership contracts (versus grants). Most neighborhoods are Boston-based. Each storefront (p. 38) serves area with ~10,000 pop.; see Overview pp. 3-4 for growth strategy.

²Total annual governmental costs in these areas average $10,000/resident nationwide. The U.S. Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative “conservatively estimates” that the cost of aggregate child poverty alone is $620b per year (~$2,000/resident), due to “reduced skills development and economic productivity, increased crime, and poorer health”(2010: 5).

Typical CSI components and annual costs at neighborhood level

• Coalition coordinator(s) (~$25K)

• Block stewards (~$15K)

• Neighborhood dashboard steward (~$10K)

• Seed funding for community-led initiatives (~$25K, depending on ROI opportunities)

• Platform for Measures, Methods (e.g., innovation circles), Media & Monetization (~$25K)

Total costs about $100,000 per neighborhood with 2,000 population, ~$50/resident

Impact potential is over $2 million per neighborhood (20:1 ROI), via improved results in targeted areas (employment, health, education, housing & safety), ~$1,000/resident²

15

Cultivates communities (~2000-10,000 pop.) as strategic actors for vital cities & regions, in which residents & stakeholders shape both practices & policies to achieve targeted results

Applies a synergistic set of stewardship capabilities—many only recently available—and

develops local capacity via action-learning efforts that address ripe opportunities

Increases efficacy of institutional programs and policies via community partnerships that promote co-creation and ownership, not only coordination and outreach

Establishes a sustainable investment model based on payments for measurable outcomes that benefit both institutions and community residents; not dependent on grants

Achieves “community-led collective impact” citywide by working across levels & localities;

rather than focusing mainly on institutional collaboration or only in particular communities

1.

5.

4.

3.

2.

Capabilities

Stewardship Communities

Citywide

Investments Partnerships

²“While many of the…community change endeavors of the past 20 years can identify improved outcomes for some residents…, these investments have not aggregated to improvements in neighborhood-wide well-being or produced population-level changes in, for example, infant mortality rates, graduation rates, or income,” Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change, Voices from the Field III, 2010 (17).

From: Outsiders driving community change

To: Transformative communities leading change

Institutions manage design & implementation of programs

Local groups frame problems; co-create and apply solutions

Big solutions for big problems; pilots with 3-5-year horizon

Synergistic mix of small- & large-scale, short- & long-term

Large population (20,000+) areas, working in isolation

Micro-neighborhoods, linked with peers, locally & city-wide

Institution-based, service-delivery, policy-driven

Residents lead practice changes via peer groups, families, etc.

Program assessments for external evaluation; conducted by experts

Population-based measures for learning & innovation; collected and used by trained residents

Capacity-building mainly for leadership & organizations

Community capability platform: measures, methods, media, etc.

Dependent on short-term grants

Sustainable impact investments, based on measurable results

Top-down policy-making Capable community groups are powerful policy-making partners

¹Map shows Boston neighborhoods (in blue) that have been distressed (i.e., high rates of poverty, crime, etc.) for decades (Jennings, Tufts Univ. 2009, p. 4)

Current State After decades of concerted efforts, “distressed” neighborhoods in Boston continue to struggle in areas such as poverty, crime, disease, and drop-outs.¹

Nationwide, community-change efforts have had little effect on population-based outcomes.²

Transformative communities need robust, resident-led, civic stewardship capabilities

Persistently distressed Boston neighborhoods

16-A1

• Millennium Ten plans for “comprehensive community change”

• Holds inclusive gatherings, surveys residents, identifies issues

• Teams develop range of initiatives and assign champions

• Sponsor provides seed funds for nominated initiatives

• 3rd-year report highlights importance of clear goals, resident leaders, sustainable funding, and solutions for “activist fatigue”

TNT

M-10 Initiatives¹

• Youth HUB

• Washington Street Corridor

• Community Café

• Eco-Innovation District

• Men of Color, Men of Action

¹For more on the Millennium Ten community change process and descriptions of these and other initiatives, see the M-10 “Community Contract,” 2013

Map shows Codman Square neighborhood, pop. ~35,000 and Talbot-Norfolk Triangle, pop. ~1500 17-A1

We began by partnering with a coalition focused on youth employment in a small neighborhood with a strong capacity for collective action

Boston Project Organization

Start-up

Youth Employment

Issue

Measures Civic

Capability

TNT Neighborhood

• TNT Neighborhood (Talbot-Norfolk Triangle), ~1500 pop., is defined by both geography and resident identity

• Youth Employment Issue had been targeted as a priority by broad base of residents in Codman Square (via M-10)

• Anchor Organization has been engaging neighbors for 15 years to lead successful improvement initiatives

• We co-created a Logic Model and Measures Capability to help identify opportunities and lay the foundation for participative “innovation circles”

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“It’s a cliché of management that if you don’t measure something, you can’t manage it….And it applies as much to communities as it does to multinational corporations.”

Measures matter for innovation, learning, alignment, and monetization

And it matters who leads local measurement initiatives, because accessing, collecting, and accurately interpreting community data requires active participation by local residents and organization stakeholders

Fast Company article on community measurement initiatives, 2012

“To learn, there must be clear benchmarks and data linked to the desired outcome. Focusing on outcomes and impact will be a paradigm shift…for community development.”

Nicolas Retsinas, Harvard Business School, Investing in What Works for America’s Communities, 2012

Measures

19-A1

Youth • Create support network for youth • Identify and support youth at risk • Increase funding for youth jobs via

advocacy and “impact investing” sources • Training for skills and job readiness • Career counseling/job placement

Employers • Business people meet youth before hiring • Create support network for businesses • Identify “youth ready” employers

Local Conditions • Create list of entry jobs available • Strengthen community-school linkages

Youth Employability • “Employability” indicators include

education, career plans, risk factors, personal development, etc.

Employer Readiness • “Youth ready & willing” factors (ability

to train, flexibility, etc.)

Local Conditions • Neighborhood context, including job

market (number & type of jobs available)

Youth Employment • Percentage of youth with jobs • Pay levels (as age-skill appropriate) • Quality of jobs (e.g., career vs. temp.;

“hard skills”/marketable; meaningful)

Employer Success • Improved results • Increased social impact • Increased support from community

Community Wellbeing • Reduced poverty • Business growth • Reduced violence • Reduced incarceration • Increased civic engagement

Interventions/Ideas Outcomes Influencing Factors

The Youth HUB neighborhood coalition began by building a youth employment logic model as a basis for determining what data to collect and how to interpret it

Model

20-A1

Activities & achievements

• Organized multi-stakeholder coalition and youth surveyor team

• Established shared logic model and measurable indicators

• Identified public data sources and new data to collect

• Designed and tested survey instruments

• Developed tools & methods for collection, analysis & reporting

• Surveyed youth in catchment areas

Challenges & opportunities

• Social trust in neighborhood

• Access to institutional data

• Ensuring data completeness and validity

• Surveyor skills and team performance (quantity, quality, etc.)

• Building community awareness and support

21-A1

Activities & achievements¹

• Organizing and displaying quantitative and qualitative data

• Analyzing data for patterns, insights, and new questions

• Conducting reviews with youth surveyors and experts

• Facilitating innovation circles with diverse stakeholders

• Discovering and developing ideas to test and implement

Challenges & opportunities • Engaging array of residents, partners & stakeholders to

generate ideas and support implementation

• Identifying best opportunities, considering feasibility, impact, synergies, and time horizons

• Communicating value of proposals for support and funding

• Ongoing assessment and adaptation based on results

¹For more detail, see the Youth HUB presentation slides and video of presentation to researchers and activists, co-sponsored by URBAN Boston and Millennium Ten 22-A1

Peer groups • Youth Cohort*

Public awareness • “Hire Local Youth!” campaign

Projects/Social enterprises • Website and social media to

facilitate job searches and employment matches*

• Social enterprise to employ youth*

Partnerships with organizations • Redesign application process with

employment organizations*

• Employer readiness workshops

Policies/Programs • Reduce bureaucratic burden for

subsidized employment • Funding youth employment for

neighborhood small businesses

*Proposals now in development

Illustrative Proposal¹ (Y.E. in TNT+CIA)

Goal: add 80 PT jobs = ~$.7m income + $1.5m long-term socio-econ. benefits = ~$2 million

Youth Emp. ideas in development: • Youth Cohorts - $35K (contract staff) • Improved application process – Partners • Info/job match website – $25K (staff) • Employer workshops – Social Enterprise

Costs for Civic Stewardship Platform @ $50/Resident = $100K (pop. 2000)

ROI (with platform allocations): ~10/30:1

Other stewardship opportunities: Health, Housing, Safety, Education, Economy, etc.

Methods

Innovation circles and other methods produce an array of solutions that leverages the complementary strengths of peer groups and institutional partnerships; of social influence and social enterprise

¹“Platform costs” (for community measures, media, etc.) can be leveraged across multiple issues. As more initiatives are launched, these allocated costs decrease. Note that proposed interventions can also improve results for other priority issues (e.g., parent groups for early childhood development), with similar returns; over 5-10 year horizons, population-based improvements continue, while intervention costs decline (once new norms and practices are established). 23-A1

Capabilities • Youth Emp. Logic Model

• Innovation Methods

• Impact Grant

Neighborhoods • CIA Neighborhood

Issues • Health

Organizations • City of Boston • ABCD, CSNDC, BOLD Teams, Youth Jobs Coalition, etc. • Jerusalem Furniture, 912 Auto Center, Merchants Assoc. • Tech Boston, UMass, Boston College • Rescue Church

Boston Project

Codman Square

Youth Emp. Measures

TNT

TNT/Youth employment pilot has grown in ways that point out promising paths for expansion

24-A1

TNT

Youth Employment

Measures Monetization

Methods Media

Model

Vision & Values

CIA

923

Health

Early Childhood

Codman Square

Expand to a nested network of neighborhoods

Government agencies

Non-Profits & Foundations

Businesses

Schools & Universities

Faith Organizations

Address an array of interrelated issues Build a synergistic set of

stewardship capabilities

Engage the collective influence of organizations

We have action-learning opportunities on all fronts: capabilities, issues, neighborhoods & organizations

25-A1

TNT

CIA

923

Communities of Practice connect people to learn and

leverage capabilities city-wide

Codman Square Community

Youth Employment

Health

Early Childhood

Peer Cohorts

Stakeholder Coalitions

Community of Practice

Collaborative Leadership

e.g., Block Stewards

Collaborative Leadership by diverse participants is distributed throughout

Peer Cohorts bring people together to build skills and

achieve personal goals

Place-based Communities include nested sets of

neighborhoods

Stakeholder Coalitions convene players to steward

targeted community outcomes

An ecology of “co-leaders” in various community contexts guide interrelated stewardship activities

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An emerging meta-community will seed, sustain, and scale the work—within and across cities

Youth Employment

923

Health

Early Childhood

Codman Square

Boston

Providence

Hartford…

Energy Sustainability

Safety

Measures Monetization

Methods Media

Model

Vision & Values

Meta-Community

Dudley Square

Mattapan

TNT Government

agencies

Non-Profits & Foundations

Businesses

Faith Organizations

CIA

Neighborhoods

Capabilities

Issues

Institutions

Key

Schools & Universities

27-A1

How to define neighborhoods (geography, population, identity, assets, etc.) in metro-wide contexts?

How to organize a neighborhood coalition—with requisite legitimacy, capability, and sustainability—that coalesces diverse residents and organizations for ongoing community stewardship?

How to develop “block stewards” who can build social trust for collecting data on relevant norms and practices; share information about solutions; and enable residents to lead on issues they care about?

What level and types of knowledge regarding key issues (health, etc.) are needed for neighborhood coalitions to develop local initiatives that can achieve meaningful, measurable outcomes?

How to identify, collect, and organize data from a range of sources—including public, institutional, and community—in ways that best assure validity, completeness, and usefulness?

What are the best methods for engaging neighbors and other stakeholders in diverse stewardship activities (face-to-face and virtual), such as: prioritizing challenges, solving problems, spurring innovation, raising awareness, building relationships, strengthening community identity, and getting things done?

How to design an accessible community dashboard that is accurate, useful, engaging (e.g., with game apps), and adaptable for promoting learning and collaboration across neighborhoods?

What types of data do “pay-for-success” investors require to fund multi-faceted efforts for population impact; as an alternative (or complement) to measures for determining program impact?

How to engage institutions to form stronger partnerships with neighborhood-level initiatives (e.g., health agency that enhances outreach by working with block stewards), and to improve cross-level goal alignment?

How to cultivate communities of practice that steward influence as well as knowledge: for shaping institutional programs and policies, and for promoting learning and collaboration across neighborhoods?

The Boston-based pilot draws on world-class resources to promote discipline development

¹For example, during the pilot, we co-developed the participative survey instrument and approach with experts at UMass Boston’s Center for Social Policy. Indeed, Boston (recently featured as the social impact city) is replete with world-class experts in key areas of the CSI platform; for example: Boston Indicators on measures; URBAN and BARI (and members’ 20+ local universities) for expertise on issues; IISC on participatory methods; Urban Mechanics and the Engagement Lab on social media; and Social Finance and the Kennedy School’s Social Impact Bond TA Lab on monetization.

¹

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29-A2

Civic Media Facilitate participatory efforts to collect, share, interpret, and act on community information

Monetization Mechanisms “Pay for performance” instruments and crowd-funding sites fund initiatives that achieve measurable results

Stewardship Methods Promote collaborative problem-solving, learning, and innovation

Measurement System Population-based goals and rigorous measures guide learning and innovation and align motivation of diverse players

Vision & Values •Results

•Capacity

•Community

•Aligning

•Learning

•Connecting

Co-Leadership Community members who foster peer groups, coalitions and networks; and who apply stewardship capabilities

Multi-level Community Structures Neighborhood coalitions and communities of practice promote local action and inter-local learning, collaboration, and institutional change

Models of Issue-related Practices Logic models for societal issues (health, housing, etc.) that show key drivers at the neighborhood level as well as interventions & outcomes

Measures of population-based outcomes, drivers, interventions, and neighborhood context are collected and interpreted by coalitions of residents and specialists, using both public and local data sources

30-A2

Foreclosures in Prince Georges County, MD From Neighborhood Info, DC

Housing conditions map based on public data and a “community engagement mapping” initiative in Louisville, KY

Measurement System • Boston Indicators Project

• San Francisco data

• Chicago crime data

• Baltimore civic data, by neighborhood

• Cincinnati education data

• Community participatory research

Participatory measurement by the Louisville Network for Community Change (video)

Note: A related community measurement proposal outlines a framework for a “community measurement system.”

Participatory skills and methods enable diverse stakeholders to discover common ground and to learn and act together for achieving shared goals

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Frame: Residents work with public health experts and local professionals to identify areas for improving neighborhood health outcomes; they target pediatric asthma and exposure to toxic lead as priorities

Action: Coalition-led campaign raises awareness among residents and other local stakeholders (schools, businesses, etc.); new social enterprises provide “safe home” services; city agencies and health clinics incorporate new practices to improve screening and provide affordable solutions for families

Illustrative

¹For over 100 additional examples of methods for participative problem solving, civic engagement, etc., see list at the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation website; also a slide presentation on best practices for community-organizing.

Design: Team gathers data on results, analyzes key factors (e.g., home conditions); & plans efforts to engage residents & organizations to increase screening, prevention, and early treatment

Evaluate: Health coalition raises screening rates for lead and asthma; cuts lead exposure 25%, and reduces emergency room visits for asthma by 50%

Participative civic art in N.O.: “Before I die…”

Stewardship Methods¹ • Participative problem-solving

• 21st Century Town Meetings

• Public dialogue & deliberation

• Human-Centered Design

• Open-source collaborative design

• Study Circles / Public workshops

• Collective Impact / Asset-based CD

• City-design charettes (case)

• Heart and Soul Comm. Planning

• Community PlanIt

• Future Search / Open Space

• Right Questions / Quest. Campaign

Media facilitate participatory efforts to collect, share, interpret, and act on community information

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Civic Media • Urban Mechanics • Fixing local problems • Engagement Lab’s Community Planit • Neighborhood participation platform¹ • Neighborhood social network site • City-wide collaboration site

NYC “Change by Us” website “North Commons” community listserv (Cambridge, MA)

¹A blog post at E-Democracy.org lists ways that civic media can enhance neighborhood initiatives.

playground

“Pay for success” instruments can provide sustainable funding streams for civic stewardship initiatives that achieve measurable, population-based results

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Local crowdfunding (Detroit Soup)

Monetization Mechanisms • New York, New York – Safety

• Boston, Massachusetts – Safety

• Salt Lake City, Utah – Education

• Fresno, California – Health

• United Kingdom – Children - Homeless

“Sharing economy” strategies NYC social impact bond (detail) funds services for adolescent inmates

Intermediary

organization

Service delivery organization

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Examples of issue-based neighborhood coalitions • MOMS Partnership for early childhood development

• Magnolia Place Community Initiative for healthy children

• Village at Market Creek for social and economic impact

• Concord Can! for sustainable energy

• Issue-specific coalitions (e.g., on energy) conduct participative innovation forums and organize local efforts

• Participants are residents and local organizations who learn what works and lead initiatives they care about

• Initiatives engage social cohorts (families, friends, block groups, clubs, faith communities, etc.) to shift local practices

• Neighborhood coalitions use collective goals and rigorous measures to spur learning, motivation, and monetization

“Human-centered design” workshop

”Participatory Chinatown” game

Illustration: Dorchester Energy Coalition

Neighborhood energy-habits

survey

Insulation initiative

Sustainable energy campaign and

workshops

Green jobs for youth

Energy sustainability

game

Social media energy-saving

apps

Storefront for Urban Innovation (Philadelphia)

Design Studio for Social Innovation (Roxbury)

“Go Green” apartment buildings

Discounts on energy-saving

devices

Neighborhood groups in action

Energy Coalition

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Neighborhood Energy Coalition

Neighborhood Energy Coalition

Illustration: Boston Energy Community of Practice

• Issue-specific communities of practice organize for inter-local knowledge-sharing, networking & collective action

• Build participants’ knowledge base with online resources, participant directory, tools & methods, cases, etc.

• Establish inter-level relationships between communities & institutions (all sectors) to shape policies & programs

• Network with coalitions & institutions across cities—for innovation & systemic change at national & global levels

Examples of city-wide communities of practice¹ • Great Neighborhoods Network

• Boston Alliance for Community Health

• Los Angeles Neighborhoods Revitalization Workgroup

¹Communities of practice that connect issue-specific practitioners across localities and organizations have been applied in all sectors; for government and civic applications, see Snyder & Briggs, 2003; see also Wenger & Snyder, 2000; and Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2002.

¹ Resident leaders are known by a number of names (“ambassadors,” “parent leaders,” “outreach workers,” “promotoras,” “block captains,” and others); and they have been active in community-engagement efforts to address a variety of issues, including early childhood, maternal mental health, family wellbeing, and safety.

How co-leaders engage neighborhood influences for community wellbeing² Examples of community stewardship roles¹

Represent & Engage Local Organizations

Promote Vital Place Identity

Shape Built Environment

Community Organizing & Family Issues MOMS Partnership

Resident leaders collect community data; inform residents about services & opportunities; build & broker relationships; organize civic groups; and model civic engagement as an enriching experience

Cease Fire Boston Children Thrive

Form & Support Peer Groups

Act as Role Models

Provide Leadership for Collective Efforts

Activate Stewardship Capabilities (e.g.,

measures & media)

Weave Social Networks

Shape Social Norms

Coach Families

² These influences are depicted on slide 4 as key drivers that affect issue-specific practices (health, housing, etc.) at the neighborhood level; cf. Galster, 2010, pp. 2-3. 36-A2

Learning about the issues and innovative solutions…even when these challenge long-held basic assumptions

Aligning to shared goals for the greater good…even as the vision evolves based on new experiences and insights

Building civic capacity to improve results in terms of strength, scale, scope, and sustainability

Achieving results in targeted areas (health, education, etc.)

Becoming more conscious, caring members of interwoven, transformational communities, for current and future generations¹

Connecting with diverse others to build trust and reciprocity…even with those who have conflicting interests and ideologies

Vision

Values

¹This echoes Martin Luther King Jr.’s call for a “beloved community [that] will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives”; and it calls for transformation that occurs across levels, including personal, communal, and societal. 37-A2

Purposes complement principles, both fundamental and transformational

Neighborhood Civic Stewardship Storefront (illustrative scenes)²

¹Civic stewardship capabilities—including methods, media, measures, and monetization—are also known as components of a “civic infrastructure” or “backbone organization,” and contribute to a community’s “collective efficacy” for improving results.

The Storefront for Urban Innovation (Philadelphia): “A physical place where community members can learn about and collectively create an urban agenda for their city” (winner of the 2012 TED Prize for “the City 2.0”)

Energy Coalitio

n

Brooklyn Brainery – a place for “accessible, community-driven, crowd-sourced education”

²See sources on slide 34. Other examples of storefront-like community spaces include “The Open Works” (London), “Mayor’s Living Room” (Rotterdam), Haley House (Boston), D:hive (Detroit), and Starbucks’ “Community Stores.”

Build & apply civic stewardship capabilities¹

Conduct workshops, events & engagement efforts

Provide a vital neighborhood meeting place

Convene issue-based neighborhood coalitions

Facilitate institutional support for local initiatives

Scale capabilities & results via inter-local networks

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“By making communities of our cities we take a giant stride toward world community, and in the end lasting peace will come when…world community has been achieved.” -- Lawrence Haworth, The Good City

Facebook interactions across cities worldwide (source)

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