Training Topics

Social Capital

The glue that holds communities together

Creating community discussion about social capital makes a difference. When groups consider what it is, why it matters, and what can be done to create it, they can act intentionally to strengthen it in their community. Through video tapes, activities and group discussion, this workshop helps groups move to action. Groups will understand:

• what social capital looks like in communities.
• three elements that matter to social capital.
• how social capital creates community benefits.
• how to build social capital in everyday ways.
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Tools for Public Participation Strategists

Tricks of the trade that engage the public and move you to action

In the complicated world of analyzing and organizing stakeholders, you need the right tools for the job. In these workshops, we’ll pass along tools that are helpful for:

• managing effective public meetings
• identifying stakeholders and analyzing their influence and roles
• creating, managing, and evaluating ideas
• making decisions using public involvement
• managing conflicts arising from differences of opinion.
• facilitating public dialog

Designing Participation Processes

The What, Why, Who, How, When, and Where of Public Participation

• What are the core values necessary for engaging the public in decision-making?
• What methods are effective in bringing the public to the table?
• We’ll examine the nature of public participation strategies identify what makes a strategy successful. This workshop is great for groups and individuals that want to plan how they will work with their stakeholders.

Public Participation Process in Groups and Teams

How people come together to make decisions successfully?

Groups are dynamic, ever-evolving and are more successful. We’ll look at ways that advisory councils, committees, and advocacy groups can be structured so that they communicate well with each other and perform effectively. The nature of groups, the stages of groups, and models for group management will be discussed. This training is great for new groups who want to perform more effectively or for groups and teams that are willing to re-examine their work together.

Leadership and Policy Change

How leadership changes in a shared-power world.

Drs. John Bryson and Barbara Crosby have noted that the effect of a shared-power world is that even powerful people feel marginal, frustrated and impotent. Yes, engaging stakeholders changes the nature of leadership. These workshops will help leaders clarify their leadership styles, and examine how leadership changes in forums where power is shared. We will discuss processes leaders can use to navigate the policy change by engaging the public and building coalitions.