|
Community Development Program Areas
Civic Engagement/Good Governance
Citizen Board Workshops
We offer a number of different classes for citizens who serve on public boards such as Planning Boards or Conservation Districts. In November 2007, we release the Board Handbook that presents information for citizens, local government officials or board members. The handbook includes information on Montana’s Open Meetings Law, Code of Ethics, membership liability and Robert’s Rules of Order in addition to a list and description of the major county boards, commissions, councils and districts in the state.
Public Officials Training
For individuals who are newly-elected to office or those who have been serving for many terms, we collaborate with the Local Government Center at Montana State University to deliver programs including the Municipal Elected Officials Workshop, Mayor’s Academy, and County Commissioner Certification Program.
Community Vitality/Strategic Planning
Public Lands Guide
We developed Public Lands in Montana: A Guide for Counties and Communities in partnership with the Local Government Center and the Montana Association of Counties. This publication presents information on the political and economic implications of public lands in Montana. We can design specific information on the effects of public lands for your community or county.
Community Profiling
Want to understand how different trends influence your community? Let us help by creating a community profile. We can design maps, graphs or tables using social, economic, and demographic data to better explain your community’s past, present and potential future direction.
Study Circles
Study Circles is a community dialogue process that can help citizens explore complex issues, make decisions and begin to take action. Study Circles is a community-driven process that begins with community organizing and is followed by facilitated, small-group dialogue on a host of topics including poverty, education and diversity that eventually leads to community change.
LeadershipPlenty®
LeadershipPlenty® is a curriculum developed through the Pew Partnership that helps communities focus on developing community leadership skills. Communities learn to understand the leadership structure and skills needed to address poverty or other topics and sustain community action and change over time.
Community Visioning
The Community Visioning process brings together the many ideas and skills generated during Study Circles and LeadershipPlenty®. Communities are encouraged to create their own vision and planning process, engaging the broader community in mobilizing, creating and adopting a shared vision and a plan to move forward collectively.
Focus Groups/Facilitator Training
We offer trainings on how to form and conduct focus groups with an emphasis on developing a discussion guide, analyzing information and reporting findings. Our Facilitator Training program presents the basics of facilitating meetings, covering the importance of ground rules, how to draft an agenda, managing difficult group dynamics, and the many decision-making tools available to facilitators and participants.
Community Tourism Assessments
Interested in learning more about the potential for tourism development in your community? We have programs to assess the tourism potential of your community. Working in partnership with the Montana Department of Commerce Promotion Division and The University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research, we can design a strategy to analyze local resident attitudes about tourism, the community's tourism potential, gaps in visitor services, and the identification of affordable projects or actions that could strengthen the role of tourism in the local economy.
|
