Process
Communities and/or neighborhoods that are involved in the Communities for All Ages national initiative typically engage in a three stage process. The intensity of activity in each stage may vary depending on the availability and level of funding.
Stage 1: Assessment
The first step in this process is the development of a local Communities for All Ages team that includes organizations representing different constituencies (e.g. aging, education, libraries, environmental groups, family service, early childhood, faith-based, neighborhood associations), policymakers, and residents of all ages.
While the team as a whole is responsible for the design and governance of their local community change initiative, one team member representing a local nonprofit organization (with 501c3 staus) serves as the “collaborative agent.” The concept of collaborative agent differs from that of lead agency in that the collaborative agent acts as a fiscal sponsor, convenes and supports the team, but ultimately takes direction from the team as a whole, rather than acting as it’s “leader”.
The team works together to assess both the assets and challenges of their community. A range of tools are available to help them in this process, such as the Viable Futures Toolkit (www.viablefuturestoolkit.org ), guidelines for focus groups, surveys, community meetings, and assets mapping, and instruments to better understand the level of trust, connections and belonging in a community. Each site creates a community profile that summarizes the data that was collected and identifies the major issues that are of concern to all generations.
Stage 2: Planning
Based on their community profile, each site determines what issue they will use as the “door” to enter the community building process, and how their team will work over time to address this issue. With assistance from the national Communities for All Ages staff, the teams develop a logic model and action plan aligned with the Communities for All Ages theory of change to guide their process.
Stage 3: Implementation
The Communities for All Ages teams implement a range of initiatives based on their planning work . While the issues vary by site, they are all designed to address critical issues from a multi-generational, cross-sector perspective, improve the well being of residents at every stage of life and increase the capacity of residents, organizations and institutions to apply Communities for all Ages strategies.
Implementation might include: coordinating or creating new services, redesigning physical spaces, changing the way decisions are made about resource allocation, and/or promoting opportunities for lifelong civic engagement.
Examples of specific initiatives implemented by Communities for All Ages sites to date include:
- Building multi-generational learning centers
- Developing leadership academies for residents of all ages.
- Organizing Farmers Markets and Arts Festivals to promote cross-cultural and cross-age understanding
- Utilizing schools as centers for lifelong learning
For more information about these examples, go to national network page
