Comments to: crs@uvm.eduReviewed as of 4/20/98
THIS DOCUMENT WAS PRODUCED BY THE NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL LEADERSHIP
PROGRAM. IT IS POSTED BY THE CENTER FOR RURAL STUDIES FOR PUBLIC
USE. THE CENTER FOR RURAL STUDIES ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR
THE CONTENTS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, REFER TO THE USERS GUIDE.
EXERCISE NINE
A General Assessment of Needs
The best starting point for a capacity-building effort is a clear
statement of your organization's training needs. Sometimes the
needs are obvious (even painfully obvious) because of the task,
problem, or topic that concerns your members. Suppose, however,
that you don't have that sort of focus. Perhaps you have several
concerns, or perhaps you are starting from a general commitment to
training.
The method in this exercise is a membership survey regarding
training needs. It has been nicknamed "Thirty-one Flavors" because
of the number of training topics listed.
Distribute copies to everyone in the group. Have them fill out the
forms, then collect and tabulate the replies. Or, use the list as
the basis for discussion, perhaps with a large (newsprint) version
of the list and voting (show of hands) on each item to let everyone
know right away what others see as the needs.
To tabulate scores when a group of people uses this questionnaire,
first count the number of people that checked each item in the
column with the parentheses. For example, if 10 people fill out
the questionnaire, you may discover that eight out of 10 group
members consider "Methods for gathering factual information and
survey data" to be important to the success of your efforts.
Then tabulate averages for each item on the 1 to 4 rating. You
will then be able to say something like "Methods for gathering
factual information and survey data" had an average score of 2.1 on
the "adequacy" scale; people think our present abilities for this
skill (which we have identified as important) are "less than
adequate."
TRAINING AREAS
> Step 1: Which areas are most important? 31 different areas of
skill and knowledge are listed below. Please review the list and
then place a check in the parentheses next to the 10 areas that
seem most essential to your group's progress. Then go on to step
2.
> Step 2: How well are you doing? Rate your group's present level
of skill or knowledge in all 31 areas. Think of the capability of
the group overall, for each area, and ask yourself whether it is
adequate to meet the group's goals and objectives. In the blank
provided, write any number from 1 to 4:
1 = inadequate 3 = adequate
2 = less than adequate 4 = better than adequate
1. [ ]___Fund raising and budgeting.
2. [ ]___Information about how the government works.
3. [ ]___Ways to stay in touch with community needs and
preferences.
4. [ ]___Recruiting and maintaining membership.
5. [ ]___Goal-setting methods.
6. [ ]___How to influence legislation.
7. [ ]___Group process and interpersonal relations.
8. [ ]___Discussion methods for groups to explore social problems,
personal beliefs, etc.
9. [ ]___Planning and implementing special projects.
10.[ ]___How to hold officials or agencies accountable.
11.[ ]___Decisionmaking and conflict resolution.
12.[ ]___Knowledge of global issues (resource shortages,
environmental crises, food, etc.) and possible local responses.
13.[ ]___Management of volunteers.
14.[ ]___Technical content of the group's field.
15.[ ]___Ways to promote local decisionmaking in technology and
economics.
16.[ ]___Holding effective meetings.
17.[ ]___Knowledge of organizing strategies (understanding
different approaches to social action; building effective
campaigns).
18.[ ]___Problem-solving methods.
19.[ ]___How to develop community-based (grassroots) programs.
20.[ ]___Methods for gathering factual information and survey data.
21.[ ]___Ways of sharing skills and information, especially with
new members.
22.[ ]___Understanding the social and economic roots of problems,
applying this knowledge when developing goals and projects.
23.[ ]___Designing mechanisms for effective citizen participation.
24.[ ]___Long-range community planning; envisioning "alternative
futures."
25.[ ]___Knowledge about the role or mandate of your citizen board
or citizen group.
26.[ ]___Understanding the economics and politics of social
services.
27.[ ]___How to set up an appropriate organizational structure with
a clear designation of roles and responsibilities.
28.[ ]___How to run public relations or mass media campaigns.
29.[ ]___How to acquire more power; how to increase the group's
influence over important decisions.
30.[ ]___Monitoring and evaluating program performance.
31.[ ]___Providing citizens/volunteers with important and
responsible tasks, plus the information and training needed to
accomplish these tasks.
32.[ ]___Other
33.[ ]___Other
34.[ ]___Other
SOURCE: Beyond Experts: A Guide for Citizen Group Training, by
Duane Dale et al., Citizen Involvement Training Project, University
of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1978.
Comments to: crs@uvm.edu
Reviewed as of 4/20/98