The Community Themes and Strengths Assessment A How-To Guide

A what? 4 Gathers information about –what is important to our community –how is the quality of life perceived –what assets do we have to improve community health 4 Through existing community groups and organizations 4 From community populations

Why? 4 To identify strategic issues (along with the 3 other MAPP assessments) 4 To vest as many individual persons in the MAPP process

How? 4 Information can be gathered in a variety of ways –Meetings –Focus groups –Forums –Door to door/intercept surveys –Mail surveys –Interviews 4 Pick a couple that best fit this setting

How? 4 Meetings –with the members of already existing community organizations in a special session or as an agenda item in a regularly scheduled meeting 4 Focus groups –using a formal moderating guide for consistency with specially recruited individuals 4 Forums –where all persons in a particular geographic or demographic area are invited to an open meeting

How? 4 Door to door/intercept surveys –distributed and collected either by walking door to door or at a location where people can be easily and safely stopped 4 Mail surveys –mailed to households with a self addressed (stamped?) return envelope 4 Interviews –with persons who are already representing the community in some fashion

Whats important? 4 Focus on assets –opportunities vs. problems –investment vs. charity –people vs. programs –community organizations vs. government agencies –citizens vs. clients

Whats important? 4 Focus on active listening –stop talking –listen carefully –repeat back –listen again –ask questions to probe for hows and whys –listen again –repeat steps as necessary

What do we talk about? 4 Questions from the MAPP manual as a starting point for developing discussion lead ins –What do you believe are the 2-3 most important characteristics of a healthy community? –What makes you most proud of our community? –What are some specific examples of people or groups working together to improve the health and quality of life in our community? –What do you believe are the 2-3 most important issues that must be addressed to improve the health and quality of life in our community? –What do you believe is keeping our community from doing what needs to be done to improve health the quality of life? –What actions, policy, or funding priorities would you support to build a healthier community? –what would excite you enough to become involved (or more involved) in improving our community.

What do we talk about? 4 Questions from the MAPP manual as a starting point for developing questions and discussion lead ins about the quality of life –Are you satisfied with the quality of life in our community? –Are you satisfied with the health care system in the community? –Is this community a good place to raise children? –Is this community a good place to grow older? –Is there economic opportunity in the community? –Is the community a safe place to live? –Are there networks of support for individuals and families? –Do all individuals and groups have the opportunity to contribute to and participate in the communitys quality of life? –Do all residents perceive that they - individually and collectively - can make the community a better place to live? –Are community assets broad based and multi-sectoral? –Are levels of mutual trust and respect increasing among community partners as they participate in collaborative activities to achieve shared community goals? –Is there an active sense of civic responsibility and engagement, and of civic pride in shared accomplishments?

Whats next? 4 Youre probably reading this because youre interested in making Columbus a healthier community. 4 Youre also probably already involved with one or more formal organizations and/or informal groups that represents a community within the greater Columbus community. 4 So lets start with that...

Record activities 4 Document about conversations, discussions and meetings –when they take place –who participated –what was discussed –the outcomes and conclusions –any next steps agreed upon 4 This doesnt have to be fancy but it provides an account of the population being approached and the processes, important for validating the MAPP process and the long- term usefulness of the data collected for purposes outside of MAPP.

What are your assets? 4 Familiarity with a particular community or organization such as –business associations –community organizations –action groups 4 Acquaintance with key individuals such as –presidents/group leaders –community leaders –subcommittees

Recruit their assets 4 At this point were looking for buy-in, support, and promotion from key individuals in relationship to their position within the larger organization or group. 4 The various data collection methods can be explored and evaluated. Based on experience... –Large structured organizations like PTAs, business associations, etc. with a specific membership, but varying degrees of involvement are appropriate for meetings followed with a survey. –Looser affiliations like civic associations are appropriate for forums and focus groups. –Specific geographic areas are appropriate for forums and intercept or door to door surveys.