a planned process to activate a community to use its own social structures and any available resources to accomplish community goals decided primarily by community representatives and generally consistent with local attitudes and values strategically planned interventions are organized by local groups or organizations to bring about intended social or health changes"

Six stages of effective community organizing: 1. Assess the community 2. Create an action team 3. Develop an action plan 4. Mobilize to action 5. Implement 6. Evaluate

Assess the community  get to know the community  Know the issue to address  become familiar with the community: history demographics geography political leadership

Create an Action Team  invite people to join your community  10 to 20 active members

Develop an action plan  Break your work down into manageable steps and tasks  Hold a meeting to discuss plans of action  Include a timeline  Should be realistic, feasible, and flexible

Mobilize to action  Tasks needed to consider: Identify potential supporters by going door-to-door Build a base of support in the community Determine constituents and likely allies Contact constituents and meet with key members Make presentations Identify elected officials who you think will be supportive Solicit advice of supportive politicians for more political contacts Ask people to get involved – give them specific tasks

Mobilize to action  Responsibility as the organizer  keep the momentum of the group moving forward Break large jobs into small tasks Get and keep your team members engaged, informed, involved, and in the spotlight Be responsive and reliable – get people what they need to complete their tasks Keep the group focused and on track Don’t let opponents get your group off message or task

Implement  Maintain the change and ensure the desired results are achieved  Decide on the group’s future and begin planning and base building phases all over again

Evaluate  Review progress during the campaign to ensure you stay on track  What went right or wrong?  Learn lessons for the future  Are we making progress toward our goal?  What factors are most important in achieving the goals of the campaign?  What are the biggest challenges or obstacles for the campaign?

Evaluate  After the action plan has been implemented and the campaign is over, evaluate: What has been accomplished? What still needs to be done? What was done well? What could have been done better?