The Power of Collaborative Solutions Six Principles and Effective Tools for Building Healthy Communities

by Wolff, Tom

• ISBN13: 9780470490846
• ISBN10: 0470490845
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-02-22
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

Our helping systems are failing us and we have serious problems with traditional community problem-solving methods that are ineffective and create pain, waste, and dysfunction in our communities. In this groundbreaking book, the author spells out his real-world-tested key principles for creating collaborative solutions that build healthy communities. Collaborative Solutions is a practical book that addresses how to solve contemporary social problems by bringing people of diverse circumstances and backgrounds together in working to solve community challenges. Filled with stories and tools, it shows how to make change happen in the real world.

Author Biography

Tom Wolff, Ph.D., is a community psychologist and expert committed to issues of social justice and building healthy communities through collaborative solution. He is the founder of Tom Wolff Associates and a fellow of the American Psychological Association. Wolff is a nationally recognized consultant on coalition building and community development, and he has a lifetime of experience training and consulting with individuals, organization, and communities across North America and internationally.

Table of Contents

Web Contents	p. ix
Foreword	p. xi
Preface	p. xv
Acknowledgments	p. xxi
The Author	p. xxiii
Why Collaborative Solutions? How Our Helping Systems Are Failing Us	p. 1
Community Solutions Demand a New, Collaborative Approach	p. 3
How Our Traditional Community Problem-Solving Methods Fail	p. 4
What Does This Tell Us, and What Do We Do Next?	p. 21
Building Healthy Communities Through Collaborative Solutions: An Overview of Six Key Principles	p. 25
Encourage True Collaboration as the Form of Exchange	p. 26
Engage the Full Diversity of the Community, Especially Those Most Directly Affected	p. 27
Practice Democracy and Promote Active Citizenship and Empowerment	p. 28
Employ an Ecological Approach That Builds on Community Strengths	p. 29
Take Action by Addressing Issues of Social Change and Power on the Basis of a Common Vision	p. 31
Engage Spirituality as Your Compass for Social Change	p. 32
Community Story: The Cleghorn Neighborhood Center	p. 33
Encouraging True Collaboration	p. 43
Networking	p. 44
Coordination	p. 45
Cooperation	p. 46
Collaboration	p. 48
Learning to Collaborate: Risks, Resources, Rewards, and Responsibilities	p. 50
What Ifà	p. 51
Community Story: The North Quabbin Community Coalition	p. 53
Engaging the Full Diversity of the Community	p. 67
Mini-Grants	p. 72
Leadership Development	p. 73
Community Outreach Workers	p. 75
Community Organizers	p. 76
Experiment with Simple Options to Engage Community Members	p. 77
Community Story: The Mayor s Task Force on Deinstitutionalization	p. 83
Practicing Democracy	p. 95
How Much Participation Do We Want?	p. 98
How Do We Encourage Democratic Participation?	p. 102
More Ways to Support the Practice of Democracy	p. 105
Community Story: Valuing Our Children	p. 109
Employing an Ecological Approach That Builds on Community Strengths	p. 123
Assets and Deficits	p. 126
Setting the Stage to Move from Assets to Action	p. 128
Healthy Communities: A Model Ecological Approach	p. 131
Healthy Communities in Action	p. 135
Community Stories: The Northern Berkshire Community Coalition and The Lower/Outer Cape Community Coalition	p. 138
Community Story: The Institute for Community Peace and The Santa Barbara Pro-Youth Coalition	p. 147
Taking Action and Working for Social Change	p. 155
Key Factors for Coalitions in Successfully Creating Community Change	p. 156
Creating a Common Vision	p. 157
Community Action to Create Community Change	p. 157
Addressing Issues of Social Change and Power	p. 164
Addressing Issues of Social Change in Collaborative Efforts	p. 168
Power-Based Versus Relationship-Based Social Change	p. 179
Barack Obama's Election and the Future of Collaborative Solutions	p. 181
Community Story: Health Access Networks	p. 186
Engaging Spirituality as Your Compass for Social Change	p. 197
What Really Works?	p. 198
The Current Helping System: How It Is Stuck and How We Can Free It	p. 201
Overcoming the Limitations with the Help of Spiritual Principles	p. 204
It's Profound, It's Not Easy ... but It's Within Our Reach	p. 226
Community Story: Bringing It All Back to Earth: The Spiritual Essence of a Regular Meeting of the North Quabbin Community Coalition	p. 229
Conclusion	p. 235
Appendix: Evaluation: Assessing Our Progress and Celebrating Our Success	p. 239
Questions an Evaluation Can Help Answer	p. 240
Community Participation in Evaluation	p. 241
Frameworks for Evaluating Coalitions	p. 242
Documentation and Evaluation in Action: Community Stories	p. 247
Conclusion	p. 264
References	p. 265
Index	p. 279
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