	Community Change Initiatives

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

CCI 6: Implementation of the Initiative’s Plan

The organization helps the initiative to implement activities and projects that:

build or improve some aspect of the community;
address the priorities and goals specified in the initiative’s plan; and
allow community stakeholders to work together in a way that builds social and human capital.

Interpretation: Initiatives may implement a wide variety of projects and activities, depending upon their resources, priorities, and goals. Examples include, but are not limited to: implementing garden, park, or abandoned space revitalization projects; conducting street and alley improvements; developing transportation networks; forming advocacy groups on topics such as social welfare, racial equity, fair and affordable housing, and civil rights; community policing; forming a community development credit union or loan fund; attracting or developing new businesses; setting up workforce development or job linkage programs; renovating homes; developing new housing; energizing schools; offering positive youth development activities; holding community festivals; using community expertise to provide family support services; and providing server or gatekeeper trainings.

As noted in element (b) of the standard, activities and projects should be clearly connected to the goals and priorities specified in the initiative’s plan.

Note: If an organization has not yet begun to implement any part of its community plan, it should request an NA for this standard.

Research Note: Since initiatives may address a wide range of areas and seek a wide range of outcomes, they may look very different from one another on the ground. However, all activities and projects should be designed to improve the community, and should enable stakeholders to work together in a manner that builds social and human capital, regardless of the activity being performed. Literature suggests that when community stakeholders work together on productive activities that address their priorities and improve the community, they will build trust, develop friendships, learn how to work together as a team, and build confidence in both themselves and the initiative.

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	PURPOSE: Community Change Initiatives mobilize the community for action; strengthen the capacity of residents and organizations; build and improve neighborhoods; and lay the groundwork for future progress.

RELATED FILES


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	STAKEHOLDER Any person, group, or organization that has a vested interest in the services provided by the organization. Examples: clients, consumers, personnel, funding organizations, referral organizations, vendors, and governmental bodies.


	ADVOCACY An act performed with or on behalf of others through direct intervention, empowerment, or representation. Case advocacy refers to actions taken in relation to a particular individual consumer. Cause, social, or systems advocacy refers to actions taken in relation to a common issue affecting a group of persons.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	TRAINING Instruction so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient in a skill or body of knowledge.


	CONNECTED The means by which individuals access services that may or may not be provided by the organization itself. These terms are used interchangeably when individuals are connected to services either directly or by referral. See also LINKED.