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Introduction | (1) Book Reviews | (2) Print and Video Resources | (3) Online Resources | (4) Partnership Experiences

1 BOOK REVIEWS (Click here for the 32 page pdf file)

This section of the guide contains reviews of books on key issues for programs involved in community planning: Partnership Building, Community Assessment, and Strategic Planning. These reviews were written by community planning coordinators, and DOE and SABES staff. The reviewers used their experience and knowledge of adult basic education and community planning in crafting reviews that speak to the day-to-day realities of working in ABE community planning and the issues most relevant to the work of community planning coordinators.

Partnership Building

Bridging the Class Divide and Other Lessons for Grassroots Organizing [New review!] reviewed
by Cathy Gannon
Building Communities from the Inside Out reviewed by Lisa Deyo
Collaboration Handbook: Creating, Sustaining, and Enjoying the Journey reviewed by
Maureen Bruce
Discovering the Leader Within: Running Small Groups Successfully reviewed by Terri Stone
Facilitating Community Change [New Review!] reviewed by Michele Sedor
Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making [New review!] reviewed by
Margaret Anderson
How to Work a Room: Learning the Strategies of Savvy Socializing for Business and Personal
Success reviewed by Cathy Gannon
Meetings Do's, Don'ts and Donuts reviewed by Karen McCabe

Community Assessment

Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research [New review!] (3rd edition) reviewed by
Ionela Istrate
Focus Group Kit [New reviews!]
Volume 1: Focus Group Guidebook reviewed by Joanne Harrington
Volume 3: Developing Questions for Focus Groups reviewed by Karen Chaparian
Volume 6: Analyzing and Reporting Focus Group Results reviewed by Lisa Deyo
Guide to Evaluating Asset-Based Community Development: Lessons, Challenges, and
Opportunities reviewed by Lisa Deyo
Planning and Conducting Needs Assessments: A Practical Guide [New review!] reviewed by
Gary Gomes

Strategic Planning

Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations: a Guide to Strengthening and
Sustaining Organizational Achievement [New review!] reviewed by Betty Vermette
Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations: a Practical Guide and Workbook reviewed by
Ionela Istrate.
Reviews: Partnership Building

New Review! Bridging the Class Divide and Other Lessons for Grassroots
Organizing by Linda Stout. Boston: Beacon Press, 1996.
Reviewed by Cathy Gannon, SABES Central

My work as Community Planning Coordinator for SABES includes ordering books for the SABES library that will be a resource for program Community Planning Coordinators. The books actually come to me first before cataloguing and placement in the library. ( I get to have that special feeling of being the first to open a brand new book!) In addition to having the opportunity to peruse the content of the books, I am exposed to materials pertinent to Community Planning that I myself would not have discovered since many of the books are ordered based on others' recommendations. My first reaction to Bridging the Class Divide and Other Lessons for Grassroots Organizing by Linda Stout was that it looked interesting but not all that relevant to our work in ABE Community Planning. As I have learned more about community planning, community organizing, community development, I have learned that ABE Community Planning is not grassroots organizing. I read the book "for fun", only to find that it included information that can be helpful to forming effective ABE Community Partnerships.

Linda Stout, the founder of the Piedmont Peace Project (PPP), begins her book by sharing her personal history. As she explains in the introduction, she wants the reader to understand how poverty and attitudes towards the poor disempower and oppress poor people. She gives examples from her life in North Carolina that illustrate that the poor know neither the options nor services available to them. She shares her experience growing up as a Quaker to explain how she deals with anger as she later becomes involved in organizing against social injustices. The early chapters continue to follow her life through her attempt to attend college, early jobs, growing interest in social activism, and desire to become a community organizer. She became aware of and experienced prejudice and the connection between poverty and discrimination, and the importance of education and building relationships. These experiences influenced her later life and success as an organizer.

In 1984 she began the Piedmont Peace Project (PPP), a new model for social change based on the perspective of low-income and working class people. Stout continues in detail to relate the development of PPP. I was especially interested in the description of the growth of the group as they developed their mission statement and reflected upon not only their work to fight oppression but also their development as a working group. Emphasis is on improving communications between the group workers and continuous improvement as a team by conscious team building efforts. I found it noteworthy that so much emphasis is placed upon developing an understanding of and support of the mission of PPP when work within a community is begun. The story of the development of PPP over its first 10 years is a story of victories and losses and how the group struggled to define itself and its work. Based upon this story, Stout categorizes the lessons she learned into seven principles for organizing an effective, successful, and inclusive grassroots movement.

As I read on about the seven principles I began to see more clearly lessons that those of us involved in ABE Community Planning can learn from the experience of Linda Stout. I have often felt that the process we are following does not put enough emphasis on the inclusion of regular community members and present and potential students in the partnerships. While we know that inclusion of these groups is important many of us don't make concrete plans to expand memberships and much too willingly accept the failure of our tentative attempts to include community members. We can learn much from the principles of Work across race and class lines; Work with indigenous organizers and leaders; Encourage diversity with ongoing outreach and training; and Be flexible and ready to create new models and leadership styles of participants.

I think that the most valuable chapter for ABE Community Planners is Chapter 7 "Invisible Walls" in which Stout examines barriers that are encountered by people, especially low income and people of color, attempting to join white middle class organizations. The "Invisible Walls" include: the wall of language, the wall of assumptions of knowledge, the wall of simple logistics, and the wall of meeting format and organizational structure. Is "strategy" a better word than "plan"? Do we assume that the "potential students" in our communities are too busy with the business of surviving to become involved? Does the meeting adjourn at 9:30 when the city busses stop running at 9:00? Stout gives many concrete examples of "invisible walls" that hinder participation. It is necessary that these barriers be searched out and more importantly that the hard work of removing them be an ongoing priority of the group. "Only when we begin to replace these walls with well-built bridges will we begin to approach our goal of building a diverse movement".

Real inclusion of community members and students and potential students suggests that we would have "to do business" differently. Stout shares with the reader ideas about leadership development that help us realize and then change barriers that we set up within our partnerships to full participation and shared responsibility. The Piedmont Peace Project sets out to redefine leadership. Their model emphasizes that people should be encouraged to become leaders and there is no reason for thinking that there can only be one leader of the group. Out of shared leadership come many different ideas and styles for getting the work done. For PPP developing broad-based leadership is a conscious effort. The leadership development process begins with activities that encourage members to look at themselves as leaders and then trains members to become leaders supporting their philosophy that new leaders are "made, not born." Many of the strategies for building shared leadership are strategies that can be applied to building and strengthening our ABE partnerships. Developing shared leadership is not without its downside - it takes a lot of time and ongoing support. Often PPP was criticized for having too many leaders. Stout answers these critics by sighting her experience: "... our experience at PPP has shown us that the more leaders we have, the more we share leadership, and the more new people we have taking on leadership roles, the stronger and more powerful we become."

Barely had I finished Bridging the Class Divide when I found myself recommending it to a Community Planning Coordinator who was concerned that her community's partnership was only doing lip service to working towards the promise of ABE Community Planning. This book is not a "how to manual" for building our Community Planning Partnerships but it does give us options for ways that we can approach our work. We understand that each community is different, that each partnership is different. This book shows us that we can look to the lessons learned from grassroots organizing to form partnerships that build upon the uniqueness of our communities.

Cathy Gannon is the Community Planning Specialist at SABES Central. She can be contacted by email at cgannon@qcc.mass.edu.

Building Communities from the Inside Out by John Kretzmann and John McKnight. Chicago: ACTA Publications, 1994

Reviewed by Lisa Deyo, SABES West

How do you think about your community? Do you first see your community in terms of its capacities and strengths? Or do you see it in terms of its needs? In Building Communities from the Inside Out, the message is clear. John Kretzmann and John McKnight begin with the premise that the community development process starts from a community's capacities and potential, not its needs. What Kretzmann and McKnight call an "asset-based community development" process builds on the special skills, resources and strengths that communities - their members, local associations, businesses, churches, government agencies and more - have to contribute to their own development.

The authors believe that how we perceive our communities - by their deficiencies and needs or by their strengths and capacities - determines how we take care of problems in our communities. Deficiency-oriented policies and programs can end up creating "client neighborhoods" which deepen dependence on external assistance. The community development process, instead, should start from the "inside out" as an "internally focused" process. Community members and organizations that successfully engage in locally driven development are more likely to see themselves as being capable problem-solvers and are stronger and less willing to become dependent on outside resources and assistance. Starting the community development process with an internal focus will also help communities at a later stage to more effectively leverage and use external resources and define their own agendas for change. Integral to this process of asset-based community development are the relationships developed among individuals, associations, and institutions that become the impetus for change.

The book focuses on ways in which the key assets and resources of community residents, special interest groups, citizens' associations and non-profits, publicly funded institutions, and the private sector can be identified and mobilized, beginning with a "capacity inventory" and mapping of the community assets identified in this inventory. For example, the capacity inventory for individuals details the skills that people have learned in their personal and public lives that can be connected with other associations and contribute to the community development process. Particular attention is paid to the gifts and talents of groups normally labeled, such as welfare recipients, youth or the elderly, in society. The last two chapters of the book focus on rebuilding communities' economies and provide examples of policies and guidelines that support asset-based community development.

The authors are experienced community developers who draw from their own experience and communities nationwide to illustrate the process they describe. The many examples of innovative community development partnerships found in U.S. cities and towns and the simple format make the book enjoyable and easy to read.

Building Communities from the Inside Out was written for people who are looking for ways to strengthen their communities and foster the growth of effective community building partnerships. Its audience would include community leaders, community planners, and organizations interested in developing or regenerating partnerships in their communities. The book was written to be used as a resource or guide, not to be read from beginning to end. Readers are encouraged to review the sections that are most relevant to their own context. Whether or not you choose to follow the process that they suggest, the many ideas and examples found in this book can broaden your way of thinking about community members' and organizations' assets and the possibilities and potential in the community development process.

Additional information on capacity-building community development can be found at the Asset-Based Community Development Institute website at http://www.nwu.edu/IPR/abcd.html and www.abcdtraininggroup.org. Building Communities from the Inside Out and supplemental workbooks can be ordered from ACTA Publications (4848 N. Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois 60640) by telephone at (800) 397-2282.

Lisa Deyo is the Community Planning Coordinator at SABES West. She can be reached via email at ldeyo@hcc.mass.edu.

Collaboration Handbook: Creating, Sustaining, and Enjoying the Journey by Michael Winer & Karen Ray. St. Paul, MN: Amherst Wilder, 1994.

Reviewed by Maureen Bruce, Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Collaboration has become the new buzz word!!!! People use it to describe any time they get together for a purpose beyond normal duties or interests. True collaboration means doing things very differently than we've done them before. This book looks at the relationships we need to build and the work we need to do to make our collaborations successful.

The Collaboration Handbook: Creating, Sustaining, and Enjoying the Journey is user friendly. The size of the book is very comfortable to handle, like a school workbook. It is big enough to have a lot of information on each page and references in the margins tell readers where they can find further information on certain subject areas in another section of the book.

"You must be the change you wish to see." Mahatma Gandhi

The authors, Michael Winer and Karen Ray, separated the handbook into 4 sections, making it very easy to read and follow.

Part I offers a story to help readers see, in action, the stages and challenges of collaboration. The experiences of the characters in this story help us appreciate the theory-in-action behind the four stages. The story is about 2 agencies who accept the challenge of forming a collaborative. This effort came about after a mix-up in which some families whom one agency, the Tri-County shelter, could have served were turned away. Tri-County called another shelter to talk about the problem. Because the possibilities excited them, they wanted to involve others. Thus people with different contributions and interests in a common cause were brought together. This story is referred to throughout the book as a guide to understanding collaboration.
Part II provides a definition of collaboration and applies the metaphor of a journey to the process of collaboration. This definition and metaphor provide a framework for the rest of the book.

Part III details the four stages of collaboration and their respective challenges, described geographically to remind us of where we are in the journey. This part supplies a step-by-step "how to" guide to our journey.

Part III provides additional ideas, such as:

-Go Slow Signs - important items to note in making collaborations work well.
-Guide Books - enriched information about a particular aspect of the journey.
-Milestones - brief summaries that let us know when we've finished a leg of the journey.

Part IV contains appendices - a list of 19 factors influencing successful collaborations, an annotated list of books, publications, and articles on collaboration, and worksheets for documenting the collaboration. The worksheets correspond to each of the challenges described in Part III and are meant to be used to help programs think through the process.

"A mind stretched by a new idea will never return to its original position." Don Coyhis - Founder, White Bison, Inc.

Navigating your way around the book

The authors suggest that the readers should best meet their individual needs and extract the most from the book by moving about the book as they choose. I wanted an itinerary, a step-by-step description of what to do, so I started with Part III, which describes the four steps of collaboration sequentially. Some travelers who have had experience with collaboration and know that this journey is not a straight route might search the Contents and Index and go directly to their destinations. For some readers Part I will aid the traveler who learns best from example, because that section gives a quick overview of the people and problems that collaboration partners often encounter. Travelers who want only the big picture can go immediately to Part II, which gives a framework for working together. Highly experienced travelers may need only the worksheets in Part IV.

For a traveler, the Collaboration Handbook can help start any kind of joint effort, improve an existing collaboration, or help test the waters with a small project. In Part IV, I found the worksheets a useful tool. The worksheets start off with an initial membership roster, meeting agenda and conclude with ending rituals, celebration and enjoyment. This is an excellent checklist to make sure you are traveling on a road of creation.

"Pay attention to the questions you need to ask, not the answers you want to hear." Leonard Hirsch - American consultant

Reviewer's Thoughts

As the journey began, the reader met a group of people who accepted the challenge of forming a collaborative. Their story invited us to consider two aspects of collaboration: what it offers and what it demands. I am happy to report that the handbook did offer: an explicit and useful approach, inspiration as I journeyed with the team, many stimulating ideas on ways groups work together, and lastly a practical and wise contribution to the literature on collaboration.

Every collaboration is different. Did this handbook help with specific needs? YES!!! The definition, metaphor, and detailed steps in the four stages/sections provide a model that helps create, sustain, and enjoy the collaborative journey. I enjoyed reading the Collaboration Handbook and would recommend the book to others. The journey comes from real experiences of collaboration. It would be most helpful for those working in community planning and partnerships.

This book review was written by Maureen Bruce, the education/vocational coordinator at Bridge Over Troubled Waters in Boston. Her work number is (617) 423-9575, ext. 28, and her email is mbruce71@hotmail.com.

Discovering the Leader Within: Running Small Groups Successfully by Randy Fujishin. San Francisco: Acada Books, 1997.

Reviewed by Terri Stone, Webster Public Schools ABE Program

Introduction

Have you ever experienced the frustration of calling a group together and, after several meetings, felt like you've accomplished little or nothing? Have you convened a committee based upon what seem to be agreed upon goals, but find that only one or two members are willing to do any real work? These and other small group difficulties, as well as many effective tools for dealing with these situations, are the subjects of Discovering the Leader Within. The primary purpose of this practical guide for successfully running small group activity is to improve effective participation in any group as well as in everyday life. Discovering the Leader Within systematically approaches the effectiveness of small group management through a "basic understanding of solving problems in a small group setting and the skills necessary to participate in and lead effective group discussion." This book also addresses self-assessment as a basis to better understand how to deal with others in group work as well as in everyday life.

The following review briefly outlines the main content of the book as well as the reviewer's thoughts on the content.

Reviewing the Book

Surprise Beginning

Discovering the Leader Within begins by resembling a fairly typical reference book very useful for any small group work, as Mr. Fujishin lays the groundwork for the rest of the book. He
begins with important definitions and generalities surrounding the motivations of small group convention. Topics covered in the first chapter include:

¨ Definition of Problem Solving Groups
¨ The Small Group as a System
¨ Group Characteristics
¨ 4 Phases of Group Development

However, Mr.Fujishin's psychology and relationship therapy background adds a marvelous dimension to the subject as he asks the reader to evaluate his or her own interpersonal styles to better understand how to accept oneself as well as accepting others. This, according to the author, is imperative for truly successful group work. He adds," It is important for you to have a familiarity with yourself before you enter into group work. You are less apt to look to other group members for approval, for you have taken the time to examine and accept your strengths as well as your weaknesses." He returns to the self-assessment theme at different points throughout the book.

Practical Guide

As well as being an excellent handbook for all community planners due to the kinds of information in this book, each chapter contains both individual and group exercises that can be used at numerous points in time to test, review, and practice the tips and techniques that are shared. The practical information and systems that Mr. Fujishin presents include:

¨ Speaking Clearly: Ways to Speak and Ways Not to Speak
¨ Listening for Understanding: Ways to Listen and Ways Not to Listen
¨ Problem Solving in Groups: Problem Solving Myths, Decision Making
Techniques and the Standard Problem Solving Agenda
¨ Research Techniques
¨ Effective and Dysfunctional Discussion Guiding Behaviors
¨ Traits of Leaders and How to Lead an Effective Meeting
¨ Cohesive Group Building
¨ Managing Conflict

Reviewer's Thoughts

As the Community Planner for the Webster Public Schools Adult Basic Education program for the past 2 1/2 years, I have had the opportunity to work on and to create a variety of small groups and have experienced numerous levels of accomplishment from each group. Some groups have worked well together and have achieved the goals that were agreed upon. This guidebook explains the successful techniques that were unknowingly employed. However, other group dynamics have not run quite so smoothly and it was these frustrations that I had hoped would be addressed in this book. To my satisfaction and delight, they were.

Early in this book, Mr. Fujishin lists training goals for a group of managers with which he has worked. His list of intended goals intrigued and excited me and I hoped that his book would help me to understand how I could accomplish these tasks when faced with them. His goals included:

1. Showing managers how to spend considerably more time examining and discussing problems.
2. Coaching managers to use active listening to clarify the position of those who criticized their proposed solutions.
3. Instruction on the use of brainstorming techniques.
4. Training managers to identify and limit tangential and irrelevant discussion during problem solving.
5. Teaching verbal tools and strategies the managers could use to guide, direct, focus, and summarize discussions in a more effective and expedient manner.

Techniques for dealing with all of these situations were outlined in this book, making this text for me a resource to which I will refer on a regular basis regarding small group issues.

Summary

As a guidebook for Community Planners in Adult Education, this book is filled with valuable information that will help relieve some of the frustrations of "getting started" when attempting to facilitate effective small group work. This book considers an additional dimension, however, when it promotes self-introspection regarding how we deal with others in professional and personal affairs. Mr. Fujishin's final quotation is by Emerson. He concludes, "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." This premise makes this book a fabulous document for both professional and personal growth, and I highly recommend it to just about anyone!

Terri Stone is the Adult Education Director and Community Planning Coordinator at Webster Public Schools ABE Program.

New Review! Facilitating Community Change by Darvin Ayre, Gruffie Clough and Tyler Norris. San Francisco: The Grove Consultants International, 2000

Reviewed by Michele Sedor, SABES West

The first thing you notice about this publication is its packaging; there are graphics, illustrations and color that pull you into each page. A quick thumbing through the pages shows charts, handouts, checklists, maps . . . all intended to help the reader navigate through the community change process more easily. In the Foreword to the publication, the authors say that it is intended as an "idea source" and, in fact, that is exactly what it is. This is not a text-only tome of theory that needs to be waded through. It is a manual ready to be picked up and used.

Facilitating Community Change is designed for community change/development professionals who want easy access to ready-made, helpful tools for their work. The chapters take you through a step-by-step model of community organizing, beginning with "Assessing Readiness" and ending with "Implementing Change." In between are chapters that deal with building a leadership team, developing purpose, mission and vision with your team, assessing community assets and developing action plans. Each chapter begins with a two-page overview of the chapter that is done in an easy to read format incorporating both text and graphics. This allows you to navigate and easily find specific topic areas. This manual helps readers view the community as an instrument for positive change, from start to finish, and offers helpful suggestions and benchmarks along the way.

A word of warning about how you approach this manual, however. As someone who prefers to page through "how-to" manuals instead of reading them from cover to cover, I found myself becoming overwhelmed by all the information on each page. Should I read the text first, or look at the graphic or read the information in the box? I would get to the end of the page and want to continue but found my eyes drawn downward to the two-tone blue waves that undulated across the bottom of each page. Should I read the text that appeared on these waves before moving on? What did the different headings superimposed on the waves mean? A quick look back to the first chapter and the Foreword, and I found the explanation I was looking for: these waves represented different "sustainability streams" of community change. However, once I knew what they were, I still found it was easier to ignore them. It was confusing to stop the reading on the top two-thirds of the pages to try to follow the thread contained in the waves below.

"Energizing the Community: Building Knowledge for Action" is the most relevant chapter for partnerships working on their Assessment of Assets and Needs. The purpose of "Energizing the Community" is to provide "learning experiences" and build "skills and relationships that will enable stakeholders to act on the issues that mean the most to them." The objective of the chapter is to "help participants identify meaningful activities that will assist stakeholders in expanding their perceptions and knowledge about their communities." Following these, the chapter contains helpful information on conducting a visioning process with your group, including a checklist. The section on community assets includes a step-by-step outline of how to do a mapping process, as well as alternative mapping strategies. SPOT Analysis is presented as one alternative way of looking at community assets and needs. This tool is used to identify a community's Strengths, Problems, Opportunities and Threats.

I was disappointed in the section on incorporating diverse perspectives into the community planning/change process. The little that is mentioned explains that everyone should be treated equally and doesn't address the issue of how to deal with the power differentials that are inherent in any group. Just "seeing everyone as an equal" doesn't begin to address dealing with difference. I would have liked to see more attention paid to this area and some constructive activities and ideas presented in a format similar to those used in other parts of the book.

ne of the manual's strengths is that it is very action focused and gives you tools and ideas to help you move your partnership forward. The appendix is full of one-page "how-to's" of useful activities including process mapping, force field analysis, a community planning matrix, and others. If you are looking for an easy to read manual of tools that are either ready to use or easily adaptable for your specific community, then this is a great book. However, since it doesn't contain a lot of in-depth background information, it should be used as a complement to other resources or by people who already have some experience in community planning/organizing and are looking for specific tools and ideas.

Sprinkled throughout the book are references and examples that draw upon the extensive experience that the authors bring to working in communities. They have worked both domestically and internationally and provide consulting services. (For more information see www.communityinitiatives.com.) This manual carries a hefty price tag so check it out to see if it works for your partnership before you order it. Contact the Central or Western SABES offices to borrow a copy or check with your local Massachusetts Prevention Center.

Published by The Grove Consultants International, San Francisco, CA. 2000. ISBN: 1879502-39. Available by ordering online at www.grove.com or contact The Grove Consultants International, PO Box 29391, San Francisco, CA, 94129 (800)49GROVE.

Michele Sedor is an Associate Coordinator at SABES West.

New Review! Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making
by Sam Kaner, Lenny Lind, Catherine Toldi, Sarah Fisk, and Duane Berger Philadelphia, PA: New Society Publishers, Ltd, 1996

Reviewed by Margaret Anderson, The Literacy Project

Why is it that so many of us who theoretically appreciate participatory decision-making feel a sense of dread when we are part of a group process? Perhaps it is because so many meetings feel like a waste of time or leave us feeling more divided than united. Perhaps it is because we often
feel that the decisions were made ahead of time, or our opinions weren't really heard, or because meetings end and we don't know whether a decision was even made. Perhaps we spend more time deciding where to order lunch than debating the important issues on the agenda.

After so many discouraging experiences, many people conclude that participatory decision-making just doesn't work. I've heard people say it's inefficient, can't be used within a hierarchical organization, only works if the group has the same fundamental values, can't work in a large group, or just isn't compatible with basic human nature. I've come to feel some of these things myself.

The authors of The Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision Making, offer a very different - and encouraging - point of view. Firm believers in both the philosophy and the efficiency of participatory decision-making, they provide a framework to think about the process, and dozens of valuable skills for facilitators. Throughout the book they include real-life examples of what works, and what doesn't. Their analyses of what doesn't work gave me a new perspective on some of my own experiences, and the stories of success left me re-energized and encouraged, both as a facilitator and a participant.

What's in the book?

This book is organized into three parts. Part I, Grounding Principles, outlines the stages of the group decision-making process and the role of the facilitator. This section would be particularly useful to go over as a group, so that everyone has a shared expectation of the process. Part II, Facilitator Fundamentals, covers skills useful for facilitators at all stages of group work. For new facilitators, it's a great roundup of strategies to use. For experienced facilitators, it's a well-written reminder of familiar techniques. Part III, Building Sustainable Agreements, looks at each stage in more detail and offers tools that can be helpful at each point. In this section, they detail how to move a group from one stage of thinking to the next.

Each topic or skill is succinctly presented on one page. They have a generous photocopying policy, and the pages are intended to be copied and distributed to groups.

Why Use Participatory Decision Making?

The authors readily admit that most people have had negative experiences with group decision-making. While they see the role of the facilitator as "helping the group to do their best thinking," they note that group decisions are often mediocre, at best, and leave many people dissatisfied. It doesn't have to be that way. With excellent facilitation and knowledge of the stages a group moves through as they struggle towards the decision, the participatory process can actually be the most effective and efficient way to proceed. Why is that? Because when the decisions are important, complex, or emotionally laden, the quick, obvious solutions often fall apart in the implementation stage. The same group or decision-maker may come back to the issue repeatedly, because it wasn't really solved by the quick decision. Participatory decisions, on the other hand, take longer to reach, but tend to create lasting solutions, because they have taken all of the relevant perspectives into account. For this reason, corporate and political leaders have found participatory decision-making effective, and the book offers numerous examples from these settings.

The Framework of Group Decision-Making

Using visuals as well as text, the authors divide the decision-making process into "zones", describing the emotions and types of behavior common among groups in each zone, as well as the skills and strategies facilitators can use.

Where Most Meetings Stay: "Business as Usual"

The first stage of a meeting they name "business as usual." At this initial stage, people participate on a superficial level, offering non-controversial and predictable solutions to problems. This is a safe, comfortable place in the process. Most decisions don't need to move
beyond this phase, because they really are simple and routine. Other decisions are more complex, either because of the number of people they affect, the seriousness of the decision, the emotions involved, etc. In these cases, the facilitator's job is to help the group move beyond "business as usual" and into the next phase: divergent thinking.

Welcoming New Ideas: The "Divergent Zone"

When there are a number of conflicting views about how to solve a problem - or, in fact, what the problem is - we need to find out what all of the views and ideas are. This requires sharing ideas that may sound absurd, unfinished or off-the-wall. It may involve strong expressions of emotion, or deeply conflicting points of view. It may require us to take diversions down other paths in order to become clearer about what the topic really is.

People will very likely offer ideas that may seem fragmented or not "on topic." That's fine, the authors say, because only by approaching the topic from their own reference point and using their own words, will people offer their more unconventional and honest thoughts. It's those ideas, the ones that aren't generally welcomed and nurtured, that pave the way for creative solutions later on. The facilitator's job is not to keep the conversation tightly focused, but to help the group come back to the focus after the various diversions, and weave together the different perspectives into one conversation.

Sitting with the Differences: The "Groan Zone"

When everyone seems to be coming from a different point of view, and moving in a different direction, we often feel discouraged and frustrated. It can feel like we aren't even arguing about the same thing, because each person has such a different view on the problem at hand. At this phase, the facilitator's job is to help build a shared framework of understanding, so that we can define the problem in a way that takes everyone's point into account. Only then will we be able to come up with a solution that works for everyone.

I found it very reassuring to see this phase named and described, because I am so familiar with it! While it is a predictable part of the process, it's uncomfortable and awkward. Groups often end the process at this point because the emotions are so difficult to sit with. When they do, the authors say, participants often feel many of the frustrations that I described above: the process left us more divided, the discussion was pointless, people weren't listening to one another, we never get anywhere, the process doesn't work. By naming the Groan Zone, we can anticipate it and have some perspective on it while we are in it - particularly if we believe that we can wade through it to the other side.

Building Inclusive Solutions: The "Convergent Zone"

Interestingly, the time-consuming part of the work, according to the authors, is not in coming up with solutions. Rather, it is in generating the ideas in the divergent phase, and working to create shared understanding in the "groan zone". Once these tasks have been done, the work of coming up with solutions that work for everyone is fairly smooth. When people feel understood and hear that their needs are taken into account by others, creative solutions begin to take shape with a synergetic energy that hadn't been present earlier.

The Final Step: The "Closure Zone"

A final and essential piece of group decision-making is reaching closure about the decision made and the implementation of the decision. It's extremely important to be clear about what type of decision will be made, who will make it, and how it will be made. Groups who have struggled through the groan zone but fail to have clarity about closure can end up just as frustrated with the process as those who end the discussion amid controversy.

A number of points in this section help to make the entire process more useful in a practical setting. They discuss how the process can be used in a hierarchical organization, and where the pitfalls are for the decision-maker. They also provide some variations on consensus. Some groups use "consensus minus one" as their standard for agreement, so that one person doesn't have complete veto power. Others use 80% agreement rather than 100% agreement. These variations allow for some disagreement, so that decisions can move forward while still ensuring that the group is committed to a process of working together collaboratively. The authors also point out that "Yes" and "No" don't always describe the range of support people may have for a proposal. Their chart, "Gradients of Agreement," gives eight possible positions along a continuum of full support to formal blocking of the proposal.

Participatory Process and Community Planning

If the goal of the community planning process is to bring together a variety of "stakeholders" in the community to form a strategic plan for adult education in the community, we are inevitably going to have some very different perspectives and ideas in the room. We can expect disagreement on the priorities for spending, how to address the unmet needs, and where to focus our energies. We can expect that group members will be operating from within different frameworks, view each issue from their own point of view, and have different styles of communicating. The process invites a diversity of views; our challenge is to create a shared framework and agreement on the priorities. If the group is truly engaged in the process, it will be a daunting but extremely valuable project. I would highly recommend this book for those who are trying to facilitate the process, and even for those who are simply participating in it.

Margaret Anderson is the volunteer coordinator for The Literacy Project. She is based in Greenfield.

How to Work A Room: Learning the Strategies of Savvy Socializing for Business and Personal Success by Susan RoAne. New York: Warner Books, 1988.

Reviewed by Cathy Gannon, SABES Central

How to work a room…….that's not a classroom?

In recent years, I've been finding myself working more and more actively with many groups and individuals who are not adult educators. As a program director, I found myself attending Chamber of Commerce "After Fives" as I tried to make contacts with businesses in the hope of sparking interest in Workplace Literacy programming. As a member of a local school to career partnership executive committee, I found myself attending recognition events, job fairs, and (for me) the dreaded open house. My present work as SABES Community Planning Specialist has made me recognize that the community planning initiative is adding a new dimension to the role of all ABE program directors. I looked to a colleague, one obviously skilled in moving about the world beyond the classroom door, for some advice and tips on making this transition. Her recommendation of the book How To Work a Room was a good one.
How to Work A Room by Susan RoAne (Warner Books, 1988) is an easy to read guide to successful socializing for both business and personal success. Although there are situations discussed which I am unlikely to find myself in, such as working a tradeshow, there are plenty of examples and situations used which are relevant to the world of adult educators. The universality of this guide is somewhat limited though by the author's seeming targeting of her work to a female audience.

Ms. RoAne, a consultant to business and author of several books, states that her goal for writing this book is to give the reader the confidence and the tools to manage social events so that you come away with the feeling that you have accomplished your own goals. In this book, she focuses on identifying "roadblocks" to our circulating with ease and comfort and suggests remedies. There are also practical tips for starting conversations, and establishing communication.

As I was reading How To Work A Room, I found myself mumbling to myself "I knew that" over and over. RoAne successfully led me from recognizing both my own strengths and weakness in these "being social for work" situations to realizing that with conscious planning I can make the most of my strengths, minimize my weaknesses, and by so doing, I can remove the feeling of dread with which I often approach networking opportunities. The tips, such as practicing your self-introduction and tailoring it to meet your immediate goal, are practical and realistic. Successfully working a room can help ABE practitioners to successfully build a community partnership!

Check out Susan RoAne's website [http://www.susanroane.com/books.html] to preview the table of contents and a chapter from How to Work a Room, The Secrets of Savvy Networking, and What Do I Say Next? How to Work a Room: The Ultimate Guide to Savvy Socializing In-Person & On-Line will be available October 2000.

Cathy Gannon is the Community Planning Specialist at SABES Central. She can be contacted by email at cgannon@qcc.mass.edu.

Meetings: Do's, Don'ts and Donuts by Sharon M. Lippincott. Pittsburgh, PA: Lighthouse Point Press Publishers, 1999.

Reviewed by Karen McCabe, Randolph Community Partnership ESOL Program

Meetings: Do's, Don'ts and Donuts is a practical reference guide to all aspects of meetings. This guide covers everything from planning an agenda and deciding who to invite to running a smooth meeting free from long digressions or negative behavior/comments and following up on all decisions and plans made at the meeting.

This guide would be useful for businesses in their meeting planning, but it is equally relevant and useful for community planners. It is a resource for those planning/leading meetings and also for anyone attending meetings.

One of Lippincott's central themes is that planning is a key to every successful meeting, no matter what kind of a meeting you are leading or attending -- large, small, multi-site (using technology). In each section, she returns to this theme and offers suggestions for ways to prepare for a meeting. Suggestions include ways for a leader to get others involved, such as through phone calls, notes, and agendas mailed before the meeting. The importance of preparation by all members of meeting groups is stressed throughout.

The handbook also provides strategies for resolving conflict when it does arise, staying on track, and following up on decisions and plans made at the meeting. Lippincott suggests that each group come up with its own set of Ground Rules to be followed at each meeting. Whether formally or informally adopted, these rules should help each group with issues such as keeping on track and dealing with negativity. In terms of the Ground Rules as well as for any other decisions that need to be made by the group, Lippincott recommends consensus as a long-term solution. By building consensus, everyone will be satisfied with the decisions made and these decisions will be more lasting and productive.

In community planning groups, preparation by all members is key to running a smooth meeting. Also, it is important to build consensus. Usually these community planning groups are made up of individuals from a variety of organizations with a variety of personal reasons for involvement. A consensus should ensure that people's individual goals are met, while the plans for the population being served are also carried out successfully.

Lippincott's handbook also suggests successful ways to delegate responsibility -- getting all members of a community planning group involved may take some skillful delegating -- and ways to keep records and do accurate follow-up.

This is a very well-organized and instructive handbook for community planners and others who must plan organized and productive meetings. It is easy reading from start to finish; it also serves well as a handy quick reference guide for specific questions during the meeting process.

Karen McCabe is the Community Planning Coordinator for the Randolph Community Partnership ESOL program for adults in Randolph, MA. She has been with that program for four years as a teacher, community planning coordinator and counselor. She is also coordinator of the Marshall's Distribution Center/Operation Bookstrap Workplace Education Program. Her work number is 781-961-8888, and her e-mail is cabmccabe@hotmail.com.

Reviews: Community Assessment

New Review! Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research
(3rd edition) by Richard Krueger and Mary Anne Casey. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2000.

Reviewed by Ionela Istrate, YMCA, Woburn

As suggested by the title, the book is primarily meant as a practical guide and reference for all those who are conducting focus groups, contracting focus group research work, or teaching about focus groups. Based on the authors' many years of theoretical and practical experience, it offers step-by-step detailed advice on conducting focus group research.

This third edition expands the "how-to" with more concrete descriptions, examples, suggestions, and procedures for planning, questioning, analyzing, or answering questions about focus group research. The new additions render the book more valuable both for direct, practical use and for teaching. Also new to the third edition is a chapter on the differences between the four identifiable approaches to focus group research: market research, academic, nonprofit and participatory research.

The book is organized in eleven chapters that outline the processes involved in focus group research in logical sequence and offer an abundance of practical examples of how to achieve the desired results. The summaries at the end of each chapter make it easy to review or just to skim through the chapters.

Chapter 1 presents an overview of Focus Group characteristics that differentiate it from other types of group activities. This chapter also presents a short history of the development of focus group research from the early traditional individual interviews with open-ended questions in the 30's and 40's, to the beginning of real focus groups during World War II, and on to recent times. Although delayed in academic circles, the acceptance of focus groups by the for-profit sector beginning with the 1950's has generated so much growth that a whole industry was created just to support focus group research.

Chapters 2 - 7 present practical strategies to fulfill the main requirements and the best practices in conducting focus group research. The topics covered in these chapters include: effective planning, good questioning, skillful moderating, selecting the right participants, conducting systematic and sequential analysis, and reporting appropriately.

I found those chapters extremely interesting and important. Like all other Adult Basic Education programs who receive funding from the Massachusetts Department of Education our program is under contractual obligation to create a Community Planning Partnership and to develop an Assessment of Assets and Needs of the community we serve. Focus groups play an important role in determining the needs and preferences of the residents in the community, but most of the Adult Education practitioners have little experience with the use of this technique. Therefore these chapters are especially important for those who need to learn the basic know-how of conducting Focus Groups.
Detailed advice outlines when and how each step of the process should be implemented. All possible questions are being answered e.g.: How long should the Focus Group last (two hours); How many questions should we ask (about a dozen); How should the questions be organized (from general to specific, positive before negative, uncued before cued); How to get people to attend (make personal contact, send personalized follow-up letter, make a reminder phone call); What to do if hazardous weather occurs just hours before the meeting (call each person and cancel); if only a few attend (conduct the session anyway and try to find out what kept people from attending) etc.

Caution icons throughout the book point out areas of concern that need to be dealt with, for example: not to mix focus group participants who may feel they have 'different levels of expertise or power related to the issue'; not to invite questions at the beginning of the focus
group session; not to confuse the participants by rephrasing the questions, and many others.

Real-life examples suggest solutions to a variety of situations. Sample forms make it easy to follow the carefully sequenced instructions on how to develop a screening questionnaire, how to write a follow-up recruitment letter, how to draw up a check list for focus group interviews and how to develop a list of responsibilities of assistant moderators, among other things.

The last chapters of the book deal mostly with special concerns and adaptations. Thus, chapter 8 defines and contrasts the four different approaches to focus group research: market research, academic approach, non-profit, and participatory approach. Chapter 9 suggests adaptations of focus groups for special audiences and environments. Chapter 10 identifies new uses and new ways of conducting focus groups e.g. over the telephone, or using the Internet, warning at the same time about too much flexibility, or "stretching", which might "snap" the process. Chapter 11 prepares practitioners to answer tough questions they might face regarding the validity of focus group research.

The user-friendly format, the cartoon-like illustrations, and the use of icons to identify materials of interest make the book easy to read or skim through. The practical advice is derived from the authors' extensive experience and takes into account the necessity of balancing cost and quality. At the same time the book ensures that the readers will be well prepared to avoid the main cause that turns group experiences into wasted time: being fuzzy about the purpose and/or the process.

At the risk of being repetitive the authors continuously emphasize and reiterate the main characteristics of focus groups. Focus groups involve participants who have certain things in common that relate to the focus group topic.

The purpose of the focus group is to listen and collect qualitative data from focused discussions conducted in a comfortable, permissive environment. The group discussion is conducted several times with similar types of people in order to identify trends and patterns. Although it might seem time consuming, we strongly recommend reading the entire book.

Besides receiving a wealth of information and practical examples the reader will also become aware of the underlying attitudes that define the authors' approach to focus group research:

- Keeping in mind that there are always multiple realities.
- Being less judgmental.
- Treating people with respect.
- Truly listening to the wisdom that people share.
- Feeling honored to hear participants' personal stories.
- Being "trustworthy messengers".

These attitudes should guide anyone who undertakes the task of planning, carrying out, or evaluating the results of focus groups, as well as anyone who will base their decisions on the outcomes of focus group research.

The 215-page book, ISBN 0-7619-2070-6 (hardcover), or ISBN 0-7619-2071-4 (paperback) is in its third edition and includes useful bibliographical references and an index.

Ionela Istrate is Senior Director of Education at the YMCA of Greater Boston Education and Training International Learning Centers. She coordinates all ABE, ESL, English for Employment, Business Communication, TOEFL, and computer programs. She also teaches at Springfield College. Previously she taught at Roxbury Community College and Northeastern University and in Bucharest, Romania. She holds the equivalent of a Ph.D. degree in Education and an MA degree in ESL from the University of Bucharest, Romania.

New Review! Focus Group Kit (volume 1): The Focus Group Guidebook
by David L. Morgan. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998.

Reviewed by Joanne Harrington, SABES Central

The Focus Group Guidebook is the first in a series of 6 books in the Focus Group Kit. It is a practical guide that provides an introduction to the focus group process. It give a basic introduction to focus groups and references more in-depth information on the various parts of the process found in the other books. Included in this book is introductory material on what a focus group is and is not, why you should use them, what you get from them, and resources required.

I didn't know anything about focus groups before I started reading this book. I found the reading slow at first, but it got me thinking and wanting to learn more as I got into it. I realized that sometimes meetings or discussions are labeled as focus groups - but that they are really not. A focus group needs to be focused. It is a research method. What the participants in the group say is the essential data but this data needs to be acted upon once it is gathered. A focus group is very helpful when you really want to find out what people think and have to say about something - but you have to ask the right questions. It is the research teams' focus - but it is the participants' group.

A focus group is a way of listening to people and learning from them if you know the right questions to ask. It is a way to gather qualitative versus quantitative data.

A good example of this for me that gave it clarity was the "cake mix focus group." A focus group was formed to find out why boxed cake mixes were not selling well. A group of housewives were the focus group. Questions were asked and it was determined that the boxed cake mixes were not "homemade" enough. By changing the mix so that an egg needed to be added, the mixes became more "homemade" and were a success. If a questionnaire had been used instead, the results would have been quantitative instead of qualitative. They would have learned that the boxed mixes were not liked, but wouldn't have known why.

One part of the book I found particularly interesting and helpful to me was the myths of focus groups. Some myths are that they are low cost and quick, that they require professional moderators, that they need special facilities, require a lot of money, and that they must consist of strangers. I would have thought some of these same things before I read the book. A focus group can be long or short, expensive or almost no-cost. They can be done anywhere and almost anyone can moderate a group. The greatest myth of all is that there is one correct way to do a focus group.

Focus groups have been used since the 1920s when social scientists used various forms. They were used during World War II to develop propaganda materials. From 1950-1980, they were largely used for marketing research. Use of focus groups has grown since 1980, being used now in health, academic and political markets.

One chapter that I found to be very difficult was the chapter on analyzing and reporting data from the focus group. I felt that an introductory look at this was not enough, that more in-depth information was needed.

The first book in this kit is a good place to start if you would like to know a little about focus groups or just need an introduction. The subsequent books in the kit need to be read for more in-depth information. It is a book for readers who are new to focus groups. I knew that I had to learn more about all the topics to actually understand everything about a focus group.

Joanne has been a part-time assistant to the Central SABES Administration for the past nine years. She supports the Central SABES Staff and the region's ABE. She has special responsibilities as coordinator, designer and planner of the publication Do the Write Thing and the authors' reception.

New Review! Focus Group Kit (volume 3): Developing Questions for
Focus Groups by Richard A. Krueger. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications, 1998

Reviewed by Karen Chaparian, Worcester Partnership

As the title suggests, this book concentrates on the development of questions for focus groups. Each chapter of this book acts as a guide to the mechanics of creating questions for an effective focus group for any subject. The chapters contain information, documentation and examples of various types of questions, which can be used in different situations.

Part I of this book effectively outlines the principles of asking questions, and the sequence for developing questions. It includes a guide for a 2-hour focus group, and a breakdown of the categories and time allotments for the types of questions, which may be asked.

Part II is the core of the book and it begins with a complete outline of various categories of questions from "opening questions" to "ending questions". The information provided is crucial in the development of questions and the proper wording of each type in order to guide a focus group through its intended process. For example: an opening question is designed to make the participants comfortable with each other, introductory questions introduce to the general topic of discussion, transition questions are the link to the topic of the focus group, key questions are the core of the focus group, and ending questions are for summary. Many examples are provided that can be helpful to any team responsible for creating effective questions for various topics.

This section of the book also includes chapters on phrasing different types of questions, the sequencing of questions, and excellent information on how to guide focus groups when the participants are not as vocal as one may want. The importance of consistency among all of the groups within the area of concentration is discussed and the methods of probing and dealing with unplanned situations are explained.

Part III includes helpful hints on recording ideas and responses, individual activities to spark the responses of the participants, and group activities one may use to help the members along.

The appendix includes examples of questions used in several different focus group studies. It is an excellent guide for research teams in the development of effective questions.

In summary, I feel that this book contains valuable information for the development of questions necessary to conduct an effective focus group, which would provide data to analyze the topic under scrutiny. It becomes clear after reading this book that focus groups are not merely discussion groups, but systematically organized and researched groups for the analysis of important issues within a community or business area. It also contains countless examples to draw from in the actual formation of questions for a focus group. Time limitations, breakdowns of categories and ideas for probing are also areas of immense help in the actual process of conducting the focus group.

I recommend this book to any individual or organization that is contemplating conducting focus groups for the analysis of specific information to be used in determining a pathway for future projects.

Karen Chaparian is the Community Planning Coordinator for the Worcester ABE partnerships, coordinator and instructor at the NYPRO Institute ABE Program, and an ESOL instructor at Quinsigamond Community College.

New Review! Focus Group Kit (volume 6): Analyzing and Reporting Focus Group Results by Richard Krueger. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998.

Reviewed by Lisa Deyo, SABES West

When the opportunity to review one book from the Focus Group Kit series arose, I quickly volunteered to read the sixth volume of the series - Analyzing and Reporting Focus Group Results. Several months ago, I completed a series of focus groups for a research project. Most of the books on focus groups that I found while I was preparing for the research focused on facilitation skills. Few offered more than just a smattering of information on analysis and reporting, and certainly none offered anything as detailed and complete as what I found in this book.

Analyzing and Reporting Focus Group Results is organized into three sections. Part I introduces focus group analysis: its critical ingredients, analysis principles and analysis considerations. Part II focuses on doing the analysis. In this section, Krueger provides an overview of the process of analysis, tools and equipment that people can use, expert strategies, and advice for newcomers. Part III is about sharing the results of the research in oral and written form.

I already had my questions about using focus groups in a community assessment ready as I opened the book to the first page:

*Practitioners are busy juggling multiple work responsibilities. How can we create a system for analysis that is built into the process from beginning - not something to be overwhelmed by after all the interviews are completed?

*What are the different approaches that people take to analyze the results of focus groups?

Listed below are some of the points that stood out most for me as I read this book.

Analyze early and often. Be systematic about doing the research.

Naysayers call qualitative research unscientific, biased, and, therefore, not valid. I've heard it called messy and time-consuming. People get 'lost' in their data. My greatest fear is sitting in front of piles of papers and notes and wondering where to begin. One of the best pieces of advice that the author gives is to start the analysis process early. Make some preliminary decisions about how you will go about doing the analysis process in the design stage, before you begin the interviews. Begin the analysis from the first interview onward. This doesn't have to be as painful as it sounds. Some suggestions that the author offers:

1. Work in teams. In the focus group, work in a team of two. This makes the work easier.
2. Keep a good, flowing sequence of questions. Begin with questions that introduce the topic,
then work your way into the key questions and conclude with a few final summary questions.
3. Ask for participants to verify your analysis - or to be part of the analysis process.

At the end of the focus group, moderators can ask participants to summarize the key points that they made during the discussion. OR moderator(s) can summarize what they believe to be the participants' key points at the end of the focus group and ask for confirmation or, if necessary, clarification.

Researchers can also give the participants the written report and ask for comments. One way that I've heard to do this, too, is to write the main themes on a piece of newsprint while you are talking. At the same time the researcher is recording the main themes, the participants - who might be intimidated by a more private form of note taking - can see the notes. Researchers can also ask participants to use post it notes to jot down themes or responses to a question; they can use these notes later to cluster their ideas or prioritize.

4. Label the notes that you write. Use identifying themes and dates.

Timing is important.

Another important suggestion that the author gives is not to delay the analysis. Over time, memory fades and the important exchanges between participants are forgotten.

Debrief immediately with your co-researcher after concluding the focus group.
What are your first impressions? Some possible questions that the author proposes are:

What are the most important themes?
How do these differ from what we expected?
How did these differ from earlier focus groups?
What points need to be included in report?
What quotes should be remembered and included in report?
Any unexpected or unanticipated findings?
Should we do anything differently next time? (p. 50).

Factor in enough time to do a proper analysis. The analysis process begins earlier than in quantitative studies and lasts longer.

Seek out alternative explanations and feedback.

The best analysis is in an environment that promotes a 'free exchange of ideas' and alternative perspectives. Analysis is improved by feedback.

You can use team members to offer rival explanations. Go back to participants.
Get feedback from group participants, co-researchers, experts, decision makers - and partnership members. The author writes that the most immediate and often most beneficial strategy is to seek out participant verification at the end of the interview.

"Analysis is a process of comparison."

Researchers are looking for patterns, comparisons, and contrasts in their analysis. Be open enough to challenge your own assumptions in the process.

Focus group analysis uses multiple strategies and tools.

Some tools used in focus group research are: registration forms, background information sheets, demographic information, and observation.

Analysis Principles

Chapter 3 describes important analysis principles, including sections entitled:

*Let your objectives guide the analysis.
*Don't get locked into one way of thinking.
*Questions are the raw materials of analysis.
*Effective analysis goes beyond words.
*Early analysis can move the study to higher levels.
*Analysis must be practical (p. 19).

Analysis Strategies

Chapter 4 looks in-depth into the different strategies that researchers can use in analyzing the interview. The author offers these suggestions:

*Think about the words used & their meanings. Consider what participants didn't say. An analysis strategy focusing on words only "is asking for trouble."
*Consider context - or stimulus - in which statements are made.
*Think about internal consistency - have people changed their minds?
*Think about the frequency, extensiveness & intensity of comments.
("Find the big ideas" (p. 31).

Advice for novice researchers

The overview at the beginning of chapter 9 tells it all:

Few, few, few. Keep it simple. Remember the purpose and what the client wants. Ask final questions. Tape and transcribe yourself. Work with an assistant. Work with a mentor (p. 97).

I would recommend this book to anyone who is planning on using focus groups in their research, both big and small. The author doesn't offer a single recipe. Instead, he offers a variety of interesting possibilities to consider.

Lisa Deyo is the Community Planning Coordinator at SABES West. She can be reached via email at ldeyo@hcc.mass.edu.

A Guide to Evaluating Asset-Based Community Development: Lessons, Challenges, and Opportunities by Thomas Dewar. Chicago: ACTA Publications, 1997.

Reviewed by Lisa Deyo, SABES Central

When I first picked up A Guide to Evaluating Asset-Based Community Development, I expected that the guide would include a list of tools that practitioners could use in carrying out asset-based evaluations. I didn't find the tools that I expected. What I did find, however, was a thoughtful discussion of the issues that evaluators of community building initiatives come across in their work. I also found practical advice regarding the process and principles to conducting asset-based evaluation.

In this easy-to-read 54-page guide, Thomas Dewar weaves a discussion of the theoretical foundation for evaluating asset-based community development initiatives together with a description of the principles of asset-based evaluation and case studies. The introductory chapter on approaches to evaluation might strike a chord with people who have been involved in evaluating community-building initiatives. Dewar draws a distinction between approaches to evaluation which are scientific in orientation and what he calls "appropriate" evaluation. He writes that the search to establish cause and effect relationships and the need to "prove particular results" in scientific approaches to evaluation set too high a threshold for "real life situations (which) cannot lend themselves to scientific methods." Evaluations which seek to "understand how things work, what is changing, and what might be next" are what is needed by people who work in community building initiatives.

According to Dewar, the kinds of information asset-oriented evaluations bring to light would include:
The key designers, governors, and producers of the work, and how they operate.
How the individuals' skills and contributions are found and mobilized.
Through what kinds of associations local citizens act, and what they might contribute.
How the various assets identified are engaged and put to work.
How connections among these community-based assets appear and begin to multiply.
How having these local people in associations strongly at the center of the process and action makes a difference. (p. 23)

Chapter 2 outlines and describes ten principles for "appropriate" evaluation:

1. Involve participants in the process.
2. Know your audience.
3. Focus on appropriate goals and document intermediate outcomes.
4. Document some results as quickly as possible.
5. Develop some strong baseline evidence.
6. Be descriptive.
7. Be graphic.
8. Make sure the evaluation is telling people something they didn't already know.
9. Be open about shortcomings.
10. Share and discuss findings as the project progresses.

Chapter 3 offers guidelines for reporting and setting the stage for a strong asset-based evaluation. The final chapter of this guide summarizes this approach to evaluating asset-based community development.

Lisa Deyo is the Community Planning Coordinator at SABES West. She can be reached via email at ldeyo@hcc.mass.edu.

New Review! Planning and Conducting Needs Assessments: A Practical
Guide by Belle Ruth Witkin and James W. Althschuld. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1995.

Reviewed by Gary Gomes, Massachusetts Department of Education

Many organizations are required to do a "needs assessment" in order to plan for ongoing activities, to better define where scarce resources will be allocated, or to seek out new resources and better meet the needs of a community, business or program.

The authors have, in this 300-page text, developed a guide (their emphasis) to Needs Analysis. They stress that they are describing a "structure for understanding and managing the process for gathering and analyzing data on needs." The focus is on analyzing needs for organizations ranging from loosely knit organizations to highly structured bureaucracies or large corporations.

The book contains two major sections: Planning and Managing a Needs Assessment and Methods for Conducting a Needs Assessment. The first section breaks the stages of planning a needs assessment into small, easily digestible structures, describing the "Three Phase Model of Needs Assessment", including Pre-Assessment, Assessment and Post-Assessment. The second part of the book, focusing on methods for conducting a needs assessment is organized into several sections, including discussions of the strengths and weaknesses of using records and social indicators. Other techniques discussed include surveys and interviews, basic group
processes, specialized survey and group techniques. The latter sections provide an overview of the DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) process and Mailed Delphi (a technique used to "predict the future" based upon the use of an iterative process, as a means of building a consensus) process.

Since every needs analysis has implications for the future, several strategic planning techniques (such as scenario, future wheels, trends analysis and cross mapping) are discussed extensively. The last technique discussed in the book is causal analysis, a sophisticated technique that tries to identify causes of current states and, through some techniques, consequences of various actions.

The chapters are very clear and concise, and, although the subject matter is relatively complex, the authors break up the density of the narrative with excellent diagrams and true life cases that illustrate the points they are trying to make. For example, "Force Field Analysis" was identified by social scientist Kurt Lewin in 1947 as a technique that takes into account the "driving and restraining forces" that influence change in an organization. The authors relate the story of a new school superintendent who attempts to institute radical change in a local school system, working 15-18 hours a day and providing great support to the school teachers who wanted to institute the new system, only to be fired six months after starting the job by the local school board. All that the Superintendent saw was the "drive" to create change. No political support was gathered from the Mayor; no media support was gathered from the newspapers. Many feared the changes that were being instituted would break down classroom discipline; the teachers' association thought teachers were being asked to assume too much responsibility, and so forth. Because of the ambition for change, the Superintendent failed to build the political coalition needed to see the experiment through when the community became nervous about the proposed changes.

The book does stress the need to build a relationship with the community and warns against using needs analysis as a technique to justify a course of action that has already been chosen. There is a healthy emphasis on understanding group processes, and the text also uses several examples that stress the importance of diagnosing the "real" versus the "perceived" problem. Several chapters touch upon how to structure meetings and interviews; how to use (and how not to use) records and social indicators, such as the Census, Epidemiology, and some relatively new techniques that I have seen used very successfully, such as mapping and geocodes. The text also shows techniques for using "softer" data (newspaper reports), interviews, and even targeted surveys (since this technique is often recommended for Workplace Education programs, I would encourage an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of surveys so that educators can assess the usefulness of the data that surveys generate). The text also pays special attention to the need to train interviewers.

The Specialized Survey and Group Techniques section offers useful ways of structuring the discussion, and the chapter on strategic planning is clear without being extraordinarily complicated. Finally, the section on causal analysis would be useful to individuals attempting to determine whether an action based upon the needs analysis would be productive or counterproductive to correcting issues identified by the needs analysis.

Although this book is a bit complicated, it can be understood by any individual engaged in a community planning activity and many of the techniques can be used in isolation from each other. In the summary, the authors even discuss the need to account for politics in the community planning process and encourage participants to work for small, achievable goals when the environment does not allow attainment of more sweeping change. This may be self-evident, but it is important to stress the need to introduce change when possible.

The authors do point out that Needs Analysis is far from an exact science and that a general approach is preferable to a rigid approach. They also stress the fact that new technology will impact the tools in this process and that far more empirical research is needed in this area.

I would recommend this book as a very comprehensive overview of this still-young field and would particularly recommend it to practitioners who are attempting to expand the options open to them in the Needs Analysis process. Most practitioners will find the discussion of techniques interesting and will also be able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the techniques as tools in the NA process.

Gary Gomes is a Program Specialist for Adult & Community Learning Services, Mass Department of Education. Gary Gomes has over twenty years' experience in the Employment and Training System, serving many of the communities in Southeastern Massachusetts. He has also had experience as the Grants Administrator for the City of New Bedford, and served as a member of the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District Commission. He has also worked as a freelance Grants Consultant for private non-profit, government, and educational entities.

Reviews: Strategic Planning

New Review! Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organzations: a Guide to Strengthening and Sustaining Organizational Achievement by John M. Bryson. San Francisco: Jossey-Boss Publishers, 1995

Reviewed by Betty Vermette, SABES Southeast

Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations: A Guide to Strengthening and Sustaining Organizational Achievement offers information on leadership and strategic planning and includes tools and resources that can provide help to programs as they embark upon the process of strategic planning. It explains in detail what is meant by purpose, vision, and orientation and provides examples of mission statements. It also provides an excellent example of how leaders and managers of both public and nonprofit agencies can use strategic planning to strengthen and solidify their organizations.

One key point about the book that impressed me was the fact that successful as well as unsuccessful strategy examples were included. These examples illustrated implementation and reassessment strategies, the strategic planning process, and ways to fulfill the key leadership roles that must be undertaken if strategic planning is to be effective. The book also outlines the reasons why organizations should engage in strategic planning (improve their performance) and provides material on change implementation and leadership.

Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations: A Guide to Strengthening and Sustaining Organizational Achievement also speaks to the benefits of strategic planning as well as its limitations and discusses and provides a detailed outline for a 10 step process for a strategy cycle referred to as "The Strategy Change Cycle."

Resources listed in the back of the book that pertain to:

· Identifying external threats and opportunities
· Identifying Strategic Issues
· Oval Mapping Process using Variations
· Concepts for Establishing an Effective Organizational Vision for the Future

These resources can actually help you and your partnership navigate the strategic planning process that can be overwhelming at best. They provide visual materials for your partnership to work with that can be quite helpful in mapping out their plan.

Also included is a workbook that provides a step-by-step guide to strategic planning with worksheets that you can use with your partnership to bring "ownership" to the whole process. In the past, I have used worksheets similar to these and was very pleased with the outcome and results.

Overall, I found this book to be a good tool for the preparation of the Strategic Planning process as well as a great reference guide.

Betty Vermette is an Associate Coordinator at the Southeast SABES regional office. She has worked extensively in community planning, in her current position at SABES and as a community planning coordinator in an ABE program.

Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations: A Practical Guide and Workbook by Michael Allison and Jude Kaye. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1997. [ISBN 0-471-17832-2]

Reviewed by Ionela Istrate, YMCA, Woburn

Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations: A Practical Guide and Workbook by Michael Allison and Jude Kaye was published as part of the San Francisco-based Support Center for Nonprofit Management's Law, Finance, and Management Series. Michael Allison is Director of Support Center for Nonprofit Management Consulting Group, where he consults on strategic planning, boards of directors, organizational development, and program evaluation. Jude Kaye is Senior Staff Consultant for Support Center for Nonprofit Management and a nationally respected trainer and consultant who has worked with both large and small nonprofit agencies on planning, financial management, organizational development, and other areas.

As suggested by the title, this book is primarily meant as a practical guide for nonprofit organizations but many government agencies and programs, consultants, students of nonprofit management and others interested in this area may also use it. For those who have experience with strategic planning, the book will be a useful "refresher", while for those with no experience it will be a valuable introduction to this important management tool. The book is the result of the authors' extensive experience as planning and organization development consultants. It provides a practical conceptual framework, which is thorough and comprehensive without being overly complex. Short sample case studies of real-life situations illustrate some of the issues that might arise during the planning process. The format of the book and the tools and techniques it offers are user friendly and contribute to the overall effectiveness of the presentation.

The text is complemented by a series of worksheets, which help to structure and focus the thought process at each planning stage. Each worksheet has instructions for use. Blank sheets are included in Appendix A and on the disk that accompanies the book. The appendices include additional resources to support strategic planning:

1. Workplan templates for a strategic planning process
2. A survey to assist with self-assessment and management systems
3. A self-assessment survey for boards
4. A set of techniques and tools to assist with program evaluation
5. A set of techniques and tools to assist with managing group processes
6. A template for an operational action plan
7. Selected bibliography for future reference

The book is organized in four sections: Getting Set Up for Success, Defining Your Challenge, Setting Your Course, and Keeping the Plan Relevant. Each section discusses the corresponding phases in the planning process and relevant action steps. Worksheets and sample templates assist with the steps.

Strategic planning is defined in the introduction as a "systemic process through which an organization agrees on and builds commitment among key stakeholders to priorities which are essential to its mission and responsive to the operating environment." Options for three levels of intensity for the planning process are given:

1. Abbreviated
2. Moderate
3. Extensive, depending on the amount of time and money an agency is able to allocate.

Following the introduction, seven fundamental phases of the strategic planning process are identified and dealt with in a logical succession:

Phase 1. Getting Ready
The organization determines whether they are truly committed to the effort, and if so, they identify the issues that the planning process has to address, clarify participants' roles, create a Planning Committee, develop an organizational profile, and identify critical information for decision making. The end product is a Strategic Planning Workplan (Plan for Planning).

Phase 2. Articulating Mission and Vision
The products developed during this phase are a draft mission statement that summarizes the purpose, business, and values of the organization, and a draft vision statement that presents "an image in words of what success will look like."

Phase 3. Assessing the Environment
Information is gathered about the organization's internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. The agency develops an understanding of the issues facing it and the body of information that will facilitate choosing priorities and strategies.

Phase 4. Agreeing on Priorities
The agency decides which of the critical issues they will concentrate on. General strategies are developed and goals and objectives emerge in response to these critical issues.

Phase 5. Writing the Strategic Plan
One member of the Planning Committee, the Executive Director, or a Planning Consultant will put all the pieces together into a final plan to serve as a guide for the organization's members. The plan will state where the organization is going, how it should get there, and why it needs to go that way.

Phase 6. Implementing the Strategic Plan
The strategic plan is put into practice through detailed annual operating plans and budgets. The most important factors are the clarity of guidelines for implementation and the precision of the results to be monitored.

Phase 7. Monitoring and Evaluating
Periodic assessments of the decisions made during the strategic planning process will ensure that the planning process is ongoing and that adjustments are made to remain responsive to the changing environment.

Overall the book is interesting since it shows how theoretical concepts are put into practice in real life situations. Besides presenting guidelines for strategic planning the book also brings into discussion topics that are relevant for the whole process: conditions for success, pitfalls to be avoided, reality checks, contingency plans, and planning forecasts. It gives practical advice on choosing criteria, setting priorities, and selecting core strategies. This accessible guide is filled with "real-world insights, planning tips, and useful pointers," making it a valuable support for any strategic planning endeavor.

Reading the whole book might seem impractical for many time-constrained agencies whose level of planning effort is likely to be abbreviated or moderate. However, they may benefit from this guide considerably even without reading it in its entirety. The introduction gives a thorough preview of the book contents and underlying philosophy. The easy-to-read format, the simple tables, and the sample worksheets make it easy to scan and skim through the book. The accompanying templates are valuable time savers.

While appreciating the practical value of the book it is also important to highlight the authors' approach to planning. They believe that:

· Planning should be intentional and strategic, not just reactive and opportunistic.
· The chances for success are greater if the vision is shared among board, staff,
and volunteers.
· An inclusive planning process will build a broad-based commitment and "will come closest to achieving its true potential in pursuit of its chosen mission."

These ideas should guide any planning effort that an agency might undertake no matter how much time or money they are able to devote to planning. Taking this approach could mean the difference between failure and success.

The 277-page book is accompanied by a disk that contains 21 files which help the reader to utilize the models described in the book as such, or to customize them to suit specific needs. For a MacIntosh disk send $ 5.00 to: Support Center for Nonprofit Management, Attn: Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations Workbook, 706 Mission Street, 5th floor, San Francisco, CA 94103. To order you may call (212) 850-6000 or (800) 225-5945.

Ionela Istrate is Senior Director of Education at the YMCA of Greater Boston Education and Training International Learning Centers. She coordinates all ABE, ESL, English for Employment, Business Communication, TOEFL, and computer programs. She also teaches at Springfield College. Previously she taught at Roxbury Community College and Northeastern University and in Bucharest, Romania. She holds the equivalent of a Ph.D. degree in Education and a MA degree in ESL from the University of Bucharest, Romania