Building Community: A Tool Kit for Youth and Adults in Charting Assets and Creating Change.

The Innovation Center for Community & Youth Development has created the Building Community Tool Kit with detailed activities, tips, stories, handouts, and resources to plan for positive community change and build partnerships between young people and adults. It is designed to be accessible to teens and adults and involves youth not just as data collectors but also as analysts, publicists, coordinators, and designers. The Tool Kit is based on a model that has been implemented in more than 20 diverse communities by neighborhood coalitions, local and tribal governments, and youth groups. Outcomes of the Building Community process include the creation of shared community visions that are translated into strategic action; new awareness and use of unique community resources; increased youth participation and leadership; new funding to implement priority projects; and increased collaboration among community-based organizations and groups.

The Core Principles section provides tools and activities to create equal partnerships between young people and adults. It also focuses on identifying the resources and assets contained in a community's past, place (neighborhoods, landmarks, gathering places, etc.), and relations between people and organizations.

Building Readiness brings the group together and sets the stage for the next phases of work. Activities explore approaches to youth and community development and building relationships.

Visioning and Planning discusses how to design, promote, and convene a Vision Day to create a shared vision of the community's future. It also gives an overview of action planning and strategic planning to turn the vision into action.

Moving to Action deals with implementing the shared vision and plan and offers tools and tips for building public involvement and conducting meetings and discussions.

Change and Sustainability focuses on building self-sufficiency, or sustainability, for the community work. It includes an activity that explores how people in the community participate in making decisions and identifies opportunities for increased sharing of power.

The Innovation Center for Community & Youth Development seeks, tests and promotes innovative concepts and practices, providing cutting edge tools for youth workers in diverse settings. Formerly a division of National 4-H Council, the Innovation Center is now an independent organization that operates as a project of the Tides Center.