Pathways to Community Capacity: The Role of Change Agents

Highpoint Neighborhood Family Center

Clearwater, Florida

December 3, 2001

Pathways for change agents to increase the overall capacity of a community

Addition: Import new skills, new relationships, or other resources to add to the community inventory

Example: Acquire external funding and commitments for building and staffing a new Boys and Girls club in the neighborhood.

Facilitation: Improve access to or knowledge of existing resources

Example: Publish an interactive assets map of the community.

Brokering: Create new linkages between existing resources within the community

Example: Establish a collaboration between institutions with complementary resources that serve the same population.

Bridging: Create linkages between people and resources within the community and people or resources outside the community

Example: Secure the cooperation of a downtown bank in supporting the local Ways to Work program, or an IDA program.

Growth: Develop new skills, talents or capacities through education, introspection, or practice

Example: Attend college and acquire the skills to develop and run a child care center in the neighborhood.

Many examples of successful community building activities represent combinations of these fundamental pathways.