Introduction: Our paper describes three examples of how public libraries in at-risk-neighbourhoods have worked with social innovations in order to develop and strengthen their services for minority groups. The libraries were chosen because they are frontrunners in the field of cultural diversity and social inclusion in Denmark. Method: The…

In this article, the author talks about incorporating what those in academia do best--scholarship and teaching--and what government bureaucrats do best in administering housing and community revitalization programs into a strong and sustainable system of community engagement and outreach. He frames the discussion by focusing on some examples of…

Community Commons (CC) is a collaborative partnership among Brevard Community College (BCC) (Florida) and over 40 social service organizations and agencies in Florida dedicated to providing education, job training, social services, recreation, and a drug free environment to communities of low income families. The project specifically seeks to…

Describes two projects aimed at improving child development. Both the "School-Age Child Care" project and the "Parenting the First Year" project were replicated over 50 times as a means of moving 100 communities to action for child development. The diffusion model of outreach is contrasted with the knowledge generation process…

People working together on community projects benefit both themselves and the community. Quality Circles (Theory Z) is an example of this principle at work in industry. Employees who are involved in the decision-making process turn out a lower-cost, higher-quality product. This concept could prove valuable in small schools if students were…

Engelhard is a very isolated rural community in Hyde County, North Carolina, economically dependent on seafood, small scale agriculture, and logging. In the mid-1980s the agricultural crisis, the decline in seafood landings, and changes in timber industry technology contributed to rising unemployment. Several decades of declining population and…

This speech examines how people perceive relationships among families, communities, and governments, and how these perceptions influence current family and community policies and programs. It also suggests new ways of understanding the nature of the social world and offers examples of policies and programs that stem from traditional beliefs and…

A 5-phase plan was initiated in New York's Schuyler County to develop a Community Resources Development (CRD) program which would bring about communication, educate citizens, and build leadership. This was a joint effort involving county citizens and organizations, a county extension agent, a regional CRD specialist, the resources at both the land…

This paper contrasts two types of university partnerships: first, the Colorado Partnership for Educational Renewal (CoPER), between six higher education institutions and 12 school districts in Colorado; and, second, 10 separate community-university partnerships (CUP). Each CUP was based on an asset (as opposed to a deficit) model and developed and…

A mini-conference on rural schools and community development brought together experts in rural community, rural education, and economic development to brainstorm ideas for collaborative projects and produce a helpful conceptual design for use both by rural communities and their schools. This document offers a synthesis and overview of the experts'…

This paper offers definitions and descriptions, and explores the dynamics, of "strategic grantseeking" as a means of supporting economic development programs. Strategic grantseeking is a natural and dynamic tool usable with any economic development program. It consists of a set of concepts, procedures, and tools which are integrated into…

The dedication in June 1979 of a newly constructed library facility in Olney, Texas, brought together the collections of the school and public libraries, which had been administered as a single unit with one board, library coordinator, and budget, since 1974. A study conducted to evaluate the coordinated library which existed from 1974 to 1979…

The paper describes the Shared Process Evaluation System (SHAPES) for analyzing the process of community development. The system's basic organizing unit is the critical incident, an event judged to be essential to the continuation of a particular community development project or as representing a choice point in the project's history. Three sets…

This paper argues that the goal of community development should be to provide more than material gains such as fast economic growth. The paper provides two case studies from Ethiopia which demonstrate how proper implementation of community development processes and principles might lead to successful attainment of tangible and intangible…

The document contains the texts of nine papers presented at the first conference of the New Zealand Association for Community Education. "Community as a Basis for Education" focuses on ways of utilizing community resources for education and offering learning programs based on the needs of community members. "Community Education and…