During my 45 years as an academic, I have followed the admonition sometimes attributed to the legendary Jedi warrior Obi-Wan Kenobe that political scientists should "use [their] power for good and not for evil." In this spirit, I have devoted substantial portions of my career to public service by providing strategic advice and campaign management…

As a conveyance for local in-service efforts, the Talent Pool endeavors to identify effective practitioners in the field who can share their methods and materials with less experienced practitioners through demonstration and discussion. Developed by the Career Education Service Center (CESC), this document is a compilation of sample forms and…

Describes the Productivity Group, created by the Oklahoma State Department of Vocational and Technical Education. The Group boosts small businesses by making available quality management development programs and human resource consulting services. The article discusses program management, costs, and the business community's response. (CT)

The experience of three unnamed Rhode Island communities in using the Local Planning and Assessment Process (LPAP) are described. Community A had conducted a needs assessment survey and wished technical assistance to validate the perceived needs and to develop evaluation skills in a core group of their faculty. However, the process has temporarily…

A project was undertaken by a university to develop in-service staff development programs for 500 part-time faculty members at three community colleges. The university project staff functioned as process consultants, who initially conducted a needs assessment of programs and services desired by faculty members. Subsequent to the assessment, their…