Useful Links
Community Building
The Victorian Regional Community Leadership Programs Secretariat (VRCLP) was established with support from Victorian State Government in 2012 to support the Regional Community Leadership Programs (RCLP). VRCLP was established as an Incorporated Association in June 2013. Their vision is to support the development of Victoria’s Community Leaders and their mission is to develop leaders capable of positively impacting their communities.
Link: http://www.vrclp.com.au/
The Asset-Based Community Development Institute (ABCD), established in 1995 by the Community Development Program at Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research, is built upon three decades of community development research by John Kretzmann and John L. McKnight. The ABCD Institute spreads its findings on capacity-building community development in two ways: (1) through extensive and substantial interactions with community builders, and (2) by producing practical resources and tools for community builders to identify, nurture, and mobilize neighborhood assets. Kretzmann & McKnight are co-authors of the very popular ‘Building Communities from the Inside Out’. www.northwestern.edu/ipr/abcd.html
Imagine Chicago is a non-profit organisation that helps people develop their imagination as city creators. It offers everyone, especially young people, the opportunity to invest themselves in the city’s future. Imagine Chicago works in partnership with individuals and local organisations – schools, museums, churches, businesses, and community groups. Together, they design and implement innovative civic projects that build meaningful connections across generations and cultures and have lasting institutional and community impact. Imagine Chicago encourages individuals and organisations to focus constructively on their capacities and opportunities to make a difference as they: understand what is; imagine what can be, and create what will be. www.imaginechicago.org
Through the Our Community Centres of Excellence, they provide the one-stop-gateway for practical resources, support and linkages between community networks and the general public, business and government – building capacity to strengthen the community in every Australian State and Territory. www.ourcommunity.com.au
This is the website of Jim Diers – an international champion of Asset Based Community Development. Jim Diers has a passion for getting people engaged with their communities and in the decisions that affect their lives. Since moving to Seattle in 1976, he put that passion to work for a direct-action neighborhood association, a community development corporation, a community foundation, and the nation’s largest health care cooperative. He was appointed the first director of Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods in 1988 where he served under three mayors over the next 14 years. Currently, Jim teaches courses in community organizing and development at the University of Washington and serves on the faculty of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute. He travels internationally to deliver speeches, present workshops, and provide technical assistance to community associations, non-profit organizations, and government. http://www.neighborpower.org/
This is the website of Cormac Russell – an international champion of Asset Based Community Development. Nurture Development is the only strategic partner of the ABCD Institute, in Europe. Their combination of thought leadership, research expertise and extensive experience in the practical implementation of ABCD, is unrivalled. Nurture Development was established by Cormac Russell in 1996 to redefine how people think about and act together to effect social change. They always work in ways that are citizen-led, relationship centred, place based and that start with the strengths of local people. http://www.nurturedevelopment.org/
Bang the Table are community engagement specialists that offer two digital citizen engagement software solutions to government, public sector and private enterprise clients. This website is also the hub for sharing trends, tips, and stories about best practice community engagement. If you have a question, there is a very good chance that other people have been thinking about the same things. http://bangthetable.com/
Rural and Small Town Development
The Rural Ontario Institute develops leaders, initiates dialogue, supports collaboration and promotes action on issues and opportunities facing rural Ontario. http://ruralontarioinstitute.ca/
Town Centre Management is a co-ordinated pro-active initiative designed to ensure that town and city centres are desirable and attractive places. In nearly all instances the initiative is a partnership between the public and private sectors and brings together a wide-range of key interests. Today there are more than 500 towns and cities in the UK that have some form of management initiative. As locally developed initiatives working across centres of different scale, they are naturally varied in terms of their remit and activities. What they have in common is their increasing effectiveness in promoting the vitality and viability of a centre and maintaining its key role as the heart of its community. www.atcm.org
Although long-term economic, technological and social factors have resulted in the decline of many small inland towns in Australia, other such towns have successfully implemented a range of survival and revival strategies. This has resulted in positive outcomes for residents in terms of quality of life and economic opportunities.
This publication is designed to assist others to learn from the experiences of fourteen of these towns, each of which has a population of less than 3,000 people. Whilst these towns vary among themselves in history and geography, there are some recurring elements in the processes of their social and economic revitalisation. As well as examining these particular processes, this kit provides information on a wide range of resources that are available to assist rural communities in developing strategies appropriate to their own situations.
Local Economic Development
Business Retention and Expansion International (BREI) is a non profit professional association of economic development professionals who are working for the advancement of business retention and expansion as an economic development strategy for communities.
The BR+ E program is a service provided by the Bank of I.D.E.A.S. Contact us for more details. www.brei.org
CIEL assists in creating vibrant, vital communities – CIEL does this by using unique assessments and community processes to bring communities to action. They develop innovative tools and services to help communities, organizations, and individuals become more dynamic and entrepreneurial and to foster strong, responsive leadership.www.theciel.com
The Center for Rural Entrepreneurship helps community leaders build a prosperous future by supporting and empowering business, social and civic entrepreneurs. The Center’s mission is to be the leading national resource for rural communities and regions interested in building more sustainable economic development frameworks around entrepreneurship. www.energizingentrepreneurs.org
Mainstreet Australia is a highly respected and energetic association, providing valuable networking, education, support and strategic direction for all stakeholders, to promote and ensure that Community Business Centres remain the beating heart of our communities. Mainstreet Australia organises and runs information seminars, workshops, networking events, and other forums relating to strip shopping and the issues faced by traditional centres. Mainstreet Australia also has a key role in coordinating the popular MainStreet Conference that is held in Melbourne and supports interstate bodies to host the MainStreet Conference in their state. www.mainstreetaustralia.org.au
Retail Development
For over 25 years John Stanley has been consulting to retailers, growing businesses and profits, as well as inspiring and motivating retail teams to achieve excellence in their daily lives. John has authored several industry specific books, with his retail management book, Just About Everything a Retail Manager Needs to Know, a best seller.www.johnstanley.com.au
Jurek Leon is a speaker, author, trainer and consultant. He presents courses and addresses seminars and conferences on marketing, motivation, selling and customer service.
In over 15 years as a consultant and trainer, Jurek has assisted clients in a diverse range of businesses in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and England. www.terrifictrading.com
Youth Development
Michael O’Meara is a youth,community and business development facilitator. Michael, through his company MOHOW, provides tools, resources and facilitation within a framework that focuses on positive outcomes and assets rather than problems.
Contact details: (M) 0418 505 519 (E) mom@westnet.com.au www.mohow.com
Kamel Nabulsi
Contact details: kamelnabulsi@yahoo.com
r.u.MAD? stands for ‘Are You Making A Difference?’ and was developed by the Education Foundation (Melbourne). The Bank of I.D.E.A.S. is embracing the r.u.MAD? concept in its own community of Kalamunda W.A. and as a key C.R.E.A.T.E. Initiative resource.
r.u. MAD? is an innovative learning framework that allows students to develop a project in response to their aspirations and concerns about their community or the wider world. Following the steps – discussion, research, action and evaluation – students come up with ideas and implement their project. It allows schools to deliver on the Essential Learning in a way that is very powerful for students. www.rumad.org.au
YouthGAS is a leading Australian (and world!) networking and communication service focused on young people and communities. www.youthgas.com
The Australian Government’s National Youth Site youth.gov.au
The NYA aims to advance youth work to promote young people’s personal and social development, and their voice, influence and place in society. www.nya.org.uk
ACYS is a not-for-profit organisation that receives funding from the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). For over 20 years ACYS has been collecting, synthesising and disseminating information about youth research, policy and practice to a multidisciplinary audience. ACYS products include a quarterly peer-reviewed journal, Youth Studies Australia; a monthly newsletter, Youth Field Xpress; and a website: www.acys.info
Since January 2013, Resilient Youth Australia has surveyed 38,761 students (18372 females and 20389 males) in Years 3 to 12, in over 200 government and independent schools, across Australia. Resilient Youth Australia collects highly relevant and valuable, strategic and validated information on the psycho-social resources that promote resilience during the adolescent years. Visit the website to access tools and information related to building resilience in young people. http://resilientyouth.org.au/
Volunteering
Volunteering Australia is the National peak body for volunteering working to advance volunteering in the Australian community. www.volunteeringaustralia.org
Go Volunteer is a non-profit initiative designed to make volunteering easier. Go Volunteer brings Volunteers & Volunteering Organisations Together. http://govolunteer.com.au/
Online Tools for Community Engagement
Dear City is a simple concept allowing a citizen to leave (anonymous) messages to the city they live in. This web-based framework creates a social cluster of opinions that express the thoughts of the people on the street. Dear City becomes a documentation of contemporary life and its ups and downs. Dear City was created by those who believe change is achieved through all levels of communication. The original platform was designed for Copenhagen in 2009 and expanded to the rest of the world in 2013. www.dearcity.org
TownHall Social allows people to collaborate on decisions in an easy, simple and fun way. This online tool makes surveying easy and approaches it in a fresh way For any local government, community group or government agency interested in finding a simple, inexpensive and multi functional social media tool for engaging community opinion and ideas, look at TownHall Social. http://www.townhallsocial.com/
Plan Big is an online community planning tool developed by Bendigo Bank. It allows community members to plan a community project online through discussions and pledges of resources, support and funds. www.planbig.com.au
An excellent crowd funding site, Pozible provides the platform for project creators to present their ideas to a connected audience, worldwide. If people love what you’re creating, they can support it by pledging money. In return, project creators offer rewards matched to the level of funding commitment. Pozible can also be a gateway for discovering and supporting inspirational projects and thinkers directly. By becoming actively involved in bringing more attention to bold new ideas, art, products and the talented people who conceive them, project supporters become a vital part of a true creative community. www.pozible.com
This website will lead you to a range of software tools for community engagement that allow communities to share stories, give feedback and analyse responses. EngagementHQ, is a platform for deep level online community engagement and Budget Allocator, is a participatory budgeting solution. http://engagementhq.com/
Create interactive presentations, workshops, and meetings
Easy-to-use presentation software for leaders, educators, and speakers that’s interactive, engaging and fun.
Heritage Development
Heritage Futures International specializes in bringing local people together and developing the heritage resources in a particular place to meet the needs of that place. The focus is on working with ‘bottom-up’ development rather than ‘top-down’, with the goal being improved incomes and services, an increase in the number and quality of jobs and an enhanced quality of life.
Contact details: David Wilson (e) heritage.futures@xtra.co.nz
Art Deco Society Inc. (ADS) is an incorporated not-for-profit cultural organisation, operating in Victoria and throughout Australia. It is dedicated to the preservation and celebration of aspects of the Art Deco era such as architecture, landscaping, furniture, industrial design, fashion, graphics, art, jewellery, entertainment and transport. A major objective is to raise the awareness in the community of the importance of Twentieth Century buildings.
Contact details: Robin Grow (e)robingrow@ozemail.com.au www.artdeco.org.au
Placemaking
Accessibility isn’t a bonus – it’s a necessity. Everyone should be able to use and enjoy a public space without encountering any problems, regardless of age, gender, or disability. This is what makes them inclusive.
Street furniture is one way to support this. It can accommodate different needs – a ramp alongside a set of stairs provides additional access for wheelchair users, for example – and should be taken into account from the start of any town planning or development process.
Let us add some magic to your place. We can provide you with a series of concepts that will give your space a point of difference and make people feel welcome. We can then translate your chosen concept into a detailed design.
Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is a nonprofit planning, design, and educational organization dedicated to helping people create and sustain public spaces that build stronger communities.
Placemaking is a people-centered approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces. Put simply, it involves looking at, listening to, and asking questions of the people who live, work and play in a particular space, to discover needs and aspirations. This information is then used to create a common vision for that place. The vision can evolve quickly into an implementation strategy, beginning with small-scale, do-able improvements that can immediately bring benefits to public spaces and the people who use them.
‘Placemaking’ is both an overarching idea and a hands-on tool for improving a neighborhood, city or region. It has the potential to be one of the most transformative ideas of this century.
