10 Keys Messaging

Letting Values Lead

Letting values lead refers to ways of grounding decision making decision making and action in what is important to the organization or group. The core components of values based leadership include

Shared purpose
Guiding principles
Leadership skills
Processes that bring out the best in people

5 key messages about letting values lead at a conceptual level:

The ability to let values lead is built on relationships and trust
Co-created purpose and principles are key to effective values-based leadership
Collective wisdom will lay the groundwork for meaningful collective action
Sometimes values-based leadership means holding space for others
Values based leadership and network leadership require similar skillsets – both of which are fundamentally different from organizational/operational leadership

5 key messages about letting values lead at the community level:

Community groups, organizations and institutions are made up of people – a neighbourhood ecosystem is strengthened when those people prioritize authentic relationships and trust
Community wide initiatives can thrive when time and care is taken in grounding them in shared purpose
Ask the question: who in the ecosystem has the wisdom we need to make this decision?
When confronted with challenging situations, go back to shared purpose and guiding principles
Plan and run meetings as if individual and collective values matter: develop facilitative skills and use them in regular day to day meetings (see facilitating collaborative processes)

5 things individuals can do to engage in values-based leadership:

Be authentic and show your vulnerability (where safe to do so)
Be trustworthytrust worthy – follow through, listen, learn, acknowledge mistakes
Know what the group values, refer to it often in discussions
Celebrate values and culture
Connect with people outside of formal meetings

Connected Communities from the Inside Out

In order to engage in meaningful, impactful and sustainable community building, we must start with ourselves and our organizations. Connected Communities from the Inside out includes:

How grounded we are as individuals
How we relate to others and our environment
The group norms and assumptions that are foundational to how we work
The culture of our organizations and groups
The degree to which people feel supported to learn, grow and thrive in their community building roles

5 key messages about connected communities from the inside out at a conceptual level:

We perpetuate white supremacist and unhealthy paradigms when organizations try to affect change without supporting the people who do the work in meaningful ways
Our organizations and institutions are often founded on structures that do not support healthy workplace culture
It takes intentionality for individuals to ensure that people within a group or organization feel supported and nurtured in their community building work
We are all part of the systems we are trying to change: individual learning, growth and the time and space to do the work of change is critical to authentic community work
Social change is a highly relational process: authentic relationships needs to be at the core (people and process before product)

5 key messages about connected communities from the inside out at the group or organizational level:

Internal work is just as important as external community building: a critical role for the leadership is a focus on creating a positive organizational culture
For organizations to affect change it is important that they do the work to understand and mitigate how racism and white supremacy shows up in their structures and cultures
Surfacing unspoken norms and assumptions in an organization or group is foundational fostering a positive culture
Relationship development within the team needs to be foundational in strategies and workplans and especially those designed to achieve and sustaining “impact”
Connected communities from the inside out means actively living organizational/group values and principles every day

5 things individuals can do to nurture connected communities from the inside out:

Take care of yourself and create meaningful boundaries
Treat every interaction (email, phone, in person) as an opportunity to strengthen relationships
Listen to colleagues and where they are a coming from; hear their perspectives and stories
Articulate the unspoken norms and assumptions you see at play in your organization or group
Reflect on what organizational/group principles and values mean to you: use the values and principles as a way to generate common understanding

Working at Multiple Scales

Working at multiple scales refers to the necessity of connecting the micro and the macro or the grassroots and the grasstops in meaningful ways so that one informs and is able to support the other. CCA seeks to create the conditions so that systems at a large scale are able to put communities at the centre of their work: this is systems change work. CCA uses Ursula Wright’s 5 conditions of systems change as a lens meaning that at both the hyper local and the government and institutional level, CCA supports community influence on:

Mindsets * Relationships * Power Dynamics * Practices * Resource flows * Policy

5 key messages about working at multiple scales at a conceptual level:

The role of bridge or liaison between what is happening at government and institutional levels and what is happening at the community levels is critical to facilitating healthy communities, health cities, healthy democracy and healthy society
Effectively working at multiple scales means focusing on two way flow of information and sense making so that communities benefit from initiatives at the government and institutional level and that initiatives at the government or institutional level are informed by communities.
The differing worldviews and use of language at the various scales can create real barriers and mistrust in communities of anything bureaucratic or institutional
CCA seeks to change the question from: how can we get communities to “buy into or participate in our initiatives and processes?” to “how can we design initiatives and processes that support community aspirations and priorities”
Systems are everywhere: at the community, organization institution and government levels, systems are made up of people: relationships are key

5 key messages about working at multiple scales at a community level:

Designing processes to be meaningful and relational in nature can make “engagement”, “focus groups” or other often extractive processes meaningful in community
Making sure that information gleaned from consultation or research is returned to community in meaningful ways
Government and institutions can hear community information best when it is in the form of a learning document or webinar: supporting community to document their messages in this way can be impactful
Systems change is often slow and rarely linear in cause and effect which can be demoralizing for community: charting and celebrating the ways in which communities have influenced organizations, institutions and governments can help people see systems change in action
Paying people for their time, learning what was said at previous consultations, reflecting back what was heard, and being transparent about how information will be used are all ways to demonstrate respect and value of what community members bring to the table.

5 things individuals can do to work at multiple scales

You have something unique to offer: act/speak with confidence
Remember that systems are made up of people: focus on relationships
At every opportunity translate across scales: use language and framing that bridges the divides
Use perspective empathy to understand the “background music” of the various players: what motivates them, what will they get rewarded for, what frustrates them
Support the creation of shared narratives to foster greater understanding across scale

Build Creative Infrastructure

Building Creative Infrastructure relates to the processes and structures that make connected communities possible. When talking about creative infrastructure in a physical community, creative infrastructure and social infrastructure may be used interchangeably. Creative infrastructure refers to:

How communication flows
How information is stored and shared (who has access to it and how)
How grassroots initiatives are supported
Where and how people are able access services when they need them
Where people gather and celebrate
How people are engaged in decision making
The processes that connect people to the land and their physical surroundings
The processes in place so that local priorities influence government or institutional policies

5 key messages about social infrastructure at a conceptual level:

Ask the question, who is paying attention to how various pieces of social infrastructure are created, sustained and integrated in a community ecosystem?
Ask the question whether and how social infrastructure is relevant, meaningful and accessible for people who are often excluded by mainstream systems?
Effective social infrastructure prioritizes relationships, facilitation and communication across a diversity of people, scales and sectors (from the smallest action to the largest investment)
Physical infrastructure (the natural environment and what gets built on it) and social infrastructure (the people and places that make connection possible) can and should be mutually reinforcing.
Social infrastructure has some common elements across communities, but should be co-designed and developed in ways that are context specific/context informed

5 key messages about social infrastructure at the community level:

Supporting people to be active players in their community means ensuring clear, meaningful and engaging communication on an ongoing basis
People need access to welcoming spaces (both human built and natural environments)
People need to know who to ask for help with what
Effective social infrastructure creates a sense of belonging and agency to affect change in the community
Creative social infrastructure allows people to engage with what’s happening in their community in various ways at various times in ways that are meaningful to them

Examples of social infrastructure at the community level:

Intentional communication systems (newsletters, radio stations, community facebook page, telephone trees, What’s App groups)
Hubs (co-location of social services, arts, food services etc)
Community gardens, sports courts, sacred places, healing places, public squares
Network weavers, integrators, community-based facilitators
Community planning boards, neighbourhood associations, tenant associations, issue based advocacy groups etc.
Shared platforms, trustees or other conduits to flow funding to grassroots groups/networks

5 things individuals can do to nurture social infrastructure:

Be intentional about meaningful communication
Design documents/communications that demystify processes (local or government)
Find ways to make community space more accessible/welcoming
Host opportunities for people to influence decisions of organizations, institutions, or governments
Ask grassroots groups, networks what they need to achieve their goals (help figure out how to get them what they need)

Prioritizing Power Sharing and Equity

Prioritizing power sharing and equity refers to the shift from a focus hierarchical, institutionally held power to a community centred approach. It recognizes the gross inequities baked into our systems and structures and explicitly names them and seeks to disrupt them as a central part of community building efforts. Prioritizing power sharing and equity is the ongoing deep work that:

Surfaces assumptions
Challenges norms
Seeks collective wisdom
Fostering understanding and respect for the many different ways of knowing and being
Designs alternative community-centred decision-making processes

5 key messages about prioritizing power sharing and equity at a conceptual level:

Prioritizing power sharing and equity starts with the systemic self: recognizing that we are all part of the systems we are trying to change
Canadian society is founded on systems of oppression
Equity within Canadian society (colonial worldview) and Indigenous sovereignty (a society with an Indigenous world view) are different things
Support for autonomous decision making and action is foundational to power sharing
Power sharing means recognizing that ways of knowing/ doing that may be unfamiliar/ uncomfortable are critical to successful community building

5 key messages about prioritizing power sharing and equity at a community level:

Be intentional about surfacing the ways that colonialism, white supremacy and racism undermine community building efforts; learn what it means to decolonize your practices and take an anti-racism lens to your community building work
When working with people who have been racialized and otherwise marginalized learn their stories and community building aspirations: look for ways to support them in their goals rather than asking them to buy into yours
When you open up discussions of racism and other traumas be sure you have put things in place so people who may be re-traumatized by the discussion can get solid and ongoing support
Community processes can exacerbate or disrupt oppressive practices: take time to explore the and surface assumptions and norms on which local initiatives are based
Effective community building is about co-creating alternatives: work with Black, Indigenous, people of colour, LGBTQ2, people with disabilities and others who are often marginalized to design meaningful decision making processes and structures

5 things individuals can do to prioritize power sharing and equity

Engage in self reflection
Listen to and honour people’s stories and histories
Name white supremacist processes that underpin community initiatives
Ask “what if” questions (what if we saw this question from a different worldview?)
Make room for others: help shine a light on the wisdom of people usually on the margins

Embracing the Messiness

Embracing the messiness refers to the holding of a diversity of perspectives, voices, realities, structures and systems at play that affect community building activities. The idea of embracing the messiness includes the recognition that:

Communities as ever evolving and changing ecosystems of people and processes
Context matters
There are systems at play in the community that are not necessarily community specific (eg systems of oppression, government designed systems and/or natural ecosystems)
Issues and solutions can be viewed from different perspectives and vantage points
Relationships, experimentation, and learning are all necessary ingredients to effectively adapt to changing circumstances as they emerge

5 key messages about embracing the messiness at a conceptual level:

We are part of (not separate from) the systems that make up our environment
We can influence outcomes in a complex environment, we cannot control them
Constant adaptation is critical in a complex environment (our environments are constantly changing)
Complexity requires leadership approaches that are relational, nimble, responsive and adaptive
Complex issues can not be solved by one actor, approach or sector

Language used:

Community ecosystem: the people, relationships and processes that make up systems in a local context
Systems: the inter-relatedness of people and processes (natural and human made) that affect societal issues
Emergent strategy: Emergent strategy (continual adaptation) includes paying attention to where there is energy in the community (momentum) and what opportunities could be leveraged to support that momentum
Complex adaptive systems: dynamic networks of interactions where the behaviour of the whole is in a state of constant change and therefore, not predictable

5 key messages about embracing the messiness at the community level:

The Connected Community Approach helps multiple players navigate complexity at a hyper-local level
It is complexity that allows the smallest positive action to have ripple affect impact on an entire community
A basic understanding of the difference between simple, complicated and complex processes can help a group of people to understand the kinds of interventions will be most effective and what kinds of outcomes can be expected
A shared understanding of purpose (what a group of people is trying to achieve) and the principles and values that guide their work can help people stay grounded as they adapt to changing environments
Learning and sharing of knowledge helps people to thrive in complex environments

5 things individuals can do to embrace the messiness:

Seek to understand and ground yourself and others in your organization/on your project in shared purpose, principles and values
Recognize that you cannot control the behaviour of other people, but you can control how you react to it
Share your narrative and listen to narratives from others about what led us to this place at this time – try and see the issue/solution from their perspective/context
Engage in small positive actions, even if you can’t see the immediate outcomes (they will have ripple effect beyond your line of sight)
Build intentional relationships with people across sectors and scales who play a role in addressing the same complex issues you are (think broadly about who those people might be)

Making Community Building Visible

Making community building visible refers to centring community building as some of the most important work in our society. Making community building visible includes:

Physical manifestations of community that make people proud (art, ceremony, the results of collective efforts like gardens or groves of trees planted by community)
Visual or auditory histories
Web or social media representation of community building activities
Stories and storytelling
Graphic depictions that convey relationships, connections or concepts in accessible ways

5 key messages about making community building visible at a conceptual level:

By making community building visible you can illustrate how small-scale local actions are critical to addressing large scale complex issues
For people to engage in community building, it is important that they feel like they are part of a community – the more people see community building all around them, the more they will want to get involved
Positive narrative of community building can help overcome stigma and isolation
Storytelling helps us to understand each other, it builds bridges and creates critical perspective empathy
When complex issues, strategies or ideas are depicted graphically, it helps to fuel shared understanding

5 key messages about making community building visible at a community level:

It is so easy for organizations and groups in the same community to work in silos – making community building visible can help everyone feel like part of the same community
Institutions and organizations tend to convey ideas with lots of text which tends to exclude lots of people from engaging with it: graphics, photos, paintings, storytelling and audio make ideas and concepts easier to engage with
When the community owns the narrative it is more difficult for the media or others to assign a narrative to them
Art and music are healing, motivating and catalysts for creative community building efforts and should be core to community building strategies
Cultures have their own visual representations – if those representations are seen it can foster a sense of inclusion and welcome

5 things individuals can do to make community building visible

Take and share pictures of inspiring things in the community
When people have trouble understanding an idea, try drawing it
Participate or lead mural painting, tree planting or other activities that will leave a positive physical legacy
Ask people to share their stories, share yours
Open gatherings or meetings by asking how individuals came to be at this place at this time or co-narrating the story of how this group (organization, network) has evolved over time or create visual timelines.

Learning Together

Learning together in Connected Communities refers to ways in which people cultivate and nurture a shared understanding the evolution of local community building. Learning together takes various forms including

Personal reflection
Story telling
Evaluation sense making
Knowledge exchange
Creating a shared narrative arc or timeline

5 key messages about learning together at a conceptual level:

Everyone has their own unique experience of community and community building
Collective wisdom will lay the groundwork for meaningful collective action
Evaluation is not about judging success or failure, evaluation is about understanding the impact strategies and actions have on people, organizations and the community as a whole
People learn in different ways: learning processes should engage people in multiple ways (visually, kinetically, experientially etc)
Learning together as a key is closely linked to facilitating collaborative processes (facilitated learning opportunities) and making community building visible (documenting and sharing the learning)

5 key messages about learning together at the community level:

Taking time for personal reflection and collective sense making is an effective and often overlooked community building strategy
Learning together goes beyond getting feedback from community or resident capacity building, it is about creating shared understanding and narratives
A community’s narrative learns from the past, is grounded in the multiple ideas and actions of today and informs strategy going forward
Project design and project evaluation are both good opportunities to bring people together for collective sense making
Regular knowledge exchange events (can be workshops, symposiums or “community speaks”, can help foster community wide learning (beyond projects)

5 things individuals can do to embed meaningful learning in their community building practice:

Engage in regular self reflection activities
Share your own learnings and insights in blogs, vlogs and/or media posts
Ask people to share their stories and perspectives
Ask groups about what they have learned
Research and share the history of local community building

Facilitating Collaborative Processes

Facilitating collaborative process refers to the approaches and tools you can use to help people to work better together. Facilitating collaborative processes includes formal partnerships, but recognizes that formal partnerships are not always the best form of collaborative processes. Types of collaborative process include:

Network weaving
Collective idea generation
Meeting facilitation
Collective decision making
Partnership development

5 key messages about facilitating collaborative processes at a conceptual level:

Facilitated processes are often used by organizations and institutions for purposes of strategic planning or focus groups; CCA posits that expert facilitation as standard practice in communities is fundamental to addressing complex issues at a local scale
Good network weaving focuses on people and process before product (relationships, trust, shared purpose and understanding lay the ground work for collective action)
Good facilitation finds ways to invite people into meaningful conversation
When good strategies are in place for collective decision-making people feel ownership for the outcome
Facilitation is a skillset that is quite distinct from project management

5 key messages about facilitating collaborative processes at the community level:

A community ecosystem includes multiple intersecting networks (faith communities, clubs, school groups etc)
Facilitating communication and connection across various networks is one of the key roles of a community backbone organization, network weaver, facilitator or integrator
Facilitating collaborative processes includes paying attention to how communication flows between and among networks, organizations and groups
Effective collaboration includes inviting people to the “table”, but goes beyond the “table” to foster relationships in multiple ways on an ongoing basis
To create connected communities, collaborative processes play a key role in fostering dialogue, strategies and actions across sectors and multiple scales

5 things individuals can do to facilitate collaborative processes:

Learn to start meetings/gatherings with intentional check in questions
Take time to get to know the people in your network/collaboration outside of the organized sessions
Help craft a narrative about why this group of people came together and what they collectively can achieve that individually they can’t
Use perspective empathy when exploring issues and solutions with others: what is the context, values and realities that others bring to the table
Look for win/win solutions

Building on Everyone’s Strengths

Building on everyone strengths relates to the capacities of everyone within and connected to a community ecosystem to contribute to strengthening that ecosystem over time. Building on Everyone’s Strengths draws on concepts of Asset Based Community Development and includes paying attention to, valuing, honouring and leveraging:

The knowledge, wisdom and information people hold
The talents people have
The resources that fuel community building efforts
The physical assets in a community (natural and human built)
The local groups organizations and institutions (including faith communities, service clubs, sports leagues etc), their mandates and unique capacities

5 key messages about an asset-based approach at a conceptual level:

Addressing complex issues is not the domain of one person, organization or sector; we need everyone: people across sectors and scales
Residents are experts of their own context – without their expertise, we will not achieve equity outcomes
Institutions, organizations and funders should be accountable for supporting what is good and strong in a community: grassroots efforts need to be supported and resourced
The mainstream paradigm for affecting change is deficit based: working from an asset based perspective is a major paradigm shift
An asset-based approach shifts the narrative of the “vulnerable” that need help (social services) to communities (ABCD) that have strengths and need funding and policy directions that help nurture those strengths

5 key messages about strengths and assets at the community level:

Exploring community strengths and assets is in and of itself a valuable exercise in fostering a sense of agency and belief that solutions are possible
Every community ecosystem has multiple unrecognized strengths
Generations of trauma for people who have been racialized and marginalized sometimes makes it difficult to shift from a deficit based to an asset-based approach
Creative infrastructure and facilitating collaborative processes can be key in unlocking the potential of people to see and leverage their own assets to strengthen their communities
Not everyone will see themselves as a community builder: really being asset based means meeting people where they are

5 things individuals can do to nurture the strengths in their community:

Seek to understand the wisdom, values and perspectives of others (perspective empathy)
Reflect people’s strengths back to them in regular conversations/meetings (help people see and believe in the value and worth of their contributions)
Encourage storytelling as a means of uncovering local assets
Convene people to map the assets in their community (be creative: organize tours, events etc to uncover/introduce people to local assets)
Facilitate a knowledge exchange among people who don’t typically share perspectives

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