Launching a Civic Leadership Institute in your community is a big job, but one that is entirely manageable with the road map for implementation and hands-on support that Building Partnerships will provide. At every step, we'll be here to help with planning, outreach, and adaptation of the CLI curriculum to your coalition's organizing needs and local reality. This web site will serve as a primary resource, laying out the comprehensive CLI curriculum, as well as tips and tools to faciliate the roll-out process and enhance the training experience.
Planning Resources
Quick Start Guide for Project Organizers
Curriculum Outline
Session Planning Worksheet
Getting Started: What You Need to Know
In general, the local sponsors of a CLI are responsible for 5 basic areas.
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Participants: inviting senior leaders of current and potential coalition members to participate in the training;
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Presenters: arranging for local experts to serve as guest speakers covering training topics;
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Local Content: tailoring course content to local needs by incorporating information about regional history, economics and politics;
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Research: generating background research, course materials and hand-outs; and
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Facilitation: training and assigning facilitators to lead discussions and exercises during each class.
The process of launching a CLI in your community can be divided into four phases.
| Phase I: The Organizing Plan |
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Who you invite to the CLI and how you customize the training modules will depend on where you are trying to go. It is thus essential to start with an organizing plan. If you don't have one yet, you will need to develop a plan for coalition-building that specifies:
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your core mission and interests
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current campaigns
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future campaigns
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current coalition members
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additional members needed
Outcomes:
With an organizing plan in hand, you will be ready to:
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convene a planning committee for the CLI, including staff from key coalition partners, and
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start making a list of organizations and individuals to invite to the CLI.
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| Phase 2: Customizing the Curriculum |
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The local organizers of the CLI play the critical role of adapting the CLI curriculum to local needs, by incorporating content about:
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regional history,
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organizing traditions,
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economic trends and
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power structures.
This will involve a detailed review of Building Parnterhips' curriculum outline, and probably several conversations with our staff, who will be happy to walk you through the curriculum, highlight essential components, and provide examples of how some other groups have approached class exercises, specific topics, homework and projects.
Outcomes:
After this stage of planning, local sponsors should be clear about:
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the main points of each training session;
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when guest speakers are needed, and what they will present;
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which activites and exercises will be used for each session; and
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what research is required for course materials, homework and in-class exercises.
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| Phase 3: Research and Outreach |
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Once participants have been targeted and a plan for customizing the course material is in place, the local organizing committee can begin reaching out to participants and guest speakers. In many cases, committee members will make initial calls to selected leaders of local organizations to explain the purpose of the CLI and extend an invitation. This will be followed by a formal invitation over the signatures of committee members from the CLI's local sponsoring organizations.
Guest speakers are most often drawn form local universities, community colleges, government agencies, organized labor and policy advocacy groups. Building Partnerships can help with networking and referrals to identify appropriate resources from within the region. Some of the background research to support course content is often contributed by guest speakers. Building Partnerships can help identify resources for producing other research needed.
Outcomes:
- Guest speakers are confirmed for each module
- Strategically-selected participants have been invited
- Research to support course materials, exercises, homework and class discussions is in process
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| Phase 4: Launch |
| The final stage of implementation is where the rubber hits the road, and logistical details must be finalized, including arrangements for training locations, parking, refreshments, etc. More importantly, this is the point at which session planning and course content should be complete, including all research that will be needed to paint a comprehensive picture of local political and economic conditions relative to regional development.
Outcomes:
Two to three weeks prior to the first training session, local organizers should:
- send 3-4 bullets recapping key topics to guest speakers for each session
- confirm payment and attendance with all invitees
- have all logistical arrangments in place
- send information packets to participants, including agendas, readings, course materials and logistical information
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