Section 4
Now that you have an initial Action Model, learn how to finalize it and follow it through. After you’ve come so far, you don’t want to let your redevelopment project stall out.
At this point, it’s usually a good idea to hold a second workshop with your Development Community to complete the Action Model.
In your second meeting, you might finalize the wording of your Action Model, add input from new members or the community, and divide up tasks.
Supervising the project, keeping an eye on it, and moving it forward is called stewardship. People who take on this role are stewards.
Stewards can get your project across the finish line, which can take months or years. You may want to vote to elect a stewardship team, or committee. The team will:
Just the act of recording data can inspire change. In Blue Island, Illinois the community measured the number of recreational programs they had available and found only 12. That inspired the Park District to take action. Less than two years later, they had over 100 community programs.
Give people clear responsibilities. As long as each person knows what she should be doing, your project is more likely to succeed. Creating smaller groups (sub-committees) can help divide up the work.
For instance, you could form sub-committees focused on:
Look outside your Development Community for help. Try contacting:
Tip: In some redevelopment projects, middle school, high school, and college students are in charge of tracking local grocery stores and community gardens. It’s a way of finding out if a community has access to healthy foods.
One way to get feedback, create excitement, and find more help is to post the Action Model on a website. Give your community a chance to see it and comment on it.
You can just set up a free blog site yourself, but it’s often best if the city or local health department puts up the website and maintains it. That will show the public that the project has official support. For an example, check out this page about the Blue Island, Illinois Action Model and Community Health Monitoring program on the city’s website.
The next section can be key. It’s about getting grants that may help you turn your Action Model into real, lasting change in your community. Learn how to track down resources that might help.