Conducting Community Forums: Engaging Citizens, Mobilizing Communities [Paperback]

Reviewed by
Jan Tunnell
Tunnell & Associates

Community forums are powerful tools to educate the public, build consensus, influence policy, support public debate, and get the community voice heard. Forums are a mechanism to engage citizens and organizations, and serve as a vehicle for community initiatives. This book is designed to help readers:
o Determine if a forum is the best way to achieve their goals
o Clarify the desired outcomes for a forum
o Decide who needs to be involved
o Identify resources needed to support their forum and how to obtain those resources
o Manage the logistics of event planning and execution
o Support follow-up action
o Conduct exciting, successful events that accomplish the established goals
Organized in four chapters plus very useful appendices, the book is a basic but thorough guide to achieving community goals and making good use of scarce resources in facilitating the forum.
The first chapter describes and defines the types of forums; community education, community engagement, and community action - distinguished by the goals they attempt to accomplish. The advantages and disadvantages, uses, and caveats of each are detailed and a chart shows the overlap of the three types. Forums can provide benefits in addition to the basics, including public exposure and increased community involvement. The complete process of planning a forum is given. The reader is led through the decision, or not, to have a forum, establishing a planning group, designating responsibilities, group selection, group size, leadership, and structure. Specific agendas for different time periods are charted. Other charts show in detail the design formats that can be used, with examples of events in varied communities. Every aspect to be considered is explained.
Chapter Two explains how to plan for your forum. Steps are outlined: creating the agenda, identifying resource people, logistics, publicity, and evaluation. Paying attention to the details is stressed.
Orchestrating the event is the subject of the third chapter. All of the possible stumbling blocks are presented, with tips on how to avoid them. Topics such the coordinator, volunteer management, registration, packets, the facility, and food are discussed, with suggestions and ideas. There is a section on troubleshooting, identified as a key to success.
Chapter Four defines change and shows how to sustain the results of the event. The energy and commitment to action that emerges from a successful forum needs to be captured and transformed into concrete action. Understanding the ingredients to bring about change is important after the forum. Pre-planning is part of this process as well as activities for after the event. The forum is only the launching pad for attention or action on an issues or changes in policy and is only one part of a strategy.
Each chapter has a summary; this can be reviewed to determine if what you need is under this section topic. Included at the end of each chapter are ideas on utilizing all possible resources to reduce costs. The four chapters are a gold mine of information, and provide useful, specific directions for accomplishing your goals. As valuable as the information is, the appendices are even more useful. Need a budget form, training for facilitators, evaluation format - they are all here and more. This is a basic but most useful book; easy to read and assimilate, carefully thought out and well documented. Definitely recommended for community activists.