Ask an Advisor Questions

Hello! I am a graduate student at NAU and we are working on a rural community change project. Do you have any resources about integrating telehealth, mobile clinics and possibly nurses being stationed at other public places than a clinic/hospital, such as a library? We are specifically trying to solve the problem of transportation for patients in a rural community.

Hi there,

My nonprofit organization is currently examining whether to keep a program or close it out. There are a number of considerations to make regarding fiances, the community served, ability to fundraise. I am in search of tools/analysis types that would help make the decision (or at least provide an objective lens). Are there any resources that I can be guided to that would assist.

Thanks and Very Best,

Bryan

I am organizing a chapter of Fullercenter.org to build homes for victims of the Camp Fire in Paradise, CA.

I need to organize a board of directors to begin the process.

Can you recommend some resources to help me figure out how to recruit experienced board members for a new organization?

Hello! I work with Civic Nebraska on their Collective Impact Lincoln initiative. One of our focuses right now is a neighborhood/business district in the community. One issue that I have commonly heard from business owners is that there is a lot of different things in the area that they thought would make this area more of a hub. For example, there are two nearby colleges, however, not many students frequent this business district. Another issue to address is how we can pull more traffic of people stopping into this area, even though it is on an heavily busy street. There are already great businesses in this area, but there is just the issue of being on a busy street that it is hard to notice all the different businesses when driving, as well as sometimes the hours. What are some tips, toolkits, resources, etc. you would recommend looking into to help address some of these issues? There is so many diverse businesses, an art exhibit, and really great things this area has to offer, but I feel it is being overlooked.

Dear Tooolbox Advisor,

My community is awash in great plans - plans for transit, housing, sustainability, and more. Our community has a strong comprehensive plan that links issues and solutions. The challenge is that we persist in operating in silos, and are ineffective at moving forward to realize the bold and promising ideas in our plans. Our new civic infrastructure initiative will link mid-level and anchor institution leaders to prioritize the most important issues. We don't want to go through another long planning process - our community won't tolerate it - how do we build on the existing plans, prioritize and focus on just a few of the highest level priorities? We have a clear purpose; we have convened great leaders. How do we build on the work to move forward quickly?

Hello,

I am looking to help create community partnerships. Volunteers to organizations, and organizations to organizations. Connecting people who are interested in a local social issue, those who are currently volunteering, and those who work in the issue (I am currently looking into which issues is the biggest challenge in our city).

I would like to lead an engaging monthly workshop that brings the community together to work on solving local issues. The goals are to create a community, connect people to volunteer opportunities. Also to empower people to work together to solve social problems.

My first thought is to start the workshop with a panel of experts. Those who work in organizations that are trying to solve the issue. Then, after the panel, I would like to facilitate a creative problem-solving process (in the lines of design thinking) where people can come together, identify a problem, identify a potential solution and then create a simple prototype of the idea.

I'd like to do this on a monthly basis. But I am unsure if this is the best idea to get community connected. Any thoughts of what might be better ideas, or is there's someone I can talk to who can come up with better ideas, or other resources to help guide me.

Also any thoughts about how to spread the word of this type of event.

Thank you very much in advance for the help. Please let me know if you have any questions or things to clarify.

Hi there, I am teaching a class of Masters of Public Health Students about community engagement and collaboration. I've put together a lecture and used some of the content from this site and another good resource (for my context), the Ontario Health Communities Coalition http://www.ohcc-ccso.ca/ . I'm missing an interaction piece however, and am looking for a case study or scenario for students to work through. I'm wondering if you could point me to ones that have already been created with a CC licence that I could use. Thanks for your help.

What communication protocols need to be followed when contacting the media to promote a new program or service?