I am trying to develop a coalition plan & an action plan for the youth here in a small community called Igloolik, NU which is part of Canada. I have been looking for those two answers for quite a while now and would like to know where they are. Here is our vision and mission statement.
Vision
We imagine that the youth have more inherent access to information about why they are dropping out of school and why they should stay in school. A community without hunger, a place to sleep, and a community without crimes.
Mission
Our mission is to improve the lives of the youth who are dropped out, hungry, and who are stuck doing illegal activities by mentoring them with personal & professional development, telling them about how staying in school is better, feeding them with food and having fewer criminal activities within the community.
How can I implement those statements?
Hello Again Simon,
As promised, response part two! My plan is to provide you with the resources for getting people involved in your work, actually building a coalition of people and organizations to work with you on improving the lives of the youth in your Nunavut community, as well as resources for developing strategic and action plans. Some of the resources I offered you in my first advisor response covered these same activities, in part, so if you've read them through then you should already be a bit familiar with the concepts, principles, and practices therein. Because you have a lot of CTB resources already I won't overwhelm you with a lot of background material. Let's get to it, the work is at hand...
The first three CTB resources are all about getting other people involved in the work you're doing and how to build them into a powerful, engaged, committed coalition that will really get things done on behalf of the youth in your community; as I always say (and you can quote me on this), it takes a community to raise a community. So, to get people involved, built into a coalition, and then increasing the size of that coalition Chapter 7, and Toolkits 1 and 8 are definitely where it's at:
Chapter 7 - Encouraging Involvement in Community Work: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/participation/encouraging-involv.... I suggest reading all sections in this chapter, this chapter is money!
Toolkit 1 - Creating and Maintaining Coalitions and Partnerships: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/creating-and-maintaining-coalitions-and-partnerships. I suggest reading the entirety of the toolkit, the related resources, and the examples.
Toolkit 8 - Increasing Partnership and Membership: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/increasing-participation-and-membership. Same as in Toolkt 1, read the entirety of the toolkit, the related resources, and the examples.
The next two resources are directly related to strategic and action planning, one chapter and one toolkit.
Chapter 8 - Developing a Strategic Plan: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/structure/strategic-planning. I suggest reading all seven sections. You will notice that section 2 is all about developing a vision and mission statements. Now, I know you already have stated your vision and mission, but it wouldn't hurt to double-check your vision and mission against those offered therein to make sure you've developed them correctly and to make doubly-sure you can actually fulfill your vision for a better future for the youth of your community, can't hurt.
Toolkit 5 - Developing Strategic and Action Plans: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/developing-strategic-and-action-plans.Okay, this is the total nuts and bolts, hands-on, get it done resource for strategic and action planning, this is money, this is gold! As with all the toolkits I've suggested, do read the entirety of the main section, the related resources, and the examples. For my money (even though the CTB is a free resource), toolkits are the way to go no matter where you want to go.
Okay, last but not least, just in case you missed it - Chapter 2, Section 12, Example 4 - here is a nice little piece on a health intervention in the Inuit communities of Ontario:
Example 4: Inuit Tutarvingat (Inuit Centre at NAHO) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
We would like to thank the following individuals who assisted in the preparation of this case study: Katherine Minich, Suzanne Jackson
The Inuit Tutarvingat Initiative began in 2000 in response to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP). Participating organizations and institutions included the Metis Centre, First Nations Centre, and the Communications Unit. The Initiative is intended to benefit the Inuit population, which has the poorest health status in the country of Canada. Policy makers, government workers, and the general public are the target audiences for the Initiative.
The main focus of the Initiative is to promote practices that will restore a healthy Inuit lifestyle and improve the health status of the Inuit population through research and dissemination of research results, education and awareness raising, human resource development and sharing information on Inuit-specific health policies and practices. The Initiative seeks these changes at the level of individuals, organizations, community and society.
The Initiative has 5 objectives:
- Improve and promote Inuit health through knowledge-based activities.
- Promote understanding of health issues affecting the Inuit population.
- Facilitate and promote research and develop research partnerships.
- Foster participation of the Inuit population in the delivery of healthcare.
- Affirm and protect Inuit traditional healing practices.
Change in the Inuit community has been difficult to capture as the population is greatly dispersed. Also, because no formal monitoring or evaluation system is in place yet, it is difficult to measure change and results. Very little ethnic data is collected so it is hard to tell how Inuits in general are benefiting. Some products and resources target specialized audiences but the uptake and impact of those resources are not known. Organizational level changes have, however, made going for smaller grants easier for staff.
Some challenges faced by the Initiative include difficulty in the retention of Inuit workers, long upstream population health challenges, and changing governments leading to questions regarding the continuity of funding.
Although evidence of effectiveness has yet to be determined due to a lack of formal monitoring and evaluation the Initiative seems to be headed in the right direction. According to the Initiative, communications have been reaching the target audience, the Centre has gained visibility, and resources/partnerships have been established. However, the Initiative needs to focus on fewer issues with longer and more comprehensive projects and to strengthen partnerships with health and education sectors and to develop target materials. Performance monitoring and evaluation must also be developed and improved.
Alright Simon, I think that's it for CTB resources that address community involvement, coalition building, and both strategic and action planning to go along with program/implementation planning that we discussed in my first response. If for any reason you don't find what you're looking for do stop by again and we'll press on until we get you the resources you want. Admittedly, I have offered up a lot of information for you to consume, but trust me, it will be worth your time to give it due consideration, after all it's for the youth in your community. With that I thank you Simon for visiting the CTB and presenting us with a challenging proposition. On behalf of the CTB, I wish you the very best of success in all your endeavors, and as I said, do come back if there is something more I/we can help you with.
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