Section 11. Organizing Study Circles

This section is adapted from Leighninger, Flavin-McDonald, and Ghandour's Building strong neighborhoods: A study circle guide for public dialgoue and community problem-solving.

Today, we are facing some difficult challenges. Neighborhoods are dealing with crime, economic problems, tensions between different groups of people, drug and alcohol abuse, and other things. To make matters worse, many of us barely know our neighbors.

The good news is that the people in our neighborhood communities are full of energy, talent, and creativity -- attributes that can be channeled into improving everyone's quality of life. But all too often, neighborhoods aren't able to take full advantage of their residents' energy and commitment. Most of the people who live and work in our neighborhoods are not at the table when problems are being discussed and decisions are being made. It is often the same leaders who try to represent all of the people in the neighborhood, and sometimes those leaders "burn out."

So how can you tap into the talent and creativity where you live for the benefit of the neighborhood as a whole? A growing number of community organizers, hoping to bring neighborhoods together, have successfully used study circles.

What are study circles?

A study circle is a small group of people who meet regularly over a period of time to explore an important public or community issue in a collaborative, structured way.

Study circles typically include about 8 to 12 participants, although the exact size can vary depending on the topic, setting, and facilitation approach.

Participants:

• Share their own experiences and perspectives
• Listen to people with different experiences or viewpoints
• Examine relevant information and evidence
• Identify areas of agreement and disagreement
• Develop possible actions or recommendations

A study circle is usually supported by a facilitator whose role is to help create a fair, focused, and respectful process.

The facilitator should not use the role to steer participants toward a preferred conclusion.

A typical study circle may move through several stages:

• Experience: How does this issue affect us or our community?
• Understanding: What different perspectives, evidence, or experiences should we consider?
• Options: What possible responses or solutions exist?
• Action: What can participants, organizations, or institutions realistically do next?

Study circles can take place within neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, faith communities, nonprofit organizations, public agencies, or other settings.

A community may also organize several study circles at the same time and bring participants together afterward to identify common themes and possible actions.

Study circles may be held in person, online, or in a hybrid format.

The format should be selected according to accessibility, privacy, technology access, participant preferences, and the nature of the issue.

Why should you organize study circles?

Study circles can be useful when a community wants to understand an issue more fully while building relationships and identifying practical next steps.

People may find study circles valuable because:

• Discussions begin with people's actual experiences rather than treating the issue only as an abstract problem.
• Small groups can make it easier for more people to participate than in a large public meeting.
• Participants can hear perspectives they may not encounter in their everyday lives.
• The process can help clarify where agreement exists and where important differences remain.
• Participants can move from discussion toward specific recommendations or actions.
• Relationships formed through the process may support future community work.

Study circles should not be presented as automatically “safe” spaces.

Difficult discussions may involve disagreement, discomfort, or unequal power.

Organizers should instead work to create conditions that are respectful, accessible, and supportive while making clear how harmful or disruptive conduct will be addressed.

How do you organize a community-wide study circle program?

Start by defining the purpose

Be clear about why you are organizing the study circles.

You might want to:

• Understand community experiences
• Improve relationships across groups
• Explore a difficult public issue
• Develop recommendations
• Identify community priorities
• Develop specific action projects

The topic may be chosen in advance, or participants may help identify which issue should receive attention.

Example: Community safety and connection in Milltown

Imagine Milltown, a diverse neighborhood in a large Midwestern city.

The neighborhood includes longtime residents, newer residents, students, families, older adults, renters, homeowners, and people from a variety of racial, ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds.

Residents have recently raised concerns about vandalism, vehicle break-ins, poor lighting, limited activities for young people, strained relationships among neighbors, and a general sense that people do not know one another as well as they once did.

Community members disagree about what contributes most to these concerns and what should be done.

Rather than assuming that any racial, ethnic, age, or newcomer population is responsible, local organizers decide to create study circles so residents can examine the issues together.

Possible questions include:

• When do you feel safe or unsafe in the neighborhood?
• What conditions contribute to those feelings?
• What information do we have about actual safety concerns?
• What community strengths could help?
• What roles could residents, young people, businesses, community organizations, public agencies, and law enforcement appropriately play?
• What solutions should we explore further?

Build a core planning team

Recruit a small group of people who can help organize the process.

Try to include people with different forms of experience and community connection.

The planning team may help with:

• Defining goals
• Recruiting participants
• Finding facilitators
• Selecting meeting formats
• Identifying accessibility needs
• Arranging childcare, transportation, food, or technology support
• Communicating with community organizations
• Planning follow-up action

Avoid relying only on people already connected to the organizers.

A planning team made up entirely of one social, professional, racial, economic, political, or organizational network may overlook important perspectives.

Hold a pilot study circle

Before launching a larger effort, consider holding one or more pilot circles.

A pilot can help determine:

• Whether the questions are understandable
• Whether the session length is appropriate
• Whether facilitation guidance is adequate
• Whether the location or technology is accessible
• Whether participants understand the purpose
• What should be changed before expanding the program

Ask pilot participants for direct feedback.

Choose accessible meeting formats and locations

In-person study circles might meet in:

• Libraries
• Schools
• Community centers
• Faith-community facilities
• Apartment or housing-community meeting rooms
• Public meeting spaces

Online or hybrid meetings may also be appropriate.

Consider:

• Physical accessibility
• Transportation
• Childcare
• Language interpretation
• Hearing or visual access
• Technology access
• Internet connectivity
• Scheduling
• Participant privacy
• Whether the location feels welcoming to different parts of the community

Avoid assuming that a private home, police facility, religious building, or other location will feel equally comfortable or accessible to everyone.

Map community organizations and networks

Identify organizations and networks that may help broaden participation.

These might include:

• Schools
• Libraries
• Neighborhood associations
• Tenant organizations
• Faith communities
• Businesses
• Nonprofit organizations
• Youth organizations
• Disability organizations
• Cultural organizations
• Immigrant and refugee organizations
• Older-adult organizations
• Public agencies
• Informal resident networks

Do not rely only on organizations with formal leadership.

People who are not affiliated with established groups may also have important perspectives and should have meaningful opportunities to participate.

Build a broader working group

After the pilot, create a working group to coordinate the larger effort.

Try to include people who reflect the community's range of experiences without assuming that one person can represent an entire demographic group.

The working group can divide responsibilities for:

• Facilitator recruitment and training
• Participant recruitment
• Accessibility
• Communications
• Meeting logistics
• Documentation
• Evaluation
• Follow-up action

Recruit and prepare facilitators

Good facilitators listen carefully, manage group dynamics, encourage participation, and help participants examine an issue without imposing their own preferred answer.

Facilitator preparation should address:

• The purpose and structure of the study circle
• Ground rules
• Inclusive participation
• Managing disagreement
• Power differences
• De-escalation
• Accessibility
• Handling harmful or discriminatory comments
• Confidentiality expectations
• When to pause or end a discussion

Facilitators should be impartial about the process.

They do not necessarily need to pretend they have no values or experiences of their own, but they should not use the facilitator role to pressure participants toward their personal position.

Recruit participants broadly

Personal invitations can be effective, but use several recruitment methods so participation is not limited to people already connected to organizers.

Recruitment may include:

• Personal outreach
• Community organizations
• Email
• Text messaging
• Social media
• Community websites
• Flyers
• Local news media
• Schools and libraries
• Multilingual outreach
• In-person community events

Ask which populations may still be missing.

Participation barriers may involve:

• Work schedules
• Childcare
• Transportation
• Disability access
• Language
• Technology
• Immigration-related concerns
• Distrust of institutions
• Previous exclusion from community decisions

Establish clear participation expectations

Each group should discuss and agree on ground rules.

These might include:

• Listen without interrupting
• Critique ideas rather than people
• Make room for others to speak
• Do not pressure anyone to share personal experiences
• Respect agreed confidentiality expectations
• Avoid personal attacks, harassment, or discriminatory conduct
• Ask questions when you do not understand
• Accept that disagreement may remain

Be clear about the limits of confidentiality.

Participants should know whether notes will be collected, how summaries will be used, whether comments will be attributed, and who will have access to records.

Hold an opening event if useful

A larger kickoff event may help explain the project and recruit participants.

It can include:

• An explanation of the issue and process
• Information about accessibility and participation
• Registration
• Opportunities to meet facilitators
• Time for informal conversation

A kickoff event is optional.

Do not devote so many resources to promotion that the actual discussion, facilitation, and follow-up are underfunded.

Support the study circles while they are underway

Organizers should check in regularly with facilitators.

These check-ins can identify:

• Questions participants are raising
• Facilitation challenges
• Accessibility problems
• Participation gaps
• Topics that require additional information
• Possible safety or confidentiality concerns

Provide facilitators with support rather than asking them to manage difficult situations alone.

Record the process responsibly

Notes can help identify themes across several study circles.

Before collecting records, decide:

• What information is actually needed
• Whether comments will be attributed
• How records will be stored
• Who will have access
• How long records will be retained
• How participant privacy will be protected

In most cases, summaries of themes are more useful than creating detailed records of who said what.

Move from discussion to action

Study circles should not promise that every discussion will produce immediate policy or community change.

Some circles may primarily:

• Improve understanding
• Identify questions requiring further research
• Clarify disagreements
• Build relationships
• Generate recommendations

When participants do identify actions, help them make those actions specific.

For each proposed action, ask:

• What is the goal?
• Who should be involved?
• Who has authority to act?
• What resources are needed?
• What is the timeline?
• How will people directly affected participate?
• How will progress be assessed?

Hold an action forum or community follow-up

If several circles have been meeting, a final gathering can bring their ideas together.

Organizers can summarize common themes while preserving meaningful differences among groups.

The forum may:

• Review what participants learned
• Present common recommendations
• Identify unresolved disagreements
• Form action teams
• Assign responsibilities
• Establish timelines
• Identify issues requiring additional research

Do not treat the most frequently mentioned idea as automatically representing the entire community.

Example: Possible actions in Milltown

Suppose the Milltown study circles identify several recurring concerns involving young people's access to activities, neighborhood lighting, relationships with public-safety institutions, and limited opportunities for residents to know one another.

Participants might consider:

• Expanding after-school recreation, arts, employment, or mentoring opportunities designed with young people
• Reviewing street-lighting and pedestrian-safety needs
• Creating regular resident-public safety dialogue meetings
• Supporting neighborhood events that bring residents together across age, language, culture, and length of residence
• Working directly with young people who have experience with violence or justice-system involvement to understand what supports they consider useful
• Improving access to mental-health, employment, educational, or family-support resources where residents identify gaps

Avoid claiming that one intervention caused a later change in crime or another community outcome unless the evidence supports that conclusion.

Keep the effort going when useful

After a round of study circles:

• Review what worked
• Ask participants what should change
• Document recommendations
• Support action teams
• Share appropriate results with the community
• Decide whether another round of circles is needed

Continuing the program should depend on community interest and purpose rather than an assumption that the circles must expand indefinitely.

Tips on recording and facilitating a study circle

The recorder's role

If the group uses a recorder, that person's job is to capture important themes, questions, ideas, and proposed actions.

The recorder should usually be someone other than the facilitator so each person can focus on their role.

Recorders should:

• Listen carefully
• Summarize accurately
• Avoid inserting their own interpretation into participants' comments
• Protect confidential or personally identifying information
• Ask for clarification when needed
• Follow the group's agreed documentation practices

The facilitator's role

Facilitators help participants have a fair, productive discussion.

• Do not steer the outcome. Help participants explore the issue rather than using the facilitator role to promote your own preferred solution.
• Be prepared. Review the topic, agenda, ground rules, accessibility needs, and possible areas of tension in advance.
• Encourage participants to respond to one another. The discussion should not become a series of exchanges only between participants and the facilitator.
• Balance participation. Intervene respectfully when one or two people repeatedly dominate the conversation.
• Invite quieter participants without pressuring them. Some people may need more time before speaking, and choosing not to speak should also be respected.
• Keep the discussion connected to its purpose. Allow useful connections while helping participants return to the central issue when needed.
• Allow silence. People may need time to think, particularly during difficult discussions.
• Do not force consensus. Document meaningful agreement as well as important disagreement.
• Ask the group when appropriate. Participants can help determine how to use time, apply ground rules, or address unexpected questions.
• Address harmful conduct. Neutral facilitation does not require allowing harassment, threats, discriminatory attacks, or repeated violations of agreed ground rules.
• Recognize power differences. Formal authority, professional status, race, income, age, disability, language, gender, immigration experience, or other factors may affect who feels able to speak and whose comments receive attention.

Evaluate the study circle process

Evaluation can help determine whether the process actually supported meaningful participation and useful action.

Ask:

• Who participated?
• Who was missing?
• Did participants feel able to contribute?
• Were accessibility needs addressed?
• Did people encounter disrespectful or harmful conduct?
• Did participants learn something new?
• Were recommendations specific and useful?
• Did action teams follow through?
• Did community relationships change?
• What should be changed in future rounds?

Do not measure success only by attendance, enthusiasm, or whether everyone reached agreement.

In Summary

Study circles are small, structured discussions that help people examine a community issue through personal experience, multiple perspectives, relevant information, and collaborative problem-solving.

They can strengthen community relationships, improve understanding, identify priorities, and generate ideas for action.

Study circles work best when participation is broad and intentional rather than limited to people already connected to the organizers.

Consider accessibility, childcare, transportation, language, technology, privacy, scheduling, and other barriers that may affect participation.

Facilitators should support a fair process rather than steering people toward a preferred conclusion.

They should also be prepared to address domination, harassment, discriminatory conduct, and other behavior that undermines meaningful participation.

People should not be pressured to share personal experiences, and organizers should be transparent about how notes and other records will be used.

Consensus is not required. A useful process may identify both genuine areas of agreement and important differences that remain unresolved.

When study circles generate action ideas, connect those ideas with responsible people or institutions, resources, timelines, and ways to evaluate progress.

Avoid claiming that a community outcome resulted from the study circles simply because it occurred afterward.

Finally, evaluate the process itself.

The strongest study circles do more than bring people into one room. They create a structured opportunity for people to understand one another, examine evidence, identify community priorities, and decide together what should happen next.