Identifying opportunities
Community action often comes out of responding to a crisis — the school is threatened with closure, the bank leaves town etc.
While this is very important, good long term planning and prioritisation is also needed to ensure that limited resources and time will make the most difference. It will also help you to link to organisations that can help.
It is important to identify opportunities that will make the most difference in the community and that people have motivation for. There are three main ways to identify opportunities.
- Link to Existing Plans
There is often a range of existing plans and priorities in the community. For example, many local governments have involved community members in developing a social plan, an economic development plan, a sport and recreation strategy or a plan for the environment. In many regions there is also a broader regional plan for community improvement. - Developing Community Priorities
Activities such as community workshops allow community members to explore issues and opportunities, identify priorities and agree on achievable actions. - Specific opportunities
Particular opportunities may emerge that reflect local concerns or issues, such as the expansion of local tourism, main street improvement or community crime prevention. These sometimes pressing issues can be a vehicle to motivate people, and provide opportunities to leverage community skills and resources for broader benefit.
Extra resources
- See the section on Maintaining the momentum for more information about motivation.
- The communitybuilders.nsw website lists some other ways to pick up and create new opportunities.
