Building Community Solutions - Phase Two

Developing Community Goals and Targets

Phase Two began with a community forum, held in June, 2003. Forum participants celebrated the completion of Phase One, reviewed the information in the Community Impact Profile, and identified three priority areas of concern:

·         Youth

·         Poverty

·         Building Healthy Neighbourhoods

The Steering Committee decided to mobilize the community to set goals and targets using a process called Study Circles.

Study Circles are:

1.      A tested set of tools for engaging the whole community in all its variety, bringing people together for public dialogue, and combining their ideas and resources to create and implement solutions.

2.      A process for meaningful, face to face "give and take" between people with different backgrounds and views.

3.      A way to link dialogue for change.

4.      A way of ensuring that many people come to the table and that their participation will make a difference.

A Study Circle is a group of 8–15 people who meet together several times to discuss an issue. Through dialogue, the group builds stronger connections with other people, develops greater understanding of the issue under discussion, and outlines steps for taking action.

Click here to visit the Study Circles Resource Centre and find out how Study Circles have made a difference in hundreds of communities.

The Study Circles

In March and April of 2003, fifteen Study Circles met around the communities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. These Study Circles met four times each and discussed how to "Build Strong Neighbourhoods for Children and Families."

The Circles moved from creating a vision of the future for their neighbourhood to considering strategies for action and change.  The process flowed as follows:

Session 1: What is our neighbourhood like for children and families? What would we like it to look like in the future?

Session 2: What do families face in our neighbourhood?

Session 3: How can we make our neighbourhood a better place for children and families?

Session 4: Making a difference; what can we do?

Following the Study Circles, a second community forum was held in April 2003, to prioritize action strategies for Phase Three and a Report on Phase Two: Study Circles Results was generated.  Click here to read about the Study Circle results for your neighbourhood.

Community Discussions

While Phase Two focused on the Neighbourhood Study Circles, the Study Circle format was also used to have open discussions on other issues that impacted on community life, such as Housing and Residential Lands, and the potential for a local Farmer's Market.  The following reports were compiled as a result of this work:

• Housing and Residential Lands Policy Review Project

• Discussion Paper - Workshop with Study Circle Representatives

• Housing and Residential Lands - Broad Objectives

To learn more about Building Community Solutions activities or to get involved, contact the Building Community Solutions Coordinator at 604 467 7433 or by email.