Using Practical Tools and Techniques To Create Sustainable Communities

1
Using Practical Tools and Techniques To Create
Sustainable Communities Myra Moss, Extension
Specialist, OSU Extension Center at Lima Bill
Grunkemeyer, Interim Center Director, OSU
Extension Center at Wooster
Tool Using 5 Whys to set Linked Goals
ABSTRACT This poster describes how community
consensus building can be facilitated when
residents divergent values and goals create
disagreement and mutually exclusive outcomes. By
applying tools and techniques that are based on
the principles of sustainability, Extension
professionals can assist communities in creating
a balanced vision and ethos. The following
techniques and tools have been used successfully
used in sustainable visioning and comprehensive
planning processes in six communities in Ohio.
Tool Creating a Vested Interest through
Lasswells Wheel
Goals are formulated from the shared community
vision.. To build sustainability into the goal
setting process, linkages among the three sectors
- social, economic and ecological are
formalized into multi-dimensional indicators that
are used to insure intentionality among goals,
share responsibility for success and measure
progress.
Technique Promoting Community Movement Toward
Sustainability In order to build sustainable
communities, residents must begin to move from
thinking solely in terms of their individual
Community of Interest to thinking of a Community
of Interconnection, that seeks to find the
linkages between the Social, Economic and
Environmental interests that form a Community of
Place.
Technique Multi-Dimensional
Multi-dimensional sustainable indicators tell us
Where we are, Where we are going, and How far we
have to go to get there. Sustainable indicators
are different in that they incorporate linkages
between the three sectors of community in an
intentional way. These linkages insure that
sectors are not acting at cross purposes, but are
pursuing shared, interconnected goals.
Number of jobs created Jobs that pay a living
wage Jobs that do not decrease the quality of the
areas aquifer Creation of jobs that pay a living
wage and do not decrease the areas aquifer
Technique Intentionality Sustainable
Development is about choices actions that
intentionally link the three sectors of a
community of place Economic, Social
Environmental Residents are assisted in
discovering these Interconnections, through an
intentional consideration of each actions
impact on creating equity..
To stimulate the gathering of input, we ask two
important questions
What do you value about your community?
What do you hope for the future of your
community?
Shared indicators are tracked by the different
organizations and progress is report on at least
an annual basis to determine effectiveness in
achieving sustainable goals.
The answers to these questions are then
aggregated among all groups, common themes are
identified, individual comments are categorized
within themes and broken down further into
commonly shared objectives. In this way, an
understanding of community consensus begins to
emerge.
For more information, contact Myra Moss,
Co-Leader, Extension Sustainable Development
Center, Ohio State University Extension Center at
Lima Phone [phone] E-mail
moss.63_at_osu.edu Bill Grunkemeyer, Co-Leader,
Extension Sustainable Dev. Center, Ohio State
University Extension Center at Wooster, Phone
330.263.3799 E-mail grunkemeyer.1_at_osu.edu