A Guide to Strengthen the Capacity of Promotoras Mobilizing the Community Unit 5

Objectives Define and describe your community. Understand how to gain and maintain commitments within and beyond the community. Communicate with the community through multiple channels. Understand how to form partnership and support for the coalition.

What does it mean to mobilize the community?

Mobilizing the community means engaging all sectors of the defined community in a community-wide plan.

This involves identifying existing community groups, engaging formal and informal leaders and involving service organizations active in the community.

Community Mobilization Steps

Community Mobilization Steps Define the community. Complete a Community Profile. Inform other groups and the community about your coalition. Obtain the commitment of the community. Organize the community group/coalition (Structure, roles, etc).

Community Mobilization Steps Organize an advisory committee. Create a participant responsibility agreement and a funds management agreement. Conduct community meetings. Prepare for collecting data.

Step 1 Define the Community The community mobilization process starts by defining a community. It can be done geographically, politically, or demographically. A community can be a town, city county, or district. Or, it can be a housing project, school district, or school. This step (exercise) will help define whom you serve and what the coalition can do.

Step 2 Community Profile It is getting to know your community well. The information is gathered overtime from several sources (census, county, etc), and with help of the coalition. This step will help you identify different groups to include in your coalition. It will also help you approach your community and solve communication problems.

Step 3 Inform Others About… As you inform others about your coalition consider who needs to know about your efforts and who else should be invited into the group: Be consistent with your message to others. Community Mobilization takes time and energy. Continue with your efforts until you feel that there is interest and there are resources for your community group/coalition.

Step 4 Obtain the Commitment… As community group/coalition you would need to establish collaboration and motivate other groups to work together. Develop collaborative relationships with: Public and Private Sector. Regional, State, and National Organizations. Academics institutions, etc They can help you with: Capacity Building, Problem Solving, Data Analysis, etc.

Activity In your manual you will find: Step One: Define Your Community; Handout # 5-2 Step Two: Conduct a Community Profile (Demographical Characteristics); Handout # 5-3 Step Three: Informing other groups about your coalition; Handout # 5-4 Step Four: Obtaining the Commitment of the Community (Inventory of Collaborating Groups), Handout # 5-5

Activity…cont Your group will decide on a community health issue/problem you want to work to practice the first 4 steps. You will read, work, prepare and report the steps to the large group. Decide who, if one or several persons will report to the large group; Report by giving the name of each step, the objective, what did you do, and the work that you did as a small group. You will have 30 minutes to prepare, and 5 minutes to report back to the large group.

Strategies for Effective Organizing

Community Meeting Exercise The group/coalition needs to establish functional structures (committees) that will include the operating procedures to guide the group during the decision making process and other tasks.

Community Meeting Exercise …cont Functional or Operating Procedures are things like format of a meeting and communication mechanisms. These procedures help monitor the process, strengthen the group process, and to create a shared vision and a sense of ownership. This is your first meeting as a group. Go to handout # 5-6 Role-Play Meeting in your manual. It explains how to conduct a meeting. Review the handout now

Community Meeting Exercise …cont All of you are invited to attend the meeting but for the purpose if this activity we will need the following volunteers to role-play: A meeting facilitator - (1 person – already selected by trainer) Community Group Members - (10 persons) Executive/Steering Committee - (4 persons from the Community Group) A Local Coordinator - (1 person)

Community Meeting Exercise …cont The “meeting facilitator” will begin the meeting following the instructions given to him/her The facilitator will provide you with the meeting agenda and the roles and responsibilities sheets: Executive/Steering Committee, Local Coordinator, and Community Group. Read and get familiar with the roles and responsibilities, and discuss them with the other member of the group.

Community Meeting Exercise …cont Pretend that this is your first time participating in a meeting and it is OK to make mistakes. Follow the “meeting facilitator” instructions to proceed with the meeting. Look at the time assigned for each agenda item and remember that the meeting will last 35 minutes. You can have a person in charge of timing.

Congratulations!