In the fall of 2010, conference attendees of a break-out workshop in Dodge City, Kansas were asked to identify some common obstacles or barriers to sustaining a community initiative. Responses are listed below:
Obstacles to Sustaining a Community Initiative

• Lack of Tools/Skills
• Volunteer Burnout
• Misinformation
• Personalities in Conflict
• Next issue comes along
• Meeting without progress
• Loss of focus
• Lack of focus initially
• Not right project, not a need
• Disappointed if no evidence/results

Recently I have been asked to speak about "Public Involvement" in several different venues. It is interesting to me that I am asked to speak about it. I do work at the University, and I do study engagement and public participation, and am "immersed" in the topic, but I am always humbled by those folks that just roll up their sleeves and make change happen.

Why is engaging the public so important? Some critics would say that public involvement is slow, cumbersome, and wrought with conflict. Engaging the public can be a lengthy process. Public engagement often involves a well-planned and carefully considered process which could be considered by some as "cumbersome".  Whenever you engage more people, there is an increasing likelihood of finding others who have differing thoughts and opinions. So, in short, I suppose you could say community engagement is slow, cumbersome, and involves conflict. (please read on..)

Some may have wondered what all these "older people" were doing on the playground in Spearville earlier this month. As part of an organized educational tour, interested community members travelled from town to town to listen to each other and share stories, insights, and successful techniques for community improvement.

The idea of getting public "buy in" is alive and well. I often hear people talking about getting "buy in" as a goal of public involvement.  However, I believe the term is often loosely used, and is sometimes used when "buy in" is not really the goal they are seeking. This may be a situation of of knowing what we mean say, but not really saying what we mean.

While community gardens are not a new idea, I was reminded last Saturday just how important community gardens can be for growing more than plants. The Kansas PRIDE Program hosted a bus tour of community projects in Southwest Kansas, and the first stop was a community gardening project in Larned.  While listening to volunteer Angie Murray tell us about the garden, it was clear to me that she understood the "bigger picture" of what they were growing.

What is society telling us about the role of leadership in the 21st Century? Around the world, governments are reeling and leadership is being challenged. While more pronounced in Libya than in Liberal, the social expectations of leadership are the same. It seems that society is demanding that our leadership is: