Evaluation Research: Must the Messenger Always Be Shot?

22 July 2009 at 2:39 am                             A few months ago, I was lucky enough to have to write a short piece on evaluation for a consulting report. I reviewed what I had in my library, did a quick Internet search and… Continue reading Evaluation Research: Must the Messenger Always Be Shot?

Why is community engagement central to achieving sustainability?

15 June 2009 at 2:38 pm     Sustainability Fatigue   I’m getting the feeling that our communities are being engulfed in a wave of “sustainability fatigue”. “Don’t talk to me any more about climate change,” a friend says over coffee in the Village. She cradles her coffee and mumbles, “I’ve had a gutful of… Continue reading Why is community engagement central to achieving sustainability?

What’s best practice in community engagement?

July 9, 2009 at 12:45 pm   The other day I went to a local community workshop in my small rural village. The topic is not important for my purposes and it’s not my intention to embarrass anyone.   Rather I want to make a point: there’s more to community workshops than a conversation at… Continue reading What’s best practice in community engagement?

Community engagement with people with disability

  This week, I’ve been reflecting on the responses I’ve received to my recent blog post about Mary Ann Hiserman, my friend in Berkeley who was a wheelchair user and activist for people with disability. I’ve been thinking about the actual experience of being “locked out” of an environment. And comparing it to being “locked… Continue reading Community engagement with people with disability

Living with a Gypsy

July 5, 2009   Today the Gypsy and I were sorting hardware. Nails and screws.   It’s been a rough week in community engagement and I had to do something else than listen to bureaucrats and aggrieved residents.   I had to get my hands dirty. Get grounded.   Living on a building site generates… Continue reading Living with a Gypsy

PowerPoint: How to avoid disempowering yourself — and others!

I wrote this blog on June 29, 2009.   I don’t believe any of it any longer, having read Cliff Atkinson’s wonderful book, Beyond Bullet Points.   I’ll put that in another blog. For now, here are SOME salutary warnings… but it still won’t work!   See: https://beyondbulletpoints.com/   PowerPoint: How to Avoid Disempowering Yourself… Continue reading PowerPoint: How to avoid disempowering yourself — and others!

Saying Goodbye to a Partner: A Souvenir

29 June 2009 6:06 pm This week, when the storms came and the rats and python got into the shed, I had to do some quick work to rescue my scrapbooks. I was unprepared for the emotional impact. But the urgent task became a meditation and yielded a great blessing. My father’s American Green Card… Continue reading Saying Goodbye to a Partner: A Souvenir

The Wheel of Participation (or Empowerment)

25 June 2009   I was speaking about Sherry Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation the other day to a group of students and I said that I thought it’d been eclipsed (in the past forty years) by other, better, models. I noticed an embarrassed look on the teacher’s face. Perhaps they had not updated their… Continue reading The Wheel of Participation (or Empowerment)

Community Engagement with Older People

24 June 2009   I have something to tell you   I guess everyone who’s been a speaker has had an experience like mine. But when it happened I was initially devastated. I’d been asked to speak to an aged care organisation’s conference. I’d written a story about a feisty older woman who was moving… Continue reading Community Engagement with Older People

Community Engagement: 18 Considerations

 23 June 2009     Don’t let anyone tell you differently. Community engagement is a tricky matter.   We need to be flexible and still keep our eyes on the ball. It’s a changing landscape. A bit like navigating white water rapids in a small canoe.   When we add the issues of “sustainability” to… Continue reading Community Engagement: 18 Considerations