by
Robert E. Howell and Marilyn Trail_
Just over 20 years ago a chapter of the Community Development Society (CDS) was organized in the state of Washington. The chapter was fully active until the mid 1980s when an economic recession took the jobs of many of its members and depleted travel budgets. The situation became so bad that the Chapter could not bring together a nucleus of people for Chapter meetings and other face-to-face professional activities.
After a dormancy period of over 10 years the treasurer of the dormant Chapter surveyed CDS members in the state of Washington to find out what they would like to do with funds in the modest bank account that had accumulated to just over $1600, and whet her they would be interested in reorganizing the chapter. The survey indicated that a majority of the members wanted to reorganize the chapter. Additionally, several people recommended that we should reach out to more CDS members in the western U.S. and Canada, many people working in community development are quite isolated from colleagues and not supported by CDS chapters. It was recommended that we organize an information age chapter that can network people electronically over a wide geographic area. In the same spirit, the idea of a Cascadia Chapter was recommended. These ideas had a special ring to them for many of us who felt somewhat isolated and wanted to network more broadly with colleagues in community development.
Another recommendation that came out of the survey was to use part of the money to sponsor a neighborhood-based group in the city of Spokane that wanted to attend the 1996 annual meetings of the Community Development Society meeting in Australia to report on their highly successful application of an assets-based strategy for community development. With the approval of CDS members in Washington, modest support was provided to the group to enable, particularly low- income persons, to make the trip to Australia. One result of the group's participation in Australia meetings was responding to an invitation of the Executive Committee of the Society to have Spokane host the 1999 meetings of the Society. The group's leader, Marilyn Trail, organized a team that wrote a successful proposal that led to a commitment to Spokane as the site for the July 1999 meeting.
The appeal of the idea of organizing an information age chapter of the CDS in western North America, and the urgency of organizing a chapter that would also sponsor the 1999 meetings of the Society in a location that is near the border of western U.S. and Canada, led to an interest assessment survey of CDS members in selected western states and western Canadian provinces ranging from California to Alaska. The survey was conducted by the authors of this report while serving as the "Cascadia Chapter Interim Executive Committee." This report contains a summary of the findings.
Survey findings
A postcard survey was mailed to 88 members of the Community Development Society in several western U.S. states and Canadian provinces ranging from California to Alaska. The postcard asked the member if he or she was interested in becoming a member of a new chapter of the Society that
was referred to as "Cascadia Chapter." If the answer was yes the respondent was asked to identify up to three issues to be addressed by the chapter, using four words or less per issue. The respondents were asked to sign their names to the postcards.Of the 88 persons included in the survey, 31 responded as of September 18, 1997, for a 35% response rate. Of the 31 respondents, 84% responded yes, 13% responded no, and 1 person indicated probably.
In route to the international meetings of the Community Development Society held in Athens, Georgia, July 27-30, 1997, we reviewed the responses to the interest assessment questions about three issues to be addressed by the chapter. A pattern was revealed. The recommended issues/topics to be addressed by the chapter, under several categories, are listed below.
Community Development Issues
CDS Process/Strategies
Professional Issues
Professional Education
Research
Networking/Support
Issues in the profession
**The number indicates the number of times a similar issue topic was listed.
Impacts of change on rural communities
Community development-related research
Issues/Interests/Topics Recommended by Respondents to a 1997 Survey of CD Members in Selected Western States and Canadian Provinces Concerning Their Interest in a Cascadia Chapter
Sustainable use of natural resources
Grass-roots involvement
National/global impacts on communities - 2
Community-based conflict resolution
Coalition building (and its evaluation)
Asset-based CD
Diversity issues and CD
Collaboration among CDers and sharing of CD ideas - 2
Professional development for CDers
Research guidance for CDers
Community building workshops jointly sponsored by universities
Development of CD practicums for students
Community versus society
Member communication
Regional CD talent bank
Regional CD job bank
Community capacity building
Sustainable community economic development - 2
Divergent rural/urban development
Retention/creation of family wage jobs
Downtown revitalization
Affordable housing
Contract opportunities for CD
Funding alternatives for CD projects - 2
Politics and CD partnerships
Rural development
Environmental protection
Communities and telecommunications - 3
Sustainable development - 3
Youth leadership and community service
CD student/professional networking
Revitalization efforts of communities
Open space preservation/development
Visioning for rural communities
Youth entrepreneurialism
Value added
Community planning
Community capacity development - 2
Community organizing and empowerment
Welfare reform
Research needs at local level
Healthy communities sharing information
Community-university partnerships
Employment opportunities
Grass-roots work (underprivileged)
Hope! (in the face of gov. changes, etc.)
"Best practice" model dissemination
Chapter Organizational Issues
1. Is chapter membership part of membership in the international CDS?
2. Cost of involvement
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