Community networks go through distinct phases of evolution and each phase is marked with distinct opportunities and challenges. Nobody knows the precise formula for successfully developing and sustaining community networks. There are, however, several guidelines that should prove helpful. The first is that the community-network organization must itself be a community. A community is needed at the core of the effort. Developing a community-network is not a business proposition, and a community-network organization is not a machine. When the project itself is a community it is more likely that a shared vision will exist and that people will work together cooperatively. Since many people on the project are volunteers, a paycheck is not an issue. They will work together because they enjoy it and because they believe in the issue.

Saying that the project is not a business project is not to say that the project shouldn’t be run efficiently. In a many ways, such as planning, budgeting, and managing, the financial affairs of the community-network organization need to be professional and "businesslike". In fact, in many ways, the organization is a business. Also it is important to recognize skills that project volunteers have, including fundraising, communication, technical, or organizational skills so they can be applied towards the project. Communication and coordination within the project needs special attention, particularly as the project grows. Using electronic capabilities is, or course, a logical approach, but brochures, newsletters, and other printed material are also useful. Each medium has advantages and disadvantages.

It is critical to involve the community in the development of the network. Community organizations are natural partners, and their work will help spread the word and increase the effectiveness and reach of the community network. The community network must be a part of the community. If it’s detached from the community, it’s not a community network. Local newspapers, radio, and television stations are community organizations, as well, and the should be kept up to date regarding the project and should also be considered as possible strategic partners.

Finally, it will be necessary to be diligent, patient, diplomatic, persevering and, at times, cautious. People working on the project need to be able to listen to the viewpoint of others. They need to listen carefully to other people working on the project, to people in the community, and to people working on similar projects locally and around the world. As time goes on there will be pressure to water down your original principles. Establish high principles at the onset and stick with them.

(Doug Schuler, excerpt from New Community Networks: Wired for Change)

>>>Resources for Community Networks<<<

• NEW Community Network Funding Resources -- Melinda Fleming's compilation of US funding resources for community networking. This currently focuses on government funding.
• NEW Possible Roles for Electronic Community Networks and Participatory Development Strategies in Access Programs for Poor Neighborhoods -- Jonathan Lillie, a graduate student of mass communications at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill wrote about the potential of community networks to serve a vital role in offering Internet access to poor communities in the US and world.
• Community networks workshop -- This is the outline for a "Developing and Sustaining Community Networks" workshop conducted at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) "Neighborhood Networks" Western regional conference held in Seattle, Washington on July 15 - 17, 1996. This workshop is an outgrowth of a previous workshop developed by Aki Namioka and Doug Schuler and presented at the 1994 CPSR annual meeting held in San Diego, California.
• Community Network Planning Guide -- This Community Network Planning Guide tries to answer some of the most frequently asked questions that we receive from other communities trying to set up and develop community networks. Virginia Tech is now able to offer a wide variety of education, training, and services on a cost recovery basis to communities interested in creating a community network.
• How to Kill Community Networks - Hint: We May Have Already Started -- Doug Schuler outlines what not to do when creating and sustaining a successful community network. From The Network Observer. January, 1996.
• How to Revive Community Networks -- Doug Schuler follows up on his critique of community networks and outlines several suggestions on how to sustain successful community networks.
• Community Computer Networks: An Opportunity for Collaboration Among Democratic Technology Practitioners and Researchers -- This paper explores how these two largely disjoint groups could work together for mutual benefit without sacrificing the integrity or basic mission of either. Technology and Democracy - Comparative Perspectives. Doug Schuler, Oslo, Norway. January, 1997.
• Community Networks: an On-line Guide to Resources -- This Web site is a compilation of references, links, and publications related to a variety of networked information infrastructures. Specifically of note are the links to Web sites in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a particular focus of my research.
• Action Plans for Starting Community Networks -- This area of Educational Partners provides links to Action Plans for Starting Community Networks. Strictly speaking, not all of these links point to "Action Plans," but their inclusion indicates their usefulness for planning and implementing community networks
• Networks and Community (a gopher site) -- This weekly report attempts to follow the changing nature of community based and oriented activities on the internet. Readers will get a summary of much of the week's activity on subjects like Free-Nets and other community nets; access technology, and legislation effecting public access to information and network services. Issues like electronic democracy, censorship and business activity on the net, will be touched upon when they impact community related issues.
• The Benton Foundation Toolkit -- Provides online nonprofits with tools that will help you use communications technology more effectively.
• The Effects of Community Networks on Political Participation -- This resource guide contains an annotated list of both on-line and print resources on the subjects of community networks and how they can be used to increase political participation in the community. It provides researchers with a variety of background reading on the subjects, especially scholarly papers and articles.

>>>Forums <<<

• Virtual Community Center -- Electric Minds hosts a community forum area in there Being Here section. Folks come and go and leave helpful insights about community networks.
• Communet -- A popular Community and Civic Network discussion list.

>>>Organizations<<<

• A Compilation of Organizations -- An appendix of Doug Schuler's book New Community Networks: Wired For Change. Includes information about a wide variety of organizations that would be sympathetic to some (if not all) of the goals of community networks.
• The Organization for Community Networking -- The Organization For Community Networks is an Ohio non-profit corporation which has been established to be a central repository for information dealing with Free-Nets/Community Networks. There is a collection of documents which have been supplied by various systems to share with new and existing systems.
• The Association For Community Networking -- AFCN will be a nonprofit corporation dedicated to educating its members about the potential community benefits of information and communication technology, and providing members the services and resources they will need to create their own applications. We are unique because the people who use our services also share their knowledge with other members, helping other communities as they build their own.
• The Center for Civic Networking -- CCN is a non-profit organization dedicated to applying information infrastructure to the broad public good - particularly by putting information infrastructure to work within local communities to improve delivery of local government services, improve access to information that people need in order to function as informed citizens, broaden citizen participation in governance, and stimulate economic and community development.
• Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) -- CPSR is a public-interest alliance of computer scientists and others interested in the impact of computer technology on society. As technical experts, CPSR members provide the public and policymakers with realistic assessments of the power, promise, and limitations of computer technology. As concerned citizens, we direct public attention to critical choices concerning the applications of computing and how those choices affect society.
• Civic Practices Network -- CPN offers a large number of articles relating to the topic of community networking and also a large database of community building projects from around the nation.
• Community Networking Initiative -- The Community Networking Resource provides examples of the creative and useful ways by which community networks serve and engage their communities links to key articles and current community networking activities resources for sustainability.
• The Community Technology Centers' Network (CTCNet) -- Is a network of more than 150 community technology centers, where people get access to computers and computer-related technology, such as the Internet. If you came to one of these sites,
• Internet Society -- The Internet Society is a non-governmental International organization for global cooperation and coordination for the Internet and its internetworking technologies and applications.
• Libraries for the Future -- You will find Local Places, Global Connections, a project documenting public libraries offering access to technology and the Internet. This page has a link to a long list of such programs organized by state and a short list organized by type of program(one type is public libraries cooperating with community networks).
• The Loka Institute -- The Loka Institute is a non-profit research and advocacy organization concerned with the social, political, and environmental repercussions of science and technology.
• Neighborhoods Online -- This is part of a joint project of the Institute for the Study of Civic Values and LibertyNet in Philadelphia, aimed at helping neighborhood activists and organizations gain information and resources of use in solving community problems.
• Morino Institute -- The Morino Institute is dedicated to opening the doors of opportunity - economic, civic, health, and education - and empowering people to improve their lives and communities in the Communications Age. The Institute helps individuals and institutions harness the power of information and the potential of interactive communications as tools for overcoming the challenges that face them.
• Rural and Small Town Programme (RSTP) --Established in 1984, the Rural and Small Town Programme (RSTP) is an independent university based research centre dedicated to exploring and resolving social, environmental, and economic issues facing small communities in Canada. RSTP is responsible for securing its own funding from a variety of government and private sector sorces.

>>> Conferences <<<

• Telecommunities 1997: Partnerships -- The Fourth Annual Conference of Telecommunities Canada was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, August 15-18, 1997. This conference brought together people from across Canada and around the world who are involved in Community Networking. Building on a tradition of combining pragmatism with a vision of the future, this conference has as its theme "PARTNERSHIPS".

Return / Go to Community Network Movement home page.
Return / Go to Seattle Community Network home page.