Voices: A Community Dialogue
VOICES: A COMMUNITY DIALOGUE is a conversation between United Way of Clallam County and the people in our community. Traditionally, community needs are assessed through discussions with key professionals and via a review of relevant data – but everyday people are not asked to participate. We believe this limits the effectiveness of traditional methods. Further, traditional approaches do not empower local people and build community consensus – both of which are vital to follow-through after the needs assessment is completed.
Clallam County, Washington consists of several small communities with strong, separate identities. There is an affluent retirement area, several tribal reservations, waterfront summer vacation communities, and financially struggling rural areas. The county has a population of 68,000 people. The largest town is Port Angeles, with a population of 22,000 residents. In a time of diminishing government resources, the county “begs” for cooperation, coordination, and direction. VOICES: A COMMUNITY DIALOGUE will provide vitally needed information for funders, agencies, volunteers, and legislators concerned with all areas of the county, including health care, social services, and education.
United Way of Clallam County plans to conduct a broad-based, county-wide community dialogue in which we will talk with over 600 Clallam County residents during the spring and summer of 2008.
Groups of 8-10 people will be brought together to be part of a structured dialogue. Participants will be recruited from all segments of the Clallam County community (business groups, teachers, police, youth groups, PTA’s, senior citizens, company employees, churches, human service agency clients, neighborhood groups, etc.) Geographic spread and community segment representation will be carefully planned, mapped, and monitored with the assistance of local volunteers and student interns from nearby universities.
Dialogue sessions will focus on quality-of-life issues with a social service focus. They will be run by trained volunteer facilitators, and will be captured on audio tape for subsequent analysis. Sessions will be replicated throughout Clallam County. Employer sites, town halls, human service agencies, area churches and schools will be used as dialogue sites.
At the same time as the dialogue sessions are being conducted, student interns and volunteers will be gathering existing, Clallam County-specific quantitative data on relevant health and human service issues and build a central resource library. Dialogue content will be analyzed and summarized in partnership with area universities. As trends develop in the dialogue analysis, we will cross-check and compare what the existing quantitative statistics tell us about those same issues.
VOICES findings will be analyzed, evaluated, and widely disseminated, in a variety of formats, to funders, agencies, volunteers, professionals, legislators, and the general public in Clallam County.
With the conclusion of the dialogue project, the door is then wide open for community building initiatives to begin in many circles around identified trends and issues.
VOICES: A COMMUNITY DIALOGUE will be under the overall supervision of Jody Moss, Executive Director of United Way of Clallam County since 2005. A part time Project Coordinator will provide day-to-day management. The volunteer facilitators will be trained by local facilitation and training consultants.
As with all efforts initiated by United Way of Clallam County, volunteer involvement will be a key component of the VOICES project and will support all its activities. Key volunteer leaders will serve on the VOICES Project Steering Committee.
VOICES is being funded by the United Way of Clallam County and through foundation grants.
Position Announcement
Community Dialogue Project Coordinator: United Way of Clallam County is looking for a part time project coordinator for a 12 to 18 month period. The Coordinator will set up numerous facilitated discussion groups throughout Clallam County, and evaluate the results. Experience in community organizing and working with volunteers is required. United Way of Clallam County is an equal opportunity employer. To apply, submit a letter and resume to PO Box 937, Port Angeles WA 98362.
Community Dialogue Project Coordinator
Our Mission: To strengthen our communities by enhancing the ability of people to live safe, healthy, and productive lives.
Our Goals:
- To remain the premier fundraising group in our community for human service needs.
- To work with the community to provide leadership in meeting human service needs.
- To help people give to our community.
- To be a constructive voice for human service needs in Clallam County.
The Community Dialogue Project Coordinator reports to and works under the direction of the Executive Director. Community Dialogues is a community engagement project which will involve approximately 600 community members answering a series of questions in a series of facilitated discussions. The outcome of this project will identify areas to consider for community impact investment in the future. The Community Dialogue Coordinator may not carry out all activities personally as much of the project is volunteer driven, however will be responsible for overseeing the project. This position is intended to be a 20-24 hour per week position and is intended only for the duration of the project. Primary duties include the following areas: Additional duties may be assigned.
Project Management:
- Organize all aspects of the project including recruitment, training, and managing project volunteers
- Arrange training sessions for facilitators
- Recruit expert volunteers as required (for example for statistical analyses)
- Develop media materials and market the project to the public
- Create both to build interest in participating in project and as follow up to report on the results
- Arrange and deliver presentations regarding project to Chambers, Service Clubs, and other community groups
- Assure that participants capture demographics of Clallam County
- Attend Community Impact Committee meetings and provide reports to the committee and United Way Board as project progresses
- Attend dialogue sessions
Skills and Experience:
We are looking for a smart, flexible, caring professional interested in the community.
- Experience in social service field
- Project Management experience
- Volunteer coordination and training skills
- Communication skills – verbal and written, presentation skills a must – facilitation skills preferred
- Computer skills
- Public relations and marketing experience
- Experience with data analysis – both quantitative and qualitative
- Ability to deal with ambiguousness of project, work independently, meet deadlines and deliverables
- Knowledge of the community preferred
- Cultural sensitivity to the needs of the community
- Willingness to work some non-traditional hours
- Use of reliable vehicle, valid drivers license and insurance – mileage reimbursement available
Physical Abilities & Working Conditions
The work of the Community Dialogues Project Coordinator will involve both office work, sitting at a desk for long periods of time typing memos, creating material and talking on the phone, and also traveling to and from meetings, making site visits with variable working conditions, and being able to carry boxes (approximately 10 – 25 pounds) to and from for presentations. Access to the office or other facilities will require climbing stairs to and from office several times to many times a day. The ability to move efficiently around the work area, whether it is the office or traveling and working at various locations, is mandatory. The Community Dialogues Project Coordinator will need a means of transportation to and from various locations.
To effectively communicate the ability to talk and hear are required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.