Past Projects
A History of Accomplishment 1999-2004
In the past five years, Communities Working Together has been directly involved in working on a wide variety of issues in dozens of communities across the country. In 2003 alone, CWT program managers and associates worked on more than 15 different projects in communities as diverse as Flint, MI, Silver Spring, MD, Columbus, GA, Hartford, CT, San Diego, CA, Richmond, VA, and Washington, DC . These programs were conducted with a broad range of groups, educational institutions groups and government agencies including:
The
City of Alexandria, Virginia
Description of project: CWT was asked by the City Manager
of Alexandria, Virginia to work with the Department of Recreation, Parks
and Cultural Affairs to help them address staff and community allegations
that the department was insensitive to the city's African-American communities
and other minority groups. CWT worked for six months with more than 50
staff members of the department conducting interviews, small groups dialogues
and informal mediation sessions with key individuals.
Results/Outcome : We presented a report to the Department Director and the City Manager which outlined more than 20 specific suggestions about how to empower employees, deal more effectively with the community and create a more inclusive and open environment for everyone in the department. The City Manager used the report as a basis for several planning meetings with department leaders and many of the most important recommendations were adopted and implemented.
United
States Navy Chaplain Corps
Description: We were asked to design a one week training on “Human
Factors in Conflict Management” and deliver it to all of the chaplains
in the Navy and Marine Corps during the first six months of 2003. This
training was to include power point presentations, interactive exercises,
and a 250 page training manual complete with a CD-ROM.
Results/Outcome : This training was presented to groups of 30-70 chaplains in eleven different locations around the country and overseas. More than 600 chaplains completed the training and the course received very high marks from those who attended. Several chaplains have already reported that they have instituted new procedures, trainings and/or educational programs on their bases as a result of what they learned in the course.
Trinity
College in Hartford, Connecticut
Description: Several incidents of racial insensitivity on campus
as well as the feedback from students surveys convinced the faculty and
administration at Trinity College in the spring of 2003 that they needed
some special campus wide programs to promote tolerance, understanding
and cooperative action on campus. The decision was made to ask Communities
Working together to plan and organize a campus wide "Day of Dialogue"
at the beginning of the 2003-2004 school year. CWT designed the days program,
trained facilitators and helped to produce a video that was shown to all
students.
Results/Outcome: In the second week of September of 2003, all of the 2000 students at Trinity College watched the video that was produced and then participated in small group dialogues about understanding, tolerance, and inclusion. The feedback from students was very positive and several new campus programs evolved from the ideas generated during the day.
The City of Mt. Rainier, MarylandDescription: Mt. Rainier, MD, a small community that borders on the Northeast section of Washington, DC, experienced a great deal of discord in its police department from 2000-2003. The City Council finally decided to find a neutral third party to work with the Chief of Police and members of the police department to find solutions to the personnel problems and other conflicts that were getting in the way of their work. Communities Working Together was engaged by the City to conduct six months of interviews, small group dialogues and mediation sessions with the officers.
Results/Outcome: We presented a report to the Mayor and City Council at the end of 2003 that was warmly received by all city officials, the Chief of Police, and the rank and file members of the department. The City Council voted to accept and implement all of the recommendations that were presented and the morale and the performance of the police department has been significantly improved as a result.
Washington,
DC Citizen Summit
Description:
Mayor Williams of Washington , DC has regularly
used an innovative citizen engagement organization called America Speaks
to conduct large summits that are designed to give the Mayor feedback
on what his priorities should be for the city. In 2003, America Speaks
asked CWT's two program managers, David Campt and Theo Brown, to play
prominent roles in the citizen summit. David Campt was picked to be one
of the two lead facilitators for the day long meeting and Theo Brown played
a major role in recruiting and training the 250 table facilitators who
worked under the direction of the lead facilitators.
Results/Outcome : More than 2500 residents of Washington, DC came together on November 15, 2003 for an extremely successful citizen summit at which Mayor Williams received a wide variety of suggestions and ideas from participants. The results of the summit were widely praised and many specific ideas from residents have been incorporated into the city's plans for the future.
