Community

In cohort groups that meet over time, or one-time workshops, important leadership concepts are applied to current leadership challenges, producing positive results.

Education

• Visionary Leadership workshops explore the power of a vision, and techniques that turn vision into action.
• Ethical Leadership workshops examine different worldviews that compete in communities, and the challenge they pose to leadership.
• Committees that Work workshops and guidebook examine the traps that can plague committees and the creative solutions for avoiding pitfalls.
• Designing Community Meetings – Training and facilitation creates community meetings where everyone is heard and better decisions get made.
• Exceptional Personal Leadership workshops help participants identify personal leadership preferences and approaches.
• Leadership for the Common Good workshops introduce concepts of leadership in a shared power world.

Programs

• NELD builds leaders in Cooperative Extension at all levels to provide them with the vision, courage and tools to lead in a changing world. For more information, visit: NELD
• The Bush Fellowship Program helps individuals to increase their capacity for and improve their practice of leadership while working with others to solve tough problems in their communities.
  As an InCommons partner, Extension encourages community leaders to apply.

Assessment and Education

• Communication and Conflict workshops help individuals examine their personal style for handling conflict, and the implications of style differences for handling teams.
• Team Building workshops help individuals understand their preferences as they work in groups, and the effect of different styles in creating effective teams.

Consultation

• Engaging citizens in decisions – Civic Engagement consultation helps local leaders think through ways to involve the public in local decisions, and designs meetings that effectively bring public input to group decisions.

Materials

• Data-informed decision making helps communities thrive
• 2010 census release continues — with changes
• Leadership for the Common Good
• Building Leadership Programs Management Guide
• Public Participation Fieldbook

Research

• Published articles about Community Development

Education

• Committees that Work workshops and guidebook examine the traps that can plague committees and the creative solutions for avoiding those pitfalls.
• Designing community meetings – facilitation training helps those who lead meetings use processes that result in more effective, collaborative sessions.

Assessment and Education

• Assessing Civic Leadership workshops help participants determine the strengths and weaknesses of their communities' leadership systems, then set goals for action.
• Communication and Conflict workshops examine individual communication styles, implications for leadership and how to effectively deal with conflicts in groups.
• Team Building and Assessment workshops help individuals understand their preferences when they work in groups and the effect of different styles in creating effective teams.

Consultation

• Civic Engagement tools and consulting services help local leaders solve problems and make decisions with help from the community.

Materials

• Data-informed decision making helps communities thrive
• 2010 census release continues — with changes
• Public Participation Fieldbook
• Committees that Work Guidebook
• Engaging with the Public tip sheets

Assessment and Education

• Understanding social capital workshops help participants understand the role of social capital in communities and how it can be leveraged to solve problems.
• Social capital assessments, conducted with volunteers, help communities understand and strengthen the ties between people and organizations that hold them together.

Consultation

• Civic Engagement consulting help leaders build bridges between the public and communities.

Education

• At Your Service: Working with Multicultural Customers workshops and educational offerings help local governments, businesses and other groups deliver better customer service to increasingly diverse community members.

Materials

• Newcomers mean brain gain for rural Minnesota
• Social Capital and Our Community

Applied Research

• Business Retention and Expansion Programs help local leaders build economic development plans based on what they learn from local businesses.
• Retail Analysis and Development programs use research about the local economy and its customers to promote local discussion about retaining and expanding retail businesses.
• Economic Impact Analysis uses analytic software and descriptive reports to analyze real and potential events that can affect economies and inform future plans.

Education

• U-Lead programs can strengthen local leadership for economic development.
• Customer service education can help businesses up and down Main Street deliver customer service in increasingly diverse communities.

Consultation

• The University of Minnesota Tourism Center can help communities retain and expand tourism businesses and design research projects to inform local decisions.

Materials

• Data-informed decision making helps communities thrive
• 2010 census release continues — with changes

• Community Tourism Development – Assisting Minnesota communities that seek to promote local economic growth through tourism.
• Customer Service Education – Workshops and training for trainers help businesses and governments provide customer service to customers from many cultures.
• Festival & Event Management – Training for event managers makes festivals and events successful and fun.
• Research Services – Custom research services and packaged research opportunities for organizations and communities.
• Market Area Profile – Research reports provide a breadth of information about the customers and market potential for local tourism economies.
• Understanding Economic Change – Economic Impact Analysis reports help tourism businesses and economies examine the effects of tourism activities and economic changes.
• Tourism Research – Research reports developed for the tourism industry are available free or for a nominal fee.

Education

• e-Marketing – The Internet can bring new visitors, residents, workers and entrepreneurs to town. It can give new life to existing businesses by expanding markets. It can put your community on the map and create new connections in and among communities.