Module 2:
Participant Material Choosing a Niche

Major Sections

Learning Objectives	Community Assessment
Organizational Assesment	Organizational Assessment Instructions
Asssessing Organizational Preparedness	Assessing Parnership Preparedness
Making A Strategic Choice	Strategic Choice Exercise Instructions
Project/Activity Opportunity Screen

Learning Objectives

By the end of this module, participants will be able to:

Discuss the importance of planning and analysis in CED

Discuss elements for making a strategic choice

Utilize instruments to conduct organizational and community assessments

Describe 2 ways to recognize CED opportunities

Guide their partnership or organization in the use of a decision-making model to select a strategic niche.

Community Assessment

Purpose:

To identify development opportunities

To understand the nature of problems

Two approaches

Neighborhood or community analysis

Community scan

Organizational Assessment

Purposes

To identify the strengths and interests of the partnership and its members to undertake community economic development activities

To identify the types of assistance and relationships with others that might be required

Organizational Assessment Instructions

Use the factors identified on the worksheet to assess your organization's preparedness.

Use the factors identified on the worksheet to assess your partnership's preparedness.

In partnership team, share and discuss your assessment of the partnership.

Complete the partnership assessment sheet as a team.

Assessing Organizational Preparedness (Individual Worksheet)

Is your partnership and/or organization prepared to undertake Community Economic Development planning for change??? Use the assessment factors below and indicate:

+ = Present, - = Absent, ? = Not sure.

Assessment Factors	Partnership	Organization
Capacity
Technical Expertise
Leadership
Credibility
Constituent Accountability
Available Resources
Clear Objectives
Collective Vision
Adequate Staffing
Available Time
Effective Communication

Assessing Partnership Preparedness (Group Worksheet)

Is your partnership and/or organization prepared to undertake Community Economic Development planning for change??? Use the assessment factors below and indicate:

+ = Present, - = Absent, ? = Not sure.

Assessment Factors	Group Member Ratings	Consensus Rating
Capacity
Technical Expertise
Leadership
Credibility
Constituent Accountability
Available Resources
Clear Objectives
Collective Vision
Adequate Staffing
Available Time
Effective Communication

Making A Strategic Choice

Choosing a Strategic Niche

Opportunistic Choice

vs.

Strategic Choice

Strategic Choice Exercise Instructions

Complete with your partnership team.

As an individual, choose one idea from those collected on your tracking sheets.

As a group, list all of your ideas on the Project/Activity Opportunity Screen Worksheet.

Through discussion, for the list of ideas and possibilities, indicate the presence or absence of the factors using the following codes.

+ = Present
- = Absent
? = Not sure (don't know, need more information)

Project/Activity Opportunity Screen

Instructions: For the list of project ideas/possibilities, indicate the presence or absence of the factors using the following codes:

+ = Present, = Absent, ? = Not sure.

Idea/Factors	Community Need	Market Opportunity	Entrepre. Opportunity	Employment Opportunity	Civic Service Opportunity	Technical Assistance	Financial Resources	Skills and Experience within Partnership	Organization Interest
Idea 1
Idea 2
Idea 3
Idea 4
Idea 5
Idea 6
Idea 7
Idea 8

Module 2: Participant Material Choosing a Niche

Major Sections

Learning Objectives

Community Assessment

Organizational Assessment

Organizational Assessment Instructions

Assessing Organizational Preparedness (Individual Worksheet)

+ = Present, - = Absent, ? = Not sure.

Assessing Partnership Preparedness (Group Worksheet)

+ = Present, - = Absent, ? = Not sure.

Making A Strategic Choice

Strategic Choice Exercise Instructions

Project/Activity Opportunity Screen

+ = Present, ­ = Absent, ? = Not sure.

Module 2:
Participant Material Choosing a Niche

+ = Present, = Absent, ? = Not sure.