Use of the Community Tool Box to build capacity within Centers for Independent Living

Implementing collaborative community-based efforts to change community conditions requires skills including community assessment, analyzing community problems and goals, strategic planning, and advocacy. Thus, community change efforts can benefit from capacity-building efforts.

With funding from NIDRR, the University of Kansas Research and Training Center on Independent Living and Work Group for Community Health and Development are examining the effects of training and ongoing technical assistance among 11 participating Centers for Independent Living. These CILs are working to change community programs, policies, and practices to support full community participation for people with disabilities. The training curriculum used by this project was drawn from the Community Tool Box, an international skill-building resource for community health and development. Centers are engaged in collaborative efforts to address issues of importance to their communities including transportation, affordable housing, and employment opportunities.

Participating CILs received three days of training in core community processes (e.g., community assessment, analyzing community problems and goals,  developing an intervention, strategic and action planning, advocacy, and evaluation) followed by 1-hour monthly technical assistance phone calls to provide additional ongoing support and troubleshooting for implementation. CILs are utilizing a shared measurement system for understanding the implementation of their community change efforts.

Preliminary community change data from participating CILs indicates changes in community programs, policies, and practices related to the Centers’ goals. Progress is being made in using data to inform quality improvement.

This project has implications for those engaged in training and capacity-building for collaborative community change efforts.