In this groundbreaking book, Tom Wolff spells out six proven principles for creating collabo- rative solutions for healthy communities. The Power of Collaborative Solutions addresses contemporary social problems by helping people of diverse circumstances and backgrounds work together to solve community challenges. Filled with clear principles, illustrative stories, and practical tools, this book shows how to make lasting change really happen. Praise for The Power of Collaborative Solutions "This is a truly transformative book and a must-read. Tom Wolff crafts a path to change that is at once visionary and achievable." —MEREDITH MINKLER, professor of health and social behavior, University of California, Berkeley, and coauthor, Community-Based Participatory Research for Health (Jossey-Bass, 2008) "If you want to bring about sustained positive change in your community, read this book. The stories will inspire you, and the lessons will shine a light on your leadership path." —TYLER NORRIS, founding president, Community Initiatives "Here you'll find not just theory, but also the hard-won, down-to-earth detail on how to make collaboration work where you live and act." —BILL BERKOWITZ, professor emeritus of psychology, University of Massachusetts Lowell "Tom has a tremendous fount of knowledge, and he knows just what to do with it and how to help others use it. His kind and commonsensical manner means that his intellect is accessible." —LINDA BOWEN, executive director, Institute for Community Peace, Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents:
Web Contents ix Foreword xi Preface xv Acknowledgments xxi The Author xxiii Chapter 1: Why Collaborative Solutions? How Our Helping Systems Are Failing Us 1 Community Solutions Demand a New, Collaborative Approach 3 How Our Traditional Community Problem-Solving Methods Fail 4 What Does This Tell Us, and What Do We Do Next? 21 Chapter 2: Building Healthy Communities Through Collaborative Solutions: An Overview of Six Key Principles 25 1. Encourage True Collaboration as the Form of Exchange 26 2. Engage the Full Diversity of the Community, Especially Those Most Directly Affected 27 3. Practice Democracy and Promote Active Citizenship and Empowerment 28 4. Employ an Ecological Approach That Builds on Community Strengths 29 5. Take Action by Addressing Issues of Social Change and Power on the Basis of a Common Vision 31 6. Engage Spirituality as Your Compass for Social Change 32 Community Story: The Cleghorn Neighborhood Center 33 Chapter 3: Encouraging True Collaboration 43 Networking 44 Coordination 45 Cooperation 46 Collaboration 48 Learning to Collaborate: Risks, Resources, Rewards, and Responsibilities 50 What If . . . 51 Community Story: The North Quabbin Community Coalition 53 Chapter 4: Engaging the Full Diversity of the Community 67 Mini-Grants 72 Leadership Development 73 Community Outreach Workers 75 Community Organizers 76 Experiment with Simple Options to Engage Community Members 77 Community Story: The Mayor’s Task Force on Deinstitutionalization 83 Chapter 5: Practicing Democracy 95 How Much Participation Do We Want? 98 How Do We Encourage Democratic Participation? 102 More Ways to Support the Practice of Democracy 105 Community Story: Valuing Our Children 109 Chapter 6: Employing an Ecological Approach That Builds on Community Strengths 123 Assets and Deficits 126 Setting the Stage to Move from Assets to Action 128 Healthy Communities: A Model Ecological Approach 131 Healthy Communities in Action 135 Community Stories: The Northern Berkshire  Community Coalition and The Lower/Outer Cape Community Coalition 138 Community Story: The Institute for Community Peace and The Santa Barbara Pro-Youth Coalition 147 Chapter 7: Taking Action and Working for Social Change 155 Key Factors for Coalitions in Successfully Creating Community Change 156 Creating a Common Vision 157 Community Action to Create Community Change 157 Addressing Issues of Social Change and Power 164 Addressing Issues of Social Change in Collaborative Efforts 168 Power-Based Versus Relationship-Based Social Change 179 Barack Obama’s Election and the Future of Collaborative Solutions 181 Community Story: Health Access Networks 186 Chapter 8: Engaging Spirituality as Your Compass for Social Change 197 What Really Works? 198 The Current Helping System: How It Is Stuck and How We Can Free It 201 Overcoming the Limitations with the Help of Spiritual Principles 204 It’s Profound, It’s Not Easy . . . but It’s Within Our Reach 226 Community Story: Bringing It All Back to Earth: The Spiritual Essence of a Regular Meeting of the North Quabbin Community Coalition 229 Conclusion 235 Appendix: Evaluation: Assessing Our Progress and Celebrating Our Success 239 Questions an Evaluation Can Help Answer 240 Community Participation in Evaluation 241 Frameworks for Evaluating Coalitions 242 Documentation and Evaluation in Action: Community Stories 247 Conclusion 264 References 265 Index 279