You don't have to live in Iowa to know how intense election season is, and what a relief it can be (win or lose) when it is over. Still, so many community and public issues require more than organizing voters; what happens after an election to the enthusiasm and energy? How can a community tap into that and direct it toward other forms of public participation?

Get everyone moving in the right direction and then let them run! Planning terms can be overwhelming. Whether or not they should, they can differ between funders, planners and types of plans. No matter what the different sections or processes of the plan are called, you can empower your team by developing a common language and expectations at the beginning.

One of the most important things you can do is make sure your planning team includes individuals who have the power to take action and implement the plan rather than people who want to tell other people what to do. Implementation may include development and adoption of policy, outreach and education, permitting, purchase of land easements, private fundraising, grant writing, funds management, construction or other components.

Each year communities and groups across Iowa collectively develop thousands of plans. Prepared by Northeast Iowa RC&D, this series provides strategies from their experience that will help transform your plan from a cookie cutter document that sits on a shelf to an action orientated guide for the future.

According to the Participatory Budgeting Project, a nonprofit aimed to introduce participatory budgeting into more communities; participatory budgeting (PB) is “a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget.” In other words, PB enables those who live in the community to identify the issues that matter the most to them and work in tandem with the government to make lasting decisions on how their tax dollars will be spent to make valuable improvements.

Participants at our April facilitation workshops shared a plethora of useful resources.

As cities around the world move towards a more sustainable way of life, it’s important to have an understanding of the different terminology that is used and its implications on environmental issues. Each citizen can make an impact on their community and their environment, by simply being more informed on the issues. We have access to so much information, but it can be overwhelming. This resource breaks down a list of environmental words and phrases you may hear in the news or read in an article. Under each word is a brief definition along with websites that have more information.

When you approach community problems, mindfulness can broaden your perspective. You can gain awareness of the context surrounding a problem, and the layered and diverse perspectives of those affected by the problem, whatever the problem may be.

When a situation calls for community-based engagement, it is important to have someone there who can lead the discussion in an efficient, effective way. Facilitators play an important role in community discussions; they are the ones to keep the discussion on track and guide the conversation to a productive place.