This course is all about context. In order to be an effective and responsive public administrator, it is important to know about the communities you serve and how they are . This assignment gives you the opportunity to develop and practice the skills to identify and asses the salient features of communities and the issues that are important to them.
This is a report that should be broken into five sections. In each section, you will address all of the questions with narrative, tables, lists, maps, graphics or any material that can help answer the question. You do not need to list out all of the questions and subquestions, but you do need to address all of them.
1. Community Characteristics – These are the basic characteristics you need to know about the community in question.
Location – Where is the community? What are it’s physical boundaries?
Demography – Who lives here? How many people? What is the demographic breakdown?
Economy – What is the state of the economy in this community? Is there wealth in the community? What are employment figures like? What is the mean and median income? What are the major sources of income?
Geography – What is the geography like? Is it urban, rural, suburban? What are the important physical features?
Environment – What is the environment like? Is it polluted or not? What is the state of the built environment?
SWOT – Do a brief assessment of the community’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
2. Community Players – These are the groups, institutions and organizations that are part of and impact the community.
What government institutions represent this community? State? County? Local? Other?
Are there major business interests in this community?
Are there influential nonprofits that serve this community?
Are there community organizations? Who are they? Who are the leaders? What is their status?
3. Community History – This is the story of the community.
What important historical events have shaped this community?
Has the community always been the way it is today? What has changed?
Are there relevant stories of the community you need to know?
4. Community Perspectives – What do people care about? What do people think about the issue in question?
What do people care about in this community? What makes them tick?
Are there prevailing religious or political perspectives?
Is there a strong community identity? What is it?
What do people think about the issue area you have chosen?
5. The Issue – How does your issue area manifest in the community?
What is the issue broadly? How does it usually impact communities?
How does the issue manifest in this particular community? What are the impacts? Who is impacted?
What does the community’s perspective on the issue tell you?
