Our final blogger from the Oct. 13 forum for civic leaders is Bill Rowland, whose own blog can be read at http://phillyfoodguys.com/.
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Philadelphia civic leaders have an opportunity to really make something good happen. The energy and enthusiasm displayed at the recent Civic Leader Summit in Mayfair, not to mention the conduit offered by the Great Expectations Project, gives civic groups an opportunity to take a leadership role in forcing change in Philadelphia. And boy, does it need it.
For all the great things going for Philly, the perceived black hole of city government is not one of them. Summit attendees echoed Tom Ferrick’s observation [Link: http://www.greatexpectations07.com/node/205] that their organization’s resources are siphoned from their civic purposes to deal with routine matters that should be handled by the city. Furthermore, inconsistent service, lack of accountability and an old-school political machine desperately clinging to power seem to perpetuate this Catch 22 situation. Where’s a civic to start?
Civics should start where they have the most control: Themselves. Yes, I know that isn’t what many want to hear, but let’s be realistic. Philadelphia City government has a lot of problems, not to mention the havoc of an upcoming election. It’ll take a few months for the new administration to settle in and identify problem departments. Of course Civic groups should participate in identifying poor performers, but only by getting their own houses in order both individually and collectively, can they become a positive force for change.
Currently, there are hundreds of individual civic groups throughout the city performing a multitude of functions. Continually plagued by limited resources, a sea of red tape and the routine challenges of running volunteer organizations, it quickly became apparent to Summit attendees just how similar these seemingly diverse groups are. Differences still exist, but similarities are far more common. This discovery made it painfully apparent that few groups, if any, communicate or even work together. Shouldn’t they start by picking the low-hanging fruit?
Increased cooperation among civic groups is clearly the first step toward changing Philadelphia for the better. Furthermore, civic groups can easily start by performing three simple steps:
Embrace Change
Civics must set aside their past experiences to be open to change. After decades of dealing with a broken system, it’s likely that many organizations have developed preconceived notions about themselves, the city and “how things get done.” While understandable, these stereotypes are limiting and may prevent the discovery of new ways to tackle old problems. In other words:
Wipe the slate clean and be open-minded to find a solution to
Assess Strengths and Weaknesses
In order to effectively interact with fellow organizations, Civics must assess themselves to frankly evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. Only then can each organization understand where they can offer help, realize where they need assistance and create a baseline to monitor progress.
Key components could include:
1) Resources
a. What are the types and quantities of resources does the organization have? (i.e. financial, leadership, manpower and membership)
2) Relationships
a. Do personal dynamics affect the operation of the group?
b. Are there any relationships with other groups?
c. What political relationships does the group currently have?
3) Knowledge
a. What knowledge and skills does the organization have?
b. What knowledge and skills does the organization need?
c. Have there been recent successes that can be shared with other groups?
4) Operations
a. Have goals been established and monitored?
b. Are the current functions sustainable?
c. Is the performance of city agencies being recorded?
Answers to questions like these, and others, should give civic organizations a strong self awareness that will prepare them to effectively interact with and help each other.
Communicate
To enable cooperation, civic groups must communicate. Currently, the status quo is sustained by ignorance, distrust and a tendency to cloister information. Tales of having a “secret contact” that could get things done inside a particular City department were frequent at the Summit. By establishing a free flow of information between civic groups, they can improve their own performance, gather the necessary information to hold the city accountable and progress toward achieving political power.
The Civic Leader Summit was just the first step in a process that could also include:
• Regularly scheduled regional and city-wide meetings
• Use of communication tools like email, electronic bulletin boards and newsletters
• Communication with other leaders by telephone
Clearly, communication among civic groups is the first step toward cooperation and may be the single most important activity in driving positive change in Philadelphia.
Changing Philadelphia for the better is a big challenge, but not an insurmountable one. To be successful, Civics should break down the larger problem into smaller, easy to manage pieces; the natural first step in this process is to establish cooperation among civic groups. Cooperation requires organization and only by embracing change, performing self assessments and communicating among themselves can our civic groups become organized enough to garner enough respect and power to drive positive change.
In conclusion, Great Expectations and its Civic Leader Summit has provided city leaders, residents and civic groups a platform for discussion, a spark for change and a call to “Carpe Diem” or “seize the day.”
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