A Curriculum for Bringing People, Place, & Systems into Planning for Comprehensive Community Development Comprehensive, place-based, and resident-led efforts are essential to building strong cross-sector partnerships, and this complex work requires intentional, data-driven approaches to maximize community impact. In collaboration with more than 30 organizations across the NeighborWorks Network, NeighborWorks America has developed a capacity-building curriculum designed to equip organizations seeking to expand or launch comprehensive place-based initiatives. This framework centers community history and local systems, elevates resident expertise and relationships, strengthens partnerships and collaboration, and embeds data-driven inquiry to guide decision-making. We will share more about how communities are utilizing this framework to deepen impact and share tested, practical tools and strategies. Communities across the country are applying the NeighborWorks America framework for comprehensive community development to deepen their impact, using tested tools and practical strategies to drive meaningful, resident‑centered change. This session will introduce participants to the curriculum that guides this work, emphasizing the capacity‑building and technical skills needed to launch and sustain a place‑based initiative within a defined geography. The session will walk participants through a core learning arc, which includes modules such as “Inquiry into Place,” examining the historical forces and systems that shape current conditions; “Thinking Spatially,” which builds foundational skills in geographic and spatial analysis; and “Ecosystem Mapping,” which emphasizes the intentional inclusion of resident experience and expertise. Together, these components connect people, place, and systems to support coordinated, long‑term change. Grounded in a comprehensive community development lens, the framework is anchored in key principles: establishing a strong backbone organization, cultivating cross‑sector partnerships, aligning holistic, multidisciplinary strategies, and coordinating layered investments. This session will highlight how these principles operate in practice and offer actionable insights for organizations looking to strengthen or launch place‑based work in their own communities. Aligned with the theme “Community Currents,” this session gives insight into the practical application of community development practitioners as navigators helping neighborhoods interpret the forces around them, chart resilient paths, and harness collaborative momentum.
Session presenters, referred to here as CWR and SJS, have navigated change together across diverse community development contexts. The presentation will focus on their interactions in creating and sustaining the Community Development Network of Maryland (CDN), a statewide network of rural and urban organizations advocating for thriving communities and secure housing. CWR and SJS brought different lived experiences as well as engagement with neighborhood-based, city-wide, and state-wide nonprofits, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, and a University of Maryland branch to their pivotal roles at CDN -- as founder, board chair, staff person, consultant, researcher, and executive director.
The Maximize [My Community] Journey™ is a practical playbook that has proven to help community leaders, residents, and organizations navigate local challenges and opportunities by working better together. To strengthen regional alignment throughout a primarily rural area, this strengths-based approach is being leveraged to inventory and map community and leadership development programs through stakeholder engagement across sectors and several jurisdictions. The resulting resource map will outline how each supports shared priorities, reduces duplication, identifies service gaps, and help leaders find the right programs at the right time for themselves and their teams—ultimately strengthening collaboration and catalyzing progress.
This presentation examines a process model of cross-sector collaboration centered on public libraries, based on case studies of two municipal libraries in Japan. It explores how libraries function as connective hubs linking government, schools, welfare agencies, private actors, and community organizations through collaborative governance and co-production. By analyzing everyday practices such as participatory workshops and inter-organizational partnerships, the study highlights the potential of public libraries as social infrastructure that supports trust-building, coordination, and inclusive community development.
The Transportation Education and Safety Youth Ambassador (TESYA) program empowers immigrant and refugee youth to become community safety leaders and transit educators through a cultural liaison and train the trainer model. Youth gain knowledge about transportation options, bike and pedestrian safety, mobility justice, and climate conscious travel, and share this information within their communities. TESYA ambassadors also support DMA Play Streets by helping transform neighborhood streets into pop up spaces for intergenerational play, physical activity, and social connection. Through these program activities, TESYA strengthens neighborhood safety, increases transit literacy, and builds youth leadership that supports long term community development and safer public spaces.
This paper presents an initial, mixed-methods assessment of water efficiency in Coastal Georgia. Funded by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, this study utilizes stakeholder survey and focus groups to identify socially feasible “synergistic opportunities” for water reuse and resilience. Rather than advancing technical designs, we analyze stakeholder data to assess perceptions, willingness to collaborate, and barriers to implementation, which provides a foundational input for priority projects. Results highlight leverage points for cross-sector collaboration, providing a data-driven framework, and targeted policy recommendations to shape the regulatory landscape for sustainable resource management in rapidly developing coastal communities.
This study examines refugee entrepreneurship as a community-driven pathway for integration that balances cultural preservation, traditional entrepreneurial knowledge with economic adaptation and practices in the United States. Grounded in Putnam’s Social Capital Theory and guided by a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach, the research explores how interactions between refugee entrepreneurs and host-community members generate trust, networks, and opportunity structures. The study centers refugees as knowledge holders who leverage cultural assets, generational entrepreneurial knowledge while navigating local markets, institutions, and regulatory systems. Findings contribute to community development practice by highlighting how place-based, relational strategies can support inclusive economic growth that fosters positive integration for newcomers.
This study explores how immigrant and refugee entrepreneurship functions as a community-embedded integration strategy that balances cultural preservation with adaptation to economic and institutional change. Anchored in Putnam’s (1993) Social Capital Theory and informed by a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) framework, the research examines how social bonding and bridging capital emerge through interactions between immigrant and refugee entrepreneurs and host-community members, organizations, and institutions.
Rather than conceptualizing integration as a linear process of assimilation, this study highlights how immigrant and refugee entrepreneurs draw upon cultural knowledge, community practices, and transnational ties while simultaneously building relationships within local markets and governance systems. Through CBPR, immigrant and refugee entrepreneurs and community partners are engaged as co-creators of knowledge, shaping research questions, interpretation, and practical implications. This approach ensures that the study reflects lived experience and community-defined priorities while strengthening trust between researcher and participants.
The study investigates how trust, trustworthiness norms, and institutional relationships influence refugees’ access to information, resources, and entrepreneurial opportunities, particularly in contexts marked by limited human and financial capital and structural barriers to formal employment. It also explores how community-based networks help mitigate these constraints and foster economic participation, social belonging, and mutual accountability.
By centering place-based interactions and participatory knowledge production, this research contributes to community development scholarship on inclusive growth, immigrant integration, and entrepreneurship. Practically, findings offer guidance for practitioners, policymakers, and community organizations designing refugee self-sufficiency and economic development programs that honor cultural heritage while supporting pathways integration to their new social and cultural context.
In 2020, Hawkinsville, Georgia, was selected for a university program. With a huge community buy-in of nearly $70,000 in pledges, the process took place during the COVID-19 pandemic and resulted in a plan to revitalize the downtown core of the city. By 2025, Hawkinsville has completed all of the short and medium-term goals, with only long-term goals remaining. This case study examines how the partners worked in tandem with the City and County, and how the community accomplished various phases of the plan alongside the University.
This program/project presentation brings together editors from Community Development and Local Development & Society to share field-level insights into how community development scholarship and practice are evolving amid accelerating change. Drawing on editorial data, reviewer experiences, and submission trends, the session examines how generational shifts, practitioner–scholar collaboration, cultural storytelling, and emerging technologies are shaping what knowledge circulates in the field. Designed for practitioners, scholars, activists, and educators, the session emphasizes sense-making, dialogue, and practical guidance for navigating publishing and knowledge co-production in community development.
The Stone Soup Workshop is an innovative hands-on experience that brings individuals from diverse backgrounds, life experiences, ages, and perspectives together for a fun, team-building event. Participants choose ingredients and prepare a meal together while practicing respect as they explore each other’s unique strengths and life perspectives. The workshop creates a safe space for inclusive conversation, relationship strengthening, and fostering of trust across age groups. CDS session attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how this approach creates intergenerational connection through conversation and collaboration as a test ground for further positive change in workplaces, charitable organizations, communities, and homes.
This research examines the impact of mentorship, collaborative formation, and leadership development initiatives on youth council members and volunteers. It highlights the pivotal role of youth councils and volunteers in co-designing and tailoring formation and leadership programs to their unique needs. This study also provides a basis for understanding the challenges and capacities of the youth in their leadership roles. This year’s Community Development Society Conference theme, "Community Currents: Navigating Change Together, " emphasizes the importance of collaboration in achieving a better understanding of social realities and generational differences, as well as exploring collaborative efforts in adapting to rapid changes. It is imperative to understand the context of youth (Generation Z) and how these leadership potentials can be harnessed to become active agents of change in their communities.
In the Philippines, the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK), or Youth Council, plays a crucial role in promoting youth engagement and leadership within local communities, as mandated by Republic Act 10742. This law not only establishes youth councils but also institutionalizes an electoral process to enhance young people’s participation in local governance. To support this, a formation and leadership development training initiative was implemented for the youth council of Palatiw, Pasig City, equipping emerging leaders with the critical skills they need. The initiative aims to empower young people to contribute meaningfully to community development. This collaborative effort resulted in the co-creation and delivery of a training program grounded in the Positive Youth Development (PYD) Framework, with sessions specifically designed to address the developmental objectives of the youth. Mentorship was integrated into the program to further advance the individual capacities of youth council members and volunteers (Lou & Stoeger, 2023). It navigates the critical aspects of leadership skills and character formation of the youth council and volunteers.
This study will examine the formation and leadership needs of youth council members and volunteers, providing recommendations on how mentorship and youth leadership can synergistically foster community development. Furthermore, it will assess the potential contributions of these initiatives to improve youth governance in the country. .
When Hyundai announced their intentions to build a $7.6M EV vehicle factory in a rural part of Bryan County, Georgia, many celebrated the largest economic development project in Georgia history. The factory would bring over 8,500 jobs, as well as numerous suppliers to nearby communities. Some saw this as a once in a generation opportunity to provide good paying jobs in an area with higher than average poverty rates.
Despite promises of good jobs, the pushback from some local residents was harsh and swift. Many expressed concern that the size and scope of the project would change their community beyond recognition and destroy the small town feel or rural lifestyle. Others expressed concerns about water availability, dwindling availability of farm land, the environmental impact of development, and unchecked sprawl. This paper will examine how three communities confronted and reacted to concerns about growth and development. Through content analysis of newspaper articles, social media posts, and official council and commission meeting minutes, we examine how community residents formed coalitions to oppose development, including the use of narratives to define place and “community.”
The turn of the 21st century has seen a new settlement pattern of immigrants bypassing traditional urban gateways and locating to rural spaces instead. Rural immigration thus presents a unique opportunity to advance the vitality of small towns. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the experiences of rural immigrants with community leadership. Findings revealed that rural immigrants experience community leadership as a broad practice of service meant for all members of the community, not just a select few. The experience of community leadership by rural immigrants also involves complexities in representation and challenges in developing immigrant leaders.
