IV. Contributing to Change, Particularly in the Area of Race
Best Practices from Experienced Programs: 1. Practices that helped programs contribute to personal change as a result of study circles:
♦ Make each individual circle as diverse as possible. ♦ Make the facilitation as skilled as possible. ♦ Make explicit the program’s goal to bring about changes in individuals. 2. Practices that helped programs contribute to positive changes in organizations:
♦ Achieve genuine, working diversity in the coalition. ♦ Give every organizational partner a clear job to do. 3. Practices that helped programs contribute to changes in institutions and communities:
♦ Pick the topic carefully and promote the circles in a way that suggests an expectation of community and institutional change.
♦ Include in the coalition people who can help accelerate community and institutional change.
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Programs that incorporated some of these best practices are profiled at the end of this section: Fort Myers, Florida; North Little Rock, Arkansas; and the state of Oklahoma.