Community of Practice Reports + Action Items

CoP members collaborate on visit to showcase best practices: The City of Cleveland’s Middle Neighborhoods Director Jason Powers and Director of Neighborhood Programs at Healthy Neighborhoods Inc. (HNI) Jenny Hope (both CoP members) are organizing a site visit of approximately 25 Cleveland leaders to Baltimore in April to study Healthy Neighborhoods Inc. programs and financial tools as a possible model for Cleveland middle neighborhoods. The trip will showcase the nearly two decades of work by HNI and bring together the two cities’ government, financial and nonprofit sectors.

NeighborWorks America’s Community Initiatives Advisory Group holds session on Middle Neighborhoods: Leaders from the national NeighborWorks network, including practitioners from Los Angeles, Chicago, Baton Rouge, Chattanooga, and many more met in Portland in December for their quarterly convening of the Advisory Group to the Community Initiatives division of NeighborWorks America. On the agenda was a session presented by CoP member Marcia Nedland on middle neighborhoods. Discussion revealed significant shared goals and experiences, advice for the Middle Neighborhoods movement, and a number of new CoP members. An afternoon workshop on middle neighborhoods was also led by Marcia and Paul Singh of NeighborWorks America, in Portland, open to all attendees of the NeighborWorks Training Institute that week.

Want to know who else in your region is a CoP member? Ask Marcia, and we’ll send out an email on your behalf to everyone in your region, inviting them to contact you for potential networking opportunities. Organizing a simple brown bag lunch of members in your region is a great way to activate your local network.

Are you a member of the Middle Neighborhoods Community of Practice (CoP)? The CoP is an informal, facilitated network of practitioners, researchers, and policymakers who share learnings through topical webinars, referrals, site visits, phone calls, and occasional larger group events. If you have ever attended one of our webinars or events, completed the CoP Questionnaire, or expressed a desire to be added to the CoP, we count you as a member – it’s that easy. To get yourself added to the CoP, complete the Questionnaire (see next item below) or email Marcia Nedland.

Ongoing action item: We’re collecting insights on what’s working to stabilize middle neighborhoods. If you haven’t already, please fill out the Middle Neighborhoods Community of Practice Questionnaire. Your input will help populate an overview of services provided by organizations working to stabilize and strengthen middle neighborhoods. Questionnaires also serve as the basis for profiles and case studies.

For Media Inquiries:

Please reach out to the following NCST staff for comments on Middle Neighborhoods:

Marcia Nedland, Lead Organizer

[email protected]

To receive updates on middle neighborhood Community of Practice activities and general information about middle neighborhoods, please sign up here. By signing up, you will also receive the bi-monthly Community of Practice newsletter.

Community of Practice Reports + Action Items

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