What is the Neighborhood Partnership Program?

The Neighborhood Partnership Program is not a project, but a process that supports neighborhood renewal through partnerships between neighbors, landlords, the faith community, schools, businesses, and local government.

It is an effort that, through a collaborative process, addresses the issues and concerns of the people who live and work in a specific area. Whether the area suffers from physical deterioration, social strife, or crime, the Partnership focuses on the neighborhood's strengths and abilities to solve its own problems. The Partnership provides an opportunity for people to identify issues, work together, and leverage additional resources when needed.

The Neighborhood Partnership Manual traces the experiences of one neighborhood in Salem, Oregon. The manual features specific steps and strategies, and illustrates how seemingly isolated activities can be woven into an overall plan to address neighborhood livability. This pamphlet serves to present a brief summary of the main themes of the Neighborhood Partnership Manual.

It's About Change

Opinions change, behaviors change, and physical environments change. The Neighborhood Partnership Program is about facilitating changes and supporting positive outcomes. It's also about changing roles for local government and citizens. The key to a successful Partnership is the willingness of local government to be more than just a service provider; and the willingness of citizens to form new relationships, and work in tandem with government, rather than simply directing or soliciting services. In the Neighborhood Response Effort, local government takes on the role of facilitator in community-based problem-solving, while working directly with citizens on issues that they deem important. The Partnership requires government to talk with and work alongside citizens as they determine the vision for change in their neighborhood. To achieve these transformational changes, government and community must partner to form trusting, long term relationships.

Community Governance is the approach to government which relies upon the active participation of members from all levels of the governmental organization to participate with individuals and citizen groups in the identification of community issues, the development of alternatives, solicitation of support, and the refinement, implementation, and evaluation of services on an ongoing basis.

Making Connections

A successful Neighborhood Partnership ensures that the members of a neighborhood connect with each other, and that the neighborhood connects with others. Relationships are enhanced each time neighbors connect with each other on crime prevention; each time a business participates in a park clean up; each time a congregation hosts a community event. Connections can lead to new or enhanced relationships, and the possibility of fruitful partnerships.

Connections can be fostered a number of ways, including purposeful meetings, newsletters, casual interactions, and even electronically. A Partnership can help a neighborhood strengthen neighbor to neighbor relationships, open lines of communication between different areas, and give participants a strong tool with which to address their concerns and issues.

Partnerships Based on Relationships

Relationships must be established before effective partnerships can be created. As lines of communication are opened through community conversations, neighborhood meetings, and forums, a foundation for trust is built. Trust helps foster relationships that lead people to a better understanding of neighborhood issues and opportunities to work in partnership to solve problems and address neighborhood livability.

Keys to effective community-based relationships include:

common vision
common ground
ongoing and frequent communication
effective listening and feedback
onsite interactions

Conclusion

In a Neighborhood Partnership, everyone does their part to help build that community. Local government, the neighbors, and partners all work together to build a better neighborhood. Local government facilitates the process, and, as a partner, assists with relationship-building and partnership-development. Neighbors do their part to bring energy, ideas, and project leadership to the effort. Committed partners work alongside each neighbor, helping to make each crime prevention program, parenting class, or youth activity a success while building a better neighborhood together.

The success of the Neighborhood Partnership Program is attributed to many actions, none of which can compare to the energy and enthusiasm by the people who live and work in that neighborhood who embrace this project wholeheartedly.