Empowerment Zone

Knoxville’s Empowerment Zone

This planning project with the Center for Neighborhood Development (CND) is also a central outreach activity for the CPC and will provide additional outreach opportunities for UT faculty and staff in the future. Since March 2001, CPC has been developing and facilitating a participatory planning process for Empowerment Zone communities (ZACs) to determine priorities and programs for future Empowerment Zone funding.

We are collaborating with CND in several ways: providing technical assistance in developing the planning process and working with CND/EZ staff to implement and facilitate the process; providing capacity-building workshops for CND/EZ staff; and creating opportunities for UT researchers to collaborate with community members and interests.

ZAC Planning Process

In working with CND staff to develop and implement a four-phase participatory planning process, we designed activities and seminars for community members to ensure full participation in decision-making. The first phase, which took place from April to August 2001, resulted in the completion of a situational analysis. Using participatory research methods, Zone Advisory Council (ZAC) Advisory Boards used trolley and walking tours to conduct a baseline study of their area and presented the study to the ZAC membership. Through consensus, the membership developed the values and visions that guide the rest of the planning process.

The second part of the process, taking place from August to the end of 2001, was the program development phase. During this time, the ZAC members defined and prioritized specific needs and opportunities in the ZACs. The boards formed taskforces around issue areas based on their ZAC values, and the taskforces developed programs and project possibilities to achieve their visions. With CND staff, the taskforces researched resources and collected information to support their proposed projects. In January, 2002, the ZAC membership prioritized programs and project ideas in the context of their values and visions developed earlier.

The third phase was the creation of the plan. Once the ZACs prioritized the suggested projects from each taskforce, CPC and CND staff condensed them into a comprehensive plan. This concept report was completed and delivered to Partnership for Neighborhood Improvement (PNI) on February 20, 2002.

Staff Development

The second aspect of our collaboration with CND is staff development. With assistance from various community partners, including Tribe One, Knox Legal Aid, HUD, and others, CPC is developing a continuous training workshop to build ZAC organizers’ capacities to implement the process and to work in the community. Training topics included the following: conducting meetings, communication, facilitation techniques, time management, documentation, community organizing, motivating turnout, and other subjects deemed necessary by the CND and CPC staff.

Connecting Researchers to Community Interests

CPC is strengthening connections with community partners to develop and expand projects for university involvement. One of the major benefits of a participatory planning process is that it provides motivated and informed partners within the community with whom other institutions may work. The CPC is coordinating various meetings between UT researchers and interested community members to begin collaborative projects. For instance, economists may work with youth to develop a money management class for teens, or civil engineers may help neighborhoods design appropriate access roads for commercial development.

The ZACs have completed a concept plan, their vision for empowerment. The CPC is working to join faculty and staff with the residents, organizations, businesses, and others in the EZ to make these visions a reality.