Shared Values and Clear Purpose Makes Everything Easier In the Canadian context, community ovens have not been around for several generations in most places, so being clear about the values is critical for inviting your team into the project, for getting funding, and for getting partners. Of all the planning steps, having clear values was the most important as it helps create team cohesion, saves time later on, and serves as a reference point for the team when making decisions; this step is often skipped but we consider it to be crucial. Even if the oven project is through another organization, the values may be more specific to the project and should be clarified. Having everyone on the same page with the values makes everything easier. Here’s a basic exercise to figure out your project values: 1. Set a timer for 5 min and have everyone quietly look at a values list together (here’s the one we used for reference ) and have everyone on the team select 5 values that they think best represent the project. 2. Collect all the values and as a group choose a process for how to decide which ones make the list. For example, you could have one person take notes, you could look at the list of values the team chose together, group similar values together, have everyone share what the values mean to them, and then have one or two people on the team write up a first draft. You can find the Front Street Community Oven Guiding Values here: http://frontstreetoven.ca/ Create a First Draft of a Concept Document The concept document should be 1-2 pages and explain the overview of what need it fills in the community, what activities you may have at the oven, how the oven operates, who manages it, etc. For the Front Street Community Oven concept document, we started by answering some of these basic questions in the document, added some photos, then filled in the gaps using the questions in the CHAORDIC Stepping stones (see below). Our concept document was added to many times over 1.5 years of development. Getting it created and out there was more important for us than getting it perfect. ● Here’s one of our concept documents for reference ; you are welcome to copy and paste whatever you like from ours and edit it for your own needs. ● Here are the CHAORDIC Stepping Stones to help fill it in. Stakeholder Engagement Some tips: ● Create a one or two page write up that explains the project; speak to what it is, why it is important, what the timeline is, and who it is for. Make it simple so that the reader can easily connect with the project. ● Figure out who the people are that will support your idea and reach out to them; start with the obvious ones and personal connections to get started and build momentum. ● To make your support more official, ask for letters of support on the letterhead of the organization you are connecting with. Having official letters of support shows that you have done work within the community and that others believe in your idea. It also helps when dealing with any sort of bureaucracy to have these in advance as it makes it easier for decision makers when there is official support from the community that they are meant to represent. ● Try to gather support from a diverse network, showing how the project will benefit many different elements of the community. Some organizations or segments of the community you might want to connect with: Farmers’ Markets, local schools, mental health professionals, advocates for those with disabilities, etc. ● Find ways that the oven can connect with other community projects, needs, and initiatives. Do some research to find out what is already being done and how a community oven might support someone else in their work. 4
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