As the United States prepares to enter the 21st
century, we’re seeing a powerful shift in our perceptions about citizens and their
role as stewards of their communities.
Instead of relying on "experts" in some remote center of power—the state
capital or Washington—to solve their problems, people of all ages and backgrounds
increasingly are realizing that they need to take responsibility at the local level for
responding to the complex challenges and opportunities their communities face.
Many worthwhile efforts along these lines have been made and continue to be made in
communities across the country. But often such efforts, however well-intentioned, are
rendered ineffective by the lack of a mechanism for effectively harnessing the collective
problem-solving power of the community and applying that power creatively.
"Futurecasting," a process developed by the Chandler Center, is such a
mechanism.
The Futurecast process is designed to engage the people of a community in defining
their community’s unique problems and developing positive courses of action for
responding to them. It’s not a "one-size-fits-all" solution, but rather a
pattern that can be tailored to every community’s unique situation and strengths.
The Futurecast process emphasizes making maximum use of the rich resources every
community has through the diversity of its people, their perspectives and skills.
It also stresses taking a realistic view of the existing community environment and
setting realistic, measurable goals for where the community would like to be.
