How does a Community Visit work?Concord Community Dinner

VCRD enters into communities for a Community Visit process where invited by local leaders and provides a facilitated process that actively connects grassroots community building efforts in towns across Vermont with state-wide resources, expertise and opportunities. Each Visit brings together a broad mix of community members with a visiting resource team, made up of Council members and statewide providers (state, federal, non-profit, and philanthropic), to create intensive partnerships and tailored work plans for long-term local success. The Visit process is designed for community members to prioritize and choose strategic goals and vision for their community and for the state-wide visiting resource team to provide advice and expertise to help them get there.

The program begins with a local Steering Committee and follows with a series of public meetings, facilitated discussions, and community events. To be successful, a broad spectrum of community members must be involved; extensive outreach through schools, businesses, and town offices to residents are very important.

Planning Phase: Community Planning Meeting

During the Planning Phase, VCRD convenes a group of community members representing diverse interests in the community to identify community forum topics, discuss logistics, and build a plan for extensive and inclusive invitation and outreach. A local chairperson is identified who can be a point person for the process locally, advise VCRD, and help to coordinate and connect task forces as they get to work on selected priorities.

Step One: Community Visit Day

Following Step One, VCRD compiles ideas into a shared list of concrete action items for review by community members for Step Two: Community Meeting. In this meeting, community members will review, discuss, and vote to prioritize ideas for action. Through a dot-voting exercise, participants will prioritize several key ideas and then sign up to join local task forces that will move each priority forward. VCRD will facilitate a community dialogue to allow folks to “champion” what they think is most impactful, actionable, and important for the future of their community.

Step Two: Community Meeting

Following Step One, VCRD compiles ideas into a shared list of concrete action items for review by community members for Step Two: Community Meeting. In this meeting, community members will review, discuss, and vote to prioritize ideas for action. Through a dot-voting exercise, participants will prioritize several key ideas and then sign up to join local task forces that will move each priority forward. VCRD will facilitate a community dialogue to allow folks to “champion” what they think is most impactful, actionable, and important for the future of their community.

Step Three: Community Resource

Step Three: Community Resource Day brings community members back together for the final step of the Community Visit process. The new task force groups (determined during Step Two) will convene to build action plans and strategies, set the scope of their work, and meet with a visiting team of resource providers and experts to identify available resources and funding opportunities. Strategies could include youth activities, economic development efforts, infrastructure development, communication for events, etc. Each Task Force has a chairperson who will manage meetings and keep work moving forward. Local leaders will continue to have direct access through this process to statewide resources, grant opportunities, non-proft, state, and philanthropic partners, yet all action is focused at the local task force level.

Implement Priorities

Following Community Resource Day, Task Force groups will begin implementing the identified priorities through local volunteers. VCRD staff will provide follow-up resources and assistance as needed to help communities succeed and also publish a final report and action plan that captures all of the inputs to the process, outlines the plans for action, and shares contact information for the visiting resource team.

What to Expect if Your Town is Hosting a Community Visit

VCRD offers the Community Visit process to communities at no cost but does require commitment from each town to ensure a successful event. Towns considering a Community Visit must be prepared to pay for a direct mailing to residents and fund a community dinner through a local business.

For some towns, Community Visits create community goodwill and celebrations, such as Rutland’s Friday Night Live series; outdoor summertime events each week with live music, food, and shopping opportunities. For others, it is used to leverage funds or planning resources, such as Pownal’s affordable housing project or Johnson’s downtown redesign. And for others, Community Visits provides a mechanism to talk about important issues and begin long term work for the future, as in Killington’s 4-season tourism planning, or Poultney’s downtown revitalization work. 

Since 1996 VCRD has conducted over 85 Community Visits, usually working in two communities each year from the northern border in Troy and Jay, south to Pownal. For details on specific communities and their accomplishments, goals, and resources, please visit our Reports Page.

VCRD raises funds from business, private, philanthropic, and state sources to be able to sustain this program. Communities are asked to contribute their time, energy, and skills to make sure the process is well-attended and capacity is built locally to follow through on the identified priorities.

If your community would like more information about this program or is interested in hosting in a Community Visit, please contact us at 802-223-6091 or [email protected]. A Community Visit One Pager Overview is also available to share with your fellow community members to learn more.