Report: Planning for Montgomery County’s Future

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The Wabash Democracy & Public Discourse (WDPD) initiative formed a project team to address local planning in Fall 2017. Wabash College Democracy Fellows researched the topic from abstract and ideological perspectives, explored the specific constraints of planning in Indiana, and conducted dozens of interviews and focus groups with community stakeholders in and around Montgomery County.
These preliminary efforts led to the development of a community conversation on April 10, 2018. Titled “Planning for Montgomery County’s Future,” this open-to-the-public event sought to bring together various perspectives regarding land use and planning in Montgomery County.

A report from the event is available below.

Report: Planning for Montgomery County’s Future, 2018



WDPD Report – Indiana Public Health Association Conference 2017

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On April 20, 2017, Wabash Democracy and Public Discourse teamed up with the Indiana Public Health Association to facilitate a breakout session deliberation at their annual conference. The breakout session focused on deliberating the impacts of problems associated with mental health issues in Indiana, and identifying prioritized actions for local and state actors.  WDPD also partnered with the Wabash Global Health Initiative, training GHI students to take part in note-taking for this deliberation event.

To learn more about the conference, click here.

The WDPD team of Ben Johnson, Blair Littrell, and Jack Kellerman authored a report summarizing the themes from the breakout session deliberation: Indiana Public Health Association Conference Report


WDPD Report – Public Forum on Mental Health in Montgomery County

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On April 10, 2017, WDPD partnered with the Montgomery County Health Department to hold a public forum on mental health in Montgomery County. The deliberation utilized an issue guide specifically prepared for Montgomery County, based on focus groups and interviews with local experts.

The results of this deliberation are available in the Public Forum on Public Forum on Mental Health in Montgomery County Report.


WDPD Reports – A Public Voice on Safety and Justice, Spring 2017

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This spring, Wabash Democracy and Public Discourse partnered with the Kettering Foundation and the National Issues Forum to run deliberations on safety and justice.  Our community conversation reports can be found below.  For more on this series, see this post.

 

A Public Voice: Safety and Justice Report from South Bend, Indiana (Report: APV_SouthBend_Report)

 

A Public Voice: Safety and Justice Report from Northwest Indiana (Report: APV_NWIN_Report)


WDPD Report – Community Conversation on Childcare in Montgomery County

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The Wabash Democracy and Public Discourse (WDPD) Initiative hosted two community conversations on the state of childcare in Montgomery County on January 28 and 30, 2016. The deliberation focused on the question “How can we work together to improve childcare in Montgomery County?” The January 28 event was held from 4pm-6pm at the Hays Center within the Chase Building in Crawfordsville, IN and the January 30 event was held from 2pm-4pm in the Montgomery County Boys and Girls Club in Crawfordsville, IN.

The report about the events can be accessed by clicking here: Childcare Report 2016


Pike Street Pocket Park Report

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On February 22, 2016, the Mayor’s Office of Crawfordsville hosted a Community Input Session for citizens to come together and discuss amenities for a pocket park located at the intersection of 231 and Pike Street. The event was held in the Hays Center in downtown Crawfordsville. The conversation focused on three areas: first, the overall vision of the pocket park; second, what amenities would help bring this vision into reality; and third, which amenities should be prioritized with the size and fiscal constraints for park planning. More than 80 community members attended this event, as well as representatives from local government and the local media.

To view the report, click here: Pocket Park Report 2016


Value Your Voice: Redefining Indiana Report

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On March 22, 2016, the Wabash Democracy and Public Discourse Initiative (WDPD) facilitated a community conversation in conjunction with the Office of the Indiana Attorney General to address issues of civic engagement and improving civic health in the Indiana communities.

The community members used the WDPD created a discussion guide drawing on state statistics of civic engagement and civic health.

For more about this conversation, including themes discussed and suggested actions to improve civic health, see the report: Value Your Voice, Columbus Report.

 


Final Report, The Next Montgomery County, Spring 2015

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On February 28th and March 3rd, community members gathered for The Next Montgomery County Community Conversations on Quality of Place.  Both conversations focused on what types of improvements do we want to see in our community and how can we get there.  To facilitate the conversation, we created a conversation guide that helped participants identify strengths of the community and areas for improvement or growth.  Then, we worked as a group to prioritize the areas for growth, discussing feasibility and solutions in greater detail.

Wabash Democracy and Public Discourse gathered information from these conversations, analyzed the information, and created a comprehensive public report. The report can be accessed here. This report was presented on April 30 in a public presentation at the Will and Ginny Hays Center for Leadership and Community Development. The report was sent to Crawfordsville and Montgomery County officials.

This community conversation was sponsored by a grant from the Indiana Humanities.


Community Conversation on Substance Abuse, 2013

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A Community Conversation on Substance Abuse in Montgomery County, November 2013

The first event was held on November 6, 2013 at the 4-H Building on the Montogmery County fairgrounds in partnership with the Montgomery County Prescription Drug Task Force, Montgomery County Probation Office, and the Youth Service Bureau. Sitting at tables of 8-10 people, more than 100 attendees talked about the substance abuse issue facing our community as well as three approaches to lessen it.

Participants’ conversations were guided by a short video, a four-page framing guide (Substance_F13_DiscussionGuide) we created based on researching the topic, and trained facilitators and notetakers at each table. After the conversation, the organizers produced a fulsome report that highlighted key themes from the conversation.

Please click the link below to view the report on the Community Conversation on Substance Abuse in Montgomery County, written by Sara A. Mehltretter Drury and Jennifer Y. Abbott.

Nov6Report_Final

More information about this event and follow-up events is available here.