Study Circles Resource Center
Every community-wide program adds to the
store of information about how to organize study circles. At SCRC we’ve tried to
learn from every organizer, using each new lesson and innovation to modify the
basic model. The following steps represent our most current thinking about what
works best:
1. Find a few allies. Single out a few people you know well, have worked with
before, and who would be excited about this project. Tell them your plans, and
introduce them to the process by holding a single pilot study circle with this
group.
PILOT STUDY CIRCLES
Pilot study circles are invaluable for a number of reasons. You can use them to
help you build and expand the coalition, spread the word about the program, and
provide practice for newly trained facilitators. You may even want to hold an
entire round of pilot study circles before you officially kick off the
community-wide phase. Try to make your pilots as diverse as possible. A note of
caution: make sure you explain the purposes of pilot study circles, and how they
differ from the community-wide phase to come. For instance, the pilots may not
represent the full diversity of the community, and they are unlikely to lead to
significant action. They will help you create a community-wide program, where
many people from all walks of life take part in meaningful dialogue and
constructive action.
2. Begin building a coalition.
A sponsoring coalition is the organizing "engine" that makes study circles
happen in a community. You need a wide variety of people and organizations,
including some with high visibility on the issue, some with strong connections
to the grass roots, and some on opposing sides of the issue you’re addressing.
Try to make the coalition a microcosm of the community. This phase of a study
circle program is key; you are laying the foundation for all that follows, so
don’t hurry.
It is essential that as many of your coalition members as possible take part in
pilot study circles. This introduces them to the process, builds relationships
and trust, and equips them to be informed advocates for the program. Within the
coalition there will probably be a smaller group of people who are involved more
intensively in the program; this is often called the working group.
3. Find a coordinator.
A good coordinator is the linchpin of a successful program. The ideal
coordinator is an experienced organizer, is detail-oriented, works well with
different kinds of people, and is well connected to many sectors of the
community. Sometimes, one of the organizations in the coalition can assign a
salaried person to serve as a coordinator; other times, coalitions submit
funding proposals to a local foundation or company to enable them to hire
someone. Some communities get their programs started by enlisting volunteer
coordinators, including graduate students, loaned executives, and recently
retired people. A good rule of thumb is that a medium-sized or large city will
probably require a full-time coordinator, while a town may be able to get by
with a part-time coordinator.
4. Form committees to handle the following tasks:
* Work with the media.
First, try to recruit media outlets like newspapers and radio and television
stations to join your coalition; in that capacity, they can play a much greater
role in bringing a study circle effort to life than simply giving it some
coverage. Develop press releases and public service announcements for all the
media outlets in the community.
* Plan for action.
Planning and publicizing the action component of your program will attract more
participants and will help the program reach its potential to make a difference
on the issue. The action committee should include professionals in the issue
area. The committee should keep records of the themes and action ideas being
brought up in the study circles, and use them to plan the action forum (this
information can also be used in a program report). At the action forum,
establish task forces to implement action ideas on those themes that emerged.
For each task force, recruit one or two professionals in that area to serve as
the initial convenors.
* Develop a budget and plan for fundraising.
Though study circle programs are more labor-intensive than capital-intensive,
you should make sure that your resources match your needs. In most cases, the
two major budget items for study circle programs are the coordinator and the
evaluation effort. If these costs can’t be carried by the coalition, seek
funding from a local institution such as a community foundation, large
corporation, Chamber of Commerce, or city government.
* Document your work, and plan for evaluation.
Through documentation and evaluation, you can better assess your program, learn
about what kinds of effects it is having, and discover ways to strengthen it.
These processes need to be part of the initial planning; they can’t be
accomplished after the study circles have ended. From start to finish, keep
track of your efforts by creating and saving minutes of meetings, schedules and
plans, lists of attendees, and the like. The evaluation committee should begin
its work by describing the specific goals of the study circle program and
deciding what kinds of things it wants to measure. For evaluation help, look for
partners in the social sci-ence depart-ments of a local university, in local
government, and in local research firms.
* Find, recruit, and train facilitators.
A well-trained facilitator is the key to a well-run study circle. That means you
need to develop a strong capacity for finding and training facilitators.
Fortunately, there are probably a number of people in your community who have
experience training facilitators, whether in businesses, universities,
relig-ious organizations, or other community groups. The committee needs to find
people who have good facilitation skills, conduct a number of trainings, and
convene meetings of facilitators to support those who have already been trained.
* Recruit participants.
Every organization in the coalition should take responsibility for recruiting a
certain number of its constituents to be study circle participants. The
recruitment committee should assist in these efforts, and also try to reach
segments of the community not represented in the coalition. The committee will
need to create basic outreach tools like brochures, small newsletter articles
for school and church bulletins, one-page flyers, and sign-up sheets which can
be distributed throughout the community.
* Plan the kickoff.
The kickoff is a great opportunity to show the community that many different
organizations are involved in the program, that community leaders have ‘bought
in’ to the idea, and that taking part in a study circle will give citizens a
real opportunity to effect change on an issue they care about. The kickoff
committee should plan an event which includes some combination of high-profile
speakers, an explanation of the program, testimonials from people who
participated in pilot study circles, and breakout study circle sessions.
* Find sites and handle other logistical details. Public buildings such as
schools, libraries, church halls, community centers, businesses, firehouses,
union halls, police departments, and social service agencies make excellent
sites for study circles. The committee should set times and dates for all the
different study circles, and develop a plan for matching study circle partici-pants,
facilitators, and sites. Also think about child care, transportation, food,
translators, and accommodations for people with special needs. To ensure a mix
of participants in each group, consider pairing organizations or gathering
demographic information about participants when they sign up; most organizers
use a strategy that combines both.
5. Hold the kickoff.
(STUDY CIRCLES BEGIN ALL OVER THE COMMUNITY)
6. Monitor the program and support the study circles.
The coordinator will be doing a fair amount of trouble-shooting while the study
circles are underway. The facilitation committee should convene the facilitators
so they can compare notes. The sites and logistics committee should start new
study circles for late registrants, rather than allow them to join groups
already in progress. The action committee should collect the records from each
study circle. The media committee should help journalists report on the study
circles to the larger community.
(STUDY CIRCLES CONCLUDE)
7. Hold the action forum.
8. Support and track action efforts.
Stay in touch with the task force convenors and monitor their progress.
Encourage media coverage of the task forces. Consider establishing a newsletter,
and find other ways of publicizing the action efforts.
9. Pause, reflect, and review what you’ve learned.
How did things go? What went smoothly, and what caused difficulties? What did
the evaluations show? Record (and applaud!) your achievements, and look for ways
to make the program stronger. Give feedback and encouragement to volunteers.
Integrate your learnings into your plans for the future.
10. Repeat steps 2-8.
Take advantage of the hard work that has gone into the first round of study
circles by expanding the coalition and planning another round, either on the
same issue or a new issue. In this way, you can sustain and deepen your study
circle program and continue to build the civic life of your community.
STUDY CIRCLE TERMS
Working group
The close-knit group of 5-15 people who are most actively involved in making
the program happen. (Some communities refer to this as the steering committee.)
Coalition
The entire array of organizations committed to recruiting participants and
supporting the program with in-kind assistance.
Coordinator
The highly organized person (sometimes 2-3 people) at the hub of the
organizing effort, who keeps track of the work of all the different people and
committees in the coalition.
Facilitator
The person who facilitates a single study circle. This should be a
facilitator’s sole responsibility (don’t make the mistake of asking facilitators
to organize their own study circles).
Participants
The community members who take part in the study circles.
Action forum
The large-group meeting at the end of a round of study circles which allows
people to hear about action opportunities, sign up for task forces, and
celebrate the successes of the program.
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