How National and Regional Networks Provide Training, Technical Assistance and Other Support for CO

HOW NATIONAL AND REGIONAL NETWORKS PROVIDE TRAINING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND OTHER SUPPORT FOR CO

National and regional organizing networks train organizers and leaders, support organizational development, give programmatic and strategic guidance, mentor and evaluate organizers, assist in fundraising, and promote and facilitate cross-training and learning among affiliates. The relationship between the local affiliates and the networks is very tight, multi-dimensional, and absolutely essential to the effectiveness of CO strategies at neighborhood, community, regional and national levels.

The networks and other intermediary organizations fall into four categories:

• Regional centers that provide a wide range of services to a cross-section of groups in their areas, such as the Community Resource Center in Denver, Colorado and the Western States Center in Portland, Oregon;
• Training groups building their own networks, such as PICO, IAF, DART (Direct Action Research and Training), and Gamaliel Foundation;
• Constituency-focused intermediaries providing training and technical assistance for groups that involve and represent those constituencies, such as The Center for Third World Organizing in Oakland, California, which works with communities of color; and the Center for Community Change, in Washington, D.C., which works with low-income communities; and
• Intermediaries concerned with building a formidable network and developing other organizations in the field by integrating them into network training events and through consultative assistance, such as The Midwest Academy in Chicago, ACORN's Social Justice Institute, and the Western Organization of Resource Councils, in Montana.⁴³

Other organizations play significant roles at the national level in assisting CO organizations. Among them:

• The Grassroots Policy Project, Washington, D.C. - trains environmental and economic justice groups for increased participation in the political process;
• The National Center for Schools and Communities, New York City - research, training and other assistance to catalyze and strengthen school reform and community-building CO groups and strategies;
• Enlace, Portland, Oregon - strengthening and expanding the base for low-wage worker organizing;
• The Progressive Technology Project, Washington, D.C. - making effective use of computer technology, the Internet, and other rapidly evolving technologies and communications vehicles for organizing and change; and
• The Grass Roots Innovative Policy Program, Roanoke, Virginia - builds greater capacity and linkages for policy impact by CO groups.