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Community Tool Box

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The Community Tool Box (CTB) is a free, capacity-building web site that is a public service of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. It is maintained by the Work Group for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas as well by national entities.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).


-03-04 |work=Work Group for Community Health and Development |publisher=University of Kansas |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5f1EOj45g |archivedate=2009-03-04 }}</ref> The website was created by the Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies at the university.[1] With over 7,000 pages of information, the Community Tool Box contains detailed guides and aids for problem solving common barriers faced in community development.[2]


History

The Community Tool Box was founded in 1995[3] by Stephen Fawcett.[4] In 2006, the website had a daily average of 3,315 visitors.[1] It was initially an offline project which provided information to people about substance abuse and gun violence but later expanded to the Internet so that it could reach more people.[5]

The website is sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,[6] the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Kansas Health Foundation.[5]



The Community Tool Box directs users to just-in-time access to capacity-building resources. It does so through several featured gateways to the tools. The vast resources of The Community Tool Box are organized by what you may want to do. These include:

  • Learn a Skill (A Table of Contents links you to nearly 300 Sections that provide training in specific skills of community work.)
  • Plan the Work (Toolkits outline tasks, examples, supports for 16 core competencies.)
  • Solve a Problem (“Trouble Shooting Guides” list common challenges in doing this work, questions for analysis, and links to supports.)
  • Explore Best Processes and Practices (Evidence, examples, and links to tools help you make the case for using promising approaches.)
  • Connect with Others (Learn from others by asking an advisor, using forums, and links to other online resources.)

The Community Tool Box is intended for everyone interested in building healthier communities, including:

  • Individual community members
  • Members of community and non-governmental organizations
  • Schools and universities
  • Foundations and grantmakers
  • State, national, and international agencies

The Community Tool Box team is dedicated to bringing solutions to light. This is done by:

  • Providing the tools needed to build healthier, strong communities and organizations
  • Connecting people to each other and to resources for improving change efforts
  • Partnering to make the site and resources available in multiple languages – e.g. Arabic.

Tool Box sections are written in everyday, friendly language. This practical information includes:

  • Step-by-step guidelines – what, why, when, and how
  • Real-life examples
  • Checklists that summarize their points
  • PowerPoint slides for training

References

  1. ^ a b "KU's Community Tool Box a Treasure Chest for Small Towns, Big Cities Across the Globe". infoZine. 2006-10-25. Archived from the original on 2009-03-04. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference WorkGroup was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Minkler, Meredith. Community Organizing and Community Building for Health. New York: Rutgers University Press. p. 338. ISBN 0813534747.
  4. ^ Rentfroe, Jamie (2003-08-22). "'Surprise Patrol' delivers another $5K Kemper Award last night; 3 more today". KU News. Archived from the original on 2009-03-04. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
  5. ^ a b "Online Community Toolbox a Valuable Resource". Boston University School of Public Health. 1999-12-07. Archived from the original on 2009-03-04. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
  6. ^ de la Peña McCook, Kathleen (2000). A Place at the Table: Participating in Community Building. Chicago: American Library Association. p. 38. ISBN 0838907881.
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