Last April (2017) teams from the five Wellville communities met in Clatsop County, Oregon for the annual Wellville Gathering. Unlike previous Gatherings, this year’s gave each team substantial time to develop a plan for one serious, broad-scale initiative with paid and accountable staff; a budget and funding for that budget; and clear, measurable outcomes over time to be launched (or advanced) in 2017.
A couple of weeks ago (four months after the Clatsop Gathering) we asked each community to answer six questions, to both gauge progress and, maybe more importantly, to help each team articulate some of the unforeseen changes and challenges they might otherwise ignore:
- What did you describe as the “one serious project” at the Clatsop Gathering?
- How has your understanding of this project changed since Clatsop (if at all)?
- What do you intend to accomplish toward completing the project in the next quarter (by December 31)?
- Are you having to/expect to deal with new partners/conditions in the next quarter?
- What are you currently doing to work effectively with these new partners/conditions?
- Are you having to change the way you work with existing partners/conditions to move efficiently to your goal?
Their responses are fascinating because the local teams are learning so much about what it really takes to make their plans reality.