Community Visioning Process: A Tool for Successful Planning

Community visioning is based upon principles that maximize group participation in a creative problem-solving process. The process itself is structured to solicit and use the full range of interests and expertise within a given community to develop an implementation plan that specifically addresses the needs of the community and that fosters change with real benefits for residents. The plan and its associated strategies for change can be broadly embraced by the community because residents shared in its development. In this case study, the Fanning Institute at the University of Georgia designed and implemented a customized community visioning process for the city of Barnesville, Georgia, that provided a structured mechanism for the community to assess where they are, to determine where they want to go, and to plan for how they are going to get there. [authors]