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What is the MassForum?

The MassForum training series offers qualified community coalitions and individuals a unique, extended opportunity to enhance skills and learn new strategies to create healthier, safer communities. This year's  training runs from September 2008 through June 2009 and consists of a total of nine full-day sessions.  We also offer educational clinics, technical assistance, coaching, and mentoring opportunities as needed. 

Hone the Skills that Make a Difference
The MassForum centers on a series of nine full-day monthly trainings. These are devoted to exploring ideas, enhancing skills, developing strategies, learning how to better recognize and address opportunities, accessing tools and resources, and advancing the goal of building safer and healthier communities.  Also central to the MassForum is building relationships between communities and participants.  Trainings are conducted by recognized national and local experts.

The trainings include:
•    Healthy Communities Planning Process: Leading, Learning, and Communicating
•    Culture, Diversity, and Communities
•    Collaborative Leadership: How Citizens and Civic Leaders Can Make a Difference
•    Working Together for Change in a Community  
•    Community Assessment
•    Coalition Development and Maintenance
•    Youth and Healthy Communities
•    Benchmarking, Evaluating, and Communicating

A commitment to attend all monthly trainings is required for acceptance. Complete details, including full training course descriptions and updates, are available on the Web at: www.tmfnet.org/partnership.
Communities successfully completing the MassForum will be eligible to apply for a limited number of Implementation Grants of up to $10,000.

MassForum Clinics:
Examine, Practice, and Improve
The MassForum offers clinics that facilitate explorations of topics identified by participants. These are opportunities to work on specific skills and strategies within an environment that encourages sharing of perspectives. Sessions will be led by individuals with topic expertise and participants will also serve as consultants to each other. Topics under consideration for the 2008 – 2009 program include: Partnership Development, Meeting Planning, Facilitation Skills, and Conflict Management.

MassForum Technical Assistance and Coaching:
Support to Communities
The MassForum features a component focused directly on community needs. Intensive Coaching will be provided to all community teams participating in the program as appropriate. Technical Assistance will help those teams apply learned skills and strategies within their communities. Technical Assistance for those communities and other participants will be available through the Regional Centers for Healthy Communities (RCHC), the Massachusetts Partnership for Healthy Communities (MPHC), and the MPHC website.

MassForum Mentoring:
Access Community Wisdom and Experience
In an effort to tap into the wisdom and experience of MassForum graduates and to help emerging healthy community groups with planning, implementation, and problem solving, participating communities are matched up with existing healthy community efforts through the mentoring network. This network facilitates the exchange of ideas through ongoing supportive community-to-community relationships.