The Phase Two Planning Process will be determined in the coming month when
the neighborhood forms the Planning Committee. The process will follow the
principles and process prescribed from the Central
NRP.
Core Principles
- Encourage participation in NRP planning efforts by all people who live, work, learn and play in each neighborhood.
- Preserve neighborhood flexibility in the development of NRP plans.
- Encourage collaboration between and among neighborhoods, public agencies and appropriate non-governmental organizations.
- Provide training, resource materials and other up-front assistance to neighborhood volunteers and staff, as well as public staff, for plan development and implementation.
Phase II Planning Process
- Each neighborhood will enter and carry out its Phase II planning on an individual basis.
- From the outset of Phase II, NRP should encourage and facilitate multi-neighborhood planning efforts that address larger scale, joint projects without diminishing their ability to carry out individual neighborhood planning.
- Neighborhoods may begin their Phase II planning efforts when they have expended 85% or contracted 95% of their overall Phase I NRP allocation.
- Once neighborhoods have conducted a review of their Phase I plan, they will be allowed to:
- build off of the existing Phase I plan by either continuing successful existing strategies or by implementing strategies that could not be fully implemented in Phase I due to resource limitations; and/or
- redirect Phase I allocations that are no longer needed for their original intended purpose; and/or
- develop new strategies.
- NRP will provide a format that neighborhoods can use to do a review of their Phase I plan. The review will address:
- what were the outcomes of strategies from Phase I?
- how did participation work and not work?
- how have we (the neighborhood) changed and what are the implications?
- is there follow-up to Phase I activity that need to be addressed in Phase II?
- Neighborhoods should develop a new Participation Agreement for Phase II that:
- updates the overall characteristics of the neighborhood
- discusses the organizational structure to be used to carry out Phase II plan development and implementation efforts
- outlines how the neighborhood will review its Phase I plan as a starting point in its Phase II planning
- lays out the proposed timeline and major components of the Phase II plan development and implementation process
- describes how participation of all people and institutions in the neighborhood will be pursued at each phase of the planning process
- delineates the procedures used to respond to grievances that come up during Phase II
- proposes a budget detailing how much money is needed for Phase II planning
- Each neighborhood’s Phase II Participation Agreement funds will be drawn from its Phase II plan allocation – not from a separate, central pool of funds as in Phase I.
- NRP and other jurisdictional staff will coordinate efforts to provide support and materials (including videos, training, web sites, and booklets) to help neighborhoods plan and implement NRP projects during Phase II. These should include:
- a basic orientation about how Phase II planning will occur
- information about projects that other neighborhoods have done, (e.g. home improvement grant/ loan programs)
- information about public agency-administered projects (e.g. traffic calming, lighting, home improvement programs)
- resources (technical assistance and/or funding) to conduct multi-neighborhood planning e.g. for activities such as commercial corridor revitalization, affordable housing development, environmental planning, employment and training programs
- information about how to obtain funding for projects that result from this coordinated planning.
- Early Access funding (approved within the limits of a neighborhood’s Phase II allocation) will again be offered in Phase II in order to provide neighborhoods with flexibility and to encourage and facilitate multi-neighborhood projects. This process will also be used to access the Reserve Fund.
- NRP should provide Phase II resources that encourage participation by all people and institutions in the neighborhoods (e.g. renters, communities of color), including:
- training on how to reach different communities of people
- a range of survey techniques
- centralized language interpreting services
- off-the-shelf planning models and timelines
- alternative planning methods (beyond just meetings) to encourage broad participation
- a resource book that lays out participation strategies - including successful techniques from Phase I
- NRP should seek funds from private foundations or other sources to help cover the cost of outreach methods that fall outside the scope of NRP funding guidelines.