This guidebook begins with the following phrases: "The struggle to achieve a sustainable balance between the Earth's resources and its human energy will be largely won or lost in the communities and cities of tomorrow. To survive and prosper, our focus needs to be on changes in seven areas - energy, transportation, food, water, waste, crime, and land-use. Some technologies and policies will be new while others will stand on the shoulders of the giants of past community experience. And one of our guiding principles will be to reform community systems so that they mimic the very metabolism of nature. Rather than devouring food, water, energy, and processed goods without regard for impact upon its ravenous appetites, and then expelling the remains as noxious pollutants, the community could align its consumption with realistic needs, produce more of its own food and energy, and put more of its waste to a recycled better use."

The Community Quality Council movement is based on 7 principles, of which the "people principle" is foremost: Quality professionals can help make communities better places in which to live and work. The process of improvement requires participation on the part of all members of the community - technical societies,neighbourhood associations, government agencies, religious organisations, educational institutions, corporations, and businesses.

In this context, the purpose of this guidebook is to provide a system of operating principles to Community Quality Councils (CQCs) in North America that seek to establish an environment in which quality will be improved and sustained; create a quality mindset that focusses the organisations in the community on quality matters on a daily basis; provides the leadership and personal involvement to guide quality management in their organisations; and develops their own Community Quality Improvement Plan. To support these aims, this guidebook is geared toward CQCs that seek to:

• Create a sense of urgency for change
• Establish community direction
• Engage, encourage, and empower local citizens
• Demonstrate personal commitment on the part of community leaders
• Implement a communitywide measurement system
• Sponsor teams and providing resources
• Perform community-centred management reviews
• Coach and communicate
• Recognise and reward community improvement initiatives

Several flow charts and figures provided in this 68-page document help elucidate each of these areas - and, broadly, the role of CQCs in community change.

Click here to download the guidebook in PDF format.