DCP is based on the communication for social change model (click here for the Conceptual Model of Communication for Social Change from November 2001), which has been described as "an evolving methodology that allows communities to articulate their values, reconcile disparate interests and act upon shared concerns." It is based on the premise that communities know who they are, what their concerns and goals are, and which kinds of strategies to pursue to improve community living. DCP has shaped and adopted these methods in the context of local needs in order to "spark public and private dialogue, set an agenda, frame public debates and create an environment that is conducive to change" in the area of community health.

Community participation and mobilisation are hallmarks of the Decatur Community Partnership. DCP held focus group meetings beginning in 1998 where 2,000 community residents shared their views on quality-of-life issues and the health care system. Priority areas for the community included: youth empowerment, substance abuse, race, community development and civic dialogue, environment, and health.

To address these community-identified areas of concern, the Partnership worked to bring several grants into Decatur to support and sustain the DCP mission. These grants have supported some of the following DCP projects:

• Turning Point - identifies and develops indicators and goals for 5 focus areas (environment, economic development, race relations, healthcare, and education) in an effort to "Allow everyone in Macon County to become involved in shaping Decatur and Macon County into a "healthy" place to live, work, play and raise families." As part of this national public health initiative from the Robert Wood Johnson and Kellogg Foundations (click here for more details), DCP listens to community needs over a 3-year period. As of 2003, action teams had been put into place and were ready to move forward.
• Communities CAN! - works to improve the health and well-being of young people by improving communication between parents and their children, agencies, and schools. Drawing on a research-based curriculum, this programme addresses the use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs through transition programmes, supervised after-school programmes, mentoring, drug prevention education, and law-related education.
• Covering Kids Macon County - strives to educate and inform the community about KidCare, a statewide programme that offers health care insurance to children from birth to age 18 and pregnant women in families with employer-sponsored, private, or no health coverage.
• Family Investment Project - aims to empower persons with multiple social issues in becoming self-sufficient and/or independent by assigning a family liaison to each of 25 participating families in order to reduce the number of case managers working with each family. The goal is to provide "intensive holistic, wrap-around services from a single family case manager".
• Mobilizing the Community - involves discussion of "gift audits" with individuals and their families. Community members are asked such questions as, "Do you like to cook, and would you be willing to cook for neighborhood activties?" Community assets are used to discern the needs of families (e.g., healthcare, education, jobs); this data is collected, and resources are brought to the community. Cottage industries may be a next step.
• Neighborhood Liaison - citizens in Decatur neighbourhoods have been trained to recognise needs and assets, and to secure resources to meet those needs. Organisers claim that this grassroots effort complements whatever is happening in a neighbourhood.

Youth grants have brought even more partners into the overall effort and have been a central programme focus. These initiatives draw on communication strategies that include personal interaction, advocacy, and empowerment. For example, YES is one of 14 groups formed nationwide with support from Kellogg's Youth Engagement Strategy. The weekly youth group meetings offer a forum where young people can discuss racial tensions, develop leadership skills, and explore opportunities for collective action. Since the DCP hosted the group's first meeting in the spring of 2001, its members have begun running their own meetings and taking active roles as change-makers within the community. The November 2002 Youth Summit, which was held at the local community college and drew 150 participants, looked at how different people define, earn and show respect. At the event, a local radio station taped interviews with dozens of participants. For several months afterward, it broadcast excerpts in public-service announcements billed as "Youth Voices". YES members have met with dozens of business executives and public officials to discuss diversity, career goals, and other concerns.

Community health initiatives are also central to DCP's work. For example, to address Decatur's high incidence of pediatric asthma (which raised questions about airborne irritants generated by grain processing, diesel trucks, and burning leaves), DCP engaged residents in community dialogue, collective action, and individual change efforts. Following DCP's efforts to make leaf burning a focus of public debate in city-council hearings and the media, the city council banned the practice and youth volunteers began raking lawns for elderly and disabled. Similarly, DCP took action to respond to mounting awareness that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Macon County. The partnership convened
a strategy team to find ways to prevent the disease; this team guided the creation of a citywide campaign, "The Beat Goes On", to promote healthy eating and physical exercise among area residents. A pilot project provided 5 local communities with
measured walking trails and educational sessions on heart disease prevention.

Partnership is, clearly, an important programme strategy. Organisers say, "Throughout the decade of work, collaboration has grown with a core of partners who have kept with the original prevention message. Other partners have been participants for a short time and/or have been informing partners. This flexibility in governance and leadership has been a major strength in the Partnership. The needs of the community and the agencies can flow with intensity and concentrated effort. Territorial and singular issues take a back seat." All work with the Partnership has had workplans and evaluations built into the process. State and national reports are required by all.

Health, Environment, Youth.

Decatur is an industrial, "blue-collar" community of approximately 82,000 people
surrounded by fertile farmland. In recent years, the city has fallen on hard times: Since 1994 its residents have lived through 3 labour strikes, 2 tornadoes, a price-fixing scandal, a divisive racial incident, and the elimination of nearly 2,000 jobs through the closing of the Bridgestone/Firestone tire plant. In 2000, The New Yorker published an essay detailing the city's "accumulation of calamities and embarrassments", which its author traced to the challenges of sustaining civic life in the age of globalisation.

Decatur Community Partnership began its collaborative efforts under a Center for Substance Abuse grant in 1991, entitled Communities in Partnership.

Drawing on decades of theory and practice, communication for social change gained additional visibility in 1997, when the Rockefeller Foundation launched a series of international meetings and publications to explore ways that communication could play a more pivotal role in development. As author Christopher Reardon puts it, "The premise was that when communities articulate their own agendas, they are more likely to achieve positive changes in attitudes, behaviors and access to opportunities. What's more, because they are highly invested in the process, they are more apt to sustain these gains."