This dissertation focused on citizen advocacy groups as an intervention strategy for affecting change in the policy process. The analysis is of a specific intervention in school desegregation policy by a citizen advocacy group. The purpose of this research was to identify the conditions under which a citizen advocacy group can intervene; the constraints to a successful intervention; and the attributes of a successful intervention. The case study was of the Community Coalition for School Integration, a citizen advocacy group which existed in Portland, Oregon between 1977 and 1980. A multi-method approach was used. It involved fifty interviews with members of the Coalition, school administration, school board and the media. In addition, historical and document analysis of secondary data and extensive literature review was done. The theoretical framework guiding this research was Iannaccone's dissatisfaction theory of governance, DIS/ID/STO/OS. DIS is evidence of community changed dissatisfaction reflected in voting behavior leading next to incumbent school board member defeat (ID) followed within two years by involuntary superintendent turnover (STO) and outside succession (OS). Rothman's (1968) models of community organization practice were used to analyze the intervention of the Coalition. The findings do confirm the DIS/ID/STO/OS theory of governance, but also suggest that community intervention is an intervening variable between the stage of dissatisfaction and incumbent defeat. The analysis of the intervention identifies six conditions necessary for community intervention: timeliness of the issue, financial resources, leadership, organizational support, staff, and media coverage. The major constraints were the lack of trust between the policy-making body and the citizen advocacy groups, and the political environment of the community. Attributes of successful intervention were: focused advocacy, multiple intervention strategies, and permanency of the organization. The impact of the citizen advocacy group's intervention is discussed, as are recommendations for future research.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In 1922, George Tompkins was found dead in an isolated area of Riverside Park. Though the media and evidence present pointed to Tompkins having been the victim of a lynching, the official ruling was that of suicide. Almost a century later, a multiracial, driven group of individuals set out to memorialize Tompkins as a victim of lynching and challenge the ruling that he had taken his own life. In discussing deaths such as George Tompkins’, it is vital to remind oneself that the victims of lynchings were more than just statistics in the ongoing epidemic of anti-Black violence that has permeated the history of the United States. By employing a victim-centered methodology, we can examine the lives of these victims before the worst happened to them and recognize the three-dimensionality of their lived experiences. This work examines the lived experience, lynching death, and memorialization process one hundred years later of George Tompkins. In understanding the means by which he lived, died, and was remembered, we can better understand the ways that this process can play a role in multiple contemporary communities.

The alternative food movement claims varied goals such as building environmental sustainability, strengthening local economies, and promoting health equity, yet critics argue that the movement’s transformative potential is threatened by a lack of shared vision. Literature suggests that community-based multi-stakeholder coalitions are a useful tool for building consensus around food systems futures. But what kinds of futures? Home Grown Springfield is a school food initiative aimed at reducing hunger in Springfield, MA by serving healthy, homemade, and locally-sourced meals via the Culinary and Nutrition Center, a brand-new full-service commercial kitchen and storage facility. This qualitative case study examines the engagement process of the Culinary and Nutrition Center’s Advisory Council, a multi-stakeholder coalition convened in 2018 to guide the project. The engagement process was envisioned by the Springfield Food Policy Council, Springfield Public Schools, and Sodexo, and funded by the Henry P. Kendall Foundation. Research findings suggests that engagement of diverse actors promotes expanded project visions, which results in more holistic, progressive, and potentially transformative food systems change. In addition, it reveals challenges around the process of authentic community engagement and the dynamics of power-sharing between project leaders and community members. This research has multiple objectives: 1) to document the first year of the Advisory Council’s process for its own reflection; 2) to demonstrate the need for planners to help facilitate diverse cross-sector engagement for more holistic and progressive regional planning; and 3) to highlight the critical need for community leadership and decision-making in planning for sustainable and equitable community development.

Abstract in English / The overall aim of this study was to construct and describe a conceptual framework that can serve as a frame of reference for organisational stakeholders to sustain a community coalition to manage alcohol misuse as a risk factor of HIV infection in a specific community in the North West Province, South Africa. A Participatory Action Research (PAR) design that was qualitative and theory generative in nature was followed in this study. A phased approach with specific objectives aligned to the PAR cycle, namely observe (Phase One), reflect (Phase Two), plan (Phase Three) and act (Phase Four), was followed. These phases were actualised through an exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design, guided and theoretically influenced by critical theory. Data in Phase One were collected through 10 key informant interviews. Data were collected in Phases Two to Four through 10 dialogue meetings. Data collected in the four phases were used to construct and describe the conceptual framework that was evaluated by five experts in the field of mental health and substance misuse for refinement (Phase Five). Thematic data analyses was done to identify emerging themes. Key issues identified were that the community is characterised by fragile community coalitions that hamper the management of alcohol misuse as a risk factor of HIV infection. Factors to be considered to sustain the coalition were identified as sharing a common vision, promoting a trusting relationship, formalising the coalition, transformational leadership, strengthening organisational unity, and access to financial resources. This research adds knowledge in the field of mental health and substance misuse by providing a sustainable community coalition conceptual framework for organisational stakeholders to manage alcohol misuse as a risk factor of HIV infection. The conceptual framework could be used to inform policy, further research, education and improve practice in the field of mental health and substance misuse. Although the study was limited to a specific geographical area of a community in the North West Province, South Africa, the findings can be adapted to fit a specific setting. / Health Studies / D Litt et Phil. (Health Studies)