Building Stronger California Communities PDF Download

The complex problems that affect communities need community-driven solutions. Therefore, community engagement is essential in policy and public administration. The San Fernando Valley has programs focused on building stronger communities and families by building their capacity. This study aims to evaluate to what extent existing capacity-building efforts are effective at increasing community engagement. This quantitative study is comprised of 100 participants from the Building Stronger Families (BSF) program. A survey was provided to measure community capacity pre- and post-involvement with the BSF program. The researcher expects to find a positive correlation between capacity-building and community engagement. Policy recommendations for public-sector organizations include a higher emphasis on building skills of residents, so that they may meaningfully participate in community-wide matters.