INRC Workshops
INRC offers a variety of leadership, professional development and civic engagement workshops. Read on for information about upcoming workshops, and links to previous sessions.
INRC 2023 Spring/Summer Series
INRC is offering several live, virtual information and Q&A sessions in the Spring and Summer of 2023. Below are the topics and descriptions; please check back as we add more!
Understanding Walkability in Your Neighborhood. This session is designed for neighbors who are seeking to advance walkability and pedestrian safety while learning tools to navigate the inner workings of local government. Learn about the city’s tactical urbanism and art in the right-of-way policies, tools that can help with cost-effective, short-term solutions until permanent investments can be made. This session, led by Health by Design, will be Tuesday, June 20th, 6-7:30p. Click here to register.
Previous Workshops
Click on the workshop title below to view a recording of previous workshops:
2023
Mayor’s Neighborhood Advocates (MNAs). Interested in learning more about your Mayor’s Neighborhood Advocates? Register for INRC’s spring info session on empowering neighborhood voices and building relationships, Request Indy, and Indy Rent Funds.
2022
Request Indy and the Mayor’s Action Center with the Mayor’s Neighborhood Advocates (MNAs). Learn about your Mayor’s Neighborhood Advocates and the resources and connections they can offer. When should you use the Mayor’s Action Center or Request Indy? What should you know about Indy Rent Funds? What can you expect once you register your neighborhood in the Registered Organizations database?
Long Range and Current Planning. Carmen Lethig, Britt Redd, and Keith Holdsworth with the City of Indianapolis, Department of Metropolitan Development (DMD) talk about long-range and current planning.
Planning for Healthy Communities. Learn about urban greenspaces, walkability assessments, and Community Land Trusts. Information presented by the Marion County Public Health Department, Health by Design, and the City’s Tenant Advocate Program.
Department of Public Works (DPW) & the Tactical Urbanism Policy. Learn about the role of DPW and about tactical urbanism. Information presented by the City’s Department of Public Works and Health by Design.
Neighbors Caring for Neighbors
NeighborLink Indianapolis is a nonprofit organization that provides home repairs to low-income seniors and individuals with disabilities who own their own homes in Marion County, Indiana. They have one mission: to help individuals with disabilities and senior homeowners in need age-in-place safely and with dignity. Learn about their programs and partnerships happening in neighborhoods across Indianapolis.
2021
Logging In with Community
This virtual training provided recommendations for using both technology and people-based solutions to engage neighbors in a physically distanced way. It also discussed how we can continue to use the technology we’ve learned to improve engagement with marginalized groups after the pandemic, and provided resources for where to find help during times of unexpected economic distress. This workshop was facilitated by Brandi Metzger and Katherine Boyles of Public Allies Indianapolis.
Check back for more information about the following workshops:
Three Fundamental Workshops
Neighborhood Organizing
This course is a basic introduction to the tools used in neighborhood organizing, as outlined through INRC’s Organizer’s Workbook. The tools include the basics of community organizing, leadership and group dynamics, engagement, collaboration, communication, action to get results, meetings, and measuring success. The workbook has been used locally, and internationally, and has been lauded as an important toolkit for neighbors.
Introduction to ABCD/Asset Mapping
Through a series of exercises that build community, participants learn how to reach out to neighbors, bring them together to address problems, work toward shared goals, and build strong and organized communities. The mapping portion of the session will assist participants in identifying and discovering the obvious and hidden assets within their communities. Participants will begin to work on individual, associational, institutional, and community mapping tools for their neighborhoods and learn how to apply this information to connect issues and needs with assets.
Appreciative Inquiry/Engagement
In this course, we will look at a new way of using the power of positive questioning as an engagement tool and as a way to create energy for communities to move forward. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) has been used in the organizational development world for years. You will learn how it can easily be adapted for your community.
Advanced Workshop
Practicing ABCD/Asset Mapping
This course is designed for those who are already familiar with Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), but would like to dig deeper into the concept. Participants will use data to create engagement plans that reflect the specific demographics of their neighborhood. Those engagement plans can be used to identify and engage with the most important asset in every community – the people. The class will also include exercises that illustrate the principles of asset mapping in a group setting, as well as provide the opportunity to create asset maps for attendees’ own neighborhoods.
Planning for Healthy Communities
The Marion County Public Health Department’s Healthy Communities Planning program works at the nexus of planning and public health. This session will introduce the concept of Health in All Policies, and how the social determinants of health can be influenced by neighborhood-level planning.