Context: The Little Blue Pill for Meaning

The word "context" is used somewhat interchangeably with situation, setting, stage, environment, climate, atmosphere, and a few others to help us outline a boundary and call attention to the content encapsulated therein.

A quick look at the etymology of "context" shows us that CON means "together" and TEXT means "woven," So, when we "contextualize" something, when we somehow contribute to or benefit from the "context" of something, we partner with weavers, not by literally interlacing warp yarn and weft yarn, but by figuratively intertwining two or more elements of significance into a relatively coherent and compelling artifact of meaning.

WARNING: Used in moderation, "context" can, indeed, have a performance-enhancing effect upon meaning, invigorating and animating it; however, if used in excess, the effects of "context" may be irreversible and life threatening.

Ghost Volunteering & MOU Template Construction

I've been working with Tom Urban on what he originally called his "brain trust" for the Urban Core Initiative, a component of the Capital Crossroads Plan here in Des Moines, Iowa, USA.  The group is now called the Steering Committee of the Urban Core Initiative.  Since becoming involved in the Summer of 2011 I've introduced notions related to comprehensive and utilization-focused evaluation and the Performance Blueprint tool that I've described in this blog in archived posts.

I've also emphasized the instrumental value of "collaboration," which I've talked about in previous posts as well; and now I've pieced together a way of constructing an MOU for "providers," who by signing an MOU, wish to become "partners" collaborating for the sake of their own mutual benefit and, above all, for their combined, rather than individual, "impact" on the quality of life in the community at large.

Here's a matrix along these lines that might help develop a partial template for an Urban Core Initiative MOU:

As indicated, this matrix is an adaptation of the work of Frey et al. (2006) and Arthur Himmelman (See Community Toolbox entry).

Not all "providers" are "partners," and not all "working together" is "collaboration."  Collaboration is the combination of efficiency and equity in the management and stewardship of the community's capital resources; as such, it is the single-most independent variable in program effectiveness.