Frogtown Neighborhood Association
Report date
August 2018
What has been most instrumental to your progress?
Community Engagement through the SMAPL Ideation, Creation and Implementation Process.
The intentionality we utilized to devise spaces and access points where the relevant interests of potential leaders was welcomed and embraced, inspired the Frogtown community’s further participation in the organization. The nexus of our SMaPL approach was community engagement, which directly correlates to how we operate all levels of the organization.
From its inception, SMAPL was born out of FNA’s ability and commitment to being in relationship and partnership with the community. The spark for creating a small area plan that was accessible, meaningful for the residents, and capitalized on the unique urban geography of Frogtown, was vetted at community healing meals, Frogtown Forums, board meetings, the Creative Frogtown Arts Festival and Frogtown’s Annual Celebration. Throughout this process and by collecting data through surveys, voice recordings, notetaking and social media, this grassroots energy created the foundation for what would become SMAPL.
The intentionality we utilized to devise spaces and access points where the relevant interests of potential leaders was welcomed and embraced, inspired the Frogtown community’s further participation in the organization. The nexus of our SMaPL approach was community engagement, which directly correlates to how we operate all levels of the organization.
From its inception, SMAPL was born out of FNA’s ability and commitment to being in relationship and partnership with the community. The spark for creating a small area plan that was accessible, meaningful for the residents, and capitalized on the unique urban geography of Frogtown, was vetted at community healing meals, Frogtown Forums, board meetings, the Creative Frogtown Arts Festival and Frogtown’s Annual Celebration. Throughout this process and by collecting data through surveys, voice recordings, notetaking and social media, this grassroots energy created the foundation for what would become SMAPL.
Incubating and launching the Victoria Theater from a struggling theater and arts space to a relevant and vibrant community-based theater so that it is now one of the crowning identities of the Frogtown community was a paramount achievement. The core leadership group remains one of the best examples of a true PLC. The project draws new leaders through their interest in theater and they stay to grow the project and the organization.
In order to truly live out our core values, we believe that we have to model and practice those core values internally so that they can be effectively manifested in our external programming. For FNA, this meant that we needed to intentionally restructure our organization leadership to include a new Co-Director model. This past year, Tia Williams, an African American long-time Frogtown resident and community organizer with FNA, was elevated to the Co-Director role along with Caty Royce. This decision ensures that FNA models the intentional inclusion of a racial equity framework and representation into its organizational leadership. We believe that these principles and practices are what ensures that we will retain an internal culture of innovation at FNA and will in turn create the most impactful and relevant (external) programming for our community.
Key lessons learned
When engaging in deep partnerships, we learned that we must remain fluid and adaptable. A key example of this was the originally proposed Frogtown Crew initiative. Our key partner in that initiative was the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM). Due to some shifting priorities with SMM, we were not able to fully operationalize this Crew. The lesson learned here is that when things happen that are not within our control, i.e a partnering organization’s change in funding, staffing changes, or a shift in programmatic priorities, this may directly impact the original plan, but by remaining nimble, we were able to successfully pivot and adjust our project while still maintaining the integrity and alignment with the original goals.
Building Capacity is an ongoing process: As a small nonprofit with limited resources, we have to constantly be creative in how we engage with our community members, board member and volunteers in order to successfully achieve our goals.
Vigilantly Prioritizing Community Relationships: FNA’s vigilance about being in relationship with the community allowed us to explore the intersection of artistry and activism, thus generating a groundswell of community engagement.
Reflections on the community innovation process
The Bush Foundation Community Innovation Process and flowchart is de facto the descriptive process for how FNA has been engaging in collaborative and inclusive community processes for the past five years.. Moreover, when discussing community issues and determining next steps, we have adopted using this tool to guide our conversations at staff meetings, community forums and board meetings. As noted above, the ideation, creation and subsequent implementation of SMAPL is a prime example of the community innovation process in action. SMAPL is now both a tool and blueprint designed to inform and educate the community about the city processes while also serving as an ever-evolving vision for the future of our community. This process and subsequently innovative product has all but guaranteed that innovation and community engagement will remain as a seminal part of FNA as SMAPL is activated.
Progress toward an innovation
SMAPL is an innovation that is already being hailed as a groundbreaking achievement both nationally and internationally. When the Mayor of St. Paul, Melvin Carter, reviewed SMaPL, he stated that this “was the most revolutionary small area plan that he’s seen!” And a city planner from the country of Niger, equally inspired by SMaPL, reached out to FNA and stated, “It’s my hope that my country, someday, will find reasons to aesthetically plan its cities and neighborhoods to achieve a similar functionality and comfort [to that of Frogtown].” Another innovation that we achieved is the shift in our organizational leadership and program model to ensure that it is more responsive to our community’s needs. At FNA, we believe that the traditional organizing model was top-heavy; organizational staff often identify and lead movements rather than providing support to resident leaders. This antiquated model prioritized folks with traditionally recognized leadership skills but excluded or marginalized many community members who are organizing creatively outside of this paradigm. When community organizations continue to draw upon the same leaders time and time again, both parties suffer.
What it will take to reach an innovation?
Not applicable
What's next?
First, we will create a social enterprise centered on the SMAPL process. We know that this approach is working and is setting us apart from other district councils locally and nationally. We have heard from many of them, as well as city leaders who are asking FNA to come and “train” them on how to implement such an inclusive, relevant and equitable process. FNA is on the brink of greatness and we are excited about growing it to the next level. We have been inspired by the work of our community members and now we want to inspire others by teaching and sharing our process with colleagues in the field. We must take this opportunity to create a sustainable earned revenue stream by refining, teaching and sharing our model and approach.
Second, Frogtown Neighborhood Association will create and be the hub for the next generation of community activists, leaders and organizers. By centering equity, relationships, and innovation we know what we can create a wheel of Artist Activism and programs that will have ripple effects throughout the entire City of St. Paul
Second, Frogtown Neighborhood Association will create and be the hub for the next generation of community activists, leaders and organizers. By centering equity, relationships, and innovation we know what we can create a wheel of Artist Activism and programs that will have ripple effects throughout the entire City of St. Paul
If you could do it all over again...
We are so proud of our accomplishments and achievements! Our work is truly a work of passion, compassion and commitment. To that end, we know that the risk of burn out is high. Far too often we are faced with more barriers than bridges from funders, partners, and bureaucratic regulations. It takes a lot of physical and emotional energy to stay positive and to keep pushing forward. We have to constantly remind ourselves to not get dissuaded or overly cynical. We have to remain fluid in order to adjust to the adversity that comes our way. And more importantly, we have to allow ourselves grace and forgiveness. Change WILL happen. It just may not happen overnight.