The Council has developed five core organizational skills that it applies, to varying degrees, in all of its program areas and community issues. The five core skills include:

1. Data and Information for Action:
   
   The Council engages in research in support of and in partnership with community groups to provide “data and information for action”. The Council's participates in a variety of research activities aimed at providing data and information to the community that can be used to assess, plan, direct and manage change efforts. Our data and information work includes quantitative and qualitative research and analysis, GIS mapping, data warehousing, policy research and collection of effective strategies, programs, and practices.
   
   
2. Convening, Facilitation and Strategic Planning
   
   The Council serves as a convener and facilitator on critical issues of community concern and provides support in meeting planning and facilitation. The Council also provides support in strategic planning and thinking for organizations, collaboratives, and community convenings.
   
   
3. Capacity Building and Technical Assistance:
   
   The Council works to increase the skills and capacities of residents, CBOs, public agency staff and other stakeholders to engage in effective collective action to improve conditions and outcomes for children and families through innovative techniques for teaching and learning. The Council also provides intensive, tailored technical assistance to organizations and programs working to develop youth, families and communities.
   
   
4. Program and Tool Development:
   
   The Council also designs and develops programs, materials and tools for use by practitioners and community stakeholders with a special emphasis on programs and tools that build community capacities. Current tool development activities include a national project to develop training tools for community assessment and evaluation, the development of tools for assessment of community governance and community engagement.
   
   
5. Advocacy for Policy and Systems Reform:
   
   Along with residents, CBOs, public agency personnel and other stakeholders, the Council works to analyze public policies and systems and advocate for reforms that support youth, family and community development and improve conditions and outcomes for youth, families and residents in low-income neighborhoods. The Advocacy for Policy and Systems Reform work is a component of each of the Council's program areas.
   

New Skills to Support Community Building: Just as the Council's core skills have been identified and developed over the history of the organization, we recognize that the needs of community builders will change and evolve over time as well. The “new skills block” reflects our continuing effort to identify needs of community builders and to develop our capacities to respond to them.

Community Building Support Process  

The Council applies these core skills to each of its program areas as well as emerging community issues through its community building support process. This dynamic process involves carefully considering where the Council's skills and resources can add value to community efforts with a minimum of competition and duplication of efforts with other stakeholders groups. Based on our own assessment and discussions with partners, the Council determines where and how it can best direct its skills and resources to add value. Depending on the issue and our assessment, the Council may enter a particular program area or issue to apply any of its core skills. Moreover, at any point in time, the Council may be applying one or more of its core skills to a particular program area or community issue.

Key to the process is “reflective listening.” Reflective listening involves the Council staff listening carefully to the community about their issues and concerns as well as their interests and opportunities and connecting the community voice to data and information, strategies, and programs resources. The Council staff also engages in listening to regional, state and national conversations to learn about emerging issues, strategies and opportunities. The Council attempts to match what is learns from regional, state and national conversations to what it hears from the local community to make that information readily available to the community.