Community Choices:
Public Policy Education Program
Exploring the Human Resources/Economic
Development Connection
Module Two:
Identifying Local
Decision-Makers
8 March 2000
The Southern Rural Development Center
2.0
Objectives

Understand the U.S. government and the
importance of local government.

Assess the role of social stratification in
shaping local involvement.

Understand the levels of influence in the
community and learn techniques to
identify these individuals.
Community Choices:
Identifying Local DecisionMakers
2.1
Objectives (cont).

Appreciate the value of civic
participation and some of the obstacles
to participation and leadership.

Gain greater sensitivity about the
importance of including people who
often are not heard in public policy
deliberations.
Community Choices:
Identifying Local DecisionMakers
2.2
The U.S. System of Government

U.S. has a federal system of government.

Power and responsibility are shared
among national, state, and local
jurisdictions.

Local governmental units function as
administrative units of the states.

Local governing agencies exert great
influence on the way we live.

Community Choices:
Identifying Local DecisionMakers
Local government is the key level in our
national system to which most of us feel
close ties.
2.3
The Impact of Social Stratification

Our unique system of government calls
for citizens to take an active part in local
decision-making.

Certain barriers to local issues exist.

Various types of social differences lead
to social stratification—a ranking
process that assigns higher and lower
values to individual characteristics.
Community Choices:
Identifying Local DecisionMakers
2.4
Items used to rank people . . .

Race

Gender

Socioeconomic status (income,
education, and occupation)
Community Choices:
Identifying Local DecisionMakers
2.5

People from different socioeconomic,
racial, and gender backgrounds may
have distinct interests, needs, and
concerns.

These differences tend to affect how
people view public policy issues.

Social stratification has much to say
about how a community might deal with
key policy matters and who ultimately
Community Choices:
Identifying Local DecisionMakers
will benefit from these policy decisions.
2.6
Figure 1. Community Leadership Levels
Levels
I
II
III
VI
Roles
Legitimizers
Implementors
Doers
General Public
2.7
Legitimizers . . .

People in the community whose
approval is necessary to guarantee the
success of important undertakings.

People who get involved in projects
having significant policy implications.

People whose endorsement is important
if groups hope to be successful in
getting their goals accomplished.
Community Choices:
Identifying Local DecisionMakers
2.8
Implementors . . .

Are the most active participants in
community projects.

Involvement usually limited to areas
where they have technical or
professional expertise.

Role is to implement the plans and
decisions arrived at or approved by
legitimizers.
Community Choices:
Identifying Local DecisionMakers
2.9
Doers . . .

Perform many of the project chores
(stuffing envelopes, distributing
information, etc.).

Seldom involved in the planning and
decision-making aspects of a project.

Tend to be task-oriented in their
activities.
Community Choices:
Identifying Local DecisionMakers
2.10
General Public . . .

Includes a sizable number who never
become involved in local activities.

Some become active on an occasional
basis.

Their views are important, particularly on
matters that affect them directly.
Community Choices:
Identifying Local DecisionMakers
2.11
Locating Local Influentials

Two techniques for locating
legitimizers—“positional” and
“reputational.”

Decisional approach is helpful in
determining who the implementors are in
the community.

Social activity procedure tends to
uncover the so-called doers of the
community.
Community Choices:
Identifying Local DecisionMakers
2.12
Expanding Local Participation

Public policy education is based on
public participation.

Expanding involvement of local citizens
in addressing local issues is vital.

Important to ensure that all perspectives
and voices are heard in policy activities.

This will require extra efforts to involve
people of various racial, ethnic, gender,
and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Community Choices:
Identifying Local DecisionMakers
2.13
Prepared by
Lionel J. Beaulieu
Southern Rural Development Center
Mark H. Smith
Wake Forest University
March 2000
Community Choices:
Identifying Local DecisionMakers
2.14