The MIRA project brought together people of diverse talents and interests. Some of the most important alliances and relationships were achieved informally, as a result of conversations during drive time and the emergence of young leaders who were recruited into the process.
Team members of two communities credit MIRA for helping to diminish a long-standing rivalry between Lacona and Milo. They even think MIRA helped pave the way for the passage of a controversial school bond issue, because it brought together important community leaders with opposing viewpoints, who finally agreed to compromise on the issue!
Several teams acknowledged a renewed interest in the Southwest Iowa Coalition, an existing inter-county organization, and were hoping that, in the future, strategies might be developed to integrate that organization's goals with those similar to the MIRA program.
As a result of formal MIRA training, many emerging community leaders began to see their home towns through a different perspective. Two MIRA workshop sessions introduced the concept and exercise of asset mapping. While a few communities had already completed a formal asset mapping process prior to MIRA, most of the community teams were approaching this task for the first time. As might be expected, the discoveries resulting from the exercise invigorated team members. It raised team members' confidence in their communities and in potential new collaborations. They were surprised at the network of resources available through service clubs, churches and associations.
