This evaluation serves as a description of the experiences of the Cluster of Community Teams in Idaho. The communities of Priest River, Plummer, Weippe, Bovil, Pierce and Council were part of the Idaho Cluster.
Beginning in June 1998, contact with the Cluster has been maintained through personal visits, telephone calls and e-mail contacts. While an evaluation representative was named by the Steering Committee, members of that Committee and of all the teams were also interviewed. Over 70 individuals were part of the personal or telephone interview process and an additional dozen were contacted by e-mail.
Information about the communities was obtained from the State of Idaho Department of Commerce, local Chambers of Commerce, the Idaho Rural Development Council and the Lewis-Clark State College Institute for Community Development. Several Idaho members of the International Community Development Society were also interviewed.
In addition, a short mail survey was sent to all six teams to ascertain progress on their projects prior to the compilation of this report. During the June 1999 Networking Event in Battle Creek sponsored by the Foundation, a group discussion was held with the Idaho team members attending the conference.
For each contact, an interview protocol was followed that targeted structure, processes, partnerships and the development of self-awareness among the teams regarding what they were learning about their own communities and each other. The Steering Committee engaged in several feedback sessions with the evaluator and discussed its operation and suggested topics for the evaluator to observe.
Evaluations of MIRA workshops and trainers are included as a separate attachment to this Cluster Story.
