The Massachusetts Community Development Training Institute

Training

In 2008, MACDC launched the Massachusetts Community Development Training Institute. Co-sponsored by Boston LISC and several other program and funding partners, it will provide high quality, relevant training to community development practitioners, access to comprehensive information on community economic development training opportunities and guidance to community development organizations on incorporating a “learning-friendly” culture into their mission and operations.

The Training Institute is modeled on and draws on the lessons and experiences of several established community development training programs operated by community development trade associations in other states. The Institute is responsive to community development professionals’ aspirations to increase their skills and knowledge, community development executives’ intentions to increase their organizations’ capacities to effectively respond to a rapidly changing and challenging environment and public and private funders and financiers’ convictions about the strong link between highly skilled and knowledgeable practitioners and cost effective and sustainable community development investments.

The Training Institute will sponsor local and national trainings, serve a clearinghouse for professional development and provide technical assistance to organizations. Through these approaches, the Institute will address a variety of community development needs, such as:

  • Providing CDCs, other community-based and/or non-profit organizations access to a range of training opportunities
  • Addressing training needs of community development practitioners at varying skill and tenure levels.
  • Responding to the non-profit sector generational leadership shift underway by cultivating a cadre of well-trained practitioners who can assume leadership positions in the field.
  • Facilitating the creation of diverse and robust strata of community development leaders and managers by presenting opportunities for junior staff to advance and for mid-career people in other sectors to enter the field.
  • Responding to broad social, economic and political forces that affect the sustainability, growth and leadership of the sector and facilitate adaptation to such changes.