Turning the Tide on Poverty: Perceptions of leaders and leadership in economically distressed communities

Abstract

The Turning the Tide on Poverty project (Tide) was a civic engagement effort launched in 14 economically distressed southern rural communities in the US. The impetus of Tide was to foster community involvement in identifying and planning “place-based” solutions to poverty. Pre, immediate post, and follow-up data were collected, and qualitative analyses revealed key themes. The purpose of this article was to discuss the perceptions of the leadership theme, defined as the way community members view their local leaders. Findings indicate that positive perceptions of leadership helped communities engage more effectively in Tide. Discussions about who the decision-makers were, styles of leadership used, and whether residents and community leaders interacted in a positive manner are further explored in the context of the Community Capitals Framework.

Keywords:

• Civic engagement
• Community Capitals Framework
• community leadership
• rural

Notes

1. At the inception of the Tide effort, Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) leaders assembled a team of both research and Extension professionals (“the research team”) from within the region served by the SRDC to help shape this work. Each member of the team was affiliated with a land-grant institution in his or her respective state. The research team guided the development of materials as well as the implementation of the program in local communities and ongoing program assessment. As the work continued, the team continued to guide and evaluate its impacts, helping to clarify and refine the path of the Extension outreach efforts. While the composition of the team has varied over the years, the team’s overall mission to ensure evidence-based directions has remained focused. For this special collection, all current, active research team members participated in the evaluation of lessons learned and outcomes from Tide to date. Research team members actively interviewed participants, coded and analyzed data, and prepared manuscripts to develop the body of knowledge contained in this journal edition.