Nov 16, 2005

Uncommon effort

Group focuses on quality-of-life issues

A group of community leaders who last year launched an effort to identify quality-of-life needs in Central Massachusetts and track progress toward addressing those needs is seeking to bring the general public into the discussion.

This forward-looking “civic engagement” initiative, spearheaded by a Leadership Council made up of representatives of academia, health care and charitable institutions, municipal government and environmental and social services advocates, deserves broad public support.

Common Pathways, as the initiative is called, has set a lofty mission for itself: to improve community decision making and quality of life for residents of Greater Worcester through a process of broad-based public discussion.

The goal is no less than to ensure the community is “a great place to be born, grow up, learn, live, work, raise a family, grow old and participate in community life.”

In keeping with “healthy communities” principles, Common Pathways aims to rally support around a shared vision, address quality of life for everyone, encourage diverse citizen participation and promote youth leadership and development — among other ambitious objectives.

Common Pathways, through its Leadership Council, will guide the process. However, it will not be a top-down process. Strong community involvement in identifying specific needs is a priority.

The next step in the process will be to translate those goals into action. The emphasis will be on partnerships and communication among businesses, nonprofits and the public sector. Another key element: Each initiative will be assessed for measurable results against established benchmarks.

This systematic focus on quality-of-life issues is welcome, but the founding group cannot do the job alone. The success of Common Pathways depends on building a consensus that only broad community engagement can produce.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED: Residents will have a chance to make their voices heard at an upcoming community forum. The Common Pathways forum is 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at the YWCA of Central Massachusetts, 1 Salem Square, Worcester.

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