A key to building Knowledge is to understand where all the program partners are at, in terms of local values, beliefs, skill sets and goals. Here community partners, stakeholders and policy assessment are key. Keeping regular contact with program partners, and involving them in as many training opportunities as possible is key to success. This should result in enhanced skills on community mapping, cultural competence, AIDS stigma, and advocacy. An example of this is how through its community organizing branch, Latinos in the Deep South has pushed for change on specific policy issues like syringe access and the National HIV/AIDS Strategy
This section includes the following tools to help you assess your own community and gather Knowledge:
Knowledge-TOOLS:
For ease of use we have grouped the following tools in three categories: Methodology Tools, Data Collection Tools & Background Information Tools
Methodology Tools
1. MSMGF Research Topics, to help determine which Research Topics are relevant for the local MSM community.
2. Child Needs Assessment, guides the user through survey methodology, and how to plan a community survey.
3. Community Health Assessment, walks the reader through the process of assessing health status and healthcare needs in the community.
4. Racial Equity Impact Assessment, presents the methodology of conducting impact assessments and examples.
Data Collection Tools
5. The Community Observation Tool, includes safety tips and what to document while conducting observations in the community.
6. Data Collection Grids, provide a way to organize and document community observations and spot interviews by listing key variables.
7. Stigma Mapping Tool, provides a way to note stigma indicators observed in the community.
8. Key Informant Interviews Tool, provides an overview of what to look for in a key informant and how to schedule the interview, along with a sample interview guide.
9. NLAAD Street Intercept Survey, survey that was used to assess community members’ awareness of National Latino AIDS Awareness Day.
10. Focus Group Guide, to assess HIV testing and prevention knowledge.
Background Information Tools
11. Concentrated Rural Poverty and The Geography of Exclusion, details the challenges of measuring rural poverty and presents nationwide data.
12. What is Policy?-Fact Sheet, summarizes potential policy tools at an organizer’s disposal.
13. Hispanics-Latinos and HIV-AIDS, summary of HIV incidence and prevalence rates for Latinos in the United States, along with specific risk factors that affect this population.
14. HIV-AIDS and Hispanic Women-Latinas, presents HIV incidence and prevalence information specific to women, along with risk factors.
15. Recommendations HIV-AIDS and Rural Hispanic Immigrant Women, contextualizes HIV risk factors particular to this population of Latinas in the South.
16. Rural Hispanic Immigrant Perspectives on HIV-AIDS, presents the findings of the organization’s 2010 Community Survey that informed approaches to local HIV prevention campaigns in the South.
17. HIV Prevention-Testing among Rural Hispanic Immigrants, reviews the data connecting the lack of accurate HIV/AIDS incidence data for Latinos in the South with social determinants of health and the anti-immigrant political climate.
We have also compiled case studies to illustrate lessons learned about gathering Knowledge.
1. Growing from Groundwork: Stories and Tools from the Reproductive Justice Movement, a series of case studies of women organizing around the world.
2. Southern Echo, a case study of community development and relationship building among diverse communities in Mississippi.
3. “Our People are Still Resisting”: Farm worker Community Organizing and the Texas Agricultural System, explains the process of farm workers’ community organizing.