Changing the Conversation in Flint

The city of Flint, Michigan, has faced immense challenges, from high rates of youth violence and teenage homicides to a devastating water crisis. In response to the youth violence, local leaders initially pursued a traditional path, applying for a federal grant. When the grant proposal was turned down, they decided to explore other options.

Using Strategic Doing, these leaders began building new networks focused on the assets they already had within their communities. When the water crisis struck a few years later, this network of civic leaders, who had committed to Strategic Doing, did not wait for external funding or focus on protests. Instead, they organized food trucks to bring fresh fruits and vegetables into their neighborhoods, recognizing that this could mitigate the impact of lead poisoning on children.

• As one of the leaders eloquently put it, “Strategic Doing broke our grant addiction. We thought we couldn’t do anything without a grant.”
• Another added, “Strategic Doing gives us the power to change our lives, our neighborhoods, and our communities.”

This demonstrates how the discipline empowers communities to move from talk to action, leveraging their inherent resources and trust. The approach involved framing their challenges with appreciative questions, uncovering hidden knowledge assets, recombining these assets for potential solutions, and testing assumptions through action.