In addition to its programs of seminars and workshops, each institute also offers PEER-BASED LEARNING TOURS and CONVENINGS which help participants master new skills needed to build successful coalitions including:

• Conducting a power analysis of the forces shaping public policy in their cities and regions.
• Working with local economists to identify social and business indicators that can help them set goals and policy priorities.
• Crafting messages that begin to shape a public dialogue.
• Evaluating needs and assets to create added capacity among partners and more effective movement building across constituencies.

Through their participation in Building Partnerships' Civic Leadership Institutes, local leaders are able to collaborate on complex research and policy development -- and draft detailed 'economic blueprints' that offer innovative solutions to community needs. In this regard, the institutes offer more than an opportunity to learn; they are a catalyst for progressive social change.