Since 1985, BCLP has provided leadership training to more than 5,000 leaders in over 340 Minnesota rural communities.

The Blandin Community Leadership Program (BCLP) is designed to develop and sustain healthy community by building on community strengths.  The program is built around a 5 day residential retreat, a 2 day residential workshop and a 1 day workshop.  The program spans a six to eight month period.

Residential Retreat— (5 days)

The residential retreat is the cornerstone of BCLP training. It is not a workshop or seminar. It is a break in the action” – a time to step back and look forward – to learn, reflect and talk candidly in a comfortable, confidential environment about what is happening, or not happening, in community life.  The retreat offers an opportunity to establish individual development goals and to work on a Going Forward team.  All BCLP retreats are held at Ruttger’s Sugar Lake Lodge in Grand Rapids, MN.

Workshop I— (2 days)

Workshop I is a residential workshop that focuses on applying the BCLP Community Action Process to real-life challenges/opportunities explored by the Going Forward teams, and on the skills of effective small group communication.

Workshop II— (1 day)

Participants focus on expanding their ability to mobilize action through effective public communication.  The day wraps up with a commencement ceremony that includes local BCLP alumni.

The program uses highly experiential learning techniques.  Using effective interpersonal communication as a foundational skill, the program centers on three core competencies of community leadership that are essential for building and sustaining healthy community. The three core competencies are:

Framing:  Engaging others to identify, choose, and describe issues affecting community health.

Building and Using Social Capital: Developing and maintaining a network of relationships for working together over time and across differences.

Mobilizing: Engaging enough people and resources to get the job done.

While the skills addressed in the program are not new to most participants, the way these skills are applied to community settings adds to the effectiveness of even highly experienced leaders. These skills include:

·         Interpersonal communication that fosters understanding of community perspectives

·         The product and process skills essential to accomplishing a community goal

·         Conflict Management

·         Networking and intentional inclusion

·         Stakeholders Analysis

·         Identifying and using personal sources of power

·         Tapping into underutilized community resources

·         Community Action Planning

·         Effective small group communication

·         Developing key messages to mobilize resources

To Learn more about the program contact Becky Adams.