Open System Management Volume 2

About the Book

Open System Management Volume 2: Samuel's Story: Creating a Community Safety Net for Families is a narrative based on real community dialogues that have used Nelson's model to create productive coalitions of citizens and organizations. Together, the participants in the dialogues identify high-priority problems, agree on desired outcomes, plan how to obtain them, assign tasks, and begin work.

Other volumes available:
Open System Management Volume 1: Assessing the Human Services Culture
Open System Management Volume 3: The Agency's Story: Fostering Collaboration Within
Open System Management Volume 4: Shifting the Organization's Culture: A Self-Assessment Guide

Or, purchase the set at a discounted price:
Open System Management Set of 4 Volumes

About the Author

Gary M. Nelson, DSW, is Associate Director for Program Development and Training Initiatives at the Jordan Institute for Families, School of Social Work, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A full professor in the school, he regularly teaches courses on public policy for child welfare and for aging. His wide-ranging interests include community and organizational change, organizational theory, organizational culture, learning organizations, complexity and chaos theory, child welfare, social policy or aging, rural aging, and home and community care systems. Most recently he has published Self-Governance in Communities and Families (Berrett-Koehler, 2000), which describes a theory and process for community planning and change developed for the Families for Kids initiative, funded by the W.K. Kellogg foundation. The Open System Management series was developed as part of a grant awarded by the U.S. Administration for Children and Families (No. 90CT0012).

Lane G. Cooke, MSW, is the project coordinator of the Family and Children's Resource Program (DCRP) at the Jordan Institute for Families. Formerly a social worker, supervisor, and programs representative in both children's and adult services in North Carolina's social services system, she directs FCRP's development of training and work on grants to better the status of children in the state. She also has facilitated many community dialogues held as part of the Families for Kids initiative.