Efforts to respond to women’s risk of domestic violence in India have resulted in two kinds of systemic responses. First, the formal or institutional response has focused on systems reforms to better meet the needs of survivors. Second, nongovernmental and grassroots responses to domestic violence have emphasized supporting survivors through survivor-centered and empowerment-based approaches. These include primary prevention through community activism aimed at transforming community norms, survivor empowerment, capacity-building, and community mobilization. This chapter describes an exemplary effort by “Shakti” (pseudonym), a grassroots agency based in India, to engage in community mobilization that facilitates psychological empowerment of survivors and community empowerment processes to respond to domestic violence in rural communities in the Delhi National Capital Region, India. The case example draws on data collected by the authors in 2017. Community organizing efforts like those described in this chapter along with individual-level work with survivors can together play an important role in fueling counter-narratives that facilitate disclosure of violence and support survivors.

Participatory budgeting (PB) is a democratic process that engages citizens in public investment decisions through a mix of deliberation, representation, and voting. This chapter describes how this democratic innovation has been practiced, elaborates its goals, provides an overview of its origins and diffusion, and reviews research on its outcomes for citizen engagement, local governance, and community empowerment. These findings are illustrated by two case studies. Porto Alegre, Brazil, not only represents the birthplace of PB, but also is an example of uniquely pronounced changes in government responsiveness to underserved communities and in the strength of civil society organizations after PB’s implementation. New York City’s program is fairly representative of PB as practiced in the Global North. Controlling a smaller share of city budgets, processes like PBNYC have been more able to replicate Porto Alegre’s model of equitable citizen engagement than to transform urban governance or the organization of local civil society.

Rising poverty, shrinking economic opportunities, disengaged citizens and contentious public discourse, and racial inequality have become some of the greatest challenges communities are confronting. In efforts to maximize participation in addressing these issues, universities, community organizations, corporations, local government entities, and foundations are, independently or collaboratively, devoting resources to develop local leadership capacities. This chapter examines these community leadership development efforts and details two cooperative extension programs in a Midwestern US state. Through analysis of these case examples, the chapter offers a vision for how to reimagine community leadership programs so that they are more responsive to the complexity of current and emergent community challenges. An argument is made that US university extension services, because of their strong ties to local communities and networks nationwide, are well placed to support community leadership development that promotes community-identified strategies to address a wide range of local issues among diverse stakeholders. Insights from this chapter can inform future research and influence the design and implementation of community leadership development programs around the world.

Chapter 9 offers an opportunity for reflection and conclusion. Where has our investigation led us and with what profit? Looking forwards, there is clearly much of relevance which remains to be resolved in a set of new speaker developments that are currently uncharted, fragmented and difficult to pin down. What is remarkable in all the jurisdictions studied is the degree of variation that was found in the empirical field work. The responses are highly variable from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In reflecting on the answers given to the questions presented in the light of the evidence set forth here, a plea for further regular research suggests itself, not only to improve on the insufficiencies of this interpretation but also to allow for the passage of time within which it is assumed that greater attention will have been paid to the new speaker phenomenon by policy-makers over the coming decade. In that sense this is a preliminary investigation to set the scene for more authoritative interpretations in the future.

Public service organizations are positioned to serve communities through targeted support and meaningful collaboration with specific populations. This chapter will focus on public service organizations that are uniquely positioned to serve the needs of youth, families, and communities – public schools. Public schools have direct access to students and families, and as such, should actively develop interventions and outreach to further engage, support, and empower those in the community. Specifically, this chapter seeks to provide a toolkit for strengthening the school–family–community connection in an effort to promote growth and foster empowerment among students and families within their communities. This toolkit first addresses school-level interventions, including: 1. A trauma and attachment sensitive approach to support all students; 2. An advisory program to promote school connectedness, and academic and behavioral supports; 3. A character program to aid students in identifying and developing character strengths; 4. School-wide initiatives to promote community connectedness; 5. Community service projects to foster collaboration and a sense of responsibility within the community; and 6. Individual and group counseling to support social-emotional health. The toolkit also addresses family- and community-level interventions. A case study that incorporates components of the proposed toolkit will also be presented.