For the first objective, you might want to have agencies and individuals give you feedback on the proposed family literacy model(s), and whether they see it as appropriate for the community. You might want to talk to them in more detail about family literacy in general and justification for the proposed program. This might include using a video, or describing a family literacy program in another community that uses the same model. Members of the group might have questions or concerns arising from your visit to their agency or the information package you left with them. You might also have questions arising from previous discussions, regarding their agency or individual needs, and whether the proposed program will address those needs. Why do they think a family literacy program is needed in the community? What do they think the desired features of the program would be?

The second objective of sharing information on what agencies and groups do and what services they offer can best be achieved informally, rather than through formal presentations. As we'll discuss in following chapters, it is important to make all members of the group comfortable, especially parents, and to maintain an appropriate balance between formality and informality. You will also want to avoid a situation where formal presentations take most of the time available for the meeting.

The third objective of discussing and exploring the proposed partnership can be achieved in a number of ways. Members of the group can discuss what their concept of partnership is, and why they think it is important to the development of the proposed program. What would the purpose of the partnership be? What are some possible goals? What experiences have people had previously with partnerships and collaborations? What did they find productive, and what could have been improved?

The fourth objective is to determine what agencies have to offer and want to gain from the proposed partnership. In other words, why are they at the meeting? You have already had discussions with individual members during your agency visits on what the partnership could offer to them. Now you have the opportunity for group discussion on what expectations are for the project.

Finally, you want to be able to schedule a follow-up meeting with members of the group who are interested in being involved in the partnership. If you have a large number of interested members, you should discuss whether a smaller advisory committee or council is necessary, with the possibility of additional sub-committees.