Recipe Builder

*Get real about what you can actually do: assemble your team, inventory resources, and right-size your scope.*

*When to use:* After Worksheet 1, once you've picked a recipe to adapt.

1. Pick the Recipe and Need — Which recipe are you adapting, and which civic need (agency / belonging / well-being) does it address? Give it a working project name.
2. Your Cooks — Who's making this happen? Lead organizer(s), a core team of 3-5 (name, role, hours/week), community partners who've said yes, people who could help if asked.
3. Reality Check on Time — Who are you asking to participate? What competes for their time? What's the minimum viable commitment? Can you offer childcare or pay for time? If not, what's the value exchange?
4. Your Ingredients — What do you actually have? Budget, technology (group text, social, email list, website, phones, printer, or none, going analog), and existing relationships and trust.
5. Your Scope — Right-size honestly.
6. Your Format — How will people participate (in person, SMS, online, social, print, phone, mixed) and when (one-time, weekly, monthly, as needed)?
7. Time Frame — Planning starts; first test/pilot; full launch; first evaluation.
8. Adaptations — Adjust for your community: language and translation, accessibility (physical and tech), cultural considerations (traditions to build on, norms to set, whose blessing you need), trust-building (why people should trust this, what proof you'll offer, how long it takes), and safety (physical, emotional, privacy).
9. Action Timeline — Build the foundation (confirm team, test with 5 people, name the biggest barrier); small test (run the smallest version, document, get feedback); iterate (adjust, expand slightly, build rhythm); evaluate and decide (measure against needs not metrics; stop, continue, or expand; document lessons).
10. Success Indicators — You'll know it's working when ___. Red flags that mean pause and reassess: ___.

Details

• steps: [object Object], [object Object], [object Object], [object Object], [object Object], [object Object], [object Object], [object Object], [object Object], [object Object]
• source note: From the Civic Media Cookbook: 'Producing Civic Media: Recipes to Produce Civic Media Through Participation, Power and Community' — Jihii Jolly and Jennifer Brandel, with the News Futures Working Group (2026).
• when to use: After Worksheet 1, once you've picked a recipe to adapt.