Current economic uncertainty continues to limit the public funds available to deal with critical public health issues. Challenges and problems, and the solutions to them, are increasingly becoming the responsibility of local and regional communities. And as community populations become increasingly more diverse in race, religion, and socio-economic status, new strategies and tools are needed to get people and organizations to agree on a plan and work together to achieve it. This course will discuss the new era in politics brought on by recent social and technological changes and the role of communities and individuals in reinventing how we govern.