Effective networking will be the focus of a seminar organized by the West Virginia Community Development Hub. The event is scheduled from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Aug. 21 at the Capital Conference Center in Charleston.

The Hub was formed in 2008 through the merger of Community Collaborative Inc. and Community Development Partnership of West Virginia. Leaders describe the Hub as a convener, connector and networker, engaging communities in a system of continuous community improvement.

Program Coordinator Herk Conner explained the Hub connects communities to the resources they need to achieve their visions for the future.

“We want to build on that,” said Conner. “We want to be able to identify where there may be gaps and then connect those community developers with people who can fill those gaps.”

Guest speakers for the seminar are Madeline Taylor, co-author of “Net Gains,” and Robin Stewart from Ohio University Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs.

Taylor is a social anthropologist who advises public and nonprofit organizations and national foundations on strategy, research, public development and evaluation. She is also co-founder and principal of Arbor Consulting Partners, a research and consulting firm in Boston.

Stewart is a policy researcher and project manager at OU and is currently participating in several collaborations working to build a sustainable economy in Appalachia. She also facilitates a workshop titled “Creating Competitive Communities: New Strategies in Rural Development.”

The agenda includes receiving input on the creation of community development tools and templates. The Hub recently received grants from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh to develop the most effective tools and guides possible, according to Executive Director Kent Spellman.

Those planning to attend the seminar should contact the West Virginia Community Development Hub at (304) 566-7332 or by e-mailing the director at k.spellman@wvhub.org.