Abstract A multi-site case study applies value-focused thinking methods in a
community-engaged research framework within three organizations. All three
organizations are community development corporations (CDCs), a type of community-
based organization which directs assets and efforts toward housing stock
and neighborhood improvement. Objectives hierarchies were developed for the
three sites. A set of common aspects of these structures suggest ways to operationalize
the generic mission of CDCs. Other aspects which vary across sites can be
related to specific characteristics of the organizations and the communities in which
they operate. The process of applying value-focused thinking is also compared
across the organizations. The organizations made judgments about which modeling
efforts would be useful at different stages of the study. These judgments are
interpreted with respect to the technology acceptance model. They suggest that