As a requirement for a federal neighborhood revitalization grant, the authors trained resident interviewers and coordinated the conduct of more than 1000 door-to-door interviews of a stratified random sample. The targeted area was a multiethnic, lower income neighborhood that continues to experience the effects of past segregation. Monitoring and pivots to the training procedures are described within the context of community development and capacity-building theory. Including local participation in the interview process yielded enhanced collaborative participation in decision making on the part of interviewers and interviewees. Resident contribution to community development is described within the framework of advocacy and consultative participation.