There was a graduate student doing work on the relationship between communities
 and the Chicago Historical Society a couple of years ago.  She asked a similar
 question to yours, and got lots of responses talking about different community
 advisory boards.  She did a session at last year's AAM (or was it the year
 before that?).  Her name is Catherine Lewis;  I forgot her academic
 affiliation.  Good luck!

Kathy Condon
Community Project Coordinator/Senior Developer
Brooklyn Children's Museum