The successor to President Barack Obama’s groundbreaking grassroots campaign has opened up shop in Iowa, and over the next two weeks it will host more than a dozen forums, including one next week in Davenport.

Next Thursday, Organizing for America is holding a 6 p.m. meeting at the Jersey Grille, 5255 Jersey Ridge Road, Davenport, to gather input on local and national concerns and to help shape its future efforts.

“These listening tours will be one of our first major undertakings as we ramp up across the country,” said Natalie Wyeth, a spokesperson.

Already, the group has a paid staffer in the state.

This kind of an effort isn’t the norm in Iowa, particularly so far from an election, according to a party veteran.

“It’s very unusual that it would happen this early,” said Dave Nagle, former chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party.

In January, the president announced the formation of Organizing for America as a way to keep engaged the millions of grassroots volunteers who worked for his presidential campaign. The group is an offshoot of the Democratic National Committee.

The paid staffer in Iowa is Derek Eadon, who began work about a month ago. Eadon was a regional field director in eastern Iowa during the presidential election, and he’s now working out of the Iowa Democratic Party office in Des Moines.

It’s not clear yet how many people will eventually work for Organizing for America in the state. But Wyeth said some states could see additional staffers.

The group intends to continue relying heavily on volunteers.

“They, more than anyone else, know what approaches will work best in Iowa and we’re eager to hear their ideas,” Eadon said.

Seventeen meetings have been scheduled across the state through the end of the month by Organizing for America.

In the Quad-Cities, the director of the QCA for Change group is a point of contact, Eadon said. That group has already undertaken some volunteer efforts. The group has about 50 members.

“We’re going to be a vital part of the organization,” said Roland Lamantia, director of QCA for Change.