Community Development

March 11th, 2014

Skills/Knowledge/Competencies• Listening• Building relationships• Friendly• Social• Encouragement• Needs Assessment• Review of Literature• Research • Facilitation• Social work theories• Respect to each values and opinions• Create opportunities for dialogue

• Knowledgeable about resources available• Believe in equality and democratic process• Community mobilization• Planning /Actions plan/strategic development• Project implementation• Advocacy knowledge- methods/tactics• Knowledge on politics• Event coordination/organization• Report writing• Presentation

Major strategies

• In terms of activities:• Midgley (1993)-Social Development is “ a process f planned social change designed to promote the well-being of the population as a whole in conjunction with a dynamic process of economic development” (P. 25). Are needed to align economic and social development.Individualistic strategies: helping people to become self- reliant and independent- not necessarily self interested. Education and training etc.(people with mental illness, issue based communities etc.)

• Collectivist Strategist: Assumptions are- • People in existing social groups can organize

themselves to meet thie needs and address their issues and gain control over resources.

• In this strategy, shared responsibility/shared wish for improvement ….murals, graffiti, acting, community clean up, community photography etc…..

• Government Strategies ( Statist approach)….large scale social planning, mobilize considerable resources, campaign for social improvements, effective and coherent plans….legislative change….

Pandey (1981)( In terms of Purposes)

• Distributive strategies- to improve social equity between groups nationally

• Participative Strategies- to make structural and institutional reforms to involve people in social change

• Human development: to increase the skills and capacity for people to act themselves in improving the economy and institutional development of their area

Approaches • Residents- Led Community Development• Agencies –Led Community Development• Government –Led Community Development

Ruthman Models • Ruthman 2001- deveolps three community practice models:• ( these models are overlap and interrelated to each other)• Locality Development: process oriented and building

relationships• community capacity and integration through self-help,

collaborative efforts, inform policies• Focus on consensus rather than confrontation• Social Plan/Policy: task oriented …• confront substantive community issues--- engage

participants in interactions, empowering people, inform people about the services and political ideology as experts without political bias….

Cont…• Social Action: combination of process and task

oriented• This is based on Conflict, Power Dependency and

Recourse Mobilizations Theory• Communities seek to shift power relationships and

resources for systemic change• Beneficiaries- victims• Empowerment achieved• Confrontation• Recommendation by Nettinf et.al(20004) when

other approaches have failed to be effective then use this approach

• Mondros and Wilson (1994):• Grassroots practice• Lobbying practice • Mobilizing practice • Wei and Gamble (1995):• Neihgbourhood and community organizing• Organizing functional communities• Community social and economic development• Program development and community liaison• Political and social actions• Coalitions• Social Movements• No single or “ right” way to catogorize odels, srategies and tactice

in community development