Sustainable Community Developme

nt in the North West Province of South Africa

Hendri Coetzee3rd Annual LLiSA

Workshop

Rhodes University, Grahamstown20 – 21 June 2011

Our journey as a Living Labs in the North West Province of South Africa…

“It is good to have an end to journey

toward; but it is the journey that

matters, in the end”

Our thoughts on community development

Sustainable efforts driven by the community whereby local needs are addressed and local assets (strengths and resources) enhanced to achieve personal, relational and collective well-being

Through community engagement - residents must be facilitated and mobilised to identify possibilities for economic growth and develop strategies for capacity building

Interventions = growth on multiple levels Science and Technology provides the tools

Planning and packing for the journey…

• Where?

• What?

• How?

• When?

• Who?

• Which?

• Why?

Where?116,320 km²

3 271 948 people +- 500 communities

Determining the What• Needs assessment (baseline) studies in 50 communities in the NWP (10%)

PHASE 1: QUALITATIVE

INVESTIGATION

PHASE 2: QUANTITATIVE

INVESTIGATION

Exploratory mixed-methods design (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007)

• Interviews: n = 164• Needs inventory• Strengths/ assets

and resources

• Community survey: n = 2000

• Quantification and verification of needs

Needs & Assets in the NWP

Agricultural Developmen

t

Education

Environmental

Conservation

Health

What?Communit

y Activities

Economic Development

Welfare

Leadership

Safety & Security

Skills Training

Infrastructure

Service Delivery

How? Comm.

Wellness

Ideals

(I)

Comm.

Wellness

Needs

(N)

Action to

address needs & promot

e wellness

(A)

Comm.

Wellness

Strengths

(S)

-

=

+

=

Totikidis & Prilleltensky, 2006

Collective, relational and personal well-being

Research

CDF: co-creation

Reflection

!“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.” -Don Williams Jr-

WHY?

Rest Stops & Look Out Points

Are we on the right track?

“A journey is like marriage.The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it”

-John Steinbeck-

Relevance to South-African Context

SA government proposed a vision for an integratedsustainable rural development strategy (ISRDS) for SA: “ To attain socially cohesive and stable communities

with viable institutions, sustainable economies and universal access to social amenities, able to attract skilled and knowledgeable people, equipped to contribute to their own and the nation’s growth and development” 

Our efforts are linked to the Millennium Development

Goals Based on actual needs in our province = user driven

Who? Our team

Can not do it alone!

Engage multiple stakeholders Empower others = development of toolkit

Community Development Toolkit COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

TOOLKIT

Sustainable Development

Community Well-being

Community Engagement, Assessment, Platforms &

Forums

A wellness-based community development program aimed at facilitating the skills and knowledge communities need to plan and implement community development projects

It includes: • Approach• Ethical community engagement• Research component• Program for the CDF• Evaluation component• Info on priority platforms• Skills programs – interpersonal

and business related

How to use the toolkit

Prepare yourself and get research-acquainted in Sections 1- 3

Identify the community where

the intervention will take place

Conduct your own research (needs

verification & data analysis)

Identify priority platform in your

community

Consult relevant theme in appendix 1

Work through the intervention process in Section 4 with the

community

Monitor & evaluate your community

intervention using Section 5

Apply appendix 2 programmes if

necessary

When?

1st Community Development Forum: 24 June 2011

Kopela

Set up more CDFs in the next 3-5 years Continue baseline studies and setting up

CDFs in the rest of the NWP in the next 5-10 years

SA…

Which?

Feasibility vs. Sustainability = Self-sustaining

Funding, contracts – help other LL’s in SA with research and the planning of their interventions

Access to information about cutting-edge technology

LLiSA Voice/platform for communities in the

NWP Liaison between communities and other

stakeholders

Address: 24 Totius Street, PotchefstroomTel: (018) 293 0301 Email: hendri@researchlogistics.co.zaWEB: www.researchlogistics.co.za

“For the coordination and management of all your research needs”