CHCCDE003

Work Within A Community

Development Framework
STUDENT LEARNING RESOURCE
 Certificate II in Active Volunteering

CHCCDE003 – Work within a community development framework

ELEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

Operate within a community development framework

1.1 Work towards the vision and mission of the community development work plan
1.2 Work with communities to achieve their priorities through enhancing skills, accessing appropriate
support and working with others in the community who share concerns and issues
1.3 Identify and document the interrelationships between the priorities and rights of the individual,
the family, the community and society.

Distinguish between private and public issues arising in community development work

2.1 Employ appropriate interpersonal skills to hear individual stories and distinguish between private
and public issues
2.2 Identify the individual’s willingness to engage in a public process to bring about change and
facilitate the move from private concern to public action
2.3 Provide appropriate referrals to support people to deal with personal issues
2.4 Ensure all work reflects and meets duty of care responsibilities.

Work with groups to achieve community development outcomes

3.1 Research and analyse community priorities

3.2 Identify and document shared community priorities within the public group processes
3.3 Plan appropriate strategies in collaboration with the group to ensure community priorities are
addressed
3.4 Document community structures and resources available to groups to maximise outcomes for
groups
3.5 Provide advice and information to groups and individuals as required to ensure they are fully
informed about relevant issues and opportunities
3.6 Advocate and lobby for community based outcomes
3.7 Manage group dynamics, facilitate discussions and engagements processes
3.8 Review and modify own work practice within a community development framework

KNOWLEDGE EVIDENCE

The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively complete tasks
outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies
in the context of the work role. This includes knowledge of:
• relevance of the community development work role and functions to maintaining sustainability of
the workplace, including environmental, economic, workforce and social sustainability
• traditional community development approaches:
• needs-based
• gap-based
• principles and practices of contemporary community development approaches and techniques for
mobilisation in relation to:
• asset-based (ABCD)
• rights-based
• impact of current and changing social, political and economic contexts
• strategies for addressing individual differences
• principles and practices of community development work, including:
• structural disadvantage and inequality
• social justice and human rights

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• empowerment
• recognition of personal and public political process
• commitment to peoples’ participation
• sustainability

PERFORMANCE EVIDENCE

The candidate must show evidence of the ability to complete tasks outlined in elements and
performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks and manage contingencies in the context of the job
role. There must be demonstrated evidence that the candidate has:

• engaged with at least 1 community group in order to develop 1 action plan relevant to community
priorities

For more information on this unit of competency visit www.training.gov.au

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CHAPTER 7
Work within a community
development framework

Community development is a way to improve the lives of

people living in a community. A community is considered to
be a neighbourhood, a location, group, network or place
where people share the same goals and responsibilities. A
community is important as it offers people access to
resources and facilities, a source of support, an opportunity
for participation, and prevents social isolation. Community
development can be achieved through the establishment of
programs, facilities and resources to support people within a
specific area. The development process allows a community
to take charge and address their own needs with support
from national, state and territory governments and non-
government agencies including charities and/or the private
sector. Community development allows people within the
community to work together and be actively involved in
assisting and supporting community members to address a
common interest, tackle a major issue affecting their
community and/or improve their community for the future.

A fundamental part of community development is volunteering. Volunteers are integral to achieving

the aims, visions and goals, which the process of community development is seeking to accomplish.
Volunteering is one of the main avenues through which the principles and values of a community
development can be implemented.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

A community development framework works under the assumption that the community already has its
own strengths that can be used to find a solution to their issues and areas of concern. A community
development framework may include a range of methods designed to strengthen and develop
communities by enhancing individual and group capacity to confidently engage with community
structures and to address problems and issues.

Community workers, including community-based volunteers, will operate

within a community development framework. Their objective is to
connect with existing organisations and members of the community to
create partnerships and networks to assist communities to make changes
to benefit their community outcomes. A community worker liaises with
communities, empowering them to make decisions for their community
members and their future. A large majority of community workers are
volunteers who donate their time for the good of the community.
Community workers also include contractors hired by local councils or
other government departments to work on a community development
project. Community development provides the community with the
knowledge, skills and confidence to take action to make changes. It is
not about community workers coming into a community and making
decisions for them or implementing changes without consultation. A
community needs to support a change for it to be effective.

Through this unit you will develop the skills and knowledge required to volunteer and work within a
community development framework. This unit will also help prepare you to volunteer in many
community sectors as part of a professional team and under the guidance of a supervisor.
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THE IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABILITY

For a community development program to be successful it needs to be sustainable and bring about a
permanent change for the future. To be sustainable, community members and organisations need to
be involved from the beginning. They need to have a passion, willingness and ability to continue the
development after the community workers and government support have moved on to their next
community development project.

Sustainability is all about preserving, conserving and managing the resources around us so that they will
be available for future generations. The Commonwealth of Australia defined sustainable development
in 1992 as:

“…using, conserving and enhancing the community’s resources

so that ecological processes, on which life depends, are
maintained and the total quality of life, now and in the future,
can be maintained”
’

Measures need to be carefully considered and implemented to ensure economic, social, workforce
and environmental sustainability of the community development.

Environmental sustainability is about reducing energy

consumed, reducing waste, recycling and reusing
resources. Some examples of environmental sustainability
are:

• Encouraging people to read reports online or email

documents that would usually be printed. Request
email bills from your resource providers such as
electricity, water and gas bills. If paper must be used
make sure it is recycled paper.

• Appropriate recycling of resources such as paper,

cardboard, glass, food scraps and plastic.

• Reducing energy usage through turning off lights

when they are not needed, setting up sensors in
areas that do not need to be constantly lit and only
putting the dishwasher on when it is full.

Economic sustainability is about the financial resources available to keep a community development
program running. This includes the ability of the community to pay for resources and any staff needed
to keep the community development program running.

Social sustainability is about creating structures and processes to address the needs of the community
now and in the future so that any community development programs implemented are available to
future generations to improve their health and wellbeing. Social sustainability also ensures that the
community functions independently in a cohesive and collaborative environment.

Workforce sustainability is about attracting and retaining the right people to be involved in the
development. To enable workplace sustainability in community development the staff and/or
volunteers involved need to be engaged and passionate about the project. It is also important that
these people are not overworked, underappreciated or feel as if they are wasting their time with a
development that is not making an impact or bringing about change for the better.

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IS IT ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC, WORKFORCE

OR SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY?
Categorise each of the following as environmental, economic, workforce or social sustainability.

Purchasing paper that can be recycled

Hiring new employees to assist with the program

The community development is culturally sensitive

Purchasing of resources for the program

Participation of people within the community in the

development program

Information about the program is emailed to residents

instead of being mail dropped

The needs of the community are being met

Establishing trust within the community and a willingness of

community members to be part of the development program.

WHAT IS COMMUNITY BASED DEVELOPMENT?

Community development brings about change. It is about identifying the needs of a community; its
shared concerns and issues. It is about making improvements to better the health and wellbeing of
people living in the community.

An individual or team of community workers collaborate with community members to establish a

program, initiative, facility or resource suitable to the community’s needs. They assist with the planning
and organising of the development’s work plan including: establishing goals and timelines,
engagement and participation of community members, and creating relationships with local
community agencies.

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The process for creating a successful community development initiative should involve:

Identify the
community's needs
through research
and a needs
analysis

Evaluate and Choose a suitable

monitor work model

Establish
connections and
Design and partnerships with
implement the local organisations
program/initiative and community
leaders

1. A community-needs analysis should be conducted as well as relevant research to clearly identify

the community needs. Part of this research may be speaking with (interview) a range of people
living in the community and collating their opinions, access any recorded data from the local
council or police or conducting research through the collection of data and conducting
observations.

2. Choosing a work model that is most suitable and will work within the community development
framework.

• The social action model of community development is about empowering specific groups
within a community that may be disadvantaged or segmented in some way. It is about
addressing the needs, issues and concerns of these people to bring about change. This
model focuses on a specific issue, such as poverty.

• The advocacy model of community development is about representing the best interests of
people within the community and supporting their need for change.

• The locality development model of community development is about involving a wide

variety of people from the community in the planning, implementation and evaluation of any
community development program. It involves creating resources and an infrastructure within
the community that allows for change. This may include building facilities such as recreation
centres, libraries and health facilities.

3. Establishing connections between communities and systems. This is an important aspect of

community development. It is vital to the success of any community program that the community
is involved in the process, allowing them to be empowered and part of the decision making
process. Building relationships within the local community is imperative to the success of the
program. Connections and partnerships should be formed with local non-government
organisations (NGOs) and community leaders. If local organisations and leaders are involved in
the program from the beginning they will have a vested interest and ownership over its success.
This will help to ensure that the program is sustainable for the future.

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4. Designing and implementing a program. With the use of collected research, a suitable work
model and collaborating with existing partnerships and connections within the local community
the best course of action for the community can be determined. It is important that all
community workers agree on the specific goals of the initiative and the expected outcomes in
order to create an effective work plan. This work plan should then be implemented in the
community. A work plan should consist of:

Purpose: What is the purpose of the community development, including the key objectives?
The purpose should be in line with the vision and mission of the program.

Priorities: What are the priorities of the program? What is the focus of the community
development? For example, it might be to enhance skills of community members.

Delivery and implementation (programs, engagement, collaboration): How will the program
be introduced and delivered on an ongoing basis to the community? How will you engage
the community in the program and get them involved?

Governance: This area of a work plan should include any information regarding legislation
and funding provided by government and non-government agencies.

Evaluation and review: Who will evaluate and review the community development
program? How can the group determine if the development has been successful and if
changes should occur to strengthen the program.

5. Evaluating and monitoring. It is important that the program is regularly monitored, along with its
progress towards achieving the goals and expected outcomes in the work plan. Depending on
what the program people may be able to collect informal or formal data to assist in this process.
A formal evaluation may include a questionnaire or survey carefully written to find out how
successful the community development program has been and the community’s response to it. A
program could be evaluated informally by observing participants in the program, speaking to
them, and looking at attendance and community participation rates in the program

TRADITIONAL DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES

In the past community development has been considered a process by which the government
identifies problems and issues in a community. This is often based on statistics interpreted by an
individual or group who has not made contact with the community or spoken to residents who live
within the community. The government then implements a program or initiative to “fix” the problem. This
approach does not actively involve the community members; it fails to empower them and significantly
reduces the potential for the development being sustainable in the long term. This view can marginalise
a community and create a stigma where a community is defined by their issues.

These traditional approaches were considered to either

be needs-based or gap-based. A needs-based
approach is where a government agency identifies a
specific need within a community and then provides
whatever is needed to address the problem, which could
include physical resources and monetary grants. This
needs-based approach disempowers a community, fails
to bring about long term change, because assistance is
not sustainable and can leave a community feeling
vulnerable and more susceptible to the same problem in
the future.

A gap-based approach to community development is very similar to a needs-based approach, with

the only difference being that it focuses on the perceived gaps in the community. These gaps may be
a lack of resources or services in the community or issues with accessibility. This approach can also
disempower people as it singles out the problems and negatives in the community rather than focusing
on the positives, assets and strengths to build confidence and support within a community.

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CONTEMPORARY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES

History has taught us that the traditional approaches to community development are not always
sustainable or effective in bringing about change within a community. Contemporary (modern)
approaches and techniques for mobilisation have been much more successful in building sustainable
development. Mobilisation in a community context is about bringing together all available resources
including people, agencies and physical resources such as facilities to achieve sustainable
development within a community.

Approaches and techniques for mobilisation within a community include asset-based community
development (ABCD) and rights-based community development.

Asset-based community development (ABCD) involves assessing and building on the assets and
strengths that exist in a community. It involves community members in the development from the get go
by asking them to identify the needs and problems (i.e. the negatives) within their own community. The
ABCD technique identifies the needs and problems of the community into three main categories:
People and practices, local associations and institutions, businesses and physical resources.

Using these same categories the community participants then map the community’s assets and
strengths under the same headings. This technique allows participants to discuss the needs of the
community and then put them aside to focus on the positive aspects through identifying the assets and
strengths of their community. It has been found that this technique allows community members to be
more positive and focussed on solutions rather than just the negative aspects of their community.

Rights-based community development is an approach that ensures that the human rights of all
members of the community are upheld. This approach involves two stakeholders: the community
members (rights holders) who are not having their rights upheld and the duty holders, i.e. the agency or
institution responsible for upholding and/or fulfilling the rights. This approach focuses on the rights,
responsibilities and obligations of duty holders. By focusing on what people have a right to access and
protecting their human rights, this approach empowers a person to understand their rights and hold
duty holders accountable, instead of making them feel like they are continuously relying on charity and
handouts to meet their needs. This approach also advocates for policy change and development to
uphold the rights. It is built on the “PANEL” principle:

P
• Participation – everyone has the right to be involved and participate in any activity and/or
development that affects their rights. Participation should be accessible to anyone and
everyone irrespective of their individual needs such as language, accessibility or disability.

A
• Accountability – Duty holders are to be accountable for their role and to uphold human rights.
They must have policies and procedures in place to redress any issues of human rights.

N
• Non-discrimination and equality – Discrimination or marginalisation of any form is unacceptable
and a violation of human rights. Rights must be protected.

E
• Empowerment – everyone has the right to question and fight for their rights and freedom.
Individuals must be free to make their own decisions and participate fully in any development
which has the potential to influence them and their human rights.

L
• Legality – The approach recognises that human rights and freedom are legal requirements and
are enforceable by law.

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TRADITIONAL VS CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES

TO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
List and compare the main points using the information you have just read on traditional (needs-
based and gap-based) and contemporary (ABCD and right-based) approaches to community
development.

TRADITIONAL VS CONTEMPORARY

• Focuses on the negative aspects, • Focuses on the positives, strengths and

problems and issues within a community assets of a community.

PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

A community development program should always focus on the community, its needs and promoting
change to improve the lives of those living within it. To do this it is the role of a community development
worker, such as a volunteer to focus on upholding and implementing the principles and practices of
community development work, including:

Structural disadvantage and inequality

This is where individuals and/or groups within the community are disadvantaged, isolated or excluded
from accessing services or facilities within their community such as refugees or migrants. This inequality
may exist because of their skin colour, disability, socio-economic status, age and gender. The principles
of community development are about embracing these individuals and/or groups and finding a way to
change the structures, processes or thinking of the community to include them.

Social justice and human rights

Social justice is about fairness in everyday life. It is about equality and human rights, comprising the
basic rights and freedoms that every person is entitled such as access to running water, sanitation and
education. Any community development should promote human rights and social justice through
encouraging and valuing diversity, cultural differences and challenging injustices that may exist.

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Empowerment

Empowerment is the key to any successful community development program. It is about giving people
the skills and confidence to make their own decisions and take control of their lives. A community
development worker can help to empower community members through:

o providing them with information

o involving them in discussions
o consulting and involving them in all decision making
o refraining from judgement
o valuing their ideas, opinions and perspectives
o actively listening to them at all times
o being supportive

Recognition of personal and public political process

To bring about change in a community a development may need to engage the use of both personal
and public processes. The personal process is about adding a human element to a cause through the
sharing of experiences such as writing an open letter to a newspaper or getting out in the community
and spreading the word on the street through asking people to sign a petition or donate to the
development. This personal process draws people’s attention to the issue and, depending on the issue,
it may evoke emotions and motivate people to help the cause. This approach can be extremely
moving and engage people to become involved.

The political process is about increasing awareness of a public scale by involving the media, holding
public meetings and peaceful demonstrations such as walks, marches and rallies.

Commitment to people’s participation

Community participation is a vital element to the success of any community development. It is

important to find people within the community who are passionate and committed to spending the
time needed to bring about change in their community. In essence, these people will also be
volunteers helping to improve their own community. They need to be committed and dedicated to
working hard even when challenged by obstacles. It is the role of the community development worker
to motivate and engage community members in the development and inspire their commitment.

Sustainability

As we explored earlier in the chapter sustainability is an important element of any successful community
development. Sustainability brings about permanent change for the future where community members
have the passion, willingness and ability to continue the development after the community workers and
government support has moved on to their next community development project. Sustainability should
be a key focus and consideration for any community development project.

OPERATE WITHIN A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

When operating within a community development

framework you should work towards the vision and mission
of the community development work plan.

A vision is a statement/declaration of the objectives and

goals of the community development work. It states what
the community wants to achieve or accomplish through the
development. This vision should be based on aspirations
and what is realistically achievable based on finances,
resources and staff availability. A vision is a way to motivate,
inspire and excite a community. A vision should be a simple
sentence or a concise paragraph. It should not outline a
plan for achieving the community development it should
just highlight what is to be achieved.

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A mission is a formal summary of the purpose of the community development work, its target market
(i.e. neighbourhood, geographical location), why it exists and what it actually does. A mission
statement is most often a few short sentences or a paragraph in length. It should be clear and easy to
understand.

The community should be involved in creating the vision and mission for their community development
program. This empowers them and makes them part of the process, allowing them to be more invested
in the program and work harder to achieve their objectives.

ü T7.2

VISIONS AND MISSIONS – INVESTIGATION ACTIVITY

TASK 1

A vision and mission can be easily confused and are often used interchangeably, however, they are
distinctively different. Examine the following example from the Make-a-Wish Foundation and compare
how their vision and mission differ. An example has been provided.

Vision

Our vision is that people everywhere will share the power of a wish.

Mission

We grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human
experience with hope, strength and joy.

Vision Mission

The vision is shorter The mission is longer

TASK 2

Read each of the following visions from wellknow organisations. Using their vision:

1. Highlight what you think their goal or objective is.

2. Say whether their vision gives a clear indication of their organisation’s objective and/or goal.

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RSPCA Australia

Australian Red Cross Blood Service • To be the leading authority in animal care and
protection
• To improve the lives of patients through the power
of humanity.
Salvation Army

Habitat for Humanity • The Salvation Army – a growing, loving community

of people dynamically living God’s mission in a
• A world where everyone has a decent place to live. broken world.

Oxfam Headspace

• A just world without poverty. • To improve young people’s mental, social and
emotional wellbeing through the provision of high
quality, integrated services when and where they
are needed.

ACHIEVING PRIORITIES
As mentioned in the previous section, a community development program should be designed and
implemented in line with the community’s priorities and what they want to achieve. A priority that has
been identified should always be dealt with and treated as being more important than other aspects.
Within a community priorities will vary. Priorities are often formulated around improving the health,
wellbeing and quality of life of the residents of the community or may be developed as an opportunity
to tackle a major issue facing the community such as drug and/or alcohol abuse. Community workers
operating within a community development framework should work with communities to achieve their
priorities through:

• Enhancing skills

Community residents must be involved in any community development project in order for it be
successful. Sometimes residents do not have the skills required to assist, however, it is the role of a
community worker to help them to develop these skills and enable them to tackle their community
priorities now and for the future. A community worker may assist residents involved in the
community development project to hold community meetings, network with local organisations
and businesses to raise funds for the project, write submissions to local councils and other
government agencies for funding and market the program to community residents to get them
involved.

Enhancing people’s capabilities empowers them, builds their confidence and enables them to
take initiative and generate new ideas to benefit the community. Enhancing people’s skills is also a
step towards making the community development socially sustainable. If you teach people the
skills to run the program they will be able to continue the program after the community worker/s
have moved on to assist another community.

DISCUSSION POINTS: 1. What do you think the meaning of the following

saying is?
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day;
teach a man to fish and you feed him for a
lifetime.”
2. How does this relate to working with communities
to achieve their priorities through enhancing
skills?

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• Accessing appropriate support

Community residents may need help to access appropriate support to assist with the community
development project. They might not know who to contact and how to contact them. They will
need the assistance of a community worker to help them to network with local and state
government departments, not-for-profit agencies, health professionals, educators and the
police. Accessing the right support is important, as a community needs to develop the right
relationships with the right people and organisations for their project to be successful and
sustainable.

The type of support required will depend on the community development project and may
include:

• resources
• funding
• volunteers
• facility use
• information and advice.

ACCESS APPROPRIATE SUPPORT –

BRAINSTORMING ACTIVITY
In partners, read each of the following community development priorities and determine the type of
support that would be needed and from whom it could come from.

COMMUNITY 1

A community wants to increase access for people with disability to a variety of community
recreation facilities such as the local youth and recreation centre and aquatic leisure centre.

Type of support needed

From whom

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COMMUNITY 2

A community wants to tackle the ice epidemic sweeping their rural town. Ice addiction has
increased by 25% in the last 6 months and has been responsible for the deaths of 14 local residents.

Type of support needed

From whom

COMMUNITY 3

A community has a concerning obesity problem with 78% of residents being overweight or obese.
The socio-economic status of the community is quite low with only 10% of residents making it past a
Year 10 level education. The community wants to tackle the issue starting with the parents of
children at the local primary school.

Type of support needed

From whom

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• Working with others in the community who share concerns and issues

Community workers coming to assist with a community development project need to research
and take the time to identify people in the community who share the same concerns and have
already been working on the same issue you have identified. This research may reveal that
some organisations or groups within the community have already been working on the problem.
This means that they may be able to support the program and help to tackle the issues affecting
the community. They may also be able to provide some insight into what action they have
already taken, what has worked, what hasn’t and how the community has received it.
Community workers might discuss with the organisation options for working together, sharing
resources and information. Working collaboratively with others in the community can be
mutually beneficial, as more people working together brings a greater array of skills and
capabilities that will benefit the project. Money and time can be saved and there are more
people spreading the word within the community.

INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PRIORITIES AND RIGHTS

Basic rights and freedom such as a right to life, the right to freely express your opinion, the right to feel
safe, the right to rest and leisure and the right to education should be available to everyone. These
rights must be upheld all over the world through the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. As well as human rights every individual has the equal right to access facilities and resources
within their communities and society.

When operating within a community development framework a caseworker must identify and
document the interrelationships between the priorities and rights of the individual, the family, the
community and society. An interrelationship is how two or more things are related to one another. In this
case we need to look at how the priorities of the community (such as reducing drug use) may relate to
people’s rights (such as the right to feel safe). When working with a community on a project it is
important for the group leader to outline the rights and responsibilities of group members, how to be
respectful and the importance of an inclusive environment that values the opinions of all members. This
will protect and uphold the rights of all group members. For example, if the group listens to the opinions
of everyone and no one tries to dominate the group or force their ideas on others the members’ rights
are protected so they may freely express their opinions and have them heard without judgement in an
inclusive and accepting environment.

The priorities of community members can be easily documented by taking minutes at all community
meetings. Minutes are a summary of the meeting; they should include information about who attended
the meeting, the time and date of the meeting, the venue of the meeting, who spoke at the meeting,
their opinions, ideas and the key points made. After the meeting these minutes should be formally
written up and copies distributed to the people who attended. They should be encouraged to read the
minutes and check that no key information has been left out. The opinions of community members
could also be documented by using surveys, questionnaires and interviews.

It is the role of a community worker to help individuals voice their priorities and then assist the
community group to collate and use them to formulate realistic goals. Sometimes these priorities may
be unrealistic or could interfere with the rights of individuals within the community and therefore need
to be modified or changed in some way. It is important that you explain why specific priorities may be
difficult to achieve in a positive way and offer an alternative. Some priorities may not be achievable for
social, political and economic reasons.

• Economic – is achieving the priority too expensive? Is there funding available and is it
accessible?

• Political – is there a law or policy that stops the priority from being achieved? Is there a lack of
support from government agencies to achieve the priority?

• Social – does the community have the skills and capability to take action? Is their physical
location going to be a challenge? Are they going to be able to get people to care about the
community development and become actively involved?

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COMMUNITY PRIORITIES – CASE STUDY

Read the following case study and complete the questions.

There is large Greek community living in Perth and

Dianella. Many of the community members feel that it
is a priority to increase the accessibility of facilities and
services to those whose first language is Greek and
who speak very little English as they are having
difficulty communicating within the community. During
a community meeting they request every business and
facility in the community offer a Greek translation of all
written materials and to display signs in Italian. Sophie
a community worker takes notes during the meeting.

Questions
1. What is the priority that has been identified?
2. What rights of the individual, the family, the community and society may need to be
considered?
3. How has it been documented?
4. In your opinion is the priority identified achievable? Why/why not?
5. Describe what might interfere with the community’s ability to achieve this priority (i.e.: social,
economic and/or political).
6. As a community worker, what could you suggest as a more achievable priority for the
community?

ü T7.3
CHAPTER 7 - REVIEW QUESTIONS (SET 1)
1. Define community.
2. In your own words describe what a community development framework is.
3. How can a community development project benefit a community?
4. What role do community workers play in community development?
5. Define sustainability.
6. Why is it important for community development to be sustainable?
7. Briefly outline the four types of sustainability and provide an example of each.
8. What does ABCD stand for?
9. Describe traditional community development approaches: needs-based and
gap-based.
10. Describe contemporary community development approaches: asset-based and
rights-based.

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CHAPTER 2 - REVIEW QUESTIONS continued…

11. List the six principles and practices for community development.
12. Describe three of the principles and practices for community development and
why they are important.
13. List the elements of a work plan.
14. Outline the process for creating a successful community development initiative.
15. Identify two reasons why it is important to involve local people in a community
development initiative.
16. How might you evaluate and monitor a community development initiative and
why is it important to do so?
17. How do a mission and vision differ?
18. Suggest two ways a community worker could work with a community to achieve
their priorities.
19. Define interrelationship.

DISTINGUISH BETWEEN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC ISSUES

ARISING IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORK

People may often be apprehensive about sharing their individual stories as they may feel that they are
the only person experiencing them. They may not realise that others may be feeling or experiencing the
same concerns or issues. Encouraging people to share their stories with others is valuable and can be
very powerful. It allows a community to connect and individuals to be comforted by the fact that they
are not alone and that others are facing the same challenges as they are. While sharing can be a
positive experience, it is the role of a community worker when interacting and working with individuals
within a community to employ appropriate interpersonal skills to hear individual stories and distinguish
between private and public issues.

Individual (private) issues are those

that affect one person and can
include issues such as mental illness,
depression, anxiety, domestic
violence and addiction (alcohol,
drugs and gambling).

Public issues are those that affect

the whole community such as a
lack of facilities or services (e.g.
childcare and public housing),
access to public transport,
availability of resources such as
fresh fruits and vegetables,
immunisations, employment
welfare benefits and transport.

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Distinguishing whether an issue is personal or public is not always easy. For example, a person’s alcohol
abuse may be made worse by the lack of employment opportunities available in the local community
and this is a public concern. It is important to ask as many questions as you can to get a clearer picture
of the issue to determine if you believe it to be a private or public issue.

A community worker’s interpersonal skills will enable them to effectively communicate and interact with
others. These skills should be used when speaking to individuals within the community to determine if
their issues are private or public, shared by many people within their community. These interpersonal
skills include the ability to:

1. Actively listen – the ability to listen to someone and their issues and concerns.
Focusing on what they are saying.

2. Use appropriate questioning techniques – asking questions to find out more about
the issue to distinguish if it is a public or private issue. Use open questions to find
out more details about an issue and closed questions to clarify a particular point
or gain an answer to a direct question.

3. Paraphrase – Paraphrasing is about putting things into your own words and
therefore preventing misinterpretation or distortion of information. Re-word what
the person has told you to clarify that you have understood and/or to draw their
attention to a particular issue. Paraphrasing is an excellent skill that can be used
to re-focus someone to the main issue. For example, you might say “so you have
concerns about the number of childcare places available in the local
community?”

4. Summarise and clarify – once the person has finished speaking, summarising the
main points by repeating what they have said allows you to clarify what they
have told you to make sure you’ve understood.

5. Reflect on feelings – Sometimes when speaking with someone about an issue you
might observe that they seem to be quite upset, for example they might be
choking on their words, have tears in their eyes or be shaking. It is important to
acknowledge this as it allows them to connect with their feelings, consider them
and express them further. For example, you could say “you seem very upset
about the issue”.

6. Use appropriate verbal communication – when you speak, ask questions,

paraphrase or summarise to ensure that your verbal communication is clear. Take
your time and consider the words, tone and speed you use.

7. Use appropriate non-verbal communication – this is just as important as what you

say and includes your posture, eye contact, facial expressions and gestures.
Ensure that your non-verbal communication is positive and encouraging and that
it doesn’t contradict what you are saying verbally in any way. To appear actively
involved and interested in a conversation you should sit up straight, leaning slightly
forward with your hands in your lap and ensure eye contact. Gestures such as
fidgeting, looking around the room and yawning can demonstrate that you are
bored and not involved or really listening to what the speaker is saying.

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PUBLIC ACTION OR REFERRAL
Once you have listened to a person’s stories and distinguished whether their issue is private or public
you should either engage them in the public process (for a public issue) or refer them to other support
service (for a private issue).

Public action

Where a community worker identified that the

public shares an individual’s issues they should
identify an individual’s willingness to engage in
the public process, i.e. are they willing to share
their story and experiences with others in the
community? Part of this process is making them
feel comfortable and not pressured into sharing
their story. When starting this process it is
important that you assure them that they would
be sharing their story in a safe and supportive
environment and assure them that they are not
alone and that by sharing they would be helping
others in the community to bring about change
and facilitate the move from private concern to
public action

To identify if a person is willing to share their story

with the community you must speak directly to
them. Determine their motivations for wanting to
share and ensure that they are prepared for any
potential impacts of sharing their story with the
community. It is also important to observe their
body language. Do they seem nervous or
apprehensive? Are they shaking and/or failing to
make eye contact? This could indicate that they
are uncomfortable and require additional
support.

As a volunteer or community worker you can help someone who wants to share their story by
establishing a rapport built on trust and respect. Always be positive and sensitive to their needs, listen to
any concerns that they have without judgement or criticism. Help them to share their story and
determine what they are willing and not willing to share. Just because they have decided to share their
issue doesn’t mean that they have to share every little detail. It is important that they feel comfortable
to share as little or as much as they like. Ready them to answer questions about their story.

Be empathetic to their situation and try to put yourself in their position and think about how they must
be feeling. Build them up, motivate and encourage them. Remind them how important their story and
experience is and how it is going to help others in the community.

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As a community worker you could facilitate a move from private concern to public action through:

Assisting the individual to see how sharing their story could

help others in a similar situation.

Providing them with all the resources and support they

need to share their story. For example, you could offer to
listen to what they intend to say to the community (i.e. their
speech)

Assisting them with any language and/or cultural needs

they have.

Assist them with any technologies that they wish to use

such as an iMovie presentation.

Ensure they are prepared for any questions that they may
be asked about their experience.

Making them aware of potential impacts and implications

that sharing their story with community members may
have.

Encouraging them to be a part of the bigger picture.

Referral

Often one person’s concerns and issues are theirs alone and not shared by the whole community. It is
important to hear these individual stories in a supportive way and then provide an appropriate referral
to support people to deal with the personal issue/s that the person is experiencing. A referral is the
process of directing a client to another service suitable to their needs.

It is important to understand that a community worker with the appropriate training, qualifications and
experience, can only make an appropriate referral. This is to protect the person who is in need of help
the organisation and the community worker. People may be experiencing distressing and serious
personal issues that will require highly specialised treatment or advice and referring someone to an
unsuitable support person may have adverse consequences.

If a community worker is referring someone the most appropriate referral will depend on the person’s
issue. For example, a woman who is experiencing domestic violence at home could be referred to Safe
Steps, Family Violence Response Service. The community worker that is providing the referral should
provide the person with information about the service and discuss why they believe it would be suitable
to their needs.

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ü T7.4

PUBLIC OR PRIVATE – DISTINGUISH & CATEGORISE

Categorise each of the following issues as public or private by putting a PUB (Public) or PRI (Private) in
the circles.

High unemployment rates

A lack of public transport

Depression

Financial abuse

A lack of childcare options

A lack of maternal health services

Poor dental health

Drug addiction

Social isolation

Anxiety

A lack of recreation facilities

A lack of parks

Domestic violence

Unable to make mortgage repayments

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DUTY OF CARE
Whether you determine that an individual’s story is public or private, you will need to ensure that
anything you do reflects and meets your duty of care responsibilities. As we explored in Chapter 1 duty
of care is your legal obligation to take reasonable care and responsibility to foresee any possible
dangers that may harm or injure a person in your care. These harms are not just physical but also
include any social and emotional harm that a person could incur from sharing their story with the
public, such as bullying, social isolation, people looking at them differently or talking about them behind
their back. As a community worker engaging community members to share their stories with you and
potentially the public you have a duty of care to prepare them for any potential repercussions, impacts
or negative outcomes.

WORK WITH GROUPS TO ACHIEVE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

OUTCOMES

RESEARCH COMMUNITY PRIORITIES

The key to an effective and successful community development project is research. A community
worker cannot enter a community and expect to bring about change without knowing anything about
the community. They need to know about the community’s demographics, average age, cultural
makeup, languages spoken, socioeconomic status and major issues and concerns.

Community workers need to connect with community members, local non-government organisations
(NGOs) and community leaders, to conduct a needs analysis and create a community profile to
research and analyse the community’s priorities.

A community profile is a snapshot of the community; its residents and the resources and facilities
available, such as parks, bike tracks, maternal and child health services, hospitals and aged care
services.

A needs analysis is about finding out what the community needs, identifying possible barriers and
challenges, developing a program or initiative to intervene and overcome the barriers and solve issues
within the community. A needs analysis should also consider the costs of implementing a
program/initiative, its potential effectiveness and long-term sustainability.

To develop a community profile and a needs analysis a community development worker will need to:

Collect data

Data can tell you a lot about a community and their issues and can include:

• any recorded media stories and articles in local

newspapers

• information given to you by local people,

community leaders and the local police

• any formal recorded data such as Census data

obtained by the Australian Bureau of Statistics
(ABS).

• recorded data from the local council such as data

on the use of local facilities and resources, parking
fines, rates and memberships (i.e. library, leisure
centre)

• available hospitalisation and crime statistics.

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• The website profile.id.com.au has a number of suburb-based community profiles that have
been created for councils. Using this website you can find out a lot about a specific community
including population size, age structure, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, income, qualifications,
occupations, employment, unemployment, disability, disadvantage, volunteering, childcare,
family structure, household structure, housing tenure, mortgage and rental payments, and the
size and type of the dwellings people live in.

Conduct interviews with influential local people, create a focus group or host an open community
forum.

You can often learn the most about a community by talking to its residents. This can be achieved in a
number of different ways depending on the time available and what you want to achieve.

• Interview – an interview is generally a one-on-one discussion with a community leader, official, the
police or council worker who can provide you with insight into the community and its issues and
needs. They will most likely have experienced the issue first hand and can provide you with some
practical experience about how the issue is directly affecting residents in the community and how
the issue could be tackled to bring about change.

• Focus group – a focus group is where you gather a range of people from the local community to
be a part of a discussion group, giving their opinions and feedback on a range of issues within the
community.

• Open community forum – is where you invite local

residents to a meeting to discuss the community and its
issues and concerns. This is open to anyone to attend
and voice their opinions and ideas. When advertising
an open community forum it can be helpful to provide
the points for discussion during the meeting so that
residents have an opportunity to think about and pre-
plan their ideas, opinions and key points. This will also
allow them to understand the focus of the forum,
decide whether or not they have something to
contribute and if they should attend.

A community development worker would need to adapt the questions they ask and points for
discussion depending on whether they choose to conduct interviews, a focus group or open
community forum. Some examples of questions and points for discussion include:

• issues that they believe are major concerns for their community.
• how they believe the issue could be addressed.
• if anything has been done in the past to address the issue, if so, what was it and has it worked
and if not why that might be.

The positives of using an interview, focus group or open community forum are:

• There is an opportunity to ask follow-up or additional questions as you think of them.

• You can ask for clarification or additional information on any points or comments made.

The negatives of an interview, focus group or open community forum are:

• You may not be accessing a complete snapshot of the community and their opinions.
• Only people who have the time or hold a real concern about the community are likely to
volunteer to participate.

To run a successful focus group or open community forum requires community workers to facilitate the
sessions effectively. Participants in focus groups and open forums can become distracted and begin to
explore other issues causing the group to lose focus on the main priority. It is the role of a community
worker to control the situation, prevent distraction, keep the group focused on the main priority and if
they do start to lose focus to re-focus them to the main issue in a polite, professional, sensitive and
inclusive manner.

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Create and administer a needs assessment

survey

To find out what people within the community

feel are the major issues and concerns you could
ask a sample of residents to complete a short
survey. Surveys can be quite effective in that the
feedback is anonymous, which means that
people may feel more comfortable being honest
than they would if they were in an interview or
focus group situation. By using a survey you are
also able to involve a larger number of
community residents in the development and
allow them an opportunity to voice their opinions
about what they feel are the community’s issues
and concerns.

However you decide to engage the community in the development project it is important that you
consider and make allowances for the variety of language and literacy needs of the community. For
example, if your community profile tells you that a large proportion of the community speak Italian you
might consider creating your needs assessment survey in both English and Italian. If conducting a focus
group and/or open community forum you might hire an interpreter to assist you.

YOUR COMMUNITY PROFILE –

ICT RESEARCH ACTIVITY
Use the website profile.id.com.au and the internet for research. Search for your suburb or local
council. Read through the information provided to create a community profile. Ensure that your
profile gives the reader a good snapshot of the community, who lives there and the facilities and
services available.

As part of your profile include information

about:

• suburbs that make up the council

• land use in the area
• major features of the area and a
list of facilities available, eg parks,
community centres, childcare
services
• transport
• population size
• age structure
• ethnicity and languages spoken
• income
• employment status
• household and family structures

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ANALYSE COMMUNITY PRIORITIES

Once you have conducted your research you must review and analyse it to identify the community’s
needs and therefore the priorities of the community development project. This can be a time
consuming task depending on the amount of data you have collected. When collating the data to
identify the needs of the community you should:

1. List all of the needs identified and keep a tally of how often each need was mentioned. This will
allow you to determine which needs are the highest priorities.

2. Consider the prevalence of the need, i.e.: the number of cases of the issue. Examine the data
collected to determine if the issue is widespread throughout the community.

3. Consider the level of severity of the issue. Is the need in the community severe and does it need to
be addressed immediately or is it a minor inconvenience that residents can live with.

4. Consider if the needs identified are confined to a select group within the community or whether
they affect a large segment of the community.

5. Brainstorm potential interventions and

solutions to the issues identified. You
may have to narrow the community’s
needs down and choose only one to
be addressed through your community
development project. You would need
to consider what is most important, the
severity of the issue, how prevalent it is,
whether the issue is widespread and if
the issue can be realistically addressed
to bring about lasting change in the
community.

At this stage you are just documenting

potential interventions and strategies to
be looked at and discussed in
collaboration with community
members.

Once all research has been conducted and analysed a community worker should identify and
document shared community priorities within the public group processes. Documentation is an
important priority in any community development. Documentation ensures that any discussions, ideas
and the progress of the development are collected. These documents should be accurate, up-to-date
and accessible to community members and stakeholders to review at any time.

Documentation is also an important aspect of

communication and ensures that everyone involved in
the development is aware of the priorities and what is
being done to address them. Documents like timelines,
schedules and action plans also outline who is
responsible for certain tasks and who they need to be
completed by.

Appropriate documentation for a community

development project may include:

• meeting agendas and minutes

• results from any surveys conducted
• applications or requests for funding
• formal reports and action plans
• timelines and schedules.

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ü T7.5

CHAPTER 7 - REVIEW QUESTIONS (SET 2)

1. How do private and public issues differ? Give an example of each.
2. Describe three interpersonal skills that a community worker might use to
distinguish between private and public issues.
3. Suggest what should be done when an issue is identified as private.
4. Suggest what should be done when an issue is identified as public.
5. Define ‘duty of care’
6. When a community worker enters a community what research should they
conduct?
7. Outline three ways that data and opinions from the community can be
collected.
8. What are the advantages and disadvantages of conducting a ‘needs
assessment’ survey?
9. What are the advantages and disadvantages of conducting a focus group with
local people?
10. What should be analysed when creating a community profile and ‘needs
analysis’?
11. List three pieces of documentation that may be used in a community
development.

PLAN APPROPRIATE STRATEGIES

Once you have identified and documented the shared community priorities it is time to plan
appropriate strategies in collaboration with the group to ensure these community priorities are
addressed. Part of this process will be identifying a vision and mission of the strategy and goals for
addressing the community priorities. This is an important first step as progress and the achievement of
goals will motivate those involved in the community development project to continue their
participation.

When creating goals it is important to come up with short-term goals (to be achieved within the next 3–
6 months) and long-term goals (to be achieved in the next 12–18 months). This will allow you to measure
how achieving these goals contribute to the achievement of the community priorities.

The goals should be set through collaborative brainstorming where the group examines their current
situation (e.g.: data, survey results and needs analysis) to inform the goals they create. It is vital that
everyone involved understands the goals; therefore, they need to be clear and precise. All goals should
be realistic and measurable and should use the S.M.A.R.T goal setting technique.

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• Specific – Make sure the goal is precise. For example, instead

of setting a goal “to improve access to community facilities for
the disabled,” be specific “to ensure access for disabled people
to at least 60% of community facilities by the end of June 2019.”

• Measurable – Ensure that the goal is measurable; this will keep

community members focused and on track. If targets can be
set and improvement easily seen, people are more likely to
remain motivated and continue their involvement in the project.

• Attainable – The goal must be achievable; this is why it is often

beneficial to have both short and long term goals.

• Realistic – All goals should be realistic. Goals are realistic when

the group believes that they can achieve them.

• Timely – Goals should always have a timeframe assigned to

them in which they should be achieved and this should be
documented and shared with the group. Without a designated
timeframe, there is no motivation to achieve the goal/s in the
near future.

Based on these goals the group should now identify which strategy should be adopted to tackle the
priorities and bring about change in the community. The strategy chosen will depend on:

• the issue they are addressing and the goals set

• how large and widespread the issue is in the community
• the number of willing participants and volunteers that want to be a part of the program and
contribute
• the connections and partnerships with local NGOs and community leaders and their willingness
to be a part of the community development project
• The time available to complete the project.

These strategies may include:

Conducting a specific project or the development of a program

This strategy is about designing and implementing a program or project to address the needs of the
community. This program may have been implemented and used by other communities with similar
issues or may be designed from scratch specifically for a community. The development of a program is
often a long-term project that requires plenty of consultation with the community, discussion and the
commitment of community workers and volunteers to keep it running. Examples of projects and
programs that may be developed for a community are recreation programs for the disabled, healthy
food programs for those of low socio-economic status, youth and school holiday programs and social
activities for the aged.

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Conducting a project or developing a program often requires support from non-government

organisations and/or the government in the form of funding for resources and infrastructure. Every year
the Australian Government makes more than $300 million available under its Community Development
Grants Program for single year or multiple year projects. Funding for projects range in value from $2,000
to $13 million. However, accessing this funding involves writing a proposal, which includes information
such as project management plans, financial statements and cash flow estimates, risk management
plans and results of any market research and community consultation. Putting together a proposal can
be time consuming and may require speciality skills that community members might need assistance
with.

A public response/meeting

This is where a community worker assists the community

to achieve their goals and address their needs through
organising a public response forum/meeting for them to
voice their concerns to key stakeholders such as the
police, the local council and VicRoads who have the
power to address their concerns and bring about
change. For example, the community might voice their
opinion about a certain intersection being dangerous.
Within the forum/meeting community members may
take turns to describe their near misses and dangerous
encounters at the intersection. A nominated person
may also present data and any statistical findings
about the intersection such as the number of accidents
and speeding fines issued. In this type of situation the
forum/meeting has the potential to achieve the
priorities of the community through the right
stakeholders and authorities being involved in the
meeting. They will be able to respond to the situation
immediately and make the necessary changes to
make the intersection safer. This could involve re-
designing the intersection, changing road rules such as
the speed limit and installing a red light camera.

Group action

Group action is where community members work together to achieve something and/or bring about
change in their community. This requires community members to be actively involved and participate in
a range of activities to create the change. For example, they may involve themselves in fundraising
activities such as sausage sizzles and bake sales or create advocacy groups such as a neighbourhood
watch. They may lobby their local council by writing letters and emails, meeting with council members,
attending open council meetings, liaising with the local media and conducting community meetings,
sit-ins, protests and walks to create awareness of the issue.

Group action may occur when:

• Residents are unhappy with a change that has occurred in the community such as the
installation of paid parking meters in an area highly frequented by residents.
• A new or replacement facility or piece of equipment is wanted/needed by the community such
as park equipment, a library, bike tracks and recreational facilities.
• There are safety concerns such as an unsafe intersection, frequent speeding in a particular
street or the need for a pedestrian crossing, speed humps or traffic lights in an area of the
community.
• Residents feel that their community is unsafe due to frequent attacks, burglaries, graffiti and
property damage and that something needs to be done about it such as frequent security
patrols, neighbourhood watch programs and the installation of brighter lighting in areas of the
community.
• The community wants to sustain and protect their local resources such as parklands.

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BAYSWATER BOWLING CLUB – ICT RESEARCH TASK

Bayswater City Council, in particular the Bayswater community, made the ABC news in June 2018
due to the pending closure of the much-loved Bayswater Bowling club.

Using the internet, research the revival of the Bayswater Bowling club and answer the following
questions.

1. Why was the club facing closure?

2. Why do you think the community was in uproar at the possible closure of the venue?

3. How did the club manage to stay open?

4. What role do volunteers play in local community clubs such as the Bayswater Bowling
club?
5. The ABC news story mentions that club also had trouble with ‘volunteer burnout’. What is
volunteer burnout and why do you think this was the case?

The establishment of organisational arrangements

Where a community feels that an issue is ongoing

they might decide to start an organisation such as
a charity or not-for-profit organisation. This will
ensure that the issue is a constant focus for the
community and that something is always being
done to work on and improve the issue. The
establishment of organisational arrangements
ensures sustainability and that the issue is being
consistently dealt with for the long term. This is often
a concern with the development of programs or
projects as once the objective has been achieved
the group disbands and support such as funding
and volunteers disappear which can cause the
issue to re-occur within the community.

The establishment of an organisational arrangement has many benefits for a community, including:

• It is a constant and reliable source of assistance in the community.

• It advocates for the community through giving a voice to the local people and the issue.
• They challenge the community to get involved in the issue through attending community run
events, fundraising, donations and participation.
• The organisation is tailor made for the community, its people and their specific needs. They often
recognise the cultural and linguistic needs of the community in order to engage them in their
activities.
• It assists the community to raise awareness of the issue through promotional strategies and
media contact.
• Provides an opportunity for the community to lobby and make contact with their local council
to make changes within the community.

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Many councils support the establishment of not-for-profit and charitable organisations within their
communities. Many of them provide financial grant programs for organisations that deliver services or
activities that support and improve health, wellbeing and life-long learning within their community.

A number of community centres are not-for-profit and offer a range of services to community residents
such as childcare, children’s activities and adult education including short courses in cooking,
computer skills and job seeking. They engage residents in their local community through providing them
with opportunities to be active, socialise and communicate with others and develop their skills and
knowledge for employment and life-long learning.

NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS IN YOUR

COMMUNITY – ICT INVESTIGATION TASK
Brainstorm three community centres in your community. If you are unsure or cannot recall any use
Google to help you search online. Using the template below, list the services/programs provided by
the centre and consider the opportunities that the centre is providing to community residents. Use
the example to assist you.

Community centre List the services/programs provided Opportunities created for the
community

Example: • Movement Classes • Health and wellbeing

• Entertainment • Education, skills and
Citiplace Community • Computer training knowledge
Centre • Internet Access • Communication and
• Carpet Bowls technology skills
Located at Upper Level • Craft • Socialisation
Walkway, City Railway • Quilting • Art and craft skills
Station Complex, • Scrabble Club (advanced)
Wellington Street, Perth • Achievers’ Club
• Bus Trips
• Special lunch functions
including Christmas in July
and December

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Community centre List the services/programs provided Opportunities created for the
community

CREATE AN ACTION PLAN

Once a strategy for action has been planned the group will need to create and document an action
plan. An action plan is a document that outlines the steps that need to be taken to achieve a goal. An
action plan should document the community structures and resources available to the group/s to
maximise outcomes, the specific tasks that need to be completed, by when (timeframe) and by whom
and list any resources or support required

Creating an action plan in collaboration

with a group also means that it can be
discussed as you go and people have an
opportunity to voice their opinions and
ideas. It is also an opportunity to bring up
any challenges or threats that the group
might face, which could interfere with
their ability to meet their desired
outcomes or stick to an allocated
timeframe. It is important to actively seek
the involvement of all community
members in attendance. If people feel
that they are being listened to and that
their ideas and opinions are valued, they
are more likely to contribute and continue
their participation in the community
development. Once an action plan has
been developed it should be distributed
to all those involved in the community
development so that they are aware and
accountable for their role and allocated
responsibilities.

There is no specific layout for an action plan however the information that it outlines should be fairly
consistent. It might include the goal/s, specific tasks, timelines, resources available and needed, and
how it will be evaluated. It can be specifically designed to be suitable for the community and the
linguistic backgrounds of the participants.

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It could follow this format:

Action Plan – Community Development

Community issue/concern Outline the issue/concern that the community is facing, for example:

• A lack of recreational activities for the aged

• A lack of access to facilities for the disabled within the community
• The need for speed humps to slow down the speed of motorists on
Pine Drive, Melton.

Goal/s What the community wants to achieve through the community

development.

Resources available What the community has available to them to assist with the community
development, including people, their skills (e.g.: writing skills and public
speaking skills) and expertise, funding and equipment.

Community structures A list of the organisations, services and/or agencies i.e.: government, not-for
profit and businesses already active in the community that could assist in
the community development and how they could assist. For example,
funding, donations, sharing resources, networking, media and promotion
and facility hire such as meeting rooms.

Specific tasks, timeframes Step-by-step the specific tasks that need to be completed to achieve the
and participant roles goal/s. For example:

1. Contact and speak to the local media about the community

development program.
2. Create and post flyers about the program to attract participants.
3. Arrange a meeting with the local council to discuss how they could
support the program through an allocation of funding.
4. Create a Facebook page for the community development project
and encourage residents to join.

A timeframe for the completion of each step or series of steps should be

outlined, i.e. 1 month, 6 months etc.

Each task should be allocated to a participant or group of participants to

complete. Designating the specific tasks is important to ensure
accountability and that everyone is aware of their responsibilities and roles.

Evaluation Part of an action plan is considering how you will evaluate the success of
the community development. It is important that you are able to measure its
level of success and obtain feedback, which could be used to make
changes and improvements.

Community development could be evaluated in a number of ways

including:

• A survey or questionnaire distributed to residents

• Data such as a reduced number of hospitalisations, accidents and
facility use and access.

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ü T7.6

COMMUNITY STRUCTURE OR RESOURCE? –

CLASSIFICATION ACTIVITY
To maximise the outcomes for a community it is important to document the community structures and
resources available.

Classify each of the following as either a community structure or resource.

A local man is a jounalist A business within the

and has connections community has offered
with the local media who the use of their
can publicise the boardroom for
program. community meetings

The local supermarket is

People in the community willing to donate $1 from
are willing to volunteer every purchase over $50
to the project.

The local council has a A local sportsman has

BBQ and some catering donated some sports
supplies which can be memorabilia to be
used for a sausage auctioned to raise funds
sizzle fundraiser. for the program.

An NGO has agreed to

Students at the local support the development
school are willing to
through providing a staff
conduct a fundraiser for
member free of charge
the program. once a week.

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As part of documenting the community structures and resources available a group might also conduct
a SWOT analysis of the community development they are undertaking.

A SWOT analysis is a simple and effective tool for conducting an analysis of a situation. SWOT is about
identifying the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of the community development you
are about to embark on. This allows you to be prepared and well planned. It also allows you to focus on
your strengths and opportunities and to minimise weaknesses and threats. The strengths and
weaknesses of the community are internal factors that can be changed. The opportunities and threats
are external and not always controllable. However, they can be planned for and contingencies
developed.

A SWOT should be completed collaboratively with members of the community. Questions can be used
to prompt the group to brainstorm as many aspects of their community as possible.

For example:
Strengths Weaknesses
• What does the community do well? • What does the community need to
• What would other communities say your improve on?
strengths are? • What doesn’t the community do well?
• What can your community do better than • What are other communities likely to see
any other? as your community’s weaknesses?
• What are the advantages? • What are the negatives of living in your
• What actions does the community do community?
well? • What negative feedback has the
• What are the positives of living in your community had in the past? Eg.
community? cleanliness, services and available
• What sets your community apart from facilities.
others? • Does the community lack funding
• Is there funding and financial support support?
available? • Is there a lack of passion, commitment
• Are community members highly and involvement from community
motivated and passionate about the members? Does the community really
issue? care about the issue?
• Do community members have the skills
needed?

Opportunities Threats
• What opportunities are open/available to • What threats could affect the
the community? community?
• Is there an opportunity for an organisation • Will the community have trouble funding
or agency to fund the program? the project?
• How could the community turn their • Is there opposition to the project from
strengths into an opportunity? government, non-government and/or
• What opportunities are there today? local businesses?
• Who can support/assist the community? • What threats could stop the community
• Are there any laws that could further from reaching their goals?
enhance or support the community • Who/what could cause problems for the
development project? community?
• What obstacles will the community face?
• Are there new people, technologies, and
resources that could affect the success of
the project?
• Are there any obligations or
circumstances that may affect the
project’s success?

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PROVIDE ADVICE AND INFORMATION

When working with groups to achieve community
development outcomes it is important to provide advice
and information to groups and individuals as required to
ensure they are fully informed about relevant issues and
opportunities. Time and care should be taken to make sure
that all community members feel included, part of the
group and informed of all aspects of the project.
Community workers need to explain in detail all processes
of the community development project. This not only
allows participants to be aware of what is going on but
also allows them to develop knowledge about community
development projects and how they take place.
Knowledge empowers people and gives them the
confidence to be an active member of their community in
this project as well as other future projects.

When working with community groups a community

worker may provide advice and information about:

• legislation that may influence the community development project and potential outcomes
• council and government processes
• strategies for bringing about change in the community
• tackling a particular issue and the steps that should be taken
• putting together documents and proposals for grants and funding
• approaching organisations within the community for assistance and support
• planning public events
• how to gain media interest and support for the community development project
• developing an action plan
• creating a community profile and/or needs analysis
• evaluating the program

COMMUNITY OUTCOMES
A community can achieve so much from a community development project. Not only will they meet
the needs of the community and their intended goal/s but there are also a range of other outcomes,
such as:

• being able to address problems in the community and

to strengthen community structures
• community facilities
• community planning
• community projects
• consultative and planning committees
• enhanced community capacity, i.e. empowering
community members through education, abilities and
interest
• enhanced community skills
• enhanced social capital, i.e. networks and relationships
among people within the community which enable the
community to function more effectively
• increased capacity of groups and individuals to
engage with political and community structures
• increased community self-confidence in public activity
• inter-community collaboration.

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As a community development worker it is your role to advocate and lobby for community based
outcomes. Advocating is about supporting the community, assisting them to have a voice and making
recommendations to achieve their goals and desired outcomes. Depending on the community and
the types of participants involved advocating may involve a community worker as the spokesperson for
the group or assisting and supporting a member of the community to be the spokesperson.

A community worker will also need to lobby to create community based outcomes. Lobbying is two
fold, it is about petitioning and persuading the authorities, councils and agencies to make and/or
support the changes as well as influencing local people and others to take notice of the issue, become
involved and support the community development project.

A community worker might advocate and lobby for the community through:

• talking to the media and making them aware of the issue and the need for change.

• getting out in the community and speaking with people on the street about the issue and the
goals of the community and engaging their support and/or participation in the development.

• meeting with the relevant decision makers in the community and persuading them to get
involved and support the change.

• publicising any community events and fundraising activities in a variety of ways such as
speaking to the local newspaper, radio station and through social media.

ü T7.7
CHAPTER 7 - REVIEW QUESTIONS (SET 3)

1. Why is it important for the community to set goals?

2. Describe the S.M.A.R.T technique for goal setting.
3. Provide a brief explanation of each of the following appropriate strategies for
addressing community priorities.
a) Conducting a specific project or developing a program
b) A public response/meeting
c) Group action
d) Establishing organisational arrangements
4. What is an action plan?
5. Why it is important to have an action plan for a community development
project?
6. Why would it be important to take note of the resources available to the
community?
7. What are community structures? Provide two examples.
8. How could you document the community structures and resources available?

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CHAPTER 7 - REVIEW QUESTIONS continued…

9. What is a SWOT analysis? What is identified through a SWOT?

10. As a community worker why is it important that you provide advice and
information to groups and individuals within the community?
11. List four potential community outcomes that could result from a community
development initiative.
12. In your own words describe what it means to ‘advocate’ and ‘lobby’ on behalf
of a community.
13. Give an example of how a community worker could advocate and lobby for
community based outcomes.

MANAGE GROUP DYNAMICS, FACILITATE DISCUSSIONS AND

ENGAGEMENT PROCESSES
When volunteering with diverse groups it is important to acknowledge the wide variety of different
personalities that you will be working with. As a community development worker it is your role to
facilitate the group and assist them to address their priorities in the most effective and successful way.
To do this you will need to manage group dynamics, facilitate discussions and engagement processes.

Managing group dynamics

Managing group dynamics is an important aspect of group

facilitation as the effectiveness and success of the group
begins with the group’s ability to work cohesively. The group
needs to be able to share information, have open
communication, give constructive feedback, work
cooperatively and be committed to achieving the
community’s priorities.

To manage group dynamics consider:

The needs of participants

When working with community groups you will need to consider and develop strategies for addressing
individual differences. These individual differences are what makes people unique and this diversity
should be embraced. Diversity brings new and different ideas and perspectives, which can add value
to a community development project. Individual differences may include: culture, language, age,
religion, beliefs, disability, family structures and relationships.

The strategies adopted to address these individual differences will vary depending on the individual
and their difference/s. It is important however that each person is made to feel part of the group and
that their ideas and opinions are valued and important to the group. Create an environment that
promotes diversity through shared experiences and promoting inclusiveness and acceptance.

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For example, if you encounter a person with

specific cultural and language needs you
may need to organise an interpreter to
attend group meetings and/or provide
written materials to participants in their
native language. The use of visuals such as
pictures and diagrams can also assist people
who have English as their second language.

You may also need to accommodate

people with disabilities and impairments as
well as the aged who may require ramps or
special assistance to access the meetings so
they may contribute. If you have not met the
community members before you may ask
them to register their interest and have, them
highlight any specific needs they have such
as wheelchair access so that you can be
prepared.

Communication

Communication needs to be clear, direct and respectful at all times, taking into consideration the use
of verbal, and non-verbal communication. As a facilitator of a community development it is important
that you establish rules for communication. Be clear about the importance of one person speaking at a
time and listening to each other’s ideas and opinions even if you don’t agree with them. When
managing group dynamics it is important not to allow people to be disrespectful to the speaker by
having their own side conversations, making negative comments or putting them down.

Respect

Respect is vital to the ability of a group to work collaboratively together. Respect is about showing
admiration for someone, their abilities, qualities and/or achievements. Having respect for someone
does not mean that you have to necessarily agree with their ideas and opinions. It is more about
listening to them and being polite.

All members of the group should show

respect for one another and in all
communications. As a facilitator you should
take the time to discuss the importance of
respect when beginning discussions with
community members in a group situation.
Respect in all communication allows people
to feel included and valued, is about making
people feel part of a group and providing a
sense of acceptance and belonging. As a
facilitator it is important that you model
respect in all your interactions and ask
community members to do the same.

As a facilitator you can role model respect through your verbal and non-verbal communication by:

• treating people professionally, always being polite, courteous and kind

• being supportive and encouraging of others
• listening to others’ opinions and suggestions
• always providing feedback in a constructive and respectful manner
• thanking and praising others for their good work and/or assistance, even if it is part of their job
• never insulting them, being mean or nasty
• using positive body language and posture and ensuring eye contact.

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Trust

Trust is important in a community development environment especially where community members

may be sharing their personal stories and issues. A facilitator should do their best to build trust within the
group by asking them not to discuss any sensitive information in public. A group needs trust to work
effectively as a team. Trust can be established and maintained through:

• open and honest communication

• members showing a commitment to the community’s priorities and dedicating themselves to
working hard to achieve them
• being competent and completing any designated tasks within the allocated timeframe
• collaborating with others and sharing ideas; people need to feel that they can share their ideas
and opinions where they will not be judged or ridiculed or have to worry about someone else
taking credit for their ideas.
• follow through; when you say that you are going to do something it is important that you do it.

Decision-making

When decision-making in a group it is important to listen to all group members’ ideas, suggestions and
points of view, as each member will have something unique to offer to the decision making process.
When making a decision the group should list all of the relevant choices, identifying the possible
consequences and the likelihood of these consequences occurring. Through combining all of the
relevant information the group should arrive at a decision that is in the best interests of the organisation,
team or group.

Involving all group members in the decision making process is invaluable to a group’s ability to work
successfully together. When people are involved making a decision they take ownership of it. This
makes them more likely to follow through, back the decision and do their best to see that it is successful.
This makes individuals more committed to the community’s priorities.

Conflict resolution

Conflict can destroy the dynamics of a group, hindering the group from making any decisions or
progress. As a facilitator modelling and enforcing expectations and rules around listening,
communication and respect can prevent conflict. Wherever possible any conflict should be dealt with
quickly and tactfully to prevent any further escalation.

Where two people in the group are arguing it is often best to ask them politely to stop and to say that
their opinions can be discussed in private at the conclusion of the meeting. This allows the group to
move on and process towards their objective without getting bogged down in the conflict. It also
allows for the conflict to be dealt with discreetly, to minimise the impact on others in the group.

As explored in the previous chapter, there are a variety of

communication strategies and techniques that can be
used to resolve conflict, depending on the situation, what
needs to be achieved and who is involved. It is vital to use
the most effective conflict resolution techniques and
communication skills to manage conflict and develop
solutions. An effective conflict resolution technique should
encourage everyone to express their point of view,
acknowledging and treating everyone with respect.
Resolving conflict will result in one of three outcomes; a
win-win, win-lose or lose-lose situation. The results of the
resolution will depend on how the conflict was handled. In
a win-win situation both parties will come away from the
conflict situation satisfied with the resolution. In a win-lose
situation only one party will come away satisfied and in a
lose-lose situation the conflict will either be ignored or the
parties will be unable or unwilling to compromise on an
outcome.

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A win-win outcome is always best for maintaining a positive environment. It will help maintain the
relationship between the parties involved in the conflict and preserve morale in the group. To work
towards achieving a win-win resolution effective conflict resolution techniques must be used.

Facilitate discussions

Facilitation is the process of assisting a group to learn something new, do a task or make something
easier. The ideal outcome for any facilitation is to achieve both individual and collective empowerment
whilst maintaining group cohesion.

A facilitator is often used to start a discussion and enable a group to work effectively and
collaboratively. An effective facilitator should be able to engage all members of the group to work
effectively to achieve the best outcomes for all involved, without taking on a particular position. To
facilitate a group successfully a group leader should always allow the group to evolve at its own pace.
As a community worker you will need to lead and facilitate community meetings. These meetings will
enable community members to become involved and actively participate in the development project.
This is important to the success and sustainability of any community development program. As
mentioned in the previous section, part of facilitating discussions is managing the dynamics of the
group. Part of this is establishing group expectations to ensure that the group works cohesively and that
group members respect one another’s views and ideas.

When facilitating discussions it is important

to get everyone actively involved. Often in
group situations there are one or two
people with dominant personalities who
speak up and voice their opinion;
dominating many of the conversations. This
can stop others from contributing to the
discussion. It is important to manage this
type of situation and include all group
members in the conversation. You could
manage this type of situation by asking
those who are dominating the conversation
to allow others to speak. You could also
actively involve others who have sat quietly
by asking them individually for their opinion,
for example you might say “Alison what do
you think about the issue?”.

You should document all group discussions. As mentioned earlier in this chapter you could do this by
taking a video, audio recording or through taking minutes of the meeting. If you take minutes of the
meeting you should provide a copy to the participants after the meeting. These minutes should provide
a summary of what was discussed during the meeting and any decisions, outcomes or action areas
identified.

Engagement strategies

It is important to consider how to best engage community members in a group meeting. Engagement
will promote participation and make community members more enthusiastic about being part of the
community development project. If people are not engaged during the first meeting they are unlikely
to give up their time and continue to attend meetings. To engage people ensure that group meetings
are:

• Meaningful

People like to know that they are doing something for a reason and that what they are doing is
valuable. People need to feel that their time is being well spent on something that is going to make
a difference to their community. When people feel that they are wasting their time they will
disengage and stop participating.

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• Allow them input

People need to feel that their ideas and opinions are valued and that they are an important part
of the group. Include all group members in discussions and any decisions that need to be made. If
a particular group member is quiet ask them directly by name for their input.

When people give an idea or opinion be supportive and thank them for their input. Even if you feel
that their opinion or idea is unrealistic or not in line with the community’s priorities it is still important
to make the person feel that their contribution was valuable and worthwhile; if you don’t they will
stop contributing. To be respectful and polite you could simply say “thankyou for that idea it’s a
unique way at looking at the issue”.

• Organised

As a facilitator it is important to prepare for a

community development meeting. If you are
disorganised and fail to have a clear plan for the
meeting people will disengage. If they feel that
the meeting is not a priority for you as the
community development worker then they may
consider they are wasting their time attending,
participating in something that even the
facilitator does not view as a priority.

To be organised create an agenda for the

meeting outlining each item to be discussed and
the approximate time to be spent on each item.
An agenda allows group members to look ahead
and see what is up for discussion and allows them
to think about their contributions to each agenda
item.

It is also important that you take note of any

actions and complete them before the next
meeting.

• Build relationships

When forming a community development group take the time to get to know everyone in the
group. Allowing people to interact and communicate informally is the first step to building rapport
and social relationships. When people feel connected to others in the group they are likely to
engage more, participate and work hard to achieve the priorities set by the group.

You could facilitate this by leading an icebreaker activity. Using icebreakers at the beginning of the
first community meeting can help strangers get know one another and you as their facilitator. It
allows people to begin to feel comfortable in their environment and become engaged in the
meeting.

• Enjoyable

Community meetings do not need to be all business. There should be an opportunity for people to
mingle and chat either halfway through, during a break, or at the conclusion of the meeting. You
should organise and provide refreshments such as tea and coffee and snacks such as muffins,
biscuits or fruit. This allows the meeting to have a social aspect and an opportunity to discuss some
of the issues raised during the meeting. Sometimes the best ideas come from informal
conversations.

As the facilitator this also allows you to get to know individual community members, their interests,
and priorities informally in a casual setting. The rapport that is developed during this time can be
beneficial to working relationships and therefore the community development project as a whole.

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ICEBREAKERS – PRACTICAL AND

ICT RESEARCH ACTIVITY
TASK 1

As a class complete the following icebreaker:

1. Students sit or arrange their chairs into a circle so that they are facing one another.
2. Students start reciting the alphabet together.
3. The teacher yells stop at any time so that the group stops on a specific letter of the alphabet.
4. Each member of the group then answers a question chosen by the teacher using that letter;
the question/statement should change after each round.

For example if the teacher yells stop and the group has just said the letter ‘S’, each group
member may have to think of something that they like doing beginning with the letter ‘S’ e.g.
“snorkelling.”

Questions/statements:

• something you enjoy doing

• something you are looking forward to
doing in the future
• favourite food/drink
• personality trait/something that
describes you
• something in your life
• something you are going to do when
you get home
• something you love
• something you hate.

TASK 2 – ICT RESEARCH

In groups of 2–3 research your own icebreaker you could use to promote group collaboration or
introduce new group members to one another. Provide the instructions for this activity below; if
time permits your teacher may like you to run this activity with your class.

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REVIEW YOUR WORK PRACTICES

As a community worker your sole purpose is to assist communities to address their shared concerns and
issues. This is done in a variety of ways including the development of initiatives, programs, support and
counselling. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are committed to the principles of community
development and part of this is taking the time to critically and honestly review and modify your own
work practices within a community development framework.

You could review your work practices through:

Formal and informal feedback methods

• Formal feedback is where a survey or questionnaire

is constructed and given to community members
involved in the framework to complete. They would
need to respond to a series of questions about a
community development worker’s work practices.

• As a community development worker you could

informally review your work practices by looking at
the number of people that participate in the
program. If people stop attending meetings or
show a lack of interest or enthusiasm for the project
it is likely that your work practice has not been
overly successful and that there is room for
modification and improvement.

Self-reflection methods

• Community workers can use a diary or

journal to jot down information about
the community development and self-
evaluate their own performance based
on a range of self-made criteria. These
may include communication,
explanation and delivery, the
successfulness of the project, rapport
and the responsiveness of the
community.

A community worker may then use this

information to develop three goals or
changes they can make to their work
practice for their next community
development project and work towards
achieving these. A diary or journal can
also be a useful self-reflection tool as
past entries can be used to develop
future frameworks by reflecting on what
worked and what didn’t work.

• Mentoring is also an excellent self-reflection method. Mentoring is about transferring knowledge

from one individual to another, through explanation and demonstration, offering the individual
an opportunity to learn as they are supported and assisted by a more experienced colleague.

A mentor could assist a community development worker to evaluate their performance by

reflecting on strengths and weaknesses. Using constructive feedback a mentor can assist and
support the community worker to make improvements for future frameworks.

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MODIFY YOUR WORK PRACTICES

Once you have reviewed your work practices and identified areas for improvement you will need to
find a way to modify your work practices. This is about finding new ways to connect with the community
and be more effective in your role. A community worker may need to modify their work practices for a
range of reasons including:

• difficulty engaging and connecting with community members and/or alienating community
members by being too inflexible
• a lack of participation from community members
• difficulty brokering and establishing connections and partnerships with local NGOs and
community leaders
• struggling with the ability to be flexible and tailoring the framework to individual’s specific needs
• they felt that they didn’t have the skills or knowledge to assist with certain aspects of the
community development framework, such as working with people suffering from a mental illness
• difficulty meeting the cultural and language needs of community members
• difficulty managing the group dynamics during group meetings
• difficulty facilitating discussions and asking the right questions

A community worker could modify their work practices through seeking opportunities to improve. They
could do this by:

Seeking professional development

Professional development is about learning new skills or knowledge that can help you learn something
new or further develop your abilities. This can assist community workers to improve their work practices
giving them the capability to assist communities and individuals within those communities more
effectively. Professional development can include training, coaching, and personal study.

Training

This is where a community development worker organises to attend a short course, workshop,
conference or session with a specific focus to further develop their knowledge, skills and abilities in this
area.

The Australian Community Workers Association (ACWA) provides a number of opportunities for
professional development, specifically for community workers. They offer E-learning, conferences,
forums and workshops on a range of topics.

Some examples of professional development opportunities for community workers are:

• strategies for working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders

• understanding mental illness in the community
• asking identifying questions
• working effectively with rural and remote communities

Personal study

Personal study is also a great way to learn

more skills and knowledge. Personal study
can include completing a certificate, short
course or degree to further develop skills,
knowledge and qualifications. It can also
include researching information through the
internet or books. Personal study can help a
community worker to be more effective
and successful in their current role and
better support community members.

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Coaching and mentoring

The use of coaches and mentors can foster teamwork and a cohesive and collaborative working
environment. Coaching and mentoring involves using the skills of one community worker to teach or
educate another community worker. It is about transferring knowledge from one individual to another
through explanation and demonstration. Coaching and mentoring not only benefits the person being
coached or mentored but also the coach/mentor as well as the organisation that they work for.

Mentees/Coachees benefit through: Mentors/Coaches benefit through: Organisations benefit through:

•Learning new skills •Developing their coaching and •Cost effective way of training new staff.
•Learning new knowledge instructing skills •Developing potential leaders
•Developing confidence •Improving their leadership skills •Increasing skills amongst staff
•Enhancing opportunities for •Gaining a sense of satisfaction •Increase productivity.
their careers

ü T7.8
CHAPTER 7 - REVIEW QUESTIONS (SET 4)
1. Why do you think it is important to manage group dynamics?
2. Outline three things that should be considered to manage group dynamics
effectively.
3. Suggest how a community worker could effectively facilitate discussions with
community groups.
4. Why is it important to engage people?
5. Describe three ways to engage people.
6. Outline three ways a community worker could review their work practices.
7. Why do you think it is important for a community worker to review their work
practices?
8. Suggest three reasons why a community worker might modify their work
practices.
9. Identify and describe two ways a community worker could seek
opportunities to improve their work practices.
10. Identify three benefits of coaching and mentoring.

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