Unit : 02

Module 12 : Community Development Programmes

Learning objectives

By the end of this module, you will able to

 Understand what is community development
 Learn the role of NGOs in community development
 Discern how various community development schemes and projects are
successful because of NGOs

Definitions of community development

The concept of Community development programmes (CDP) focuses on

interventions for community development that are both people-centered and people-led
and aim to improve the living circumstances of these communities. In other words,
Community Development aims to provide individuals and groups with the knowledge and
abilities necessary to make a difference in their local communities.
C-community : People who are confined to particular geographic regions or communities
of interest are referred to as communities.
D-development : Development as a concept would imply that there has been
improvement or advancement that has improved the security, freedom, dignity, self-
reliance, and self-growth of social groupings. . This would involve twin concepts of social
as well as economic development.
Community development is a cooperative, facilitating process used by individuals
(community, institutions, or academic stakeholders) with the aim of enhancing capacity
to improve quality of life. The process of creating vibrant, long-lasting communities built
on social fairness and respect for one another is known as community development.
The United Nations defines community development as "a process where
community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to
common problems”. It is a broad concept practiced by civic leaders, activists, society
conscious citizens and professionals to improve the community needs, for building a
stronger and more resilient community. International Association for Community
Development defines it as ‘a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that
promotes participative democracy, sustainable development, rights, economic
opportunity, equality and social justice, through the organisation, education and

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empowerment of people within their communities, whether these be of locality, identity or
interest, in urban and rural settings’.
Community development seeks to empower individuals and the community with
the skills required to cause a change for the upliftment of the society. In India, community
development in India was initiated by Government of India through Community
Development Programme (CDP) in 1952. The focus of CDP was on rural communities.
But, professionally trained social workers concentrated their practice in urban areas.
Agriculture, animal husbandry, irrigation, collaboration, public health, education, social
education, village industries, etc. were all included in this program. The main objective of
Community Development Programmes is to improve the standard of living of the village
people. They have been provided with various employment facilities and opportunities to
set up industries and the training to improve their agricultural production.
The three types of communities we can classify are
• Rural
• Urban
• Semiurban
Elements: Rural community development builds five capitals of a community –
physical, financial, human, social and environmental. It is through participation in their
community that people rethink problems and expand contacts and networks; building
social capital.
Dimensions-3C’s
Community development programmes need to be understood with dimensions of
their context, creation and culmination.
The context factors relate to the problems, concerns of the community, the background,
the strengths and weaknesses of the community.
The creation refers to unique programs that address community challenges and
concerns using particular intents (values-based foundation and aims), tactics, and
procedures.
The culmination would relate to program's accomplishment of its objectives and the
ability to clearly identify the individuals and procedures responsible for accountability.

CD Process

The steps of community development process are

Step 1: Community Involvement.
Step 2: Comprehensive Planning.

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 Step 3: Strategic Planning.
Step 4: Project Planning.
Step 5: Grant Application.
Step 6: Project Implementation and Completion.

The CDP has been divided into three different phases, which are:
National Extension Phase
The approach for delivering services based on the pattern of typical rural
development and extending it to the chosen areas, as well as at a lower cost to the
government.
Intensive Community Development Project Phase
In this phase the selected blocks are subjected to intense development, with a
higher cost to the government.
Post-Intensive Development Phase
In the post-intensive phase, it is assumed that the process's foundation for self-
perpetuation was established during the earlier phases, together with a decrease in the
special government's necessary costs.
The objectives of community development are
• creating equitable conditions and outcomes for good health and wellbeing
• improving the health and prosperity of the community as a whole
• fostering sustainable community initiatives
• cultivating sustainable self-sufficiency for the people involved
• increasing personal worth, dignity, and value and
• building awareness of and resolving issues in the community.

Approaches to community development

i. Community Engagement
Focuses on relationships at the core of facilitating "understanding and evaluation,
involvement, exchange of information and opinions, about a concept, issue or project,
with the aim of building social capital and enhancing social outcomes through decision-
making”.
ii. Women self-help group
Focusing on the contribution of women in various groups

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iii. Community capacity building
Assisting local communities acquire, retain, and increase their capacity to create
and accomplish their own development goals.
iv. Large group capacitation
A social psychology and adult education strategy based on individual activity and
large group social psychology that focuses on large groups of unemployed or semi-
employed people, many of whom have lower levels of literacy (LLLs).
v. Social capital formation
Focusing on benefits derived from the cooperation between individuals and
groups.
vi. Nonviolent direct action
When a group of people take action to reveal an existing problem, highlighting an
alternate way, or demonstrating a possible solution to a social issue, it is classified under
nonviolent direct action. The issue taken up will be something that the traditional
government institutions did not address.
vii. Economic development
Concentrating on the economic "development" of emerging nations, while this term
also refers to the procedures and practices used by a country to enhance the economic,
political, and social well-being of its citizens.
viii. Community economic development (CED)
Focuses on the development of developing countries which is measured by the
economy of the country. This in turn includes the processes and policies by which a nation
improves the economic, political and social well-being of its people.
ix. Sustainable development
Aims to accomplish objectives for social development, economic development,
and environmental protection in a balanced manner.
x. Community-driven development (CDD)
is an economic development strategy that places more reliance on local
communities rather than on the federal government.
xi. Asset-based community development (ABCD)
is a system that aims to identify and utilize local communities' strengths as a means
to achieve sustainable development.

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xii. Community-based participatory research (CBPR)
a partnership-based research approach that equitably involves, for example,
community members, organisational representatives, and researchers in all aspects of
the research process and in which all partners contribute expertise and share decision
making and ownership. This aims to integrate this knowledge with community
development outcome.
xiii. Community organizing
is a strategy that typically operates under the presumption that social change
involves conflict and social struggle in order to build collective power for the powerless.
xiv. Participatory planning
Includes community-based planning. It involves entire community in the strategic
and management processes of city or community level planning, as well as urban and
rural planning.
xv. Language revitalization
emphasizes using a language in a way that meets the needs of a community. This
could entail producing literature, movies, and other forms of media using the language.
These activities support the preservation of a tiny linguistic community's language and
culture.

Values in community development

i. Social Justice – People can assert their human rights, meet their needs, and
exercise greater control over the decisions that affect their life
ii. Participation - Facilitating democratic participation by individuals in matters that
directly impact their lives, based on full citizenship, autonomy, and shared authority,
expertise, knowledge, and experience
iii. Equality - In order to achieve equality, one must challenge institutional and social
behaviors that marginalize and discriminate against certain groups of people.
iv. Learning - appreciating the abilities, know-how, and expertise that individuals
bring to the table and grow as a result of taking initiatives to address social, economic,
political, and environmental issues.
v. Co-operation - working together to identify and carry out initiatives based on a
mutual appreciation for the contributions of all cultures
Community development workers are committed to:

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 • Defend against repressive and discriminatory practices that exist inside
organisations, institutions, and communities.
• Create environmental protection practices and policies.
• Promote community and organisation networking and relationships.
• Make sure that everyone in society has access to and a choice among available
options.
• Influence programs and policies from the viewpoint of the community.
• Prioritize the issues of concern to people experiencing poverty and social
exclusion.
• Promote long-lasting, sustainable social transformation.
• Support group initiatives led by the community

CASES

Role of NGO in community development

NGOs help communities by increasing their capacities, which include the ability,
skill, and knowledge to mobilize resources, organize and evaluate community initiatives,
and solve problems so they may take control of their life. vLet us see a few cases to
understand how NGOs helped in community development.
Janmitram Kalyan Samiti
The Janmitram Kalyan Samiti (Figure 1), which means "friends of the people" in its
literal translation, was founded in 2002 with the intention of collaborating with the
government and community-based organisations to work for community development.

Figure 1 Janmitram Kalyan Samiti

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 In collaboration with NABARD, they have successfully established more than 925
orchards through their Wadi Development Program, giving the tribal people a means of
subsistence and meeting other essential necessities. The project's most surprising
success is that farmers can now cultivate more crops on fertile land that was before barren
and thus helped in providing a better quality of life. Since roughly ten years ago, the
initiative helped in supporting people as well as protecting the environment. Another
project of the NGO is the Watershed Program, which intends to conduct soil and water
conservation efforts in designated NGO-owned regions. To ensure the growth of the
community as a whole, they also endeavor to strengthen the skills and train the natives
and tribe members.
Gram Chetna Kendra
The Gram Chetna Kendra (Figure 2) has taken on the duty of offering answers to
the water difficulties in light of the repeated harms that droughts have created in
Rajasthan.

Figure 2 Gram Chetna Kendra

Many tanks and pools have been constructed for rainwater harvesting to relieve
water scarcity in certain of Rajasthan's rural districts, ensuring the year-round availability
of drinking water. The organisation educates rural residents, bringing to their attention
both the current issues and possible remedies. They have also built public restrooms in
several locations to encourage sanitation and a better environment.
Their Livelihood Promotion Project intends to inform and assist local farmers in
carrying out resource-efficient consumption, sustainable water use for irrigation, and the
use of cutting-edge yet secure technologies for farming. This Indian NGO that works to
safeguard the environment also supports value chains and environmentally sustainable
methods of manufacturing.
CD Programmes in Rural Areas
The Community Development Program took its cues from earlier rural
development initiatives that were undertaken during the 1920s, as well as from foreign
community development initiatives that originated in both Great Britain and the United

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States. During October 1952, 55 development blocks became the focus of the first
significant rural development program. Rural communities should be fully developed in
terms of both their human and material resources, as well as their local leadership and
self-governing institutions.
a. To improve rural residents' quality of life by accelerating the growth of food
and agricultural output.
b. To ensure that people's mindsets change and that they adopt a mission of
higher standards.
Some of the recent community development programmes in India are given in
Figure 3.

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Figure 3 Community development programmes

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Tribal CD Programmes
Through Special Multipurpose Tribal Development Projects (MTDPs) (Figure 4),
which were started around the end of 1954, the tribal tribes received some assistance.

Figure 4 Special Multipurpose Tribal Development Projects

Due to the large number of schemes, these MTDPs were unable to serve the
interests of the indigenous people. Tribal Development Blocks were later created where
there was a 66 percent or higher concentration of tribal people in Community
Development Blocks (TDBs). This failed to meet the needs of the tribal populations, so
the Tribal Sub-Plan Strategy (TSP) was (Figure 5) developed.

Figure 5 Tribal Sub-Plan Strategy

The Tribal Sub-Plan Strategy (TSP), which was developed for the quick
socioeconomic advancement of tribal people, is still in place today with the following
goals:
1. The overall socioeconomic development of tribal peoples and lifting them out of
poverty.
2. Defense of tribal peoples against many types of exploitation.
Numerous NGO-led programs for tribal community development have focused on
challenges affecting tribal communities, particularly their capacity building and
sustainable development. One of the most successful one is the Andhra Pradesh Tribal
Development Project (APTDP).

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 The APTDP (Figure 6) established a variety of local-level institutions, including
SHGs, cluster-level associations of SHGs, user groups/village development committees
(such as for education, health, irrigation, soil conservation and grain banks). These latter
ones were intended to serve two purposes: first, as a venue for the expression of
community goals and concerns; and second, as a way to carry out initiatives and
programs inside the communities.

Figure 6 Andhra Pradesh Tribal Development Project

The communities chose the leaders and members to serve as their

representatives, and typically, this selection required the consent of the traditional
councils of elders. As a result, there was a relationship between the new and the old,
although one that was informal. The creation of community coordination teams, made up
of teams of committed young professionals living in tribal villages, was another novel idea
that was introduced. These teams were meant to help with social mobilization,
awareness-raising, and the identification of needs and priorities around which
development interventions could be built.
Urban Community Development Programmes
Programs for urban community development may also be supported by the
government, nonprofits, or affiliated organisations. Such neighborhood initiatives have
been documented in the area of urban housing, sanitation, and health. All of this calls for
a certain amount of outside assistance or initiative from a select number of people or
organisations.
Some of the successful community development programmes in urban areas
(Figure 7) are presented below:

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 Figure 7 Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY)
This scheme launched in 1997, has two components of the Urban Self
Employment Programme (USEP) and the Urban Wage Employment Programme
(UWEP). These were substituted for various programmes operating earlier for urban
poverty alleviation. Like its rural counterpart, this program draws on the group strategy
for addressing difficulties related to self-employment.
Kudumbashree Programme
A government program called Kudumbashree (Figure 8) was initially tested in the
city of Alappuzha with the goal of reducing women's poverty. It was then expanded to a
number of Panchayats.

Figure 8 Kudumbashree
In this program, women's representatives from every ward's neighborhood are
gathered into an area development society (ADS) (Figure 9) led by a member of the
Panchayat.
In other words, this is a program for reducing poverty that aims to bring under the
control of the government all poor women who have organized for microcredit. The
neighborhood groups approach is its foundation.

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 Figure 9 Area development society

Summary

In this module we have

• Understood what is community development
• Learnt the role of NGOs in community development
• Discerned how various community development schemes and projects are successful
because of the contribution from NGOs

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