Chapter Four : Community Development

Defining community and community development

What is Community
Community is a group of people, who live in a geographical
area and have an interest in each other for the purpose of
making a living.
 It is a form of social organization existing between the
family and state.
 The people with common interests living in a particular
area.
 An interacting population of various kinds of individuals
in a common location.
 A group of people with a common characteristic or
interest living together within a larger society.
 The Concept and Nature of Community Development

The Concept of Development

 Development means “improvement in a country’s
economic and social conditions”.,
 It refers to improvements in the way of managing an area’s
natural and human resources.
 In order to create wealth and improve people’s lives.
 The concept of development includes many aspects and has
changed over time
 Development is one of the main priorities of the United
Nations.
 Development is a multidimensional undertaking to achieve
a higher quality of life for all people
 Concept
 The term development does not refer to one single
phenomenon or activity nor does it mean a general process
of social change.
 All societies, rural and urban, are changing all the time.
 This change affects, for example, the society’s norms and
values, its institutions, its methods of production, the
attitudes of its people, and the way in which it distributes
its resources.
 A rural society’s people, customs, and practices are never
static but are continually evolving into new and different
forms
 Cont…
 Another important point is that development is a process rather
than an outcome: it is dynamic in that it involves a change from
one state or condition to another.
 Ideally, such a change is a positive one - an improvement of
some sort (for instance, an improvement in maternal health).
 Furthermore, development is often regarded as something that
is done by one group (such as a development agency) to
another (such as rural farmers in a developing country).
 Again, this demonstrates that development is a political
process, because it raises questions about who has the power to
do what to whom
 Concepts of Community Development
 It Can Be Broad Our wide definition of community
development includes intentional collective actions to
improve social, economic, physical, and environmental
well-being, while preserving valuable aspects of the
culture of a particular geographic area.
 Community development is a holistic approach grounded
in principles of empowerment, human rights, inclusion,
social justice, self-determination and collective action
 Community development considers community members
to be experts in their lives and communities, and values
community knowledge and wisdom.
 Community development programs are led by community
members at every stage - from deciding on issues to
selecting and implementing actions, and evaluation.
 Community development has an explicit focus on the
redistribution of power to address the causes of inequality
and disadvantage.
 Community development is not one-off events, consultation
to inform goals or strategies, community advisory groups or
committees, or leadership training.
 All these things could be part of a community development
strategy but, by themselves, they are not community
development
 Community development programs are led by community
members at every stage from deciding on issues through to
selecting and implementing actions, and evaluation.
 Community development has an explicit focus on the
redistribution of power to address the causes of inequality
and disadvantage
 Community development is a process where community
members are supported to identify and take collective action
on issues which are important to them.
 The community development practitioner empowers and
resources the community members and creates stronger and
more connected communities.
 Community development is a holistic approach grounded in
principles of empowerment, human rights, inclusion, social
justice, self-determination and collective action.
 Community members are considered the experts in their
lives and communities, with their knowledge valued
 Principles of Community
Development
Community development practice involves a commitment to:

 Powerless people and social justice - improving the lot of those

who do not hold powerful positions in society, who are
disadvantaged and who do not have ease of access to power
structures.

 Citizenship and human rights - ensuring that citizenship civil,

political, and social rights are guaranteed.

 Empowerment and self-determination - of ordinary people and

transforming social structure, relations and processes.

 Sustainability – is there a need for a program, and will it meet

the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
 Participatory democracy – encouraging an open society with
an informed public who can discuss issues
 Collective action - that draws on the combined wisdom and
abilities of all members of a group.
 Allowing diversity - conformity and agreement will not be
universal.
 Managing conflict - developing processes and strategies to
move beyond conflict is one of the major challenges.
 Objectives of Community Development

Community development program can be undertaken both in

rural and urban areas, aiming at the same general objective.
 It is an activity primarily designed to create better living
conditions and benefit for the whole community.
 To meet this objective, it requires the interest and ability of
community members,
 To organize themselves for planning and action
 To define their common needs and problems
 Make plans to meet their needs and solve their problems.
 Execute these plans with much reliance upon community
resources
 The Community Development Process

Kenny (2011) suggest community development is a process

consisting of six interrelated elements or stages that generally
overlap, can occur simultaneously and, at times, follow a clear
sequence:

1.Gather information What do we know? Facilitate access to

both formal and informal information: theories, concepts,
research reports, ABS surveys, budgets, and people’s own
experiences.

2.Authenticity What do the people think? Trust the people’s

own knowledge and viewpoints.

3.Pragmatism What are the facilitating or constraining

factors? What are our choices? Take into account existing
structures, processes and practices.
4. Vision How could things be different? What would we like
to happen? Examine alternative views of how things could be
done.

5. Strategy How to get from A to B? What is to be done and

who will do it? Plans for getting to where we want to be.

6. Transformation What changes have taken place? Changes

to existing structures, processes and practices.

7. Evaluation What do we think of the changes that have

taken place? Evaluating the changes to existing structures,
processes and practices
 The Purpose of Community Development
 Starting from the community’s own needs and priorities
rather than those dictated from outside
 Inviting and building local autonomy, giving leadership to
people in the community and acting as a resource to them
 Building the capacity of the community to meet their own
needs more effectively
 Having a flexible service system that can be tailored to
meet local needs
 Children and families may benefit from increases in skills,
knowledge, empowerment and self-efficacy, and experience
enhanced social inclusion and community connectedness.
 As community members are empowered and develop as
leaders, they can begin to challenge and improve
conditions which are leading to their disempowerment or
negatively impacting on their wellbeing.
 At a community level, community development initiatives
are likely to achieve long-term outcomes such as stronger
and more cohesive communities, evidenced by changes in
social capital, civic engagement, social cohesion,
community safety and improved health