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 based on the principles of self-help, mutual support, the building up of neighborhood capacities for problem-solving and self-presentation, and the promotion of collective action to bring a community’s preferences to the attention of political decision-makers (Thomas, 1993)
Gilchrist and Taylor suggest there are three vital aspects of community development:
1.Informal Education – learning that takes place predominantly through direct involvement in community activities
2.Collective Action – finding the power of combined voices and determination; the strength of many people acting for their mutual benefit or to champion the interests of those who cannot stand up for themselves
3.Organization Development – helping groups and bodies to evolve a form that enables the members to achieve their goals, to act legally and to be accountable to the membership and wider community.
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Five-Point Community Initiatives
This cyclical model is used to judge whether our initiatives to engage, plan, implement, develop, or sustain have the right virtues to effect sustainable growth and development in the community impact.
1. Engagement is all about connecting people to the community. Methods includes key informant interviews, focus group discussions, or survey that can contribute to our engagement with community. For instance, knowing current pulse of the community, this helps leaders to identify the pressing problems that need to be resolved.
2. Planning the realization of ideas from the blueprint. On this stage, the community holds its conference or meetings with its members together with external consultants. The community leaders have rundown on all possible options and gather inputs for possible innovations and breakthrough that are vital in advancing solutions (Delos Santos, 2018)
3. Implementation the process of making something active or effective. Community leaders are in-charge of advancing the program or project. However, public support is needed to gain traction. Principle of transparency is essential in the implementation. Disbursement of funds must be supported by the documents. Information about the program or project must be open for scrutiny.
4. Development is a process in which something grows or changes and become more advanced. Programs implemented must adapt to constantly changing variables.
5. Sustainability focuses on the meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs (Grant, 2020). The term sustainability used to indicate programs, initiatives and action aimed at the preservation of resources. The four pillars of sustainability are: human, social, economic, and environmental.
Core Values of Community Development
To better understand the importance of community work. The following are the core values surrounding community development:
1.Collaboration is the relationship between interest groups, government, and citizens. It is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of communities and other collaborators. Teamwork is essential for a community development project to succeed.
2.Participative democracy is imperative in community development, this can lead to better understanding of the problems, benefits, services, and resources needed for the project. It can also lead to innovation and partnership. Contributions of community members have significant meaning and values toward change.
3.Collective Action is an act contributing to public good or welfare of the members of the community. It is the capacity of people to work together in their common interest. This includes small-scale and large-scale activities to meet local need, as well as action to promote for change.
4.Empowerment is based on power and influence to imposed solutions. It encourages the community members to learn how power relationships operate and to develop on their ability to find answers.