Kaitlyn Sobun

EXPL 291

02/06/19

Reflection B

Community based research and service can be very complex. It is a

balancing act between actors, assets, and actions. Each person has their own

opinions on service and development. These opinions are to be expected. It is very

important to fully understand the ins and outs of community service and

development when partaking in either development or service.

Morton’s “Starfish Hurling and Community Service” challenges the

common ideas of service in many ways. Merton mentions the fact that Starfish are

not verbal and cannot talk. He furthers this by saying that this avoids the many

complexities when working with people. In terms of community service, I never

thought it was a complex issue. I was naive to the fact that one can not simply

identify a problem and have a singular solution to this problem, Merton also

challenges my thought that all community service brings a good outcome. He

explains in this article that many issues that arise in service are very complex and

political. I never truly thought of it this way. This idea does hold validity. When
thought about further, every community service organization, charity, or no for

profit all hold very strong believes. These beliefs are usually not common to all

and therefore the organizations can almost be seen as interest groups. This means

that there can be disagreements on the service provided or how that service should

be provided.

The ABCD Model, or Asset Based Community Development, is used in

community based research. It informs the reader that the proposal and the project

will improve when a community is analyzed and used as a tool. One way to do this,

ot to understand the group or groups of people found in this community. This

model explains that using residents skills and interests helps strengthen the project

making it much more sustainable. Along with skill assessment, the ABCD Model

focuses on the relationships built between organization and the local residents and

associations. The use of local institutions is also mentioned. These institutions

provide a number of resources that can be utilized to help the organization to

successfully meet the needs of the community. This model states that

community-based assets should be investigated before outsourcing any assets. This

allows the project to become sustainable by relying on the community itself. It

explains the importance of knowing the local economy and how to use this to

develop a plan to increase the sustainability of the project. This entire model
informs the reader that a development plan can not be copy and pasted to every

neighborhood. The plan must be customized based on every part of a community.

In chapter 3 of ​Research Methods for Community Change​, Stoecker

discusses the idea that effective community development will allow the

community itself to strengthen and localize its power. On page 50, Stoecker

explains that this can be done by understanding the communities “power

dynamics, factions and personalities”. This helps to resolve the tension

between service and development. In order to either successfully develop or

service a community, one must first understand the community and what it

needs as well as what it can offer. Each community has a complex network

of factors working in unison. This means that it is not as cut and dry as

people assume it to be. It is important for local residents not to feel like

Starfish. Their opinions, ideas, worries, and any other thoughts should be

carefully considered in order to ensure they have a voice.

These texts informed as well as challenged my ideas on community

development as well as service. I know understand how important it is to

understand that there is more than just “bad” or “good” when it comes to

service. This challenges my idea that all service innately helps someone. The

ABCD Model also helped to inform me of the multiple moving parts of a

community and how they are each important to the development process.

Communities are very complex institutions and therefore must be treated

and handled with care.