DE LA SALLE LIPA

College of Education, Arts and Sciences

OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL SERVICE TRAINING PROGRAM

School Year 2019-2020

Second Semester

Module 8
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COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

I. OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this module, the students are expected to:

a. identify and explain the key concepts of community development
b. construct problem tree and objective tree analyses in preparation for basic
needs assessment; and
c. apply the concepts of community development in the design of a relevant project
for a chosen beneficiary.

II. ALLOTTED TIME: Lecture/ Discussion : 1hour

Group Dynamics : 1hour
Canvas Activities : 1hour

III. CONTENT

Part 1. Concepts of Community Development

A. Definitions of Community and Community Development
B. Elements of Community
C. Process within the community
D. Community Development Steps and Strategies
E. Values and Principles of Community Development
Part 2. Community Needs Assessment
A. Problem Tree Analysis
B. Objective Tree Analysis

IV. PRE-DISCUSSION ACTIVITY

a. Using their gadget, the students will access menti.com. Code will be provided.
b. Each student must identify and write one community issue/problem being addressed
c. The teacher will highlight 5-10 problem (preferably aligned to institution’s strategic
directions) which may be addressed by the class for possible needs assessment.

Part 1. Concepts of Community Development

A. Community Development: Conceptual components

Community development is a process that entails organization, facilitation, and action, which
allows people to establish ways to create the community they want to live in. It is a process
that provides vision, planning, direction, and coordinated action towards desired goals
associated with the promotion of efforts aimed at improving the conditions in which local
resources operate. As a result, community developers harness local economic, human, and
physical resources to secure daily requirements and respond to changing needs and
conditions.

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Community
1. Human ecology defines community as the structure of relationships through which a localized
population meets its daily requirements. Human ecology is concerned with community
structure, which is comprised of the mechanisms by which the population organizes itself for
survival in a particular habitat
2. Systems theory defines community as the combination of social units and systems that perform
major social functions. From this perspective, a social system is a highly organized set of
socially significant relationships between two or more persons or groups. According to this
approach, the community can be viewed as a system comprised of statuses and roles, and
groups and institutions that are closely articulated with one another.
3. Field theory posits social interaction as the most critical feature of community. From this
perspective, a community’s existence, structure, and functioning are possible through local
social relationships emerging from the interaction of its residents. Such social interaction
consists of the extent and nature of relationships among the different stakeholders within a
geographical area.

Community then is a locality comprised by people residing in a geographical area; the

resources such people require to subsist and progress; and the processes in which such
individuals engage to distribute and exchange such resources to fulfill local needs and wants.

B. Elements of Community
1. Human Resources- these include the different stakeholders in the community. Community
stakeholders (or groups of organizations often found in a community). It consists of
families/residents (households), government, businesses (for profit), and the voluntary/non-
profit sector (volunteer and grassroots). Such entities are, in different situations and at
different levels, part of the decision-making processes leading to specific community goals
(as defined by a community’s needs and wants).
2. Physical Resources - consists of the built and natural assets of the community that, taken
together, conform its character. Physical resources are important for functional, aesthetic,
and symbolic reasons.
3. Economic Resources - are the established market values of goods and services that are
produced as a result of the interrelations of human and physical resources. Thus, economic
resources are the productive and financial assets that respond to the distribution of resources
destined to fulfill the wants and needs of a local population.

C. Process within the community

From a community development perspective, processes at the local level are concerned with
the provision and management of resources that seek to improve a community’s living
conditions.

Community development processes focused on economic development pertains the

establishment of local efforts aimed at improving the community’s economic and financial
resources. These processes are often directly related to poverty reduction; development,
retention, and expansion of local businesses; reduction of economic leakages; jobs creation,
and income generation

Community development processes focused on human development are concerned with

personal development reflecting people’s (including youth, adults, and elders) individual
conditions (e.g. improvements to physical, spiritual, mental and emotional health, literacy and
education levels, and skills for particular tasks; intrapersonal development reflecting internal
sociopsychological conditions (e.g. attachment to and satisfaction with the community; and
interpersonal development reflecting the conditions of social relationships (e.g. reduction of
criminal and deviant behaviors, promotion of broad involvement, power distribution, tolerance

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and equality, cooperation, self-empowerment, leader- ship, and capacity-building. Thus,
community development, through human development processes, seeks to improve the
characteristics of human conditions within and between individuals. As a result, human
development processes seek healthier and more educated individuals, with stronger bonds
amongst each other, and with the capacity to lead local efforts through established purposive
collective action.

Community development through physical development entails efforts aimed at creating

and managing local built and natural resources. Among the former, community development
is often associated with infrastructure development processes including downtown
revitalization, real-estate and commercial development, construction and maintenance of
roads, streets, and sidewalks, and the promotion of communities through branding and
marketing practices. Among the physical natural environment, community development is
concerned with the ways in which natural resources are distributed and used locally. This
requires processes of resource management balancing for human consumption,
conservation, and sustainability.

D. Community Development Steps and Strategies

1. Learn about the community – Whether you want to be an active member of the
community, an effective service provider or a community leader, you will have to be
familiar with its issues, resources, needs, power structure and decision-making
processes. Your initial orientation could include reading your local newspaper regularly,
attending community events, reading reports and familiarizing with available services as
well as community projects and activities. Close observation of the community as you
interact with it will also provide significant insights into the strengths and weaknesses of
the community.
2. Listen to community members - You won't be able to learn everything you need to
know by reading and observation. You will need to talk to others about their interests and
perceptions to put it into context. You can contact community members through formal
channels, such as joining a local organization, or informally by chatting with people that
visit the library or that you encounter in other situations, such as shopping at local stores
or attending school activities. By listening to the community, you may identify an area in
which there seems to be a common interest in making a change.
3. Bring people together to develop a shared vision - In some circumstances it may be
appropriate to invite representatives of specific organizations or sector to attend, but more
often it would be a public event for a neighborhood or, for other types of communities, for
all the identified members. The purpose of this gathering would be to develop a shared
"community vision"; i.e., through imagining their ideal community and discussing their
ideas together they will determine arrive at a common vision and some broad strategic
directions that all are committed to working towards. You may also use this gathering to
ask for support for the initiative, elicit community input or invite members to join a steering
committee or help in other ways.
4. Assess community assets and resources, needs and issues - It is extremely helpful
to undertake a comprehensive community assessment which will collect both qualitative
and quantitative data on a wide range of community features.
5. Help community members to recognize and articulate areas of concern and their
causes – It is the community members that are most familiar with the situation and, in
many cases, have knowledge and wisdom that an “external” experts lacks. By providing
tools, resources, meeting space, and facilitation, community developer empowers the
community to start take ownership of the issues and the development of solutions.
6. Establish a “vehicle for change” – In most circumstances it will be necessary to create
a "vehicle for change" for an organizational change, which in most cases will start as a
steering committee. A group of people ranging from a few unaffiliated individuals or a

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coalition of organizations and institutions. There is a wide range of activities that the
steering committee will need to undertake to ensure that it will be able to plan, organize,
implement and evaluate the initiative effectively, including developing a charter or terms
of reference, establishing governance policies, obtaining sufficient resources to carry out
the work and identifying potential partners who can contribute to its success.
7. Develop an action plan - a well thought out plan that is easily comprehended by
community members, clearly links activities with objectives and indicates responsibilities,
time frames and resources required.
8. Implement action plan – mobilization of all resources to take actions such as but not
limited to: working with community workers to identify needs and appropriate services;
developing informational brochures;
eliciting support from targeted
organizations;
distributing the brochures to the organizations; and meeting with
organizational representatives to provide further information.
9. Evaluate results of action – so check whether you have not caused any harm to others
through your actions. Other reasons to evaluate may be to demonstrate the effectiveness
of the initiative so that it will be continued, to satisfy funder requirements and to provide
information that will be useful to others or to subsequent initiatives.
10. Reflect and regroup - Allow time for the group to catch its breath before embarking on
the next initiative. Thank everyone that contributed. Celebrate success. Reflect on
disappointments.

E. Values and Principles of Community Development

Community development is sometimes confused with community-based programs,
community research and other forms of community interventions. The most significant feature
that distinguishes community development from other community work is its values and
principles:
1. Democratic: The will of the majority must be carried out, but only after all voices are
heard and considered and minority rights are protected.
2. Inclusive: There are many barriers to participation in society; poverty, disability, age,
race and ethnicity are some other characteristics that often marginalize people. A healthy
community embraces diversity and recognizes that all community members have a right
to be heard and participate in processes that affect their lives.
3. Non-authoritarian: Organizational structures are as flat as possible, with all participants
being seen as equally important and having equal input.
4. Community self-determination: Community members come together to discuss their
concerns, assess options and arrive at their own conclusions. They may seek advice from
"experts", but consider it along with other sources of information and their own experience
and make their own decisions that are right for them.
5. Community Ownership: Communities thrive when they develop their own assets, but
also when they "own" their problems and issues. When communities accept that it is
"their" problem, then they are more likely to work together to develop a solution, and the
solution will be better than one provided solely by an external "expert".
6. Enhance natural capacities and networks: There are sources of strength in every
community; for example, informal networks and social support systems, or certain
individuals that have particular talents or are able to help others in need. A community
developer identifies these existing community assets and works with them. It is important
not to duplicate existing structures and functions as that may weaken rather than
strengthen the community.
7. Social justice and equity: This is fundamental to community development and is at least
implicit in all CD work, if not an explicit goal of a CD program.
8. Universality: Services are available to everyone, without requiring means or needs
testing.

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9. Service Integration: Often services provided to persons in need are fragmented, so that
one service provider doesn't know what other services are available or being used,
resulting in gaps, duplications and sometimes conflicting advice or treatments.

Part 2. Community Needs Assessment (CNA)

A. Overview of CNA
A community needs assessment provides community workers with a snapshot of local policy,
systems, and environmental change strategies currently in place and helps to identify areas
for improvement. With this data, communities can map out a course for improvement by
creating strategies to make positive and sustainable changes in their communities.

B. Problem Tree Analysis

The problem analysis is the phase in which the negative aspects of a given situation are
identified, establishing the cause and effect relationship between the observed problems.
The problem analysis is of prime importance with regard to project planning, since it strongly
influences the design of all possible interventions.

Step by step

Step 1: Discuss and agree the problem or issue to be analysed. The problem can be broad, as
the problem tree will help break it down. The problem or issue is written in the center of the flip
chart and becomes the ‘trunk’ of the tree. This becomes the ‘focal problem’. The problem should
be an actual issue everyone feels passionate about, described in general, key wording.

Step 2: Identify the causes of the focal problem – these become the roots – and then the
consequences, which become the branches.

Step 3: Identify the effects – these become the branches and leaves.

C. Objective Tree Analysis

The negative situations of the problem tree are converted into solutions, expressed as “positive
achievements” (objectives). Negative situations of the problem tree have to be reformulated into
positive situations that are desirable and realistically achievable, it is of primal importance that
all stakeholders are involved in the discussions giving their feedback. In the objective tree, the
causes are transform into means and effects/consequences as ends.

Post-Discussion Activity
Each class will be divided into small group (preferably 8-10 members per group). Each group will
choose one problem/issue they have previously identified in their summative report. Out of this
problem they will do problem tree and objective tree analysis.

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References
1. Dilon, L.B (2019). Problem Tree Analysis. Accessed at: https://sswm.info/taxonomy/term/2647/problem-tree-analysis.
January 23, 2019.
2. Labuguen, F.C, et.al (2012). Understanding the National Service Training Program: A Modular Worktext for NSTP1.
Valenzuela City: Adelko Printing Press.
3. Matarrita-Cascante, D., & Brennan, M. A. (2012). Conceptualizing community development in the twenty-first century.
Community Development, 43(3), 293–305. doi:10.1080/15575330.2011.593267

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