PRINCIPLES and ACTIVITIES OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING

COMMUNITY ORGANIZING PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH (COPAR)

² A social development approach that aims to transform the apathetic, individualistic, and
voiceless poor into dynamic, participatory and politically responsive community.

² A collective, participatory, transformative, liberative, sustained and systematic process of

building people’s organizations by mobilizing and enhancing the capabilities and resources of
the people for the resolution of their issues and concerns towards effecting change in their
existing oppressive and exploitative conditions (1994 National Rural CO Conference)

² A process by which a community identifies its needs and objectives, develops confidence to
take action in respect to them and in doing so, extends and develops cooperative and
collaborative attitudes and practices in the community (Ross 1967)

² A continuous and sustained process of educating the people to understand and develop their
critical awareness of their existing conditions, working with people collectively and efficiently
on their immediate and long-term problems, and mobilizing the people to develop their
capability and readiness to respond and take action on their immediate needs toward solving
their long-term problems (CO: A Manual of Experience; PCPD)

IMPORTANCE OF COPAR
• COPAR is an important tool for community development and people empowerment as this
helps the community workers to generate community participation in development activities.
• COPAR prepares people/clients to eventually take over the management of a development
program(s) in the future.
• COPAR maximizes community participation and involvement. Community resources are
mobilized for community services.

PRINCIPLES OF COPAR
1. People, especially the most oppressed, exploited and deprived sectors are open to change, have
the capacity to change, and are able to bring about change.
2. COPAR should be based on the interests of the poorest sectors of society.
3. COPAR should lead to a self-reliant community and society.

PROCESSES/ METHODS USED

1. A PROGRESSIVE CYCLE OF ACTION-REFLECTION-ACTION which begins with small, local and

concrete issues identified by the people and the evaluation and reflection of and on the action
taken by them.
2. CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING through experiential learning is central to the COPAR process because
it places emphasis on learning that emerges from concrete action and which enriches succeeding
action.

3. COPAR is PARTICIPATORY & MASS-BASED because it is primarily directed towards and biased in
favor of the poor, the powerless and the oppressed.

4. COPAR is GROUP-CENTERED & NOT LEADER-ORIENTED. Leaders are identified, emerge and are
tested through action rather than appointed or selected by some external force or entity.
PHASES OF COPAR

1. Pre-entry Phase
² The initial phase of the organizing process where the community / organizer looks for
communities to serve / help.
² It is the simplest phase in community organizing process in terms of expected outputs,
activities and strategies.
² Most complex phase in terms of actual outputs, activities and strategies and time spent for it

² Recommended Activities:
o Statement of objectives, realization of CIP
o Laying out the site criteria
o Site selection
o Develop survey tools
o Meeting and courtesy call to the local government unit of the selected site
o Courtesy call to the barangay level
o Meeting with the “will be” foster parents of the health care students
o Setting the target date of immersion, Exposure and Departure

² Criteria for site selection

o The area must be Economical.
o Must have a relative Concentration of poor families
o Must have a population of Ten thousand and above
o As much as possible no Hospital but with RHU and BHS
o Accessibility of transportation must be considered
o No Strong resistance from the community
o Peace and order problem must be considered
o Rural community will be a top priority
o Preferably with adjacent barangays

2. Entry Phase
² Immersion phase
² this phase signals the actual entry of the CO/ Community Worker into the community
² Social preparation phase
² Integration with the community
² Sensitization of the people on critical events in their life
² Motivating them to share their dreams and ideas on how to manage their concerns
² Mobilizing them to take collective action
² most crucial phase since project site varies from each other, no single strategy is best
employed
² its success depends on how much the project implementers have integrated with the
community people, their understanding of the place & events and their willingness &
readiness to commit oneself towards the program

² Recommended Activities:
o Inform/ Update local government leader/ barangay officials of the selected site
o meeting with the foster parents
o appreciating the environment
o meeting with community officials and residents
o general assembly
o preparation of survey forms
o Actual survey
o Analysis of data
 o Core group formation
o Self-awareness and leadership training/ Action planning

3. Organization-building phase
² The formation of more formal structures & the inclusion of more formal procedures of
planning, implementing, and evaluating community-wide activities.
² Phase where the organized leaders or groups are being given trainings (formal/informal)
to develop their ASK in managing their own concerns/programs
² Recommended Activities
o meeting with officials
o identifying problems
o spreading awareness and soliciting solution or suggestions
o analysis of the presented solution
o planning of the activities
o organizing the people to build their own organization (election of officers)
o Registration of the organization (legality purposes)
o Link with LGU’s or NGO’s for financial & technical assistance
o Evaluation

4. Sustenance & strengthening phase

² Community organization has already been established
² different committees that was created in the previous phase are already expected to be
functioning by way of planning, implementing & evaluating their own programs, with the
guidance from the community health org.
² project implementers prepare the CY for their eventual PHASE OUT
² Recommended Activities
o meeting with the organizational leaders
o evaluation of the programs
o re-implementation of the programs
o education and training
o networking & linking
o conducting mobilization on health and development concerns
o implementation of livelihood projects
o developing secondary leaders

5. Phase Out
² the phase when the health care workers leave the community to be independent
² this phase should be stated during the entry phase to prepare the people
² the organizations built should be ready to sustain the test of the community itself because
the real evaluation will be done by the residents of the community
² Recommended Activities:
o leaving the immersion site
o documentation
IDEAL COPAR

1. Time Frame & Mode of • 3-6 weeks immersion

Exposure • 3-6 wks duty, 8 hrs/day x 5-6days/wk

2. Methodology & survey • Custom made

form

3. Number of recipients • 30%, 60% or 100% depending on the number of population

& situation of the community

4. Organization-building • A primary & secondary organization should be built; it must

Phase be strengthened by set of officers, by-laws & registrations to
proper institutions
• Primary & secondary leaders are committed
• Leaders come from the community, not the HW

5. Problem statement • Only stated once survey is done & the data tallied &
analyzed
• Comes from the survey/cy members
• Too big/too complicated to the HW is not prioritized

6. Implementation • “fishing rod effect” (teach the man to fish and he will never
be hungry, give the man fish & he will ask for more)
• Program should remain feasible even after phase out
• Program should not be a one day affair, but will last even
after phase out

7. Evaluation • Health worker should accept reality that not all programs will
prosper and not all their goals will be met
• There should be re-implementation after evaluation