Module

Principles of Community Development

Overview:

This module looks at the key principles that feed into the structural design of
community development. Understanding each piece will provide further
understanding of the concept as a whole, as each one is necessary for the process
to be successful. Those listed in this are the major principles that have the most
significant purpose, although there may be smaller, less frequently applicable
principles that are present when the process is used. In those cases, those
additional principles will be pertinent to the specific situation and its circumstances
instead. Thus, the larger presence of those discussed here will mean that they will
be applicable for all instances of community development

.Desired Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this module students must have:

1. Familiarized themselves with the Principles of Community Development.

2. Applied the principles of Community Development in analysing the
pressing concerns of their respective communities.

Introduction:

The principles of Community Development are rules of right action and value-
judgement as to what is sound or good community development practice. Principle is
a standard Principles are the generalized expressions of rules and sound practice. At
least the following five principles must be kept in mind for any community worker.

Activity 1

What principle of Community Development can you think of?

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Abstraction

Principles of Community Development

Successful community development depends on certain basic principles being

followed. Just as with building a house you must establish a strong foundation or the
whole thing will later collapse community development also needs a strong
foundation. The principles described briefly below apply to community development
in any community and in any context.

Participation

Participation or participatory development is the first basic principle of community

development. It means listening to the voice of the people and assisting them to
develop their own community, in a way that they want it developed. It means finding
appropriate ways to involve people if they choose to become involved. Sustained
community development ultimately depends on people participating in their own
development from the early planning stages through to completion. By doing this
people are more likely to manage and maintain their new development

Activity 2:

If you were involved with a community development project at WVSU, what actions
would you take to ensure that the project followed the principle of participation? How
would you try to get affected community members participating actively? Discuss
your ideas with a group of your peers.

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Sustainability

The principle of sustainability or sustainable development is a basic principle of

community development and often very difficult to achieve. When change is
introduced to a community, it is hoped that the community will manage or maintain it.
Sustainability can be achieved with outside support or without outside support.
Whether it is greening projects or water-well if it cannot be maintained or managed
by the community members it will fail.

Some principles of sustainability include:

-active participation of community members in all aspects of the project.

 identification of problems/needs
 planning
 implementation
 monitoring and evaluation

- use of appropriate technology that can be maintained and serviced locally.

Activity 3. Consider the following projects and list the ways they can be sustained
from within the community without outside support. Try being as specific as you can.

Activity How to sustain within the community

Community water scheme
Community gardening
Training for livelihood

Equity and Social Justice

The third principle of community development is equity and social justice. What do
these terms mean? In terms of community development the principle equity and
social justice means: - all community members, regardless of culture, religion, sex or
age, having the opportunity to participate actively in their community. - availability for
peoples’ access to information that is presented in ways they can understand -
fairness in peoples’ access to and use of community resources. - community

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members not being disadvantaged or denied their democratic rights by any form of
community development.

Other Principles in Community Development Practice

1. Empowerment

From a psychological standpoint, people are more likely to do things that they are
motivated to do so and feel like they have come level of control over their actions.
Not only does this give them the sensation and satisfaction that what they are doing
is of their own free will, but that their actions actually have some value in the long
run. This empowerment acts as a motivator in society and it holds a great deal of
importance in community development. Members of a community who are
empowered to take action for improvements are going to have genuine cause to do
so, rather than because they were told to by others.

As a key principle of community development, empowerment often is what

prompts things to get done in the first place. There needs to be a reason for people
to want to improve things in their community for themselves and others; it can't just
be a facet of social or public duty. Empowerment is a powerful motivator because of
it, as there is usually a personal source involved. Newer models of empowerment
suggest that it is not a feeling that causes people to act, but rather evidence from
their surroundings that influence them. Parents, for example, typically want their
children to be able to be safe as often as possible-regardless of if it's at home, at
school, or just walking down the street to the local playground. If there is something
within their surroundings that prevents or otherwise impedes upon their children's
safety, the parents will make attempts to remedy the situation. Their own children do
not necessarily have to directly be in danger, as even the possibility of a threat to
their child's safety is enough to raise some parent's concerns in most cases. Those
who see that something is missing or lacking in their surroundings, regardless of the
degree that they are impacted by it, will often be empowered to do something about
it.

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2. Character and Appearance

While some may think that focusing on the physical appearance of something
can be rather shallow, principles of character and appearance are actually important
components of community development. Many communities and neighborhoods
have a distinct appearance and sensory association that are clear identifiers for
them. These features set the tone within the community and are a strong influence
for the community's public reputation. Since many people who are active participants
in community development have a clear visualization of what they want for their
community, things like character and appearance are incredibly important.

The character-the overall sense of a place-of a community is typically set and

introduced through the appearance of the community.It's an ingrained habit-or an
instinct, in some instances-for people to judge or come to a conclusion about
something based on a quick observation. A community will have a positive or a
negative association attached to it based on what people perceive about it, and that
can impact things like how residents and members view or care about it, the
resources available, and what influences those resources to be there in the first
place. Resources, like new businesses, are not going to make themselves available
in communities that have a poor sense of character where they may not be able to
sustain themselves long enough to have an impact.

3. Inclusion And Diversity

Many people have heard about inclusion and diversity in recent years as
individual topics. Their growing involvement in society and their connection to
each other make them necessary parts of successful community development.
Diversity typically refers to the traits present in a group-gender, race,
socioeconomic status, religion, political views, etc-and it's a term that almost
everyone is familiar with in some way. The world is a very diverse place, so it's
not uncommon for a single community to have a fairly healthy level of diversity
even when the group at large is built upon a specific focus or interest. Everything
in a community needs to be addressed during the community development
process, so it's important to pay attention to even the smallest degree of diversity
in a community.

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Inclusion, however, is not a term that everyone is familiar with. From a social or
community-based perspective, inclusion is best defined as actions taken to make
sure that everyone is equally valued and has equal access to resources.4 It's
basically a way to put everyone in a community on a level playing field, regardless of
what it is that makes them different from their peers. One of the main points behind
community development is to make improvements for those within the community; it
doesn't make a lot of sense if those improvements only benefit certain people while
putting others at a great disadvantage in the process. It would be like giving
instructions to a crowd, but you're whispering instead of shouting or talking loudly.
Those closest to you are probably going to pick up on what you're telling them to do,
but those furthest away are going to have no idea what is going on.

4. Planning And Preparation

Since community development is a process that can get rather complicated

based on the circumstances, planning and preparation are key principles necessary
for it to work. The instigators of community development need to be able to take a
look at what they want to do and how they want to do it. It's not an easy task to enact
widespread changes, so careful consideration and preparation are required to make
sure that all needs are being addressed and that there are legitimate reasons behind
the actions being taken. The process is a long one, and there's often quite a bit that
needs to be done in order to accomplish a single goal.

As one of the key principles, planning and preparation can be greatly beneficial to
the community as it goes through the process of community development. The
changes made are going to be significant, and there's a good chance that there may
be some difficulty adjusting to them within the community. Planning things out gives
those within the community a chance to acclimate to the new situation and offers
opportunities for feedback to be given to those leading the changes before moving
on to the next step. It can also allow a community to gather the necessary resources
for changes to be made, especially if those resources have certain requirements for
access (e.g. funding). Since there's little possibility that the process will be perfect,

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planning and preparation can help provide a community with a bit of a safety net
against problems and errors.

5. Collaboration

Like its name suggests, community development isn't really something that is
done on an individual level or by a single person. In order for it to actually
accomplish something, the members of the community itself need to get involved
and work together. As mentioned before, it can take a lot of work to implement the
desired improvements through community development so it's best not to do it alone.
Collaboration helps bring together people of different backgrounds who may have
access to different resources that can be of benefit to the community. Each person
also has a role that they play within the community, thus it is likely that they will each
have a role to play in the process of community development. The interactions that
occur through the collaborative efforts of community development can help bolster
leaders and the skills they are using to guide the community through the process.5

6. Awareness

To be fair, it's hard to take action to improve upon something if you are unaware
that something needs improvement in the first place. Awareness is a key principle of
community development because it allows communities to identify things like
resources and needs within their own space. A potential issue that's causing harm to
a community and/or its members isn't going to have a giant sign saying "FIX THIS!"
with an arrow pointing at it. Most likely, the problem(s) may not even be initially
recognized as problematic until there's a significant enough impact on the community
at large. Actively paying attention to things in the community and how they are
affecting the community can help catch those issues early on and allow the
community development process to handle them effectively. It allows the community
to take ownership of their problems when they are aware of it, which can prompt
them to take action on their own.7

Awareness in the community development process can do more than just identify
problems, it can also monitor the progress of the process and the improvements that
are implemented. Just as you can't identify a problem if you're not paying attention,
the same can be said for the solution to the problem. If the improvement or solution

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that has been put in place by the process isn't working as it should-it's causing more
problems, it's not affecting the right people, etc.-then that can be caught before it
causes further issue if the community is actively aware of it.

7. Transparency And Trust

For anything to work in a community of any type, there needs to be some level of
trust and transparency between those involved. This applies to the leadership, those
who are participating in the community development process, those who are being
directly impacted by improvements, and anyone else in the community who may be
indirectly affected. The process can result in major changes in a community, so there
can be significant backlash if those implementing the changes are not completely
honest about what is being done and why. People become comfortable and use to
how things are when that's been the norm for so long; some resistance is going to be
expected as people acclimate to the new circumstances, even if it's to their benefit.

As not everyone in the community is going to be able to fully participate or have

their say in the community development process, there's going to be a degree of
trust placed on those who are actively making decisions. Those in those leadership
and decision making positions during the process will need to be transparent in their
actions or risk losing that trust. Betraying that trust-especially if the actions taken are
not universally beneficial for community members or if they are done in bad faith-can
generate more problems in the community and make it difficult for future
improvements to be made.

APPLICATION:

Write a slogan or s song that promotes a principle of community development. It

could be used to educate and inform people about their roles and responsibilities in a
community development project.

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References:
Opare, S. (2007). Strengthening community-based organizations for the challenges
of rural development. Community Development Journal, 42(2), 251–264.
https://doi.org/10.1093/cdj/bsl002
Phillips, R., Pittman, R. (2009). An Introduction to Community Development.
Routledge. New York, USA. ISBN 0-203-88693-3 Master e-book ISBN.

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