Louisiana Community Development Academy Overview of Community Development Process
Case Study Town of Smallaton What happened here? What were the factors contributing to the problems? What could have been done differently?
What is Community Development? Community Development is a comprehensive process for managing community change that involves citizens in a dialog on issues to decide what must be done (their shared Vision of the future), and then, involves them in doing it.
What is Community Activism? Activism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change. This action is in support of, or opposition to, one side of an often controversial argument. The word "activism" is often used synonymously with protest or dissent, but activism can stem from any number of political orientations and take a wide range of forms, from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism (such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing preferred businesses), rallies, blogging and street marches, strikes, both work stoppages and hunger strikes, or even guerrilla tactics. Source: Wikipedia
Community Development Principles Participation in public decision making should be free and open to all interested persons. Effective Community Development is based on broad citizen representation that results in a breadth of perspective and understanding.
Principles Accurate and timely information is essential for effective decision making by citizens. Understanding and agreement are the drivers of change. All individuals have the right to be heard in public discussions whether they agree or disagree with community norms or commonly held opinions.
Principles All citizens may participate in creating or recreating their community. With the right of participation, comes the responsibility to respect others and their views.
Principles Public-private partnerships are generally more successful in bringing about planned change in communities than either the public sector or private sector on its own.
The Community Development Process Identify Community Stakeholders Establish An Organizing Group This may be a steering committee comprised of representatives of all key stakeholder groups.
The CD Process Create a Purpose Statement (Mission) for the group Collect And Analyze Information Perform an assessment of the community. Develop a Community Profile. What are its assets, its strengths? What are its liabilities, it weaknesses? What opportunities exist for the community and its citizens? What threats exist that could further weaken its competitiveness?
The CD Process Create A Vision Statement What is the desired future state of the community? This is their shared mental Vision of what their community can be.
The CD Process Create A Comprehensive Community Development Plan Create a Credo that lists the organizations Values and outlines the desired behaviors of citizens working to achieve their shared Vision. What are the specific strategic Goals on which the citizens desire to work? What are the specific objectives that outline the programs, projects, or initiatives, designed to achieve the Goal?
The Strategic Planning Process Recruit Organize Mission Assess Builds Team/ Develops Commitment Critical Issues Vision Plan Plan Implement Revise Review
The CD Process Expand the Organization Form Goal Teams and Objective Teams. Appoint Team Leaders and seek additional citizens to help implement the programs, projects and initiatives.
The CD Process Develop Action Plans Create lists of specific steps in time sequenced order. Include milestone dates for completing each step. Implement The Plan
The CD Process Review, Evaluate, And Revise The Plan Planning is an ongoing process. Periodic reports should be made on progress made toward reaching each Goal and its supporting Objectives. Conditions in the community or external to the community may change. This may require revision of the plan or its components. Additional goals and objectives may be added. Others may become irrelevant and may be deleted.
The CD Process Celebrate Successes Along The Way Be certain to recognize and celebrate successes. Periodically acknowledge the contributions of various individuals and teams. These actions will boost morale and contribute to increased motivation.
The CD Process Organize Mission Assessment Strategic Planning Committee Goal Teams Critical Issues Vision Goals Objectives Tasks Implement Objective Teams Celebrate Revise Plan Management Team