Community Participation in Development - Coursework Example

Community participation in development Community participation in development Community development is a term which refers to the academic disciplines and practices of civic activists, leaders, professionals and involved citizens to improve the status of their local communities. Community development objective is to empower groups of people and individuals. This is done by equipping citizens with sets of skills they require for them to affect change in their own local communities. These skills are a creation of the formation of large social groups which work together for a common agenda (Ledwith, 2011). Communities’ developers have an understanding of how to work with individuals and social groups and how to affect change in the communities. These developers work together with communities to assist in building relationships with key organisation and people in identifying common concerns. The change is on equality, mutual respect and justice. Community development works on the basis that within any given community there is experience and a wealth of knowledge which can be channelled into collective actions and used to achieve the desired goals of the community (Cary, 2000). Community participation is a process which empowers people so that they can genuinely and actively get involved in defining issues which affect them in policy formulation and implementation, in making decisions that influence their lives, in developing and planning and putting in place measures to achieve change. Participatory development is the most effective approach in enabling communities to assist themselves and sustain development efforts. Communities have become major stakeholder in development programmes as they play an important role managing projects and development programmes in their areas. These stakeholders create mechanisms which assist in sustaining the project or programme (Ledwith, 2011). Communities and citizens argue that they should have a right to voice their opinion in decisions that directly affect their lives. They say that it is only fair if they are involved in deciding their fate. Another argument that communities rise is that they know more about their neighbourhood than government official or people working for the big organisation. This is because they have had enough up with politicians and civil workers who seek their opinions and do not put their views into account (Brophy, 2001). Finally, individuals and the community have some things to contribute and their views and ideas for the betterment of their lives are valid as anyone else’s, hence, it would be unfair to lock them out. During community participation in development, several issues and problems arise which are limitations to community participation in development (Cary, 2000). Some of barriers and challenges that hinder community participation are lack of understanding in the development process, lack of community resources, reliance on volunteers, lack of access to information, absence of rural community representation and major community groups in the process of decision making, restrictions on time and policy, and the relationship between government and rural communities (Cary, 2000). Understanding the policy making process Most rural communities do not understand the process of policy making, thereby it is difficult for them to impact on the public policy. Understanding of the process enables community based organisations to decide whether they involve themselves in trying change and develop policies. However, the process of policy making is complex, thus, making it difficult for almost every to comprehend it completely, but understanding the process empowers individuals and community based organisation to impact policy (Ledwith, 2011). Lack of resources In order for communities to impact development, individuals and the organisations need to have access to resources. These resources include government training programs, adequate funds, volunteers to support rural initiatives and causes, leaders and education. Lack of one or more of these resources hinders the communities’ ability to impact on development (Swanepoel, 2006). Reliance on volunteers As a result – lack of access to financial resources which are necessary to address the concerns and problems of communities. The low population of rural areas can only avail a few volunteers to carry out all the crucial activities that their community organisations demand. This leads to reluctance and slows down development. The difficult task is finding people within the communities with the set of skills, desire and abilities to champion and initiate policy development (Brake, 2008). Furthermore, there are no programs to train, motivate and support new volunteers and leaders. As a result, many community volunteers and leaders face burnout that would impair their progress and productivity in furthering the work to assist their community. Moreover, the outgo of youth from rural areas to urban areas results in depletion of potential future leaders and volunteers of the community. Another factor contributing to the absence of leaders and volunteers may be the social and political visibility that results in becoming an active participant in the development process. Such visibility is uncomfortable since it emphasizes vulnerability of certain community members especially those of low economic status (Brake, 2008). Lack of access to information Communities in rural areas have a feeling that they do not have access to ready information about services and programs which the government offers. Those that have access complain that the information on government programs and services is difficult to interpret (Ferguson, 2003). Absence of community representation in the decision making process Living in a democratic society, we appoint representatives to defend the communities’ interest at the government level. Urban areas, by virtue of their large population, have greater representation than the rural areas. This great number of urban representatives is a factor that directs more focus to the urban areas than the rural ones. Therefore, this reduces the influence of rural representatives on decision making process (Swanepoel, 2006). The relationship between rural communities and government The relationship between the government and rural communities is strained by the communities’ perception that the government does not understand rural issues. Therefore, it imposes programs that negatively affect the rural population. Even worse is that sometimes key policy makers do not agree on some problematic circumstances that are deserving of government attention (Brophy, 2001). Furthermore, the government seems to be downloading responsibilities on the communities without providing the necessary resources in order for the community to assume these responsibilities. In addition, community members get discouraged and frustrated by rejections of policy proposals by the government and the ever-changing program criteria (Ferguson, 2003). Time and policy timeline restrictions Policy timeline often creates difficulties for communities looking to affect policy around the issue. Although, the government may be considering changing the policies for the long run, the process of public consultations takes a remarkably short period not giving community based organisation enough time to conduct research for them to prepare to participate effectively. Alternatively, the process usually takes a very long time, thus, draining the resources of community based organisations and frustrating those who want change (Brophy, 2001). The following are some approaches that communities can use as limitations that face community participation in development. Presenting public policy makers with a case It is not possible for public policy makers to be knowledgeable and aware of the policy issues; thus, it is necessary to present them with facts and research that demonstrate and show community issues which deserve government attention. This information is helpful in creating government awareness of rural concerns and it supports policy makers when influencing rural policy (Phillips, 2009). Government initiated programs Government initiated programs to promote policy making to foster community developments go a long way in enhancing the quality of life of the community. These policies also help to position the community for global market competition (Brake, 2008). The creation of mechanisms to act as a voice for communities As noted above, members of the community often feel discouraged and frustrated when trying push for their policies to be heard by the government. These frustrations may be in part as a result of a structure that limits chances for community members and organisation to get in touch with the government. Changing the structure requires coming up with a mechanism that enables the community to voice their issues and the government with a means to hear them. A way in which communities can enhance their voice is speaking through network type organisations. It is also vital to have mechanisms which allow the government hear the grievances of the community. These mechanisms can be created through the use of horizontal approach to the relevant government departments (Phillips, 2009). Access to information Both the government and the community have recognized the need to increase access to knowledge and information. A way of enhancing this is by the government making information readily available in the Internet. In addition, the government should ensure that there are measures in place to help community organisations impact the policy making process (Hoffman, 2003). Horizontal initiatives Horizontal initiatives create a mechanism to link individuals and communities with government departments, agencies and organisations, hence, fostering the creation of partnerships. These initiatives need to be put in place keeping in mind the concerns, resources and needs of the communities involved (Brophy, 2001). Community participation is a complex process with many limitations and barriers which face the community as well as the government. Furthermore, some of these limitations overlap hindering both the community and the government. Therefore, the way to address this is by both the government and the community partnering up and working together (Hoffman, 2003). References Ledwith, M., 2011. Community Development: A Critical Approach. London: The Policy Press. Cary, L. J., 2000. Community Development As a Process. USA: University of Missouri Press. Swanepoel, H., 2006. Community Development: Breaking The Cycle of Poverty. New York: Juta and Company Ltd. Brake, R., 2008. Community Development: A European Challenge. Chicago: Barbara Budrich. Ferguson. R. F., 2003. Urban Problems and Community Development. Florida: Brookings Institution Press. Campfens, H., 2002. Community Development around the World: Practice, Theory, Research, Training. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Brophy, P.C., 2001. A Guide to Careers in Community Development.USA: Island Press. Phillips, R., 2009. An Introduction to Community Development. Washington: Taylor & Francis. Paul, G., 2002. Comeback Cities: A Blueprint for Urban Neighborhood Revival. Utah: Westview Press. Hoffman, V., 2003. House by House, Block by Block: The Rebirth of America’s Urban Neighborhoods. London: Oxford University Press. Read More