Sustainable community development from whats wrong to whats str.docx

Sustainable community development: from what's wrong to
what's strong | Cormac Russell | TEDxExeter: Link to video
Asset Based Community Development (Philippines): Link to
video
Truly sustainable economic development: Ernesto Sirolli at
TEDxEQChCh: Link to video
Remember it is important to listen to the people of the
community about what they want rather than to decide to make
your own plan. You have involve them and empower them.
Look what assets they have and by asset it can be their skills
too which you can utilize to bring positive change in the
community.
Community development
SWK301
SEMINAR 6.
Locating Community Development
‘Community work’ is used as a generic term for much of the
work people do in communities, however-
‘community development aims to transform unequal, coercive
and oppressive structures …..’ (Kenny, 2015)

*
Rothmans typology…Community DevelopmentSocial Planning
Social ActionGoalsCapacity building, network building, self
help, process orientated.To solve a particular problem. Task
orientatedSocial change
Institutional change
Power shiftsAssumptionsPeople need community. The
community holds the answers to it’s issues.There are
substantive problems that experts can fixSociety is unjust and
unequal. Power must be challengedStrategies for
changeInvolvement of broad range of people to determine and
address their own issuesGather data about issue and make
decisions about most logical course of actionConsciousness
raising and mobilizing of people to take action against the
causes of oppressionCharacteristics, tactics used Consensus,
communication, discussion among diverse groupsConsensus or
conflictConflict, direct action, confrontation,
negotiation.Practitioner rolesFacilitator, networker, event
management, group worker, Expert, researcher, analyst, social
policy worker, project managerAdvocate, organiser, media
liaison, event management

Rothmans typology
*
Popple’s Models of Community Work
Practice ModelStrategyMain role/title of workerExamples of
work/agenciesKey textsCommunity CareCultivating social
networks and voluntary services. Developing self-help
concepts.Organizer / VolunteerWork with older people, persons
with disabilities, children under 5 years oldBeresford & Croft
(1986); Heginbotham (1990); Mayo (1994)Community
organisationImproving co-ordination between different welfare
agenciesOrganizer / Catalyst / ManagerCouncils for Voluntary
Service, Racial Equality Councils, SettlementsAdamson et al.
(1988); Dearlove (1974); Dominelli (1990)Community
developmentAssisting groups to acquire the skills and
confidence to improve quality of life. Active
participation.Enabler / Neighbourhood Worker /
FacilitatorCommunity groups, Tenants groups, citizens
organisations…..Association of Metropolitan Authorities
(1993); Barr (1991)Social/community planningAnalysis of
social conditions, setting of goals and priorities, implementing
and evaluating services and programmesEnabler / Facilitator
Localities undergoing redevelopmentMarris (1987); Twelvetrees
(1991)Community educationAttempts to bring education and
community into a closer and more equal relationshipEducator /
Facilitator Community schools/colleges, 'compensatory
education', Working class/feminist adult educationAllen et al.
(1987); Allen & Martin (1992); Freire (1970, 1972, 1976,
1985); Lovett (1975); Lovett et al. (1983); Rogers
(1994)Community actionUsually class-based, conflict-focused
direct action at local levelActivistSquatting movement, welfare
rights movement, resistance against planning and
redevelopment, tenant's actionCraig et al. (1982); Jacobs &

Popple (1994); Lees & Mayo (1984)Feminist community
workImprovement of women's welfare, working collectively to
challenge and eradicate inequalities suffered by womenActivist
/ Enabler / Facilitator Women's refuges, Women's health groups,
Women's therapy centresBarker (1986); Dixon et al. (1982);
Dominelli (1990, 1994); Flynn et al. (1986)Black and anti-racist
community workSetting up and running groups that support the
needs of Black people. Challenging racism.Activist / Volunteer
Racial Equality Councils and Commission for Racial Equality
funded projectsOhri et al. (1982); Sivanandan (1976,1990);
Sondhi (1982,1994)
From: Popple (1995) Analysing Community Work - Its theory
and practice, Buckingham: Open University Press
*

‘Go to the people
Live among them
Learn from them
Love them,
Start with what they know
Build on what they have,
but of the best leaders when their task is done
the people will remark,
“We have it done it ourselves”
Lao Tzu
“Community development can be regarded as a way of thinking,
a philosophy of practice, rather than merely as a process for
building stronger communities.” (Ife 2010)
Ife, J. (2010). Human Rights from below. Sydney: Cambridge
University Press
Many people who are not called “community development
workers” or employed to do community development work can
work from a community development perspective.
Doctors, teachers, nurses, managers for example. What might
be the noticeable approaches in the way they work that would
indicate this?
*

Frank, F. and Smith, A. 1999. The Community Development
Handbook A Tool to Build Community Capacity. Human
Resources Development Canada Minister of Public Works and
Government Services, Canada.“Community development is the
planned evolution of all aspects of community well-being
(economic, social, environmental and cultural). It is a process
whereby community members come together to take collective
action and generate solutions to common problems.”
other definitions of community development
is concerned with the notion of ‘empowerment’……
IT IS THE PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE OF WORKING WITH
AND ENABLING COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT AND
RELEASING POTENTIAL
Empowerment - “It is more than just adding some communal
services or facilities like roads, sanitation, water, access to
education and health care. It means increased ability and
strength. It means more skills, more confidence, and more
effective organization. It can not come about by charity or
donation of resources from outside. It can be facilitated through
action such as community projects, but only when there is
ownership by community members become involved from early
on, to decide upon a community action, to identify hidden
resources from within the community, and by developing a
sense of ownership and responsibility of communal facilities
from the start to the finish.

”(Zimmerman, M. A., Israel, B. A., Schulz, A., & Checkoway,
B. 1992. Further explorations in empowerment theory: An
empirical analysis of psychological empowerment. American
Journal of Community Psychology. 20(6), 707-727)
*
Community Development is a ‘bottom-up’ process based on a
premise that
local knowledge, wisdom, skills and understandings are
necessary for the
experience of the human community, and need to be valued
above top-down
wisdom and security.
This is in the context of modern society a radical position.
Organisations are structured on the bureaucratic model which
assumes that
‘superior wisdom’ resides at the top of the hierarchy and
reinforced by
managerialism.
(Ife 2010)
Ife, J. (2010). Human Rights from below. Sydney: Cambridge
University Press
This notion of valuing local knowledge goes counter to the
modern reliance of ‘experts’ to define and solve issues. It is
easy for workers, including social workers and humanitarian
workers to support systems that are bureaucratic. What will
assist workers to be aware of power structures and focus on
working from the ‘ground-up’?

*
Community Development…
is an approach of work professionals might adopt; it may also
be professional occupation.
Community development is about being actively involved in
improving and strengthening communities to support people
attain their specific needs and aspirations
*
The process is as important as the outcome
Think about a holiday trip. Some of us just want to get to the
destination as soon as possible, the quickest way. Others want
to take in the sights and enjoy the journey. In community
development, the journey ( Process) of how we get there (
outcome) is important. The focus on outcome is balanced by the
process. The participation of people in decision making,
designing solutions and organising how to achieve these is
paramount.
*
Process of community development Process and outcome –the
journey is important

Integrity of process –process owned by community itself
Consiousness raising-shared experiences bring about change
Participatory democracy-as opposed to representative
democracy
Cooperation-as opposed to competition
Ife, J. (2016) Community Development in an uncertain world,
Melbourne: Cambridge University Press.
*
Process of community development continuedPace of
development -process cannot be rushed
Peace and non- violence –this involves questioning language,
structures that oppress
Consenus-working to a solution the whole community owns
Community building-can be an objective in itself, involving
people and increasing mutual dependence
One small community response…..
A small town’s response to talking about different ways of
creating connections and demonstrating local pride. A barren
area that had been beside a railway line, became the site of a
community garden, this was designed with a local landscaper,
funding was gained and numerous events, community plantings
took place.
*

Community engagement Community engagement is about
productive relationships between government, communities,
clients, and particularly stakeholders (Taylor 2015)
Seeks to involve people in decision making processes
Can be led by government, eg Victorian government employed
community engagement officers
Taylor, J (2015). Working with communities. Melbourne:
Oxford University Press.
*
Asset-based community development (abcd)Focusses on the
strengths (assets)Assumes that people (and communities) want
the best Works with talents, resources, structures, business,
skills ..Maps the assets (rather than the needs) and mobilises
these
Remember the glass half full? ABCD, like strengths approach
to community work is concerned with focussing on the half full
( not half empty) glass. Be aware that community development
can be based on a deficit approach (focussing on the needs or
what’s wrong with the community or place).
ABCD shifts the focus to the assets and what’s right, good and
strong about the community. This becomes the beginning point.
*
Telling a story that re-defines Watch the video of young people
singing and performing

https://youtu.be/Widykor9c5Y
‘B’ town warriors – young kids from Bourke, NSW, created
this song that went viral the day it was released. It tells a
powerful, but hopeful story in a setting that has often been
known because of the problems/issues.
Can you think of other ways that dance, art, or music has been
used to tell a story of hope about a community?
*
Local solutions to urgent issues
Photo: Clinton Vas
Clinton (a trained civil engineer) returns to his village at Goa,
India
He addresses the problem of rubbish, by starting a recycling
business locally
Focussing on recycling, he employs people, uses overseas
volunteers and promotes the idea of a local solution
Think of an example of someone using principles of community
development in their work, their business or with a team?
*
Exercise – in pairs
the power of how we ask questionsDo you like living
here?What do you hope for your community?Is it safe
here?Have you been living here for long?What would it take to
create the changes you want to see here?What does it mean to

be ethical in this work?What do you think needs to happen
next?
What’s the purpose of the questions being asked?
Notice how using closed questions ( yes/no answers) and open
questions elicit different answers.
How do assumptions shape the way we ask questions?
Vogt, Brown, J., and Isaacs, D. (2003). The art of powerful
questions; Catalyzing insight, innovation, and action. Whole
systems Associates: Mill Valley, CA.
*
Elements involved in a Community Development model
Information -worker ensures that people have access to formal
and informal information
Authenticity – ensure that perspectives are being expressed,
heard and responded to
Vision – worker moves people and dialogue from ‘what is’ to
‘what could be’, giving voice to peoples values, principles and
hopes within cultural perspectives
Susan Kenny (1999) identified 6 elements
*
Elements involved in working from a Community Development
model
Pragmatism – collaborate with others to bring about change

within existing power structures
Strategy – the worker helps others to define their objectives
(immediate or longer term)
Transformation – identify what has changed
Good communication is central in Community development
practice
a public meeting has been organised to discuss recent break-ins
at the local store
the school has invited the CD worker to meet with them about
the issue of bullying
The community development worker is working with local
residents to organise a community festival
Each example involves some element of conflict or
disagreement. Consider and discuss =
What are the principles of good communication that will guide
the worker here?
*
This seminar we have considered:
some of the core elements in community development
a range of ways that community development can apply
That different workers can use community development
principles
Next week: we will look at development & international
community work

Social action and social movements
Seminar 5,
Working with and developing communities
Locating ‘social action’
links to social movements and radical social change
associated with protest movements
used in community work when more overt action is needed (eg.
threatened bushland, or school closures)
What might be some other examples?
Rothmans typologyCommunity DevelopmentSocial Planning
unequal.
Power must be challengedStrategies for changeInvolvement of
broad range of people to determine and address their own
issuesGather data about issue and make decisions about most
logical course of actionConsciousness raising and mobilizing of
people to take action against the causes of
oppressionCharacteristics, tacticsConsensus, communication,
discussion among diverse groupsConsensus or conflictConflict,
direct action, confrontation, negotiation.Practitioner
rolesFacilitator, networker, event management, group worker,
Expert, researcher, analyst, social policy worker, project
managerAdvocate,
organiser, media liaison, event management

Rothman’s typology revisited – highlighting Social action
3
ModelStrategyMain role/title of workerExamples of
FacilitatorCommunity groups, Tenants groups,
SettlementsAssociation of Metropolitan Authorities (1993);
Barr (1991)Social/community planningAnalysis of social
conditions, setting of goals and priorities, implementing and
evaluating services and programmesEnabler / Facilitator

Sondhi (1982,1994)
Popple’s Models of Community Work Practice
4
Social Action
A disadvantaged segment of the population is organized to make
demands for increased resources or improved treatment
focuses on social justice, democracy, and the redistribution of
power, resources, and decision making
challenges power and dominant structures
Social Action – some names
‘Conscientization occurs simultaneously with the literacy or
post –literacy process.’
Paulo Friere-(1970) Brazilian Educator

‘Change comes from power, and power comes from
organisation. In order to act, people must get together…..’
Saul Alinksy (1971) American community organiser
Friere, Paulo. (1970), Cultural Action for Freedom. Penguin.
Friere, Paulo (1972), Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Penguin.
Alinksy,S (1972), Rules for Radicals. Vintage, New York.
6
Social Action: protests & strikes
“Workers united will never be defeated”
Wave Hill walk-off, Northern Territory (1966-1975)
Teachers union (strikes over enterprise agreements)
Students strike for climate (global)
Involvement of a range of people in these movements might
include; teachers, priests, unions, members of the public,
lawyers, business people
7
Human rights in social action
Social action in Australia;
The treatment of asylum seekers
Justice, rights and respect for Aboriginal Australians
Walk against family violence

Environmental action
There have been many battles over the protection of the natural
environment.
The Franklin River (Tasmania)
Mining in Kakadu (Jabiluka, NT)
More recently :
Inpex and Darwin Harbour
Gas plant in the Kimberly region
Carbon Tax (linked to climate change awareness and action
movement)
Mining Tax (linked to climate change awareness and action
movement)
Other biggies:
9
Berta Caceras, an Indigenous Lenca woman, environmental
activist, (died March 2016) Honduras
Honduras has the record for being the most dangerous country

for environmental activists.
Berta was murdered in her home before she turned 46. She led a
successful campaign to protect the Rio Blanco, which was to be
dammed by the worlds biggest dam builder. The building of the
dam would have destroyed the environment and impacted
Indigenous communities.
10
‘NIMBY’ social action
‘Not In My Backyard’
at local level people protest about something being ‘inflicted’ or
‘put upon’ a community
location of a jail
a mine
nuclear waste/industrial waste
mobile phone tower
clearing of bushland
Some terms
Mobilisation
Democratisation
Consciousness raising
Discuss these terms. What do they mean?
Do any of these come from particular ‘movements’?
12
Father Paul Kelly catholic priest became a campaigner and
challenged Queensland homophobic law

In 2008 a man, Wayne Ruks was murdered in the ground of his
church. The men who killed Mr Ruks were convicted of
manslaughter. A term ‘gay panic’ can be used as defence in
Queensland and South Australia. Fr Kelly began a petition
(change.org) and campaign to change the law. This was
successful in Queensland, March 2017. South Australia still has
the ‘gay panic’ defence. The change means that all are equal
under the law. Father Paul Kelly is considered an ‘unlikely
campaigner’- why is that?
13
What is a ‘social movement’
-a broad based collection of people aiming to change society in
a particular way (or cluster of ways)
-generally at the ‘nation state’ level, but sometimes go
worldwide
-concerned about establishing alternative structures
14
Social movements
Womens’ movement
Peace movement
Environmental movement
Civil rights movement
Gay rights movement

Ethical considerations for workers
Involvement in community work, can raise challenges for
workers:
Is there a moral justification to break the law?
What are the personal consequences?
What are the public consequences?
Mendes (2002) raises the implications for social workers
involved in community action. These 3 questions come from
Ife,(1995). What do you consider to be some of the ethical
challenges facing a worker in community action?
16
Social movement characteristics
Strong use of networking (non-hierachical)
charismatic leaders
multi-centred, fluid boundaries
cross-interest groups

Characteristics of social movements continued;
in for the ‘long-haul’ (often decades)
effective use of internet and mobile phone technologies
media coverage and public attention
willingness to ‘disrupt’ and go against social norms
Social activism following disaster
Sichuan province, China, May 12 2008.
At 14:28 on May 12, 2008, an 8.0-magnitude earthquake
happened in Sichuan province , China. Over 5,000 students in
primary and secondary schools perished in the earthquake, yet
their names went unannounced. In reaction to the government’s
lack of transparency, a citizen’s investigation was initiated to
find out their names and details about the schools and families.
Ai Weiwei, Chinese artist, activist involved in leading this
citizens investigation created an installation, using the names of
all the 4851-children who died in a video.
Can you think of ways that art has been used to communicate a
message for social action?
19

Activity
Have you been involved in social action or a social movement?
What were the goals?
What were the strategies and tactics?
How successful was it?
Community organising and social activism, some principles;
Be a catalyst not a leader -Local people will be the leaders
Use of ‘let the people decide’
Develop loose organisation structures- use consensus decision
making
Create places free of external restraints
Develop indigenous leaders
Create personal relationships
Fisher (1994) in Shragge, E (e-reserve) highlights some
principles in community organising used by New left
community organisers– these came out of an approach to radical
social change. While applying them was not always as easy in
practice, having principles that guide community organising for
social action direct the process used.
What appeals to you about these principles- why do you think it
might be difficult to use or follow principles in the work of
social activism?

21
Collective action can empower when individually people are
powerless
The community worker will be faced with many instances when
social action may be part of ‘the work’
Tenants taking action with landlord/government
A proposed road will destroy a local parkland
There are many times the worker is required to use their skills
in being able to assist people to organise a protest or make a
demand.
22
Social action and community work
We have covered some different types of social action- there are
so many more
Community work may often include social action
Next seminar focusses on community development
Planning
Seminar 4
Working with and developing communities (SWK301)
Overview of models…

Last seminar we looked at Rothman, Popple and Twelvetrees’
ideas for thinking about community work
In this seminar we will look at where ‘social’ or ‘community’
planning fits in terms of the various typologies we discussed
last week.
Rothmans typologyCommunity DevelopmentSocial Planning
causes of oppressionCharacteristics, tacticsConsensus,
Rothmans typology
3

FacilitatorCommunity groups, Tenants groups,
SettlementsAssociation of Metropolitan Authorities (1993);
Barr (1991)Social/community planningAnalysis of social
conditions, setting of goals and priorities, implementing and
evaluating services and programmesEnabler / Facilitator

Sondhi (1982,1994)
4
Different dimensions of community work
Community development -----------
Self-help ---------
Generic community work -----------
Process focused -------------------
Enabling role of worker ---------------
Community work in its own right -----
Social Planning
Service and influence
Specialist community work
Product focused
Organising role of worker
Community work as an ‘attitude’

In Twelvetrees (2008) dimensions of community work, the
community development worker works with people to assist
them to realise their goals;
“The second main way in which the worker may operate is by
initiating projects, liaising and working directly with service
providers to sensitise them to the needs of specific
communities, assisting them to improve services or alter
policies…….I generally refer to this form of community work
as the social planning approach.’
Some community work will involve more community
development and some will involve more ‘social planning.’
Some community work will involve both.
5
These typologies tell us similar things about planning and social
planning
Can involve ‘needs analysis’ or an enquiry into what a
community wants, such as asset-mapping ( these are different)
Issues or concerns or hopes are identified, a logic-model
approach is used to develop tasks and strategies to address them
a facilitator works with the community to follow up the tasks to
resolve the issues
Evaluation takes place
Assumptions brought to any planning will shape how it is
carried out, who is involved and where the outcomes will go and
how effective the outcomes are.

A deficit approach to planning begins with what is missing or
what’s not happening in the community, similar to focussing on
the problems of an individual Whereas an asset based approach
begins with what is working in the community.
6
‘How do you know what you need, if you don’t know what you
already have?’
Cormac Russell
What is the starting point for planning? This will influence the
approach chosen.
7
Strategic planning;
Develop a common VISION (how will the future look?)
Design an operational plan (what will we do to get there?)
Action plans –(how-tasks and steps to get there)
Evaluation- or review-(what will change? How will we know we
are successful?)
Stringer. E.–e-readings for more exploration of using strategic
thinking in community planning.
8
Planning-the beginning of community work
A community profile creates a picture of the community;
information; data, ie ABS (census), reports (hard)

information; opinions and views about the area (soft)
information about organisations, structures, existing resources
What has already happened ?
Twelvetrees (2008), outlines a range of ways that community
workers ‘do’ their planning even before formally engaging with
the community (pre-start)
9
What do we know about a place? A street? A group? A location?
10
Asset –mapping considers the assets in a community
Individual assets-skills; ideas, talents of people
Institutional assets; organisations, clubs churches, schools
Social networks; informal and formal networks
Economic assets; business, markets, tool libraries
Physical assets; public spaces, playgrounds, parks, gardens
Stories, cultural and spiritual assets; museums, art galleries,
traditions, values, belief systems
Exercise;

On a piece of paper write all the assets that you know of in a
town ( or place you live or know well) on the other side of the
paper list the issues or problems that you know about in the
same place.
Both lists may be accurate, however starting from the assets
energises and creates possibilities for change that a focus on the
problems doesn’t allow. This planning tool then determines the
next steps.
11
Using asset -mapping
Define the purpose
Define the community project boundaries
Identify stakeholders
Identify the tools
Identify the assets
Apply and connect the knowledge
Tools for asset mapping
Street audits
Websites
Lists;10 best places to walk in our town
Events
Story telling
Public arts displays
Communi-tree
‘what people love about their community’
Source; Bank of Ideas
13

No one person will know of all the assets in a community.
Inviting people to contribute in different ways, recognises that
most people have skills.
My big idea- one way to involve ideas from community
members.
14
Low –hanging fruit or short term and simple projects
What can be achieved easily or in the short term?
Train people to mentor new parents
A community festival
Training for association Leaders
-e reading; "We can't eat a road: Asset-based community
development and the Gedam Sefer community partnership in
Ethiopia" by Mulu Yeneabat & Alice K Butterfield
15
Social Planning
An issue is in the public arena
Research and/or ‘needs assessment’ is commissioned (often by a
local council, state or federal government)
A program is developed to address the needs
People are employed to deliver the project

Evaluation research is undertaken
Eg; Royal Commission into Institutional responses to child
sexual Abuse (Australia Wide)
16
Examples of social planning?
Northern Territory Emergency Response?
Large scale social planning exercise?
What might be the links to social policy?
The needs of young people ‘ leaving care’ in the care system.
Children who grow up under the care of the government (wards
of the state)- what happens to them when they leave care, turn
18? What do they need in terms of housing, education,
education, employment?
17
Indicators of good planning
What is happening in a good planning process?
What might be the barriers to good planning?

What might be the challenges for the worker in planning in the
community work context?
Discuss these questions in groups.
For external students simply consider these questions.
18
In the humanitarian context
Often outside humanitarian agencies come into a community to
work
A community (or issue) is selected to ‘work with’
In some cases the location has been selected based on
assessment of need in a particular location by a government or
humanitarian agency.
Who decides on what the issue or problem is?
19
Emergency Community Work
In many cases a location is selected because it has been the
location of an emergency of some kind such; famine, war,
environmental issue
Emergency or ‘disaster’ planning is required
Ideally there are plans in place PRIOR to an emergency
(particularly in areas prone to environmental disasters)

This is a brief overview of planning and social planning;
-in community development empowerment as a central value
drives and shapes how planning occurs
SWK301
Seminar 3
Models of Community Work
1
Revisiting
Week 1 – Looked at “What is community?” and “What is
community work?”.
Week 2 – Looked at theories, levels of practice and asking
questions of the broader context.
Today we will look at:
3 Models of Community Work
Rothman’s – 3 Models of Community Work.
Stepney and Popple’s – 8 Models of Community Work.
Twelvetrees - ‘Continuum’ Typology.

A guideline or process for practice
Model
“ ………a coherent set of directives which state how a given
kind of treatment/approach is to be carried out. A model is
basically definitional and descriptive. It usually states what the
practitioner is expected to do or what the practitioners
customarily do under given conditions.”
(Reid & Epstein in Kettner, 1975, p. 631)
4
or ‘types’ of community work
Lets examine different ways of thinking about types of
community work
MODELS
Rothman & Tropman, 1987; Taylor & Roberts, 1985;
Twelvetrees, 2002). Many authors have also recognised that
there is some overlap, a continuum, or phasing between the
models they identify. Indeed, in the most recent edition of
Strategies of Community Intervention Jack Rothman (1995, p.
27) informs the reader that:
“Over time I have come to de-emphasize or soften the notion of
‘models’, which gives greater importance and internal validity
to the approaches than seems warranted, and to accent the

overlap and intermixture among approaches.”
Ife (2002, p. 1. Italics in original) appears to agree with
Rothman’s sentiment, and adds that there is confusion in both
understandings and terminology in community work.
The terms community work, community development,
community organisation, community action, community practice
and community change are all commonly used, often
interchangeably, and although there are some important
differences between some or all of these terms, there is no
agreement as to what these differences are, and no clear
consensus as to the different shades of meaning that each
implies
Today we will look at a couple of different ways (or typologies)
people have developed for thinking about the different ways we
work with communities.
For this unit we will use ‘community work’ to describe all the
ways one can work with communities, and mainly use
Rothman’s typology as ‘signposts’ for thinking about some of
the key differences in ways we might work.
5
Rothman
3 Models of community work
community development
community planning
social action

See; Rothman J. Approaches to Community Intervention (on e-
reserve)
6
Community
(or locality) development
‘grass roots’ and ‘bottom up’
a wide variety of community people should be involved in
planning, implementation, and evaluation.
use of democratic procedures, voluntary cooperation, network
building, self-help, the development of local leadership,
capacity, and educational objectives.
Community capacity building
Asset-based community development
Neighbourhood development
Strengths based community work
International work (longer term non-emergency programs)
The emphasis on community development is that the idea of
local or ‘locality’ allows a focus that is specific to an area or a
group of people with common interests. It has assumptions that
the work of community development be shared by those in that
community-participation at every level of this work is
important.
Eg; Neighbourhood development- community houses or
community centres, look up Neighbourhood houses Victoria:
www.nhvic.org.au

7
Social
(or community)
planning
A rational, deliberately planned, technical process of problem-
solving with regard to substantive social problems.
The degree of community participation may vary. Often
community is ‘consulted’ or a ‘needs assessment’ is undertaken
by external experts and professionals.
Building community capacity or fostering radical or
fundamental social change is not a major goal of this model of
community practice.
Government interventions
Emergency and disaster relief
Community Consultations
Often social planning is carried out by “experts” or outsiders
contracted to gather information about an issue.
Eg; in response to concerns about violence in a small town, the
government recruits a company to carry out a needs analysis
about local services. The company is based in a capital city in
another state.
8
Social
action
An (often disadvantaged) segment of the population is

organized in order to make demands on the larger community
for increased resources or improved treatment.
There is a focus on social justice, democracy, and the
redistribution of power, resources, and decision making.
Often linked to broader social movements
Rally's, marches, boycotts,
High level of internet organising
Professional fields are typically conservative- social action is
usually arises from direct experiences of people wanting
challenge a situation and raise awareness of the broader
community.
eg; Timor Gap
Eg; refugee advocacy groups
9
Social action
Think about what constitutes social action.
These people are attending a rally to highlight the plight of
asylum seekers and their treatment when they come to Australia
for protection. By using a number of actions; rallies, petitions,
art, music, petitions, letter writing, phone calls to politicians etc
they seek to influence government policy.
Look up; Rural Australians for refugees. Teachers for refugees,
Grandmothers for Refugees
10

Summary from Rothman Community DevelopmentSocial
Planning
causes of oppressionCharacteristics, tacticsConsensus,
Table 1.1 (summary from Rothman)
Most paid work in communities in Australia falls into the
‘community’ or ‘locality’ development category.
A lot of volunteer work in Australia is in the ‘social action’
category
Much internal community work fits in the ‘social planning’
category (some work in remote Aboriginal communities in
Australia is often of this kind).
11
Stepney and Popple

8 Models of community work
Stepney & Popple (2008) Social work and the community:
a critical context for practice.
Popple, K (1995) Analysing community work, it’s theory and
it’s practice.
Another way of looking at how community work is organised.
12
Stepney & Popples' models
Community care
Community organisation
Community education
Community planning
Community action
Feminist community work
Black and anti-racist community work
13
Community Care
concentrates on developing self-help concepts to address social

and welfare needs;
family is seen as locus of care;
efforts to help ensure that people who are in need of care
remain in the community;
controversy around this model as community care is ambiguous
and often seen as a way of cost shifting from the state to the
community;
‘Attempts to cultivate social networks and voluntary services
……for the welfare of residents.’ (Popple, 1995)
Community Organisation
Used widely in Britain as a way of improving coordination
between different welfare agencies
Attempts to avoid duplication of services
Be aware of scepticism as to whether the community as a social
construction exists
15
Community Development
The term ‘community development’ is used in place of

community work in order to emphasise the developmental
aspects of the work;
workers orient themselves in the direction of community
initiatives;
characterised by work at neighbourhood level.
‘Concerned with assisting groups to acquire the skills and
confidence to improve the quality of the lives of its
members’(Popple, 1995)
Community Planning
Driven by governance to stop the poor “slipping through the
net” and based on evidence based research & practice;
A gearing toward inclusion through labour market activation –
participation and partnership with government
‘an analysis of social conditions, social policies and agency
services; the setting of goals and priorities..’ (Popple, 1995)
Community Education
school-based learning, compensatory education, adult education
at village & industry

major influence has been the work of Paulo Friere
education for liberation
praxis, conscientisation (politicization & political action)
“…as a significant attempt to redirect educational policy and
practice in ways which bring education and community into a
closer and more equal relationship.”
(Allen et al., 1987, p. 2 in Popple, 1995, p. 63)
By increasing access to education, peoples’ options to a future
employment, can expand.
Education as a means to liberation
Neighborhood houses offer education for adults, re
assertiveness training, literacy classes, tenant rights
18
Community Action
Reaction to the paternalism of some community work models
and a response by powerless groups to increase their
effectiveness;
has evolved from communities themselves often taking an
oppositional position to wider developments which affect them
but which are outside of their immediate control (Popple
08,p.133);
Traditionally been class-based and uses conflict and direct
action;
See Morwell, closing of Hazelwood coal plant
19

Feminist
Community
Work
focuses on the improvement of women’s welfare
looks at how institutionalised gender disadvantage operates to
restrict the life opportunities for women;
offers a critique of patriarchy, provides tactical support to the
women’s movement and emancipation in all its forms while
working to alert to any oppressive gender identity
“The influence of women is an essential factor in the welfare of
humanity, and it will become more valuable as time proceeds”
(Henri Dunant, of the Red Cross & 1st Nobel Peace prize
winner);
Feminist community work challenges gendered assumptions and
seeks to give voice to womens’ experience. Post modernist
feminism includes minorities, those with disabilities, LGBTIQ
(lesbian, Gay, bi-sexual, trangender, intersex and queer) and
further challenges the harm done by stereotyping.
Consider how institutionalised gender disadvantage is
perpetuated-
20
Black and
anti-racist community
work
traditional forms of community work have often failed to meet

the particular needs of the black community; ‘institutional
racism’ ( the collective failure of an organisation to provide an
appropriate and professional service to people because of their
colour, culture or ethnic origin) p.44;
Community projects by black population are often a response to
their exclusion in white dominated service provision;
Racism operates informally in neighbourhoods with people from
minority ethnic groups feeling their different expressions of
cultural, religious and language under threat;
‘race’ is a cultural, political and economic concept, not a
biologically derived one
Awareness that western approaches are often individualist and
often not suited to the collective paradigms of indigenous
peoples.
21

FacilitatorCommunity groups, Tenants groups, Settlements,
neighbourhood groups, action groupsAssociation of
Metropolitan Authorities (1993); Barr (1991)Social/community
planningAnalysis of social conditions, setting of goals and
priorities, implementing and evaluating services and
programmesEnabler / Facilitator Localities undergoing
redevelopmentMarris (1987); Twelvetrees (1991)Community
educationAttempts to bring education and community into a
closer and more equal relationshipEducator / Facilitator
Community schools/colleges, 'compensatory education',
Working class/feminist adult educationAllen et al. (1987); Allen
& Martin (1992); Freire (1970, 1972, 1976, 1985); Lovett
(1975); Lovett et al. (1983); Rogers (1994)Community
actionCan be class-based, conflict-focused direct action at local
levelActivistSquatting movement, welfare rights movement,
resistance against planning and redevelopment, tenant's
actionCraig et al. (1982); Jacobs & Popple (1994); Lees &
Mayo (1984)Feminist community workImprovement of women's
welfare, working collectively to challenge and eradicate
inequalities suffered by women, challenges power
imbalancesActivist / Enabler / Facilitator Women's refuges,
Women's health groups, Women's therapy centresBarker (1986);
Dixon et al. (1982); Dominelli (1990, 1994); Flynn et al.
(1986)Black and anti-racist community workSetting up and
running groups that support the needs of Black people.
Challenging racism.Activist / Volunteer Racial Equality
Councils and Commission for Racial Equality funded
projectsOhri et al. (1982); Sivanandan (1976,1990); Sondhi
(1982,1994)

22
Twelvetrees
‘continuum’ typology
Twelvetrees, A. (2008). Introduction: What is Community
Work?
(Chapter 1) Community Work, 4th Ed. Palgrave, Baskingstoke.
Pages 1-18.
Community development -----------
Self-help ------------
Generic community work -----------
Process focused -------------------
Enabling role of worker ---------------
Community work in its own right -----
Social Planning
Service and influence
Specialist community work
Product focused
Organising role of worker
Community work as an ‘attitude’

24
Community Development Work – The community worker works
with people in relation to what those people decide to become
involved with, helping them realise their collective goals.
Social Planning – The community worker works to initiate
projects, liaising and working directly with service providers to
sensitise them to the needs of specific communities, assisting
them to improve services or alter policies – they bypass the
community group to bring about change.Self-Help/Services
Approach – needs are met from resources existing within the
community.
Influence Approaches – Influences/changes policies of
organisations outside the community.Generic Community
Workers – Work in relation to any issue or sector.
Specialist Community Workers – Work to improve services and
to involve consumers or client groups in some way in this
process.Process/ Expressive Goals and Groups – Process goals
focus on changes in people’s confidence, knowledge, technical
skills or attitudes. The community worker will use a
facilitating/enabling approach with communities. Community
groups that focus on process goals are called expressive groups.
Product/Instrumental Goals and Groups – goals focus on
changes to material situations. The community workers use an
organising approach with communities. Community groups that
focus on process goals are called instrumental
groups.Facilitating/Enabling Role - The community
development worker goes at the pace of the group and assists
members to work out what they want to do and how to do it.
Organising Role – The community development work is
directive as the “product” needs to predominate and because the
group members may lack the motivation or skills.Community
Work in its own right – The community worker facilitates

collective action in the community as his or her main job.
Community Work as an attitude and approach – Other
profession (e.g teacher, doctor, lawyer etc) carry out their work
using principles of community workUnpaid Community Work
Paid Community Work
25
And finally..
What matters is finding a way of engaging with people in a way
that promotes changes in a way that empowers and transforms
lives
It’s a lot to take in!
the ‘models’ and ‘theories provide a way of understanding and
organising different types of community work
know the different types of community work
look more deeply into types or kinds that appeal to you
no ‘typology’ is right or wrong – they offer ways to understand
what we aim to do in community work and how to do it.
These typologies simply ‘organise’ different types of
community work. They are not exhaustive.
27
Social Development and international community work

Working With & Developing Communities
SWK301 Seminar 7

Community development is not one- dimensional but includes;
Social
Economic
Political
Cultural
Environmental
Spiritual
Personal
Survival development

See- Ife. J (2013) Community development in an Uncertain
world
2
Let’s focus on social development
“a process of planned social change designed to promote the
well-being of the population as a whole in conjunction with a
dynamic process of economic development.” (Midgely 1995:
25)

Midgely, J. (1995) Social Development: The developmental
perspective in social welfare. London: Sage
The CDU library has ordered an updated version of Midgely’s
book (2010) as an e-book .

Midgely is considered the key (and first) author in the social
work/humanitarian area to write about social development
3
Social development is a different approach to promoting
welfare.
‘Unlike philanthropy and social work, social development does
not deal with individuals either by providing them with goods
or services, or by treating or rehabilitating them. Instead,
social development focuses on the community or society, and on
wider social processes and structures.’
(Midgely, 1995. p. 23)

How do structures impact on people’s lives?

There are a range of structures that impact on people’s lives.
List what you think might be some of structures
eg; government, business, social structures, organisations, etc
5
Much of what we consider community development is also
social development

Ife. J (2013) p. 214
6
Social development
Service development
Community centre/neighborhood house
Social animation
Social planning
There are a range of understandings or approaches to
community development….one of these is social development
(Campfens, 1997)

Ref: Campfens, H. (Ed) (1997) Community Development around
the world: Practice, theory, research, training. Toronto:
University of Toronto Press.
The term “social development’ – preceded the use of
‘community development”

7
community development is informed by
Values
Attitudes
Perspectives
Empowerment

Perspective Source of ‘blame’Source of problem
Solution
Individual Blame the victim Individual pathology,
psychological, biological, moral or character defect Therapy,
counselling, medical treatment, cognitive behavioural therapy,
moral exhortation, controlinstitutional
reformistBlame the rescuerInstitutions to deal with the problem,
court, schools, welfare departmentReorganise institutions, more
resources, more services, better training..

Account of social issues
Ife, J (2016). Community development in an uncertain world.
This table outlines different ways to look at social issues, that
go beyond the individual account. Building on the work of
Taylor-Gooby and Dale (1981). Recognising that there is value
in each of these approaches and there is a need to include
elements of each. Be aware that social policy strategies rely on
the first two.
9
Perspective Source of ‘blame’Source of problem

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