This document provides an overview of community organizing, including its approaches, processes, and skills required. It discusses three main approaches to community organization: community development, social planning, and social action. It also outlines the three stages of the community organizing process: awakening, empowerment, and restructuring. Finally, it details important skills for community organizers, such as facilitating group interaction, conducting meetings, problem-solving and decision-making, and managing conflicts.

1. National Service Training Program (NSTP)
MODULE (2nd Semester)
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Module 12
COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
Readings on Module 12
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION
Community Organization does not concern itself with individual problems, as in
casework, or with therapeutic activities for persons in different groups, as in group
work. Its major interest is focused on community problems and on how to mobilize all
available resources – human, social and cultural – in the community in order to correct
these deficiencies.
The term community organization normally refers to deliberate efforts in dovetailing
social welfare activities, designed to meet certain problems, with community welfare
resources within a specific geographical area. In achieving this purpose, community
organization utilizes technical tools of casework and group work.
APPROACHES IN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION
As an offshoot of studies on community organization conducted by social theories,
government and private institutions engaged in community welfare work adopted three
main approaches which are used singly or in a combination of one with another. One
of these approaches is community development. It is an approach designed to bring
about community changes through the active participation of the government and the
community. Thus it employs collaborative strategies in solving community problems.
Usually, organizations using this approach undertake self – help projects, cooperative
and adult – education classes.
The other method in community organization is social planning. It deals with
specialized and technical skills in solving community social problems like population
explosion, educational wastage, and low levels of income, malnutrition, housing, and
unemployment. Through a group of social planner who conducts surveys and
interviews, the community is informed of existing problems. As the community is
alerted to make satisfactory provisions for enabling individual to acquire material
foundation of is dignity – such as food, shelter, clothing, and adequate security and the
enjoyment of social and cultural growth, a cross – sectional or an integrated approach
is required.
The third approach is social action. It differs from the first two approaches is that
it employs total grassroots participation in confronting community issue. It utilizes
conflict strategies whereby organized efforts are fooled to influence public opinion or
official policies. Oftentimes, organizations employing this approach are called
people’s organization.

2. National Service Training Program (NSTP)
MODULE (2nd Semester)
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COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION PROCESS
I. Awakening Stage (Reorientation/Entry or Re – entry phase)
a. Problem Identification
1. Observation ocular survey
2. Study the existing records
3. Orientation meeting with the barangay captain/leaders
4. Home visitation/informal conversation with the people
b. Problem Analysis
c. Ranking of Problems according to priority
II. Empowerment Stage (Capability)
a. Participatory Planning
b. Participatory Implementation
c. Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation
III. Restructuring Stage (Consolidation/Institutionalization)
►People set up structures/system committees, council unit leader, etc. to continue
and oversee the change process.
►People establish new relationships/linkages with change agents/ development
workers, government organizations, local government units and non –
government organizations.
►Can manage own project and can stand alone.
►The community or organization helps trained leaders who can lead the group in
understanding planned activities.
STEPS IN COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
1. Entry into the Community
2. Integration with the people
3. Social Investigation
4. Problem Identification and Analysis
5. Planning and Strategizing
6. Core group formation
7. Organization development and mobilization
8. Evaluation and Reflection
9. Turn – over and phase – out
Skills needed by a Community Organizer
I. Facilitating Group Interaction. The Facilitator is both an enabler and animator. An enabler is
someone who helps others to be or to do by developing individual and collective
potential for growth. An animator, on the other hand, inspires and provides support for
others to participate meaningfully in the process of growth. Facilitating has both task

3. National Service Training Program (NSTP)
MODULE (2nd Semester)
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and maintenance functions. Task functions involve providing directions for learning as
well as accomplishing expected results. Maintenance functions pertain to providing
venues for group participation and helping build training and working teams. Facilitating
is a group task and not solely of leaders.
Facilitator Style
1. Facilitators love the organization for which they are facilitating.
2. Facilitators are guides not participants.
3. Facilitators prepare extensively.
4. Facilitators are concerned both with process and results.
5. Facilitators are reflective human beings.
Pointers on Facilitating
Know your left and your right. Be a big brother/sister
Learn how to count. Be practical.
Have a traffic control hand.
Be a boy and girl scout.
Have a firm grasp.
II Conducting Meetings
The C.O. shall allow, as much as possible to have meetings chaired and controlled
by the local people.
While the organizer should be present in the meeting, the leaders should
understand that they are running the meeting. The organizer may stimulate the discussion
through questions or added information, but this should be within the scope and capability
of the local leaders to handle during the meeting.
III Problem solving and Decision making
Problem solving and decision making are vital processes in confronting issues and
conflicts. These must be undertaken with the maximum participation of the people. An
organizer can initiate discussion and actions concerning critical problems or provide
added information and suggest methods. However, such actions must be tempered with
the people's own abilities for critical thinking.
Basic Steps in Problem Solving and decision-making
1. Know and define the problem
2. Gather and analyze information
3. Develop alternative solutions.
4. Evaluate each alternative and select the best.
5. Plan and implement actions
IV Managing Conflicts
Conflicts when resolved are healthy signs of any growing organization.

4. National Service Training Program (NSTP)
MODULE (2nd Semester)
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Conflicts are either PERSONAL (due to inherent personality characteristics) or
FUNCTIONAL (work-related). Conflicts can be resolved either through negotiation or
confrontation. Negotiation is possible if there is adequate basis for common interest of the
parties concerned and a settlement of differences on compromise is resorted to if the
parties concerned cannot be reached.
Pointers on Holding Negotiation
1. The organizer or any leader should thoroughly study the issue and the arguments
beforehand. They should be familiar both with their bargaining position and the
basic attitudes and moves of the opponent.
2. As much as possible, negotiations must be held in their own territory or at least in
neutral place or venue where the mass membership can witness the proceedings.
3. Never accept statements or arguments of the opponent at face value. Validate
these based on facts.
4. Stick to the issues. Do not be drawn into small talk unnecessarily.
5. Never negotiate with anyone who has no authority to decide.
6. Watch out attempts to divide and conquer the panel of negotiators. Each panel
members' part must be discussed collectively beforehand. On the opponent's
side, watch out for sympathetic persons and possible allies. Divide and conquer
the opposition.
7. If the negotiating team gets confused or rattled, the leaders should call for a
recess.
8. Never agree to setting up committees to study things further and thus defer action.
This is part of the opponent's delaying tactics. However, if delays are beneficial
to one's own position, this can be used as a tactic against the opponent
9. Document and authenticate all major points and agreements. One way to ensure
this is to volunteer one representative as secretary to take down official minutes
and to have ever negotiator sign it afterwards.
10. The negotiating team must keep every organization member informed of the
progress of the negotiations through reports during the meetings.
This reporting is important because at anytime negotiations may break down,
further action may be required. The mass membership is the ultimate source of
authority and policies, and may correct or criticize the negotiations at anytime.

5. National Service Training Program (NSTP)
MODULE (2nd Semester)
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Pointers in handling Confrontation
1. The organizer and the leaders should be guided that power is not only what they
have, but also what the opponents think.
2. The organizer should never go outside the experiences of the people. When
action or tactic is not within their experience, it may result to confusion, fear and
retreat.
3. Let the opponent live up to their own book of rules in order to defeat them in that.
4. Ridicule is a potent weapon. It infuriates the opposition who then reacts negatively
and possibly loses control.
5. A good tactic is one which the people enjoy doing also. When the same tactic or
action drags on too long it may become a bore.
6. The pressure must be kept consistently on, with different tactics and actions. Both
the organizer and the leaders must keep their eye on what tactic or action will
lead to. It should be remembered that not only will the enemy react to their action
but they will also react to their reaction.
7. The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative. If the enemy
suddenly capitulates and the people have no well-studied and workable demands
ready, then they will be caught on the spot.
8. Pick the target. Freeze it. Do not let it get away. One of the criteria for choosing a
target is vulnerability.
V Communication Skills
An organizer needs expertise on both verbal and non verbal communications.
Good communication skills mean the ability to say things and act with the intended
meaning; to see and listen to what others are saying; and to interpret words and actions.
Pointers for effective Communication
1. Know your audience
2. Be clear with the message
3. Know the context of the message
4. Encourage feedback and dialogue
5. Be creative.
VI Documentation Skills
The documentation provides the historical accounts of the process and significant
results of the organizing efforts.
Pointers for documentation
1. Know the purpose of documentation.
2. Involve the people
3. Gather purposeful; meaningful and relevant data.

6. National Service Training Program (NSTP)
MODULE (2nd Semester)
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4. Prepare a simple, readable, objective and exhaustive report
5. Put attention to the 5 Ws and 1 H (Who, What, When, Where, Why and How)
6. Be systematic
7. Arrange and label files
8. Decide on style in documentation:
 process- includes details of how and why
 *result-oriented-highlights