Eastern Community Legal Centre
Asset-Based Community Development for CLCs
Community Development Principles
Ecological principles
1. Holism- everything relates to everything
2. Sustainability- must be able to be maintained long-term
3. Diversity- between communities and within communities. Not seeking
to impose one world view or ‘right’ structure
4. Organic development- respect and value community’s particular
attributes
5. Balanced development- recognising social, economic, political,
cultural, environmental and personal/spiritual development
Social justice and human rights principles
6. Addressing structural disadvantage- not reinforcing structural
oppression but confronting and countering them
7. Addressing discourses of disadvantage- eg. People with disabilities
redefined as contributing members of society rather than reliant on
‘charity’
8. Empowerment- providing people with resources, opportunities,
vocabulary, knowledge and skills to increase their capacity
9. Human rights- both protection and promotion
10. Need definition- need definition of community themselves should take
precedence but should be agreement between various need-definers
(inc. service users, service provider, researchers, funding bodies)
Valuing the local
11. Valuing local knowledge- as opposed to engaging an outside
consultant or ‘expert’
12. Valuing local culture- without disregarding other principles such as
human rights or addressing disadvantage
13. Valuing local resources- including financial, technical, natural and
human
14. Valuing local skills- skills developed locally most likely to succeed in
that environment
Updated Oct 2011
Eastern Community Legal Centre
Asset-Based Community Development for CLCs
15. Valuing local processes- not imposing specific answers, structures or
processes from outside the community
16. Participation- provide broad range of participatory activities and
legitimise equally all people involved
Process principles
17. Process, outcome and vision- each is relevant and helps achieve the
others
18. Integrity of process- the processes themselves should reflect all of
the principles outlined
19. Consciousness-raising- helping people explore their personal
experiences and the links between their experiences and the structures
or discourses of power and oppression
20. Cooperation and consensus- rather than competition
21. Pace of development- community must determine the pace- cannot
be ‘sped up’ for those who want to see results
22. Peace and non-violence- including addressing structural violence,
physical violence (domestic, street, police, corporal punishment) by
non-violent means. Eg, not appropriate to respond to youth crime with
harsher penalties because it reinforces violent solutions
23. Inclusiveness- processes that include even those with opposing views
so people can change positions without losing ‘face’
24. Community building- bringing people together and emphasising
interdependence
Global and local principles
25. Linking global and the local
26. Anti-colonialist practice- not taking over the agenda, devaluing
culture/experience or stripping people of identity
From ‘Community Development: community-based alternatives in an age of globalisation’,
Jim Ife and Frank Tesoriero, 2006.
Updated Oct 2011