Steps to Build Community Driven Projects All rights reserved Native Way Training Services Inc. © Native Way Training Services Inc. Facebook.com/nativewaytrainingservices Presented by Isabelle Aubé In Partnership with with Jennifer Pelletier Webinar Orientation 1 2 3 4 Today’s Goals Delivery of information with some questions asked through polls. Evaluation after the information session. Open discussion and sharing with participants. Last poll questions evaluating exchange. Brief tour of the new Northern Links Website and all of it’s valuable resources. Format of session Physical Activity Guidelines for Spinal Cord Injury Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) affects an estimated of 86,000 individuals living in Canada and the numbers of SCI cases are projected to increase over the next two decades affecting an estimated 121,000 people by 2030. Physical Activity Guidelines for Spinal Cord Injury Healthy individuals with SCI to improve fitness should participate in at least 20 minutes of moderate to vigorous Aerobic activity 2 times per week, as well as Strength training twice a week. Physical Activity Guidelines for Spinal Cord Injury Some aerobic activities that are appropriate for people with SCI are cycling, body weight supported, treadmill walking or water exercise. Physical Activity Guidelines for Spinal Cord Injury Strength training exercises using weights or elastic resistance bands will help get the heart rate up, improve health and prevent muscle atrophy. An opportunity to get our People to work together and get our communities healthier and happier. Definition Community driven development (CDD) is a development initiative that provides control of the development process, resources and decision making authority directly to community groups. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communitydriven_development The underlying assumption of CDD projects are that communities are the best judges of how their lives and livelihoods can be improved and, if provided with adequate resources and information, they can organize themselves to provide for their immediate and long-term needs. Moreover, CDD programs are motivated by their trust in people (Naidoo and Finn, 2001) and it advocates people changing their own environment as a powerful force for development. By treating people as assets and partners in the development process, previous studies have shown that CDD is responsive to local demands, inclusive, and more costeffective compared to centrally-led NonGovernmental Organization (NGO)-based programs. CDD can also be supported by strengthening and financing community groups, facilitating community access to information, and promoting an enabling environment through policy and institutional reform (Dongier, 2002). CDD projects work by providing communities with fund searching/generating opportunities during which they develop crucial skills. Once funding for development is secured the Community needs to decide how best to spend the money, promoting both decision-making skills as well as accountability. Lastly, the community plans and builds the project and takes responsibility for monitoring its progress. So not only do they create what is needed, they are also developing a community skillset that can be applied to any other community need. Which in the long run will ensure sustainability and continual growth. The community action model The community action model is a 5-step, community-driven model designed to build communities’ capacity to address health disparities through mobilization. Fundamental to the model is a critical analysis identifying the underlying social, economic, and environmental forces that create health and social inequities in a community. Promoting environmental change by moving away from projects that focus solely on changing individual lifestyles and behaviors to mobilizing community members and governing bodies. Goals of the model We do this to eliminate characteristics of the community that promote economic, social, and environmental inequalities. Assisting people in acquiring the skills needed to do it themselves. The community action model provides a framework for community members to acquire the skills and resources they need to assess and improve the community’s health. Goals of the model Culturally speaking, community health will include the four aspects of the Medicine Wheel: Mental, Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Step 1 Identify the issue Choose an area of focus Community diagnosis(“action research”) is essential to determine the root causes of a community issue and outline the resources necessary to overcome it. This helps us focus our energy in the right area to create the necessary community change we are looking to accomplish. Complete a community/organizati on assessment to determine: Step 2 What resources already exist ? Who the key contributors will be ? What exactly is missing ? This is a crucial step as no solution to dismantle inequalities can be reached without the full involvement and leadership of the communities most affected. Step 3 Analyze results and begin gathering your Project Leaders & Partners Explore all of the different solutions that can be applied. The Community Action Plans (CAPs) are a planning document specific for each community. The community members decide: which projects are relevant to their development needs, prioritize those projects. and finally quantified the resources needed distinguishing between outsiders’ resources (the Government funds/other donors funds) and resources community can provide by themselves (or, using the donor point of view, this is called “the community contribution”). • Goals & timelines • Project governance / decision making process • Roles and responsibilities • Budget • Risk Management • Conflict resolution plan • Sustainability plan Policy development is key to project success. It helps us to be more efficient in our actions; and it helps us implement an environmental change action as well as activities intended to support them. Step 4 Implement your action plan. Evaluate progress. Adjust and modify as needed. During the mobilization phase, communities can elect a Community Development Committee (CDC) composed of 9-11 members. The CDC is effectively the recipient of the external/internal funds and is responsible on behalf of the community, of the field implementation, everyday supervision, and management decisions. Evaluate success Step 5 Maintain project. Ensure sustainability or build another level of project function. Community Driven Development is an approach that acknowledges the concept of diversity in the views, interests and perceptions of each actor involved in the project. Benefits The community drives the project towards their perceived development goals. This allows their decision makers (the CDC) to take well- informed management decisions during project implementation and planning of future interventions. Further on, monitoring results is, for the Community Development Committee, a mean of accountability towards the extended community and their donors. A major challenge in the CDD approach, especially if implemented in communities that never went through participatory development before, is to transfer the necessary skills and capacities, first to the facilitators and then from them to those member of the community (Like the CDC) that actively manage financial resources for project implementation. enhancing community accountability Community Driven Projects are great opportunities for enhancing community accountability by: 1)Building financial accountability: to maintain a correct bookkeeping, procedures and key performance indicators to be collected in order to monitor this process . 2) Promote external and internal accountability: through participatory indicators agreed with the community to monitor if what the project is producing the expected results in the short, medium and long run. Every member can learn from participating in a community driven project. From the Elders to the Youth it is an opportunity to get the People working together towards a common positive goal. This not only helps the community as a whole, it helps individuals grow and feel proud of their accomplishments. Which in turn nurtures pride and builds confidence. Something that Aboriginal People need to regain after years of oppression. Community Driven Projects bring us back to how things used to be pre-contact. A time where every member of the community was expected to contribute for the good of their Nation. Many of the Elders have said that we need to breathe the Old Teachings back to life to regain Balance in the Medicine Wheel. Getting our communities to work together is a perfect opportunity to do just that. Wishing you success in your endeavors. Webinar Evaluation THANK YOU ! Join Us on .com/nativewaytrainingservices info@nativewaytriningservices.com Isabelle Aubé 613-818-2196