Community Development
Core Competencies for
Extension Professionals in the North Central region

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
 Define community and how it has changed over time.
 Explore the underlying assumptions of community development work.
• Define community development and its role as a process for addressing change in community.
• Link concepts of community and community development to Extension work.

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
• Develop an understanding of the various roles
Extension educators can play in communities.
• Identify the principles that guide the practice of community development process.
• Define the Community Capitals concept.
• Identify the community development process.

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There have been many changes in our communities over recent years.
What are some of these changes?
Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
 School financing
 Adult education
 Local taxes and government financing
 Employment
 Retail businesses
 Adequate, affordable housing
 Land use issues

Community (Public) Issues
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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
 Community issues are complex
 Community issues affect large number people
 Community issues are interdependent with other issues
 Decisions are made by a public body
 Decisions result in public policy (regulation, ordinance, expenditure of public resources) that will affect the community

Community (Public) Issues
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The context for this series is the community as a whole, as a “unit of analysis” rather than an individual or organization.
Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region

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Extension’s work in communities is not new. It has been a part of Extension’s mission since 1914. What has evolved over time is that community development has become more professionally defined.
Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region

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Think about your community.
 What are the characteristics that make your community a community?
Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
Community includes three elements:
 Territory or place
 Social organizations or institutions that provide regular interaction among residents
 Social interaction on matters concerning a common interest.
-- Definition by Kenneth Wilkinson (1991)

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These three elements of community (place, social systems that provide regular interaction, and matters of common interest) are increasingly separate.
Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
Based on your experiences of working in communities
 What are some of the changing aspects of community?
 Why have these elements separated over time?

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
A process through which people and communities acquire the attitudes, skills and abilities for active participation in creating meaningful futures and dealing with community issues.
-- Community Development Academy, University of Missouri

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
What are the underlying values and assumptions we make when we talk about community and community development?

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
free and open participation right to be heard
CD
Principles
Right to affect our environment right to participate accurate information understanding is basis for change

Principles of Good Practice
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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
 Promote active and representative participation toward enabling all community members to meaningfully influence the decisions that affect their lives.
 Engage community members in learning about and understanding community issues, and the economic, social, environmental, political, psychological, and other impacts associated with alternative courses of action.

Principles of Good Practice
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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
 Incorporate the diverse interests and cultures of the community in the community development process; and disengage from support of any effort that is likely to adversely affect the disadvantaged members of a community.
 Work actively to enhance the leadership capacity of community members, leaders, and groups within the community.

Principles of Good Practice
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
Be open to using the full range of action strategies to work toward the long-term sustainability and well being of the community.
Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region

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Community Society
Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
Strong
Sense of
Community
Strong
Sense of the
Primacy of the
Individual

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Another way to look at community interaction are the strength of ties or social capital :
 Internal ties within the community
 External ties outside the community
Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region How have these changed over time? Have increasing external linkages strengthened or weakened communities?

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
How do we think about our work in communities?
 The community is something external to us and to be acted on, predicted and managed.
 We are the community and create it through our ongoing processes of interaction.
 Do you consider yourself an insider or outsider in the communities you work?
Domahidy, M. (2003). Using theory to frame community and practice.
Journal of the Community Development Society, 34(1), 75-84.

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Community Capitals Model
Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
Cornelia Butler Flora, North Central Regional
Center for Rural Development, Jan Flora, Iowa
State University, 2004.

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
According to C. Flora community assets become capital when they are invested.
 Natural capital – assets that abide in a location
 Cultural capital – reflects the way people “know the world” and how to act within it
 Human capital – skills & abilities of people to develop and enhance their resources

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
 Social capital – connections among people & organizations to make things happen
Bonding social capital – close ties that build community cohesion.
Bridging social capital
– weak ties that bridge among organizations, agencies, communities

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
 Political capital – access to power and power brokers
 Financial capital – financial resources available to invest in community
 Built capital – infrastructure that supports the community

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region celebrate success establish organizing group review and evaluate
Community
Development
Process identify who is to be included
Collect /analyze information create purpose implement action plan develop action plan develop vision and goals expand the organization

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
 What communities am I a part of in my work?
 How do I relate to community —am I an insider or an outsider?
 How do I define community development in my work?
 What are the principles that guide my interactions with people in my community work?

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
Adams, J.R., Jeanetta, S.C., Leuci, M.S., &
Stallman, J. (2004, September). Building communities from the grassroots.
Columbia,
Missouri: University of Missouri Extension.
Community Development Society. (1998)
Principles of good practice. http://www.commdev.org

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
Domahidy, M. (2003). Using theory to frame community and practice. Journal of the
Community Development Society, 34(1), 75-84.
Green, G.P. & Haines, A. (2003). Asset building and community development . Thousand Oaks,
California: Sage Publications.

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
Keller, S. (2003). Community: Pursing the dream, living the reality. Princeton, New Jersey:
Princeton University Press.
Tönnes, F. (1957) Community and Society . (C.P.
Loomis, Trans.). East Lansing, Michigan:
Michigan State University Press. (Original work published 1887)

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Community Development
Core Competencies for Extension
Professionals in the
North Central Region
February 9, 2006
Community Demographics
Christine Nolan
The ability to understand the demographic profile and trends in a community is essential to identifying issues and sustainable alternatives.