North Central Region Community Development

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Community Development

Core Competencies for

Extension Professionals in the North Central region

Basic Understanding of Community

Learning Objectives

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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.

Learning Objectives cont.

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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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Communities Have

Changed

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

Community Issues

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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 Role in

Community Work

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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Understanding

Community

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

Defining Community

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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)

Defining Community

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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

Defining Community

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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?

Defining Community

Development

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What is community development?

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

Defining Community

Development

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

Underlying Values &

Assumptions

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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

Community Development

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 Interaction

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

Community Interaction

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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?

Community Interaction

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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 Interaction

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.

Turning Community

Assets into Capitals

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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

Turning Community

Assets into Capitals

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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

Turning Community

Assets into Capitals

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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

Community Development

Process

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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

Reflection Questions

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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?

References

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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

References

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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.

References

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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)

Next Session

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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.

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