Community development – Everyone ’ s Business? Alan Barr 25 June 2014

My aim: To stimulate debate by: Offering some preliminary observations about the character of community development Presenting a model of community development Reflecting on some key challenges for practice

Starting points 1 Community led action is critical but should not be viewed uncritically Some communities may be self mobilising, others are constrained by multiple disadvantages – that is why community development intervention is needed and often needs to be sustained Community development can be a specialist activity or an approach adopted in many disciplines and we should celebrate the range of contributors to it

Starting points 2 What we need to address and the way we should work with communities have not changed greatly over time Community developments ’ focus on social justice objectives remains its foundation stone Community development has a long history from which there is much to learn

A Model of Community Development

Community Development: Addresses needs/builds on assets Takes positive action Develops individual skills Builds community capacity Enables participation Improving quality of life Investigation Engagement Social inclusion HealthHealth Active citizenship EnvironmentEnvironment Self determination PartnershipPartnership ParticipationParticipation Private troubles and public issues Inequality PovertyPoverty ExclusionExclusion Equalities OrganisingOrganising Processes/methods: Planning LearningLearning Evaluation Literacies HousingCare Policies: Regeneration Societal context: Values: CrimeCrime InclusionSocial justice Empowerment

The Model in Practice The purpose and methods of community development are easy to understand …. ….but its complexity comes from:  the variety of contexts of its practice  the intractability of the problems it seeks to address  the relationships of communities with power – internally and externally It therefore demands highly skilled practitioners

Our challenge: To work together to help build strong, resilient communities that enable: ‘ a decisive shift towards prevention ’ (Commission on the Future Development of Public Services) And avoid: ‘ Large hopes and small realities ’ (Specht on the Home Office CDP )

Golden Hopes and the Three Bewares

The Three Bewares Beware of tokenism Beware of over simplification Beware of isolationism

Tokenism Casual adoption of community rhetoric in policy Pretences by professions disguising resistance to change Cognitive dissonance – knowing what needs to be done, but not appreciating the resources required to do it. Cynical disguise of cuts in a rhetoric of community empowerment

Simplification Confusing clarity of outcomes with understanding of means Adoption of correctional not appreciative community strategies Overstatement of the potential of models of community development (e.g. some presentations of Asset Based Community Development)

Isolationism Despite policy commitment to collaboration and partnership between agencies and communities …. ………… reluctance to engage is common.

Sources of isolationism 1: Professions: perception that collaboration is inefficient, threats to control of resources, preciousness about unique competences, lack of shared perception of desired outcomes, external influences (e.g.trade unions and professional associations, countervailing policy/legal obligations)

Sources of isolationism 2: Community and Voluntary sectors: power relationships, loss of independence and capacity to criticise or innovate, unfamiliar and inappropriate formality and procedure, co-option and detachment from community

Sources of isolationism 3: Full-time CD workers: preciousness about purity of approach, lack of humility about the limitations of community development, lack of recognition of the value of the work of others lack of professional self-confidence, tendency to myopic tribalism

Final comment The ambition to achieve effective inter- professional and community collaboration that fully releases the potential of community development is hardly new We know it requires: Commitment to implementing change in day to day practice Consistent integrated policy supported by necessary resources Attention to continually equipping all participants with the competences they need We just need to do it!