COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION

DEFINITION
A process by which people, health services and agencies of the community are brought together to
! "earn about common problems
#! Identify these problems as their own
$! %lan the &ind of action needed to solve these problems
'! act on this basis
(ENEFIT)
! It contributes to the establishment of an environment with different community resources *
natural, institutional, technical, financial and human resources * and can function with ma+imum
effectiveness!
#! It stimulates the various groups to e+amine their programs to determine how well they are
meeting their problems!
$! %eople are given a chance to study their problems, offer solutions and give a chance to plan an
action
'! As a result of this wor&ing together, a strong unity and coherence is developed among various
organi,ations and leaders of the community represented so that they developed a feeling of
responsibility for ma&ing the program successful!
-! .ommunity organi,ation sets up action pattern to solve problems!
%/IN.I%"E) IN .O001NIT2 O/3ANI4ATION
! %lanning group needs to represent all people concerned and the discussion must include people
with technical &nowledge of health problems!
#! Techni5ue of as&ing 5uestions is often important in developing community organi,ation and
group discussion
$! 0a6or discussion should be made by the entire group
'! "ocal factors and available personnel should be as&ed in determining what types of organi,ation
is desirable and practicable!
-! Functions of an agency and members must be defined
7! A good organi,ational plan can succeed only when the people who operate it will see its values
which are compatible personally and not antagonistic professionally!
%8A)E) OF .O001NIT2 O/3ANI4IN3
! %reparatory %hase
#! Organi,ational %hase
$! Education and Training
'! Intersectoral .oordination %hase
-! %hase Out
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#! .O001NIT2 0O(I"I4ATION
$! /E)O1/.E 0O(I"I4ATION
'! "EADE/ IDENTIFI.ATION AND 3/O1% FO/0ATION
-! 9A"1E) < %/IN.I%"E) ."A/IFI.ATION
! .O001NIT2 DIA3NO)I)
E5uivalent to the awa&ening or consciousness * raising phase
)olution analysis
8as to be done together with people to ensure that it becomes a tool for conscienti,ation, and not
simply a purely administrative chore!
0a6or Activities
Data 3athering
Data .ollection and Analysis
Data Dissemination and 9alidation
#! .O001NIT2 0O(I"I4ATION
organi,ing people to act on identification problems on a sustained level

0a6or Activities
.ommunity %lanning
Organi,ational 0echanics
3roup Assessment
$! /E)O1/.E 0O(I"I4ATION
%ro6ect management
a process of systematic identification, selection, ac5uisition, and utili,ation of
resources towards of pro6ect ob6ectives
0a6or Activities
Advocacy
)olicitation from N3O=s
'! "EADE/ IDENTIFI.ATION AND 3/O1% FO/0ATION
.O espouses the distribution of leadership s&ills among several people in grassroots organi,ation>
there should be no monopoly of control and decision ma&ing by an ? elite poor ?
there can be different leaders for different tas&s
Training should not be concentrated on the officers of the organi,ation
the general membership has to be given e5ual opportunities to develop their capacities and to
increase their awareness
The more members are trained in leadership and are given opportunities to lead, the better
prepared they will be to ta&e on responsibilities in the future!
0a6or Activities
)ociogram and character analysis
Officers Training
Ownership Trainings
Training of %ro6ect Development, monitoring evaluation
On * the * 6ob training
Team building
-! 9A"1E)<%/IN.I%"E) ."A/IFI.ATION
:hen organi,ing people for power, caution has to be ta&en to ensure that this power is not abused!
There is necessity to underta&e value formation<clarification and principled@transactions among
members of the organi,ation!
The pro6ect around which the community is mobili,ed should not be allowed to become a source of
conflict and to lead to the eventual disintegration of the group!
On values and principles
There should be a review of the values for which the organi,ation was created, and a review of
how these values are actuali,ed! .onflicts themselves are natural and arise in any manner by
which these are resolved that matters!
0a6or Activities
Feedbac& mechanisms between and among officers and members
/etreats and recollection
Affirmation of persons for ?beingA and ?doingA
%rinciples negotiations and mediation
A%%/OA.8E) TO .O001NIT2 DE9E"O%0ENT
! :E"FA/E A%%/OA.8
#! 0ODE/NI4ATION A%%/OA.8
$! T/AN)FO/0ATO/2 < %A/TI.I%ATO/2 A%%/OA.8
:E"FA/E A%%/OA.8
the immediate and or spontaneous response to ameliorate the manifestation of poverty, especially
on the personal level
assume that poverty is 3od given> destined, hence the poor should accept their condition since
they will receive their 6ust reward in heaven
(elieves that poverty is caused by bad luc&, natural disasters and certain circumstances which are
beyond the control of people
0ODE/NI4ATION A%%/OA.8
also referred as the %ro6ect Development approach
introduces whatever resources are lac&ing in a given community
also considered a national strategy which adopts the western mode of technological development
assumes that development consists of abandoning the traditional methods of doing things and
must adopt the technology of industrial countries
believes that poverty is due to lac& of education> lac& of resources such as capital and technology!
T/AN)FO/0ATO/2< %A/TI.I%ATO/2 A%%/OA.8
process of empowering<transforming the poor and the oppressed sectors of society so that they
can pursue more 6ust and humane society
assumes that poverty is not 3od given, rather it is rooted in the historical past and is maintained by
the oppressive structures in the society
believes that poverty is caused by the prevalence of e+ploitation, oppression, domination and other
un6ust structures!
COMMUNITY ORGANIZING PARTICIPATORY ACTION
RESEARCH ( COPAR)
DEFINITION
- a social development approach that aims to transform the apathetic, individualistic, and
voiceless poor into dynamic, participatory and politically responsive community.
- a collective, participatory, transformative, liberative, sustained and systematic process of
building peoples organizations by mobilizing and enhancing the capabilities and resources of the
people for the resolution of their issues and concerns.
- a process by which a community identifies its needs and objectives, develops confidence to
take action in respect to them and in doing so, extends and develops cooperative and
collaborative attitudes and practices in the community.
- a continuous and sustained process of educating people to understand and develop their critical
awareness of their existing conditions, working with the people collectively and efficiently on
their immediate and long term problems, and mobilizing the people to develop their capability
and readiness to respond and take action on their immediate needs toward solving their own
problems.
IMPORTANCE
C!"# is an important tool for Community $evelopment and !eople %mpowerment as
this helps the community workers to generate community participation in development
activities..
C!"# prepares people to eventually take over the management of a development
program in the future. C!"# maximizes community participation and involvement &
community resources are mobilized for community services.
PRINCIPLES
!eople, especially the most depressed, exploited and deprived sectors are open to change,
and are able to bring about change.
C!"# should be based on the interests of the poorest of the society.
C!"# should lead to a self ' reliant community and society.
GOALS
" sustained community which empowers capacity to be aware and learn to solve their own
problem(Community development).
WAYS TO ACHIEVE GOALS
%ducate people to understand and develop critical consciousness of their existing
conditions.
rganizing people to work collectively and effectively on their problems .
*obilizing people to develop their capability and readiness to respond and to take action
on their immediate need toward solving their lomg term problems.
KEY CONCEPTS
!articipation
Conscientization
"ction
PARTICIPATION
- communication between government and government organizations
CONSCIENTIZATION
- able to learn #esearch !rinciples through their participation, thus in the process,
increase their awareness.
ACTION
- movement activity, active
METHODS USED
!rogressive ' action ' reflection ' action
Consciousness #aising
!articipatory and *ass based
+roup Centered
ACTION-REFLECTION-ACTION
begins with small, local and concrete issues identified by the people and the evaluation
and reflection of and on the action taken by them
CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING
consciousness raising through experiential learning is central to the C!"# process
because it places emphasis on learning that emerges from concrete action and which
enriches succeeding action.
PARTICIPATORY & MASS BASED
because it is primarily directed towards and biased in favor of the poor, the powerless and
the oppressed
GROUP CENTERED
- leaders are identified, emerged and are tested through action rather than appointed or
selected by some external force or entity.
PHASES OF THE COPAR PROCESS
!re ' entry
%ntry
rganization ' building
,ustenance and ,trengthening
PRE-ENTRY
initial phase where organizer looks for communities to serve
,implest in terms of actual outputs, activities and strategies and time spent for it.
ENTRY
sometimes called the ,ocial !reparation !hase
signals the actual entry of the community worker in to the community
activities includes sensitization of the people on the critical events of their life
guided by following principles-
GUIDELINES IN THE ENTRY PHASE
#ecognize the role of local authorities by paying them visits to inform of their presence
and activities
.he appearance, speech, behavior and lifestyle should be in keeping with those of the
community residents without disregard of their being role models.
"void raising the consciousness of the community residents, adopts low key profile
ORGANIZATION BUILDING PHASE
entails the formation of more formal structures and the inclusion of more formal
procedures of planning, implementing and evaluating.
where the organized groups, leaders are being given trainings in managing their own
programs / concerns
SUSTENANCE & STRENGTHENING PHASE
occurs when the community organization has already been established and the
community members are already actively participating.
the different committees are already functioning by way of planning, implementing and
evaluating.
STRATEGIES IN THE SUSTENANCE PHASE
%ducation and .raining
0etworking and 1inkaging
Conduct of *obilization on health and devt concerns
$eveloping ,econdary 1eaders
CRITICAL STEPS IN BUILDING PEOPLES ORGANIZATION
2ntegration
,ocial 2nvestigation
.entative !rogram planning
+roundwork
#ole !lay
*obilization or "ction
%valuation
#eflection
.he *eeting
rganization
CRITICAL STEPS IN BUILDING PEOPLES ORGANIZATION
2ntegration ' a C becoming one with the people to3
a. immerse himself in the poor community
b. understand deeply the culture, economy, leaders, history, lifetsyle in the community
SOCIAL INVESTIGATION
- " systematic process of collecting, collating, analyzing data to draw a clear picture of
the community
POINTERS FOR THE CONDUCT OF SOCIAL INVESTIGATION
4. 5se of survey 6uestionnaires are discouraged
7. Community leaders can be trained to initially assist the community worker.