DON BOSCO SCHOOL (Salesian Sisters), Inc.

3500 V. Mapa Extension Sta Mesa Manila

MIDTERMS A.Y. 2019-2020

Name:_____________________________________________ Grade/Section:________________

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT - HUMSS

[Hand-out]

I. ON COMMUNITY DEFINITIONS
Community Situations vary. Each community has its own context and realities. Those interested
in working with community must first have a clear picture and good grasp of the entity they are
trying to address. It is in appreciating the features and elements of a community that
engagement processes and actions become relevant, acceptable and appropriate. Without a
deep wide knowledge of a target community, interventions may emerge as exclusive,
inappropriate, or totally insensitive to the members of the community.

Gains you can derive from understanding community:

Provides Benchmarking Data Before undertaking any community action or data

Provides Preliminary Project
Planning Information
Provides Idea of the
community’s strengths and
challenges
Provides and an opportunity to
understand the community’s
dominant rules and norms
Provides an occasion to gauge
the attitude and behavior of
the community
Provides a way for a more
directed and well-informed
dialogue with the community
Makes networking and
partnership building more
favorable
Gets project implementation
less complicated
development intervention like community project, it is
important to establish benchmark data. It serves as the
initial community situationer or briefer.
To be able to produce a design or plan for the project, it is
necessary to secure community information and feedback
needed for conceptualization. Understanding community
dynamics is the key to a sound and relevant community
development plan that includes strategies and actions
meant to enhance the quality of life in a community.
An in-depth understanding of the community’s strengths and
challenges guides the community based project
development team to identify the strengths and possible
loopholes of the project.
The success or failure of a community project more often
than not is strongly affected by the prevailing rules and
norms in the community. The intensity of degree or
sensitiveness of the members is affected by these rules and
norms.
An understanding of the community members’ attitude and
behavior will give the project development team an idea
whether the project will be supported or rejected.
Project development is a process of creating or innovating
ideas, interventions and technologies that would respond to
a particular need or problem in the community.
By having an idea of the different advocacy and interest
groups in the community, it is easier for people from school,
institutions or groups to partner with local networks or
associations.
The project implementation plan includes the steps and
processes that must be taken into consideration when
implementing the project.

According to Murphy and Cunningham, (2003) small communities have “defined territories and
are given life by three interacting people process:
a. An underlying web of human relationships called social fabric
b. Unique community power structure
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 c. Set of resource flows that constitute local economy
1. Small communities are powerful producers of relationships which include kinship, friendship,
neighbors, local institutions, and communication mechanisms that connect people to people.
2. Communities are viewed from the traditional and alternative perspectives.
3. The traditional perspective relates communities with geographical location, work, and social
system.
4. The alternative viewpoint on the other hand is more subjective, integrative, and feminist and
addresses oppression and discrimination.
5. The traditional view of community is restrictive.
6. Community is traditionally perceived as homogeneous and monolithic.
7. A community is a congregation of people unified by at least one common characteristic.
8. Community is link with geographical location –a restricted territory where people perform.
9. Community Action is a manifestation of a people’s collective grasp and ownership of a situation.
10. Community is considered as a social system where the components and the environment are
interrelated.
11. Understanding community dynamics is the key to a sound and relevant community development
plan.
12. Community is like an organism because it can function even people come and go.
13. A community is a super-organic organism or system made up of thoughts, outlook, and conduct
of individual human beings.
14. Community as a concept is solid.
15. A social space is either physical or virtual such as online social media or a center or gathering
place where people interact.
16. The community briefer serves as a material for orientation and awareness building. It is solely
for principles.
17. The holistic view of the community recognizes the interconnectivity of “people and place-based
strategies and acknowledges that economic, environmental and social issues are
interdependent.
18. Virtual social space refers to nonphysical spaces created by the development of technology.
(Zahi Alrayyes, 2012)

II. ON GENERAL TERMS

Technological - It is the community capital –its tools, skills, and ways of dealing with the physical
environment.
Physical Space - Unlimited three-dimensional expanses in which material objects are located
Civil Society Perspective - It is a wide array of non-governmental organizations and volunteer groups
that are fighting for solutions to social issues that continue to worsen the condition of the disadvantaged
sectors of society.
Information Sharing - The ability to keep or share information
Personal Traits - The capacity to foster respect and loyalty based on charm, talents and skills.

Power in Number - The Base, back-up and support of the people in the community.

Ecological - It is the community’s various ways and means of production and allocation of scarce and
useful goods and services through barter, market trade, state allocations and others.

Local-Global - Spatialized networks of social relations

Political - The various ways and means of allocating power, influence and decision making. It is an
ideology which belongs to the values dimensions.

Aesthetic Values - Structure of ideas that are sometimes paradoxical, inconsistent or contradictory –
that people have about what is good and bad, beautiful and ugly, and right and wrong.

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Social Science Perspective - A point of view that directs a community that is a congregation of people
unified by at least one common characteristic.
Belief-Conceptual - The wider category that includes atheistic beliefs such as how man created God in
His own image.

Institutional - The ways people act, react, and interact with each other as well as the ways they expect
each other to act and interact

Economic - It is the community’s various ways and means of production and allocation of scarce and
useful goods and services through barter, market trade, state allocations and others.

Community Connections - The capacity to create linkages and develop helpful relationships with
powerful individuals, family, and organizations.

Rewards Concept - The ability to provide awards, promotion, money, and gifts that are useful to meet
individual or organizational goals.

Legitimate Power - The legitimate tile of higher organizational or institutional position.

Coercion - Influence through manipulation

Community-based Perspective - It sees the community as a setting for intervention, target for change,
resource and agent.

III. ON TYPES OF COMMUNITY

Geographic Community Community focuses on the physical boundaries that make it distinct or
of Neighborhood separate such as river, or a street. It has a diverse population with
individuals or groups occupying different physical spaces and each with
special attributes such as religion, economic status, etc.
Community of Identity This community has a common identifiable characteristics or attributes
such as culture which means language, music, religion, customs and
others. (Muslim Community in Quiapo)
Community of Interest or This community incorporates social movements such as women’s rights,
Solidarity environment, peach and human rights. Individual may be connected to
their community of interest at the local and international level. It may also
be formal or informal. (GreenPEACE) GreenTHUMB
Intentional Community Community refers to individuals that come together voluntarily and
support each other. Members may share the same interests and identity
or geographical location. (United Nations)

IV. ON FORMS OF COMMUNITY ACTION

A. The Ingredients of Community Action:

Community Context People live in a similar setting and/or locality
Common Experience People encounter a comparable experience individually or collectively
Common understanding People have more or less the same view of the issue at hand
of an issue
Common Analysis People went through a process of analyzing the issue and may have
similar take on the issue, partly or in a whole
An acceptable standard People usually reach a minimum standard in undertaking an action
together
An action that is People discuss and agree on what action to take, who will take the lead,
acceptable to the who will do the supporting roles and who will do the tasks.
community

B. Four General Phases of Community Organization Process

Issue Identification, Analysis, and Dissemination This phase is the key step toward the
development of community action. Relevant

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 community information is collected, consolidated
analyzed, defined, processed and disseminated.
It is in this phase where “real needs” are
determined from “felt needs”
Mobilization of Community This phase is the step of gathering people to
meet regularly, discuss community problems,
plan as community, formulate implementing
mechanisms, identify community leaders and
organizational structures and develop system.
Organization This is the “bolt-in” phase where all the resources
material and non-material process or product,
soft or hard technology and physical and spiritual
are mapped out and consolidated. It is the phase
where “what is lacking” and “what is available”
are determined.
On Education The is the skills development or human
resources enhancement phase. Members are
provided with necessary skills, knowledge and
orientation.

To facilitate a process of appreciating community dynamics, community change agents must be aware
of the following:

1. Know the community Issue: its history and roots, how it developed, what facilitated its growth,
where it is now.
2. Analyze the issue from different perspective: Map out and Analyze the different perspective
used.
3. Identity and Get to know relevant community structures and systems: what are the structures
and systems that may facilitate or hinder the success of an action?
4. Identity and get to know the players: who are involved in the issues? Who are the interest
groups?
5. Identify community power actors: who are the influential people? What are their interests on the
issue?
6. Trace Connections: map out linkages of the stakeholders. This will provide a picture of the
strengths and weaknesses of the people who are involved and what resources they have.

Source: Zeal for Action, Community Engagement, Solidarity and Citizenship

Ma. Lourdes F. Melegrito, Ph.D. Cand. and Diana J. Mendoza, Ph.D.

Compiled:
SOTTO, JULES CESAR ASTURIAS

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT – HUMSS12

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