VERITAS 114 REVIEWER
facilities; presence of housing laws/
WEEK 2
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN OUR LADY
OF FATIMA UNIVERSITY
COMMUNITY
 COMMUNITY is a social organization
that is characterized by a set of
patterned human interactions based on
shared expectations, values, beliefs, and
meanings between and among its
members.
TYPES OF COMMUNITIES
 URBAN – cities or big towns where
there is a large, high-dense, and
heterogenous population. Not much
open space for vegetation, but space is
maximized to build public and private
infrastructure
 RURAL – small, low-density, and
homogenous population. There are lots
of open spaces for vegetation and
natural environment. Mostly dedicated
to agriculture or fisheries.
 SUBURBAN – residential or mix used
areas located at the outskirts or within
the commuting distance of a city.
 RURBAN – has both urban and rural
characteristics. Happens when people
from different urban slum communities
are relocated in housing settlements
found in the outskirts of rural areas
Subsystems of the Community
 HOUSING- includes the type and
characteristic of housing facilities in the
community; availability of housing
regulations governing the people
 EDUCATION- includes laws, regulations,
facilities, activities affecting education;
ratio of health educators to learners,
distribution of educational facilities in
the community including a look into
who utilizes these; presence of informal
educational facilities and activities
existing in the community
 FIRE AND SAFETY -availability and
accessibility of fire protection and safety
services and facilities
 POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT -existing
political structure, decision-making
process/ pattern, leadership styles
observed, etc.
 HEALTH -facilities and services/
activities and its availability and
accessibility; ratio of providers and
clients availing of the service
 COMMUNICATION -systems, types of
forms of communication existing and
how these influence community health
 ECONOMICS – occupations, types of
economic activities engaged by the
people
 RECREATION – activities and facilities
including types of consumers,
appropriateness of recreational
activities
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT refers to
the collaboration between institutions
of higher education and their larger
communities (local, regional, national,
global) for the mutually beneficial
 exchange of knowledge and resources
in a context of partnership and
reciprocity (Driscoll 2008, p. 39)
SOCIAL ORIENTATION AND COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMENT (SOCI)
Vision
 Our Lady of Fatima University envisions
itself as among the top higher
education institutions that provides
extension and outreach activities to its
adopted communities through
meaningful and sustainable
development programs.
Mission
 Social Orientation and Community
Involvement at the Our Lady of Fatima
University provides an avenue for the
promotion of volunteerism among
students, employees, and other
stakeholders through its programs that
are sustainable, empowering, gender-
sensitive, and issue-related. These focus
on the areas of Health, Education/
Environment, Livelihood, Psychosocial,
and Safety/Security targeted at its
partner communities.
Objectives of the Social Orientation and
Community Involvement
The Social Orientation and Community
Involvement at Our Lady of Fatima University
aims to implement programs that:
 Instill the spirit of volunteerism among
students, OLFU personnel, and other
university stakeholders;
 Result in the formation or development
of socio-civic minded community
leaders and residents;
 Improve the general well-being of
OLFU’s adopted community as a result
of the partnership with OLFU.
Key Areas of the HELPS Program
The community programs of Our Lady of Fatima
University are clustered into what is called the
HELPS Program. The different OLFU
colleges/departments are grouped into clusters
that are related to their program offerings. The
Colleges of Nursing, Physical Therapy, Medical
Laboratory Science, Dentistry, and Pharmacy
comprise the Health cluster. The programs in
the Education cluster are led by the Colleges of
Computer Studies and Education. The
Livelihood cluster is led by the colleges of
Business and Accountancy, Hospitality and
Institutional Management, and Maritime
Studies. The Psychosocial cluster programs are
led by the College of Arts and Sciences. The
Safety/Security cluster has the College of
Maritime Education and College of Criminal
Justice. The Safety/Security cluster was
previously under the education cluster but was
separated to its own cluster to give emphasis to
programs related to issues on safety and
security in the community such as disaster
preparedness and crime prevention.
HELPS Program
HEALTH
 The main objective of the Health cluster
is to increase awareness on prevention,
early intervention, rehabilitation of
identified health issues in the
community. Essential aspects of health
are woven into daily activities including:
exercise, personal hygiene, food
preparation, water safety, sanitation,
and treatment of minor ailments and
injuries.
EDUCATION
 Education is universally recognized as
one of the most fundamental building
blocks for human development and
poverty reduction. When given the
opportunity to learn, people are
empowered to contribute fully to the
development of their lives, their
communities, and their country.
Education remains one of the efficient
means in reducing poverty, social
inequality, and helps lay the foundation
for sustained economic growth.
As a learning institution, the university
facilitates societal development primarily
through instruction. The students who will
graduate from the university will eventually
become productive members of the society.
However, it is a reality that not everyone is able
to undergo formal education. It is also a known
fact that school children from poor families are
mostly poor performers in school. SOCI
intervenes through non-formal supplemental
teaching programs. The main concern on
education deals in promoting children’s delight
in talking, listening, reading, and writing.
Children who have reading difficulties in the
primary grades often have limited early literacy
learning experiences. Aside from these, SOCI
also assists in providing necessary skills such as
computer literacy for children.
ENVIRONMENT
 Environment degradation is a major
global issue. Our country belongs to the
most vulnerable areas in terms of
adverse impacts of weather-related
calamities. With that, advocacies on
environmental protection and climate
change adaptation must be put forward
as part of the programs of SOCI. We all
live in one major ecosystem, and what
 we do echoes in all other areas of our
society.
 SOCI conducts environmental activities
such as seminars on climate change,
coastal cleanup activities, tree planting,
and other activities.
LIVELIHOOD
 The majority of households in the
communities adopted by the university
have low family income. SOCI
implements livelihood projects to help
augment the income of these families.
The livelihood projects implemented
are based on the needs and existing
skills of the community. The community
is part of the decision-making process
on appropriate livelihood projects that
will be implemented in the community.
PSYCHOSOCIAL
 The psycho-spiritual program of SOCI is
focused on values formation, leadership
training, and improvement of the
spirituality of the community. This
program is aimed at the young member
of the partner community. Believing
that the youth is the future of the
nation, we must help shape the minds
of our youth by providing meaningful
and productive activities. SOCI aims to
create leaders in the community that
will take over the university’s role in
organizing community development
activities once the community becomes
independent.
SAFETY AND SECURITY
The university conducts trainings and
seminars in the community that will help make
the society safe and secure. Projects and
activities in this area include: disaster
preparedness seminars, seminar on crime
prevention, and other activities.
WEEK 3
PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT
SOCIAL JUSTICE
 Fighting against the structural roots of
poverty, social inequalities and climate
change injustice
 Example Application: When indigenous
people lobby to fight for their ancestral
lands.
HUMAN RIGHTS
 Anchoring the process of human
development on international human
rights standards and corresponding
obligations established by international
law and corresponding local law
 Example Application: Activities in the
community are anchored to the
bioethical principles and international
human rights statutes.
SOCIAL ADVOCACY
 Helping the marginalized to conscientize
the general public and people in
authority in order to attain long lasting
positive policy changes
 Example Application: Observation and
promotion of no car policy during
chosen days of the week.
GENDER EQUALITY AND EQUITY
 Giving equal opportunity to men and
women so they may develop their
personal abilities and attain fairness of
treatment for both in accordance to
their respective needs.
 Example Application: members of the
LGBT are given fair and equal treatment
when being hired for the job.
EMPOWERMENT
 Capacitating people to make effective
choices or honing their ability to
produce desired changes in one’s life,
community or the larger society.
 Example Application: A community
organizer facilitating a livelihood
training for house wives in the
community.
ACCOUNTABILITY
 An obligation or willingness to accept
responsibility or to account for one’s
actions
 Example Application: An institution
accepts responsibility and pays for the
damages that they incurred.
PARTNERSHIP BUILDING
 Forming strategic alliances between the
community, government, business and
civil society to mobilize respective
resources and competencies guied by
the values of shared risks cost and
mutual benefit.
 Example Application: OLFU partners
with habitat for Humanity Philippines to
build 50 homes in order to promote and
advocate decent homes for everyone.
PARTICIPATORY DEVELOPMENT
 Eliciting the involvement of the local
population especially the poor, the
vulnerable and the marginalized in
creating policies and in planning,
implementing, monitoring, and
evaluating development programs and
projects.
 Example Application: A community
organizer consults with the community
to know what the problems are in the
grassroots level.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
  Attainment of people’s well being
without destroying natural resources
and without depleting the ecosystem.
LEVELS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Non – Participation
 to educate or cure the stakeholders.
The idea is defined and the
participation is aimed only to gain
public support. If we educate the
stakeholders, they change their ill
informed attitudes and they will
support our plans”
 Stages: 1. Manipulation , 2. Therapy
Tokenism
Stage 3: Informing
 stakeholders are kept informed of what
is hgoing on but are not offered the
opportunity to contribute themselves.
Communication is one way
Stage 4: Consultation
 Stakeholders opinions and views are
sought through various means but the
final decisions are made by those doing
the consulting.
Stage 5: Placation
 Stakeholders have an active role as
shapers of opinions, ideas and
outcomes, but the final decision
remains with the facilitators. Two-way
communication is essential
Citizen Participation
Stage 6: Partnership
 Stakeholders have direct involvement in
the decision making process and
auctioning the decision. Each
stakeholders has a clear role, set of
responsibilities and powers usually to
achieve a shared common goal. Two
way communication is vital.
Stage 7: Delegated Power
 The goal is likely to have been set by the
facilitator but the resources and
responsibility for solving the problem
are passed to the stakeholders. There
are clear lines of accountability and two
way communication with those giving
away the power.
Stage 8: Citizen Control
 Stakeholders have the idea, set up the
project and come to facilitators for a
dvice, discussion and support.
Facilitators do not directbut offer
advices for citizens to consider.
MODALITIES OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Transactional
 Relationship is usually one way that is
tangible project delivarables mainly
come from decision made by external
agents based on consultations with the
community. interactions with the
community is occasional, service comes
on a need per need basis or is seasonal,
and the external agents has full control
of the community engagement process.
Transitional
 Relationship is two way that is tangible
project delivarables are brought about
by the process of consultation and
collaboration between the external
agent and the community. Repeated
engagement between the external
agent and the community occur due to
the infusion of consultation and
collaboration mechanisms in organizing
and implementing projects, but
 resources mainly comes from the
external agent and they are in full
control of the community engagement
process.
Tranformational
 Relationship is 2 way just like
transitional but is highly characterized
by active dialogue and critical
reflectivity brought about by the
process of involvement and active
participation between the external
agent and the community. in here there
is joint learning and value generation
involved resulting to mutual trust based
on sustained personal relationships and
shared understanding. There is also
prioritization of community leadership
in the decision making gproess of
planning, implementation, monitoring
and evaluation of projects.
Transcendental
 It is an advanced form of
transformational modality anchored
upon higher ideals of compassion and
pro social attitudes where external
agents and the community see
themselves as change agents.
3 Features of Transcendence
 Intellectual transcendence
 Moral transcendence
 Spiritual transcendence
WEEK 4
COMMUNITY VISIT: INTERVIEW
WITH COMMUNITY LEADERS
LEADERS’ ENCOUNTERED PROBLEM
It is common for leaders to encounter problems.
These problems measure the leadership skills of
an individual. According to Nguyen (2010), the
following are common problems encountered
by communities regarding leadership:
 Absence of team identity – team
identity is the members’ sense that they
share a bond and a purpose, and
absence of such is bad for the team
 Difficulty in making decisions –
decision-making is difficult if it will only
be decided based on concepts rather
than on actual experiences, lessons,
insights, reflections, and evaluation. A
leader must base decisinos from
experiences, right information, and
complexities of the situation.
 Poor communication – effective
relationship must be put into practice
so as to achieve an effective
communication. Communicating well is
a key in having a better community or
organization.
 Inability to resolve conflicts – conflict
arises from differences among
individuals. It is unhealthy for a
community or an organization to be in
conlfict and not be able to resolve it.
Developing a clear process on conflict
resolution will help a community to
prevent unnecessary conflicts from
escalating
 Lack of participation – this is a very
common problem in groups and
organizations. A group member may be
shy, has low self-esteem, lacks interest
or avoids any form of communication.
Giving members a responsibility, valuing
members’ inputs, assigning action
items, and encouraging feedback can
eliminate lack of participation
 Lack of creativity – In order to address
lack of creativity, it is important to tell
 members that they may speak and do
things freely, as long as it is for the
completion of the task at hand.
 Absence of group thinking – new ideas
are beneficial for a group’s well-being.
The probel arises when some members
do not embrace new ideas or has a
mediocre thinking. Critical thinking
enable one to take on an amount of
information, sum up information, pick
up theories or argunents, and
communicate and justify the point of
view he or she has taken.
 Ineffective ledership – incompetent
leaders exhibit indecisiveness and fail to
inspire confidence in their subordinates.
They tend to overexert control and
communicate poorly to their members.
WEEK 5
PARTICIPATORY RAPID APPRAISAL
PART 1
PARTICIPATORY RAPID APPRAISAL
 The purpose of PRA is more to gain an
understanding of the complexities of a
topic rather than to gather a highly
accurate statistics on a list of variables.
In PRA, understanding the qualitative
nuances within a topic is just as
important as finding general averages.
Its short duration and low cost also
make it possible to carry out a series of
PRAs rather than having to rely on the
results of one large survey.
 In this module, we will focus on one of
the basic techniques in participatory
rapid appraisal, which is participatory
mapping.
Participatory Mapping
 Participatory mapping allows the team
to discover the mental maps of
community members. It is a technique
that requires the participation of
residents on a project site. It can be
used to help located natural resources,
routes, service delivery points, regional
markets, trouble spots, etc., on a map
of the area or to use residens’ feedback
to drive the development of a map that
includes such information.
Participatory Mapping STEPS
Steps:
 Decide what sort of map should be
drawn (social, natural resources, farm,
etc.)
 Find people who know the area and the
topic of mapping exercise and who are
willing to share their knowledge
 Choose a suitable place and medium for
the maps
 Help the people get started but let
them draw the map by themselves. Be
patient and don’t interrupt
 Keep a permanent record including
mapper’s names
WEEK 7
PARTICIPATORY RAPID APPRAISAL
PART 2
PARTICIPATORY RAPID APPRAISAL
 The purpose of PRA is more to gain an
understanding of the complexities of a
topic rather than to gather a highly
accurate statistics on a list of variables.
In PRA, understanding the qualitative
nuances within a topic is just as
important as finding general averages.
Its short duration and low cost also
make it possible to carry out a series of
 PRAs rather than having to rely on the
results of one large survey.
 In this module, we will focus on one of
the basic techniques in participatory
rapid appraisal, which is focused group
discussion.
Focused Group Discussion
 A focus group discussion (FGD) is a good
way to gather together people from
similar backgrounds or experiences to
discuss a specific topic of interest. The
group of participants is guided by a
moderator (or group facilitator) who
introduces topics for discussion and
helps the group to participate in a lively
and natural discussion amongst
themselves.
 The strength of FGD relies on allowing
the participants to agree or disagree
with each other so that it provides an
insight into how a group thinks about an
issue, about the range of opinion and
ideas, and the inconsistencies and
variation that exists in a community in
terms of beliefs and their experiences
and practices.
 FGDs can be used to explore the
meanings of survey findings that cannot
be explained statistically, the range of
opinions/views on a topic of interest
and to collect a wide variety of local
terms. In bridging research and policy,
FGD can be useful in providing an
insight into different opinions among
different parties involved in the change
process, thus enabling the process to be
managed more smoothly. It is also a
good method to employ prior to
designing questionnaires.
 FGD sessions need to be prepared
carefully through identifying the main
objective(s) of the meeting, developing
key questions, developing an agenda,
and planning how to record the session.
The next step is to identify and invite
suitable discussion participants; the
ideal number is between six and eight.
 The crucial element of FGD is the
facilitation. Some important points to
bear in mind in facilitating FGDs are to
ensure even participation, careful
wording of the key questions,
maintaining a neutral attitude and
appearance, and summarising the
session to reflect the opinions evenly
and fairly. A detailed report should be
prepared after the session is finished.
Any observations during the session
should be noted and included in the
report.
WEEK 9
COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
 Community Organizing (CO) is a
continuous process of living and
awareness raising or conscientization
with and in the context of the people
and communities that would develop
and enhance community’s potentials
and capabilities, and collective action
and participation leading towards
development and empowerment. It is
the process of development from the
people, by the people, and for the
people (Manalili 1994). This refers to
the activities aimed at the grouping of
people to struggle for their common
needs and aspirations in a given locality.
It revolves around the people’s lives,
experiences, and aspirations.
Community organizing is geared
 towards the continuing capability
building, self-reliance, and
empowerment.
 The ultimate goal of community
organizing is to effect changes in social
and environmental institutions so that
people can direct their own lives.
Basic Steps, Principles, and Important
Considerations
Pre-Entry Into the Community
 There are activities to be done or
accomplished before entering into
communities.
a. Set guidelines or criteria in selecting
partner community to work with.
b. Collate basic and substantial
information/data of the community.
c. Try to understand the life, culture,
values, beliefs, etc. of the community.
d. To get know the formal and informal
leaders of the community.
Integration Into the Community
 There are no organizers who became
successful in their mission who does not
immersed in the communities they have
worked with. Through the process of
immersion, community organizers can
feel the real community’s life situation
of the community, taking part in their
experiences, poverty and dreams.
Community Study/Analysis
 Before entering into the community, we
have initial information or data at hand.
In this step, community study or
analysis pertains to the critical collation
of different data and information of
community life’s sphere to be able to
come-up with clear description and
analysis of community situation. It is a
long and continuous process taking part
both by the community and by the
community organizer.
 The community is in the right position
to analyze their situation. It is not right
or justifiable that people or
community’s role is simply just
supplying the answers in survey form or
questionnaires. It is a challenge for
community organizer to ensure the
meaningful participation of the peoples
in the research and analysis.
Spotting of Potential Community Leaders
 Community should have their own
leaders with right values and
characteristics. It is very vital in the
process of development and
empowerment of the community.
 Who are the possible community
leaders? a. They have deeper
knowledge or grasp of the situation,
especially pressing issues, problems,
and concerns. b. They are willing to act
and commit theirselves for the benefits
and development of fellow community
members. c. As long as possible, they
came from the poor sectors. If not,
they should be willing to genuinely
commit and work for and with the poor
sectors. d. It is not necessary that they
have higher or highest educational
attainment in the community. They are
willing to be formed and trained to
become efficient and effective
community leaders. e. They have the
time and dedication to act for the
community. f. They are respected and
recognized members of the community.
Core Group Formation
  From those identified potential c. Evaluation process (how it will be
community leaders, a core group will be evaluated).
formed to act as local community
organizers. The core group will serve as
a foundation in the formation of
peoples or community organization.
From this core group, it could reach the
larger members of the community.

 Community Organization. The formal

community organization should come
from the people. From the initiative of
and activities initiated by the core group
towards community organizing, they
can call for a general assembly (GA) or
community assembly (CA) to present
initial community development plan
that could be accepted and developed
by other community members.
Community members’ commitment
should be win so that not only the core
group will be responsible.

There are some principles that will guide the

organization. These are:

a. Wider participation of all members;

b. Democratic and participatory
leadership; and
c. Collective management.

Community Mobilization

Community Mobilization pertains to actions of

the community organization based on their
identified pressing issues, problems, and
concerns. To mobilize, there are processes to be
undertaken, these are:

a. Identification of issues, problems, and

concerns;
b. Formulation of action plan which
contain and has clear objectives,
methodologies or strategies,
timeframe/alloted time, resources
needed, and responsible persons,
committees or groups; and