COMMUNITY ORGANIZING

JUDITH D. INTONG
CMU Professor III
 What is a community?
 Is a social organization that is
territorially localized and through
which its members satisfy most of
their needs and deal with most of
their common problem (Olsen as
cited by Panopio, et al. 1994)
 What is a community?
 An aggregation of families and
individuals, settled in a fairly
compact and continuous
geographical area, with
significant elements of
common life, as shown by the
manners, customs, traditions
and mode of speech.
What is community organizing?

► A process by which a community

identifies its needs and objectives,
develop the confidence to take action in
respect to them and in so doing, extends
and develops cooperative and
collaborative attitudes and practices in
the community (Ross as cited by
Bastiana & Murphy 1996)
What is community organizing?

► Process by which people organize

themselves to ‘take charge’ of their
situation and thus develop a sense of
being a community together…for the
poor and powerless to deal with the
essential forces that are destroying their
community and consequently causing
them to be powerless (World Vision
International)
 What is community organizing
• ……. process of building
people’s organizations by
mobilizing and enhancing the
capabilities and resources
• of the people for the resolution
of their issues and concerns
towards effecting change in
their existing and oppressive
exploitative conditions
(Bastiana & Murphy 1996)
 What is community organizing

• National Rural Community

Organizing Conference (1994)
has defined CO as:
•  Collective
•  Participatory
•  Transformative
•  Liberative
•  sustained and
•  systematic
 Goals of community Organizing
1. People empowerment

- CO aims at achieving effective power for the people.

- People learn to overcome powerlessness and
develop their capacity to maximize control over their
situation and start to place the future in their own
hands.
 People Empowerment
• IS THE PROCESS OF RELEASING THE POTENTIALS OF PEOPLE
THROUGH APPROPRIATE PROGRAMS, SERVICES AND STRATEGIES,
REMOVING BLOCKS THAT DETER THEIR GROWTH AND
DEVELOPMENT AND ACCESSING THEM FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF
THEIR HIGHEST CAPABILITIES THAT THEY WOULD BE FREED FROM
THE FETTERS OF POVERTY, IGNORANCE, OPPRESSION, SOCIAL
INJUSTICE AND FEAR TO STAND UP FOR THEIR RIGHTS AND
PURSUITS FOR HAPPINESS AS A MEMBER OF A FREE AND JUST
SOCIETY

(Agrinela Nelmida Miclat/Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement , PRRM)

 Goals of community Organizing

2. Building relatively permanent

structures and people’s organizations
• CO aims to establish and sustain relatively permanent
organizational structures which best serve the needs
and aspirations of the people.

3. Improved quality of life

• CO seeks to create a conducive environment for the
development of human creativity and solidarity through
equitable distribution of power and resources.
Organizing Approaches

1. Issue-based approach
- organizing approach which revolves
around issues or problems that:
- felt by a significant number of
people in the community
- require people to negotiate from
a position of strength usually outside the
community for issue resolution
- have a high probability of being
resolved if collectively acted upon
 Organizing Approaches

2. Socio-economic-project based approach

- organizing approach
which centers around the
introduction of socio-economic
projects such as health care,
IGP, enterprise development,
MPC formation, etc.
 Organizing Approaches
3. Church/Faith-based Approach
- organizing approach used
by organizers with the structures of
a church or within components of
church-based programs
PURPOSES OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

1. To enable communities become more aware of their

situation, environment & collective abilities and
responsibility

2. To provide opportunity for participation thus develop

sense of ownership and collective responsibility

3. To strengthen community capacity to access internal and

external funds to support sustainable community projects
 PURPOSES OF COMMUNITY
ORGANIZATIONS
4. To enable a community to link and form
alliances for advocacy and technology
sharing

5. To build and sustain permanent

organizational structure for resource
management
 Framework of the CO Process
I. Awakening Stage (Reorientation/Entry or Re-
entry Phase)
- developing awareness on the realities
obtaining in their environment, arousing people’s
interest and developing commitment to do
something about common problems and needs
A. Problem identification
B. Problem analysis
C. Prioritizing problems
 Framework of the CO Process

II. Empowerment Stage (capability)

-building client-beneficiaries’ capabilities and skill on how
to go about doing concrete action to combat their
difficulties
A. Participatory planning
B. Participatory implementation
C. Participatory M&E
 Framework of the CO Process
III. Restructuring Stage (Consolidation/Institutionalization)
- setting up and/or strentghening of people’s initiated
structures that would carry out planned action undertaken
to meet needs and/or problems
A. People set up structures/systems,
committees
B. People establish new
relationships/linkages
C. Can manage own project and can stand
alone
D. The community/organization helps train
leaders who can lead group
Roles & Responsibilities of Community Organizers
1. Organizers challenge people to act on behalf of their common interests.
2. Organizers develop new relationships out of old ones – sometimes by
linking one person to another and sometimes by linking whole networks of
people together.
3. Organizers deepen understanding by creating opportunities, reinterpret
these circumstances develop strategies and tactics that make creative use
of resources and opportunities
4. Organizers work through campaigns, which are highly energized, intensely
focused, concentrated streams of activity with specific goals and
deadlines.
5. Organizers build community by developing leadership, identifying leaders
and enhancing their skills, values and commitments.
DETAILED STEPS IN COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
STEPS PURPOSE COMPONENT ACTIVITIES

1. ENTRY INTO THE 1. To introduce the COs to the local officials 1. Adapting a lifestyle in keeping with the community.
COMMUNITY 2. To inform the local authorities on the project, its objectives and 2. Choosing an appropriate place or family to stay with
the nature of the COs stay in the community

2. INTEGRATION WITH 1. To imbibe community life and get to know the culture, economy, Participation of COs in economic activities, household work,
THE PEOPLE leadership, history and lifestyle of the people. group discussion, social functions
2. To establish rapport with the people and build mutual trust and
cooperation.
3. To allow the COs to be one with the people and learn or
understand the people’s problems.

3. SOCIAL 1. To systematically acquire information and analyze the political 1. Gathering and reviewing secondary data sources such as
INVESTIGATION and socio-political and socio-cultural structure of the community. records and documents
2. To identify issues around which to organize the people. 2. Holding personal interviews
3. Conducting a survey
4. Observing people and their environment: participative/ non-
participative

4. PROBLEM To identify, analyze and rank the problems and needs 1. Identification of the scope and degree of the problem
IDENTIFICATION AND 2. Investigation of past efforts to solve the problem
ANALYSIS 3. Analysis of the origin of the problem
4. Identification of the factors that maintain, increase or
eliminate the problem
5. Undertaking consequence analysis
6. Problem prioritization
5. PLANNING AND To translate goals and objectives into specific activities to 1. Problem identification
STRATEGIZING solve community problems 2. Identifying resources
3. Formulation of possible solutions
4. Setting plans of actions

6. CORE GROUP To form group of potential leaders to assist the COs in 1. Identification of contacts and political leaders in the
FORMATION organizing and mobilizing the community community
2. Conduct of training in leadership and organizing with
the core group members as participants

7. ORGNIZATION To facilitate wider participation and collective action on 1. Setting up a formal organizational structure
DEVELOPMENT & issues and problems concerning the community 2. Mobilization of community effort or action to solve
MOBILIZATION community problems

8. EVALUATION AND To review the course of action that has been undertaken to Holding of workshops, dialogues, etc.
REFLECTION solve community problems.

9. TURNOVER AND To transfer the CO roles and responsibilities to the The COs may shift to a supportive role in monitoring,
PHASE-OUT organization as soon as the latter is ready or fully prepared consultation and evaluaton
to handle the responsibilities
 Methods for Influencing Human Behavior
1. Compulsion or coercion – is applied when power is exerted by an
authority forcing somebody to do something.
2. Exchange is applied when goods and services are exchanged
between two individuals or groups.
3. Advice is given on which solution to choose for a certain problem.
Methods for Influencing Human Behavior

4. Dictation is openly influencing a farmer’s knowledge level and

attitudes.
5. Manipulation is influencing the farmers’ knowledge level and
attitudes without the farmer being aware.
6. Providing means is helping farmers gain access to resources.
7. Providing service involves taking over of certain tasks from
the farmers.
8. Changing the farmers’ social and/or economic structures.