COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKERS

AND
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
 A professional who seeks to improve a community through the creation, management,
and operation of community assistance and outreach programs. They represent the
voices and needs of target groups and disadvantaged communities.
 Community development workers help individuals, families or whole communities to
bring about social change and improve the quality of life in their local area. They act as
the link between communities and a range of other local authority and voluntary sector
providers, such as the police, social workers and teachers.
 WHAT DOES A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKERS DO?
WHAT DOES A COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT WORKER
DO?issues (e.g. mental health, public transport and drug abuse) - with
 work on projects tackling specific
groups such as the homeless, the long-term unemployed, families with young children or ethnic
minorities.
 seek to actively engage communities in making sense of the issues which affect their lives
 set goals for improvement and respond to problems and needs through empowerment and active
participation
 identify community skills, assets, issues and needs
 ensure that local people have their say
 build links with other groups and agencies
 help to raise public awareness on issues relevant to the community
 develop and implement strategies
 liaise with interested groups and individuals to set up new services
 attend and coordinate meetings and events
 WHAT DOES A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKERS NEED?
WHAT SKILLS DOES A
COMMUNITY
Good listening skills
DEVELOPMENT WORKER
Advocacy and networking skills
NEED?
The ability to interpret, analyze and present data
Excellent communication, interpersonal and team building skills
Knowledge and understanding of social issues and how public
sector bodies work
A non-judgmental and positive attitude
Creative thinking and the ability to solve problems
 Compassion and empathy for others
 A motivating approach to work to encourage others to take action
 You may also need the ability to manage budget
o Community Participation can be loosely defined as the involvement of people
in a community in projects to solve their own problems. People cannot be
forced to ‘participate’ in projects which affect their lives but should be given
the opportunity where possible. This is held to be a basic human right and a
fundamental principle of democracy.
o Community participation is about gathering different views from whoever
wants to participate and making people in the community feel welcome to
voice their opinions.
AIM OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
AIM OF COMMUNITY
PARTICIPATION
 The community develops self-reliance
 The community develops critical awareness
 The community develops problem solving
TYPES OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

Passive Participation-
TYPES OFPeople participate by being told what is going to happen or has
PARTICIPATION
already happened through unilateral announcement by administration.
Participation in Information Giving- People participate by answering questions posted
by extractive researchers using questionnaire surveys or similar approaches and do not
have the opportunity to influence proceedings.
Participation by Consultation- People participate by being consulted, and external
people listen to views and may modify these in the light of people’s responses but do not
involve them in decision-making.
Participation for Material Incentives- People participate by providing resources,
for example labour, in return for food, cash, or other material incentives, yet
people have no stake in prolonging activities when the incentives end.
Functional Participation- People participate by forming groups to meet
predetermined objectives related to the project after major decisions have been
made.
Interactive Participation- People participate in joint analysis, development of
action plans, and formation or strengthening of local institutions.
Self-mobilization- People participate by taking initiatives independent of external
institutions to change systems. They develop contacts with external institutions for
resources and the technical advice they need, but retain control over how
resources are used. These can also take form of social movements and bring
about social change.
 IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
 Making people aware of their needs
 Improves communication and cooperation
 People develop new skills
 People are more likely to implement the decision that they made
themselves rather than the decisions imposed on them
 Provides an open forum for the community to discuss the problems and
find efficient solutions
Collective action and decision making is done by taking suggestions from all the stakeholders.
Meaningful community participation involves having citizens in the decision making process.
Participatory governance is this essential for the bottom up approach and community
development. Community engagement results in inclusive planning and overall improvement in
the community integration. Community voice when heard and acted upon results in better
governance, more employment opportunities, social development, volunteerism and an overall
better outcome.