Community organizing, one of the methods in community development, is a Western concept adopted in the Philippines. The different definitions of foreign and local authors highlight the nature of community organizing as a process by which a community identifies its problems and finds solutions through collective mobilization of the people and resources. This paper discusses the theoretical concepts of community organizing, which include its ideological background and value orientations, assumptions and propositions, goals, approaches, and principles. Towards the end, the paper discusses the steps involved in community organizing and forwards a conceptual framework of community organizing focused on people empowerment and based on the concept of people-centered participatory development.

ResearchGate Logo

Discover the world's research

  • 20+ million members
  • 135+ million publications
  • 700k+ research projects

Join for free

The Journal of Public Affairs and Development

Volume 1, Number 1, January - June2012, pp. 89 – 123

ISSN2244-3983

Theoretical Concepts and Practice

of Community Organizing

JOSEFINA T. DIZON

Abstract. Community organizing, one of the methods in community

development, is a Western concept adopted in the Philippines. The

different definitions of foreign and local authors highlight the nature

of community organizing as a process by which a community

identifies its problems and finds solutions through collective

mobilization of the people and resources. This paper discusses the

theoretical concepts of community organizing, which include its

ideological background and value orientations, assumptions and

propositions, goals, approaches, and principles. Towards the end, the

paper discusses the steps involved in community organizing and

forwards a conceptual framework of community organizing focused

on people empowerment and based on the concept of people-

centered participatory development.

Keywords: Community organizing, empowerment, people-centered

development

I. Introduction

Community organizing is one of the strategies adopted in any

community development project that requires the full participation

________________________

Correspondence address: Professor, College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the

Philippines Los Baños

Phone: (+6349) 536-2484/536-3284 ; Email : josefina_dizon@yahoo.com

of the community. Rivera and Erlich (1992) discuss about

community organizing in a diverse society. Community organizing is

a Western concept and has been adopted and adapted in the context

of Philippine culture. Community development workers/community

organizers must fully understand the concept of community

organizing to be able to practice it under the Philippine socio-

cultural context. This paper discusses the theoretical concepts of

community organizing, which include its definitions, ideological

background and value orientations, assumptions and propositions,

goals, approaches, and principles. In addition, it also discusses the

steps in conducting the community organizing process.

II. Definition of Community Organizing

Different authors have defined community organizing in

various ways. Ross (1955) provides one of the earliest definitions of

community organizing from the Western perspective as:

"Process by which a community identifies its needs

or objectives, order (or ranks) these needs or

objectives, develops confidence and will to work at

these needs or objectives, finds the resources

(internal or external) to deal with these needs or

objectives, takes action in respect to them, and in so

doing, extends and develops cooperative and

collaborative attitudes and practices in the

community" (page 39).

Kramer and Specht (1975) emphasize the role of a professional

change agent when they define community organization as:

"Various methods of intervention, whereby a

professional change agent helps a community

action system composed of individuals, groups, or

organization to engage in planned collective action

in order to deal with social problems within a

democratic system of values. It is concerned with

programs aimed at social change with primary

reference to environmental conditions and social

institutions" (page 6).

Meanwhile, Murphy and Cunningham (2003) emphasized

place-based community organizing, which they define as:

"a process in which local people, united by concern

for renewing their own small territory, plan and act

together from an organizational base that they

control. It is a practice that involves collective

human effort centered on mobilization, advocating,

planning, and the negotiation of resources" (page

79).

Several local authors have also defined community

organizing, and Manalili (1990) provided one of the early definitions

and said that:

"Community organizing is a process that revolves

around the people's lives, experiences, and

aspirations. It is a process that is people-centered

and geared towards [the] continuing capability

building, self-reliance, and empowerment" (page

65).

Dela Costa-Ymson (1993) cites that community organizing as

a method is a tool for human development. She defines human

development in the context of community organizing as:

"A process of unfolding the potentialities of persons

to the level where they can exercise the faculties

that will enable them to create, act and manage

resources to live a decent life" (page 32).

Dacanay (1993), on the other hand, defines community

organization as:

"the process which builds/mobilizes people and

other community resources towards identifying

and solving their own problems, establishing

people's self-awareness and capacities to stage

their own future...taking action collectively

considering the bureaucratic structure and

restrictive institutional arrangements" (page 8).

Meanwhile, David's (2004) definition of community

organizing highlights it as a major weapon of powerless

communities in asserting their demands, holding accountable those

who rule and treading their own autonomous path to development.

These definitions highlight the nature of community

organizing. It is a process by which a community identifies its

problems and finds solutions through collective mobilization of

community people and resources. The ultimate goal/objective of

community organizing is to effect changes in social and

environmental institutions so that people can direct their own lives.

III. Ideological Background and Value Orientation

of Community Organizing

Sherrand (1962) believes that community

organization/organizing is firmly based on democratic tradition and

emphasizes the realization of the individual's full potential to

contribute to society. According to him, while the ultimate concern is

the improvement of the individual's life and fulfilment of his/her

social role, community organizing emphasizes the development of a

creative interrelationship between the individual, the group to which

he/she belongs, and the community in which he/she lives.

Ross (1955) lists down comprehensively the articles of faith

that characterize the value orientation of community organizing.

These are:

Essential dignity and worth of the individual;

Individual's potentials and resources for managing his/her

own life;

Importance of freedom to express one's individuality;

Great capacity for growth within all social beings;

Individual's right to basic physical necessities;

Individual's need to struggle and strive to improve his/her

own life and environment;

Individual's right to help in time of need and crisis;

Importance of social organization for which the individual

feels responsible and which is responsive to individual

feeling;

Need of a social climate that encourages individual growth

and development;

Individual's right and responsibility to participate in the

affairs of his/her community;

Practicability of discussion, conference, and consultation as

methods of solving individual and social problems; and

Self-help as the essential base of any aid program.

IV. Assumptions and Propositions of Community Organizing

The practice of community organizing is based on certain

assumptions and propositions, which were derived from the

ideological background and value orientation of community

organizing. Ross (1955) enumerates the following assumptions of

community organizing:

1) Communities of people can develop capacity to deal with

their own problems.

2) People want change and can change.

3) People should participate in making, adjusting, or controlling

the major changes taking place in their communities.

4) Changes in community living that are self-imposed or self-

developed have a meaning and a permanence that imposed

changes do not have.

5) A holistic approach can deal successfully with problems with

which a fragmented approach cannot cope.

6) Democracy requires cooperative participation and action in

the affairs of the community, and that people must learn the

skills that make this possible.

7) Frequently, communities of people need help in organizing to

deal with their needs, just as many individuals require help

in coping with their individual problems.

Meanwhile, Sherrand (1962) lays down the following

assumptions of community organizing:

1) Conditions of life in the community are subject to

improvement, and it is the responsibility of the individuals

and the community as a whole to seek solutions to problems

and to attempt to prevent problems before they occur.

2) There is not only compatibility but also an imperative

relationship between individual self-realization and general

community improvement.

3) The greatest possible measure of self-determination should

be accorded to local communities and to their residents, and

every means should be emphasized to encourage local

initiative.

4) Local self-determination is not feasible without broad local

participation.

5) Local community improvement must, as far as possible, be

carried on within the framework of planning for the larger

community or the nation.

Hollnsteiner (1979) and Isles (1981) have the following

premises or propositions that underlie community organizing:

1) Unorganized poor people do not participate actively in

societal decisions affecting their lives because they are

powerless.

2) When weak individuals band together and confront

authorities, their collective number can rectify the imbalance

between the weak and the strong and allow interaction on an

equal basis.

3) The sheer experience of participation in mobilization and

group actions develops in ordinarily dependent people a

sense of power, which brings about self-reliance, pride in

oneself, and dignity.

4) Organizing people for power seeks to establish powerful

people's organizations through which the disadvantaged can

enter the spheres of decision-making. Power is the means by

which ordinary people can find redress for their grievances

and act against those conditions that oppress and

dehumanize them.

The premises upon which community organizing is based

state that lack of participation among the poor is due to

powerlessness, but this powerlessness can be overcome if people

band together and are mobilized to take group actions, and

eventually develop a sense of power among them.

V. Aims /Goals of Community Organizing

Apuan (1988) forwards three aims/goals of community

organizing: 1) to achieve effective power for the people so they can

determine their own development and shape their own future; 2) to

establish and sustain relatively permanent organizational structures,

which best serve the people's needs; and 3) to build or join alliances

that are useful to the people. She explains that the first goal of

empowerment enables people to overcome the dehumanizing effects

of powerlessness and become human beings with dignity, assertive

of their rights, and able to determine their destiny. Organizational

structures, on the other hand, become the venue for people's

participation and linkages with other groups. Lastly, alliances ma y

include sectoral, regional, and national multi-sectoral coalitions,

political parties, and international organizations.

The Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP 1981)

adds three other goals of community organizing, namely: improved

quality of life, leadership development and mobilization, and social

transformation.

Rubin and Rubin (1986) state four goals of community

organizing. These are: 1) enhancement of people's potential and the

increased likelihood that they will fulfill their potential, 2)

improvement in the quality of life through the resolution of shared

problems, 3) exercise and preservation of democratic values, and 4)

improvement in overall equity in society.

Chiong-Javier (1987) cites the following objectives of

community organizing based on a pilot project of the Upland

Development Program (UDP) of the Department of Environment and

Natural Resources (DENR), which they implemented in Mindoro: 1)

to develop the capability of the community members for

participation in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of

project activities on a sustained basis, and 2) to assist the farmers in

establishing a cohesive and viable community organization that is

able to promote the welfare of its members and to manage its

physical environment.

Community organizing is essentially providing power to the

people, or what is termed as empowerment. Empowerment as a

component of Ford's (1987) model of development refers to the

"sustained process in which people, through collective action and

reflection, gain deeper understanding of the root causes of their

powerlessness and gain self-confidence so that they can become

authors of their lives and their destiny in the pursuit of total human

development."

Another definition of empowerment involves defining its

opposite, powerlessness. According to Wallerstein (1993),

powerlessness has both subjective and objective dimensions.

Subjective dimension is when people feel powerless because they

may learn helplessness, have an external locus of control, or feel

alienated from the world in which they live. The objective

dimension, on the other hand, arises because people may lack the

economic and political power, and live in the conditions of poverty

and resource privation, which they internalize as feeling powerless.

Wallerstein (1993) adds that the most commonly cited

definition of empowerment focuses only on changing the subjective

nature of powerlessness. Based on this, individuals are blamed for

not having the skills or motivation to rise out of powerlessness.

Hence, empowerment programs that address the subjective nature

of powerlessness include promoting self-esteem, job competencies,

or literacy.

A much broader definition of empowerment is proposed by

Rappaport (1987) and Zimmerman and Rappaport (1988as cited by

Wallerstein 1993). Broadly defined, empowerment is "when people

gain control of their own lives in the context of participating with

others to change their social and political realities."

Following this definition, Wallerstein cites the

characteristics of an empowered community as proposed by several

authors:

1. Having abilities to identify their own problems and equity or

capacity to solve these problems (Braithwaite and Lythcott

1989 and Naparstek et al. 1982)

2. Having increased participation in community activities

(Chavis and Wandersman 1990)

3. Having control over the determinants of health (Health

Promotion 1986)

In 1992, Wallerstein came up with her own definition of

empowerment as "the social action process that promotes

participation of people, who are in positions of perceived and actual

powerlessness, towards goals of increased individual and

community decision-making and control, equity of resources, and

improved quality of life."

Navarro (1993) cites Iglesias' belief (Iglesias 1986) that

empowerment can be achieved through viable and effective

participation of community organizations in decisions affecting their

lives and welfare.

The social action community organizing model discussed by

Rothman (1968) seeks to redistribute power, resources, or decision-

making in a community. Hollnsteiner (1979) sees community

organizing as the method for organizing people for power. It is

through community organization that the poor and the powerless

can obtain power and become the masters of their fate. Hence,

community empowerment can be assumed as one indicator of

successful community organizing.

In her empowerment study of selected community

organizations, Poblete (1995) operationally defines empowerment

as "the process by which local organizations obtain power and

authority in managing and controlling local resources and in

increasing their capability for decision-making and problem solving

through increased membership, linkages, and level of participation."

In measuring empowerment levels, Poblete used leadership,

financial and manpower growth, linkages, local resource

management, and organizational prestige. Based on her findings, the

variables that are related significantly to organizations'

empowerment level include type of leadership, size of membership,

members' participation level, economic stability, continuity in

carrying out development activities, and communication factors such

as maximized use of various communication channels and access and

utilization of new communication technology.

Meanwhile, Laverack (2001) enumerates the operational

domains of community empowerment, which include participation,

leadership, organizational structures, problem assessment, resource

mobilization, asking questions, links with other people and

organization, and program management. According to the author,

involvement of individual community members in small groups or in

larger organizations must occur in order to attain empowerment. He

added that leadership plays an important role in the development of

small groups and community organizations, which are part of the

continuum of community empowerment. Meanwhile, the presence of

organizational structures characterized by cohesion among its

members, concern for community issues, and sense of belonging are

crucial for the people to socialize and to address their concerns and

problems. Problem assessment is most empowering when the

community carries out the identification of problems, solutions to

the problems, and actions to resolve the problems.

Another ingredient of empowerment is the ability of the

community to be able to critically assess the social, political,

economic, and contextual causes that contribute to their level of

disempowerment. Links or partnerships can be especially effective

toward community empowerment because the individual partners

share the same responsibilities, tasks, and resources. Lastly,

program management that empowers the community includes the

control by the primary stakeholders over decisions on planning,

implementation, evaluation, finances, administration, reporting, and

conflict resolution.

World Bank defines empowerment as "the process of

increasing the assets and capabilities of individuals or groups to

make purposive choices and transform these choices into desired

actions and outcomes" (World Bank 2002). The Bank identified four

elements of the empowerment practice, namely: access to

information, inclusion and participation, accountability, and local

organizational capacity.

VI. Principles of Community Organizing

Community organizing as a process and a method is based on

certain basic principles, which serve as guidelines to sound or

effective practice. David (1982) defines the lines according to which

community organizing perspective must operate. Community

organizing must promote self-reliance instead of dependence;

employ evocative instead of provocative organizing methods; engage

in facilitation instead of manipulation; balance "felt needs" and

"objective needs" of the community; engage in consciousness-raising

instead of dole-outs; balance the benefits from immediate economic

impacts of projects and long-term political development; aim at non-

issue based organizing but realize that issue-based organizing might

be initially necessary; aim at building democratic participation,

without disregarding the usefulness of identifying potential leaders

in the community; and confront the inherent "subversiveness" of

community organizing, which offers an alternative social order.

Meanwhile, Apuan (1988) cites the following principles that

should guide community organizers:

1) Community organizing involves consciousness-raising

through experiential learning. Central to the community

organizing process is the development of awareness and

motivation among the people to act upon their problems. As

conscientization is achieved through practice, community

organizing therefore emphasizes learning that emerges from

concrete actions.

2) Community organizing is participatory and mass-based. It

involves the whole community in organizing experiences and

is primarily directed towards and biased in favor of the poor.

3) Community organizing is based on democratic leadership. It

is group-centered, not leader-oriented. Leaders emerge and

are tested through concrete action, not externally appointed

or selected. Hence, leaders are accountable to the people at

all times.

The tenets espoused by the International Institute for Rural

Reconstruction are what PBSP (1991) use as its guidelines in its

community organizing activities. These are:

1) Go to the people, live among the people.

2) Learn, plan, and work with the people.

3) Start with and build on what the people know.

4) Teach by showing, learn by doing.

5) Not piecemeal but an integrated approach.

6) Not relief but release.

These principles, which the IIRR espouses, embody the ethical

principles of community organizing (Swanepoel and De Beer 2006).

The first principle dwells on human orientation, which says that

community organizing must be able to address the people's concrete

needs (food, clean water, clothing, and shelter) as well as fulfill their

abstract needs (happiness, self-reliance, fulfilment, and human

dignity). The second principle, which is about participation, says that

people must be mobilized to participate fully in all aspects of

community organizing activities. The third emphasizes the concept

of empowerment, which must aim to give people the power or the

right to make decisions. The fourth principle highlights that

community organizing must activate people to take up the

responsibilities of ownership and manage their future. Lastly,

community organizing is aimed at breaking the deprivation trap so

that people can become free. Transforming efforts attempt to release

people from the trap, so that free and self-reliant, they can gradually

improve the situation themselves.

Russel-Erlich and Rivera (1987), on the other hand,

enumerate the tenets of the so-called radical community organizing,

which radical organizers use as guide in their community organizing

activities. These are:

1) Community organization must work towards people's

empowerment so that they may liberate themselves from

their oppression.

2) Community organization must have an integrated sense of

social problems' history and how personal concerns develop

from a broader historical experience.

3) Community organization must attempt to work with

community problems at the primary level of problem

severity and magnitude, not the secondary or tertiary.

4) Community organizat ion's political position is based on an

ideology that is flexible rather than fixed along a political

continuum. What is critical here is the praxis that organizers

bring into the community and the subsequent development

of a shared consciousness as it emerges.

5) Community organization is education in that it emphasizes

social, political, economic, and class dynamics.

6) Community organization's results must not only be those

that may be discretely measured, but also community

sociotherapy or transformation of the individual personality.

7) Community organization must always see its role as a

temporary one. As it works towards people empowerment,

it is also working towards reducing the professional

presence in the community by training indigenous leadership

from the earliest possible time.

8) Community organization should be practiced in such a way

that organizational power sharing is to be sought above

power consolidation, participatory decision-making is to be

sought above leader-controlled decision-making, and

cooperation between and among organizers and clients is

sought instead of competition.

VII. Approaches and Models of Community Organizing

The literature points to a number of community organizing

approaches coined by various authors (Ross 1955; Rothman 1968;

Kramer and Specht 1975).

In 1955, Ross came out with three approaches to community

organization depending on the objective of the group, namely:

specific content objective, general content objective, and process

objective. In the specific content objective approach, an individual,

an agency, or an organization becomes concerned about a needed

reform in the community and launches a program to secure this

reform. In the general content objective approach, a group,

association, or a council focuses on the coordinated and orderly

development of services in a particular area of interest. In the

process objective approach, the group aims to initiate and nourish a

process in which all the people of a community are involved, through

their representatives, in identifying and taking action about their

own problems. What is sought is increased motivation,

responsibility, and skill in recognizing and securing reforms the

community considers desirable. The objective is the development of

community integration and capacity to function as a unit with

respect to community problems.

Two other major approaches in community organizing,

namely: the project approach and the political action approach were

later coined. The former attempts to organize communities around

certain projects that aim for community self-reliance, while the latter

focuses on collective action in which the community makes known

its grievances and its demands to relevant authorities or to the

public.

With regard to models of community organizing, Rothman

(1968) enumerates three types, i.e., locality development, social

planning, and social action. Locality development model holds that

community changes can be pursued most effectively by widely

involving the local people in determining and achieving goals. Social

planning, on the other hand, necessitates the services of experts in

effecting planned change processes, especially in solving social

problems. Social action is premised on the belief that there are

disadvantaged segments in society that need to be organized to

enable them to voice out their demands for social justice or

democracy. Rothman (1968) gives the following rules of thumb as to

which of the three approaches organizers can use. Locality

development is used when populations are homogeneous or when

consensus exists among various community subparts and interests.

Social planning, on the other hand, is adopted when community

problems are fairly routinized and can be solved through the

application of factual information. When community subgroups are

hostile and interests are not reconcilable through usual discussion

methods, social action is most suitable.

Rothman's community organizing approaches are

summarized in Appendix 1.

In their article entitled "The Process of Community Work, "

Brager and Specht (1975) define the practice of community

organizing as one that consists of what community organizers do

(method) in response to particular behaviors (process). Method

implies a set of artificially created procedures while process

connotes naturalness. According to the authors, the two terms go

together because conceptions of process are necessary to design

methods to intervene in them.

In 1975, Kramer and Specht proposed two models of

community organization, i. e., community development and social

planning. The community development model refers to efforts to

mobilize the people directly affected by a community condition into

groups and organization to enable them to take action on the social

problems and issues that affect them. Social planning model, on the

other hand, refers to efforts directed toward integrating and

coordinating the efforts of agencies and organizations inside and

outside the community. It also involves efforts aimed at bringing

about changes in voluntary and public agencies' attitudes, structure,

function, resources, decision-making patterns, and policies and

practices. The authors believe that these two community organizing

prototypes can be conceptualized as forms of purposive, planned, or

directed change and related to theories of social change as well as

community decision-making.

Aside from Rothman's models, Pyles (2009) cited other

approaches such as Mondros and Wilson's models, Fisher's

Neighborhood Organizing approaches, and the progressive

organizing frameworks, which run from the spectrum of being

transformative to being utilitarian. The Mondros and Wilson's

models of social action organizations include: a) grassroots, b)

lobbying, and c) mobilizing. The grassroots or the populist model

aims to organize marginalized citizens into a powerful group with

the intention of targeting power holders who tend to resist change.

The lobbying model, on the other hand, is based on a pluralist

pressure change orientation, which sees the government and the

legal system as the mechanisms for change. The mobilizing model is

also referred to as the movement approach, which views the

government as resistant to change and that change can be achieved

through political activism.

Fisher's neighborhood organizing approaches include: a)

social welfare, b) political activist, and c) neighborhood

maintenance. While the social welfare approach tends to focus on

increasing access to social services through coalition building and

lobbying, the political activist approach focuses on obtaining and

restructuring power. Carried out by middle- and upper-class

individuals, neighborhood maintenance aims to maintain the

neighborhood status quo and property values.

Regardless of the particular model used, Kramer and Specht

(1975) emphasize that all community organizers help people

identify problems, develop organizations, plan and carry out

programs, and assess their efforts. Bagadion (1993) identifies the

roles of community organizers as researchers, managers, and

teachers. In relation to these roles, community organizers must

possess certain skills, which according to Kenny (2007), should

include facilitation, organizational, strategy, networking,

communication, and research skills.

Meanwhile, Phillips and Pittman (2009) enumerate the

values that community organizers should possess, namely: honesty,

loyalty, fairness, courage, caring, respect, tolerance, duty, and

lifelong learning. They also provide the ethical standards, which

should guide the community organizers, such as establishing and

maintaining a professional and objective relationship with the client

community and its representatives; always performing in a legal and

ethical manner; immediately disengaging from illegal and unethical

activities; clearly and accurately detailing the scope of work to be

performed and its anticipated outcomes; avoiding conflicts of

interest and dual relationships; and disengaging from activities that

may result in one group or individual unethically or illegally

benefiting at the expense of another.

VIII. Steps in Community Organizing

Several authors (Hollnsteiner 1979; Patron 1987; and Apuan

1988) discussed the different steps in community organizing, which

the author integrated in the following discussion. These cover nine

steps, namely:

Entryinto the community. This step enables the community

organizers to introduce themselves to the local community officials

and inform the local authorities about the project, its objectives, and

the nature of their stay in the community. As a strategy, the

community organizers adapt a lifestyle in keeping with the

community and choose an appropriate place or family to stay with.

Integration with the people. The purpose of this activity is

for the community organizers to imbibe community life and get to

know the culture, economy, leadership, history, and lifestyle of the

people. It is a means of establishing rapport with the people and

building mutual trust and cooperation. It allows the community

organizers to be one with the people and learn or understand the

people's problems. The community organizers participate in the

economic activities, household work, group discussion, and social

functions of the community.

Social investigation. Through this step, the community

organizers systematically acquire information and analyze the

political and socio-cultural structure of the community to identify

issues around which to organize the people. The different strategies

include gathering and reviewing secondary data sources such as

records and documents, holding personal interviews, conducting a

survey, and observing.

Problem identification and analysis. The community

organizers identify, analyze, and rank the problems and needs of the

community. The component steps include identification of the scope

and degree of the problem, investigation of past efforts to solve the

problem, analysis of the origin of the problem, and identification of

factors that maintain, increase, or eliminate the problem,

undertaking consequence analysis, and problem prioritization.

Planning and strategizing. This step is done to translate

the goals and objectives into specific activities to solve community

problems. Its component activities include identification of the

problem, identification of resources, formulation of possible

solutions, and setting plans of actions.

Core group formation. The purpose of this step is to form a

small group of potential leaders to assist the community organizers

in organizing and mobilizing the community. This involves

identification of contacts and potential leaders in the community,

and conduct of training in leadership and organizing with the core

group members as participants.

Organization development and mobilization. Through

this step, the community organizers facilitate wider participation

and collective action on issues and problems concerning the

community. They do this by setting up a formal organizational

structure and mobilizing community effort/action to solve

community problems.

Evaluation and reflection. The community organizers

together with the community members review the course of action

that has been undertaken to solve the problems. This can be done by

holding of workshops, dialogues, etc.

Turn-over and phase-out. During this step, the community

organizers transfer the community organizing roles and

responsibilities to the organization as soon as the latter is ready or

fully prepared to handle the responsibilities.

The PBSP (1991) divides the steps into three stages, namely:

awakening, group empowerment, and group maintenance or

institutionalization. The awakening stage comprises entry into the

community, integration, social investigation, problem identification,

analysis and priority setting, and goal setting. Implementation of

plans and evaluation make up the empowerment stage, while

organization building and turn-over/phase-out comprises the

institutionalization stage.

Three community organizing activities in irrigation system

management were documented by Illo and Felix (1981) and Chiong-

Javier (1982, 1987).Illo and Felix (1981) and Chiong-Javier (1982)

focused on community organizers' integration into the communities

and groundworking with farmers. Accordingly, the community

organizing experience in Mindoro was composed of the following

activities: a) choice of entry point for organizing, b) delineation of

basic organizing units, c) formation of an upland farmers'

organization, d) integration with the communities, e) groundwork

and mobilization, f) farmers' meeting, g)identification and

mobilization of sitio leaders, and h) tactics session.

In its community organizing, the DENR follows basically the

same activities cited by Metin (1993): a) starting from people's

needs, b) collective action, c) identification and development of local

leaders, d) raising of consciousness among members, and e)

establishment of strong and viable organizations.

The examples provided in this paper focused on government

and the academe's experiences in community organizing. David

(2004) provides an extensive discussion of the community

organizing experiences of people's organizations and non-

governmental organizations (NGO). Other NGOs that have done

community organizing include the Philippine Rural Reconstruction

Movement (PRRM).

IX. Community Organizing Practice

Community organizing embodies processes/methods and

approaches/strategies in order to attain its goals. The elements of

community organizing are discussed in the following sections.

Processes/methods of community organizing

These include social preparation of the community,

education and training, value orientation, and mobilization.

Social preparation. This is very much related to community

readiness. According to Fellizar (1993), a community is considered

ready when an appropriate social preparation has been undertaken.

Dela Costa-Ymson (1993) narrates how the Social Development

Foundation undertook social preparation among farmers in

Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija, which took one year. According to her,

social preparation has four stages:1) general assembly, 2) formation

of committees, 3) survey of needs and prioritizing them, and 4)

preparation for the training.

In the DENR's Community Forestry Program, the social

preparation process involves the development and concretization of

the communities' capacities on 1) organizational skills (e.g.,

establishment of a people's organization, development of conflict

resolution skills, and initiation of systems and structures to sustain

forest management schemes); 2) technical skills (e.g., training of

local people in forest management planning and conservation); and

3) entrepreneurial skills (e.g., development and management of

alternative sources of livelihood). All these activities are

implemented using the participatory approach.

Education and training. Community organizing is

essentially a learning process and central to it is the development of

awareness through experiential learning (Apuan 1988). Kwo (1986)

cites Compton's definition of community education as a process

whereby members of a community come together to identify their

problems and needs and seek solutions amongst themselves,

mobilize the necessary resources, and execute a plan of action or

learning or both. In the educative process, adults can learn through

participation and cooperation with others in community action and

community development projects. Practitioners term this "learning

by doing" or learning through experience.

Castillo (1983) cites the International Foundation for

Development Alternative, which says that education as a community

organizing process does not refer to the conventional academic

schooling but to a pedagogy of self-reliance: learning to participate,

to assume responsibility, to take decisions, to be less dependent, to

communicate, to serve others, to receive messages critically, etc.

Paolo Freire, a Brazilian educator laid down the principles of

empowerment education. Apuan (1986) dis cussed Freire's

principles in a booklet entitled Organizing People for Power.

Freire's first principle states that no education is ever neutral. This

means that education can either be designed to maintain the status

quo or liberate people, helping them to become critical, creative,

free, active, and responsible members of the society. Second, issues

must have importance now to people. All education and

development projects should start by identifying the

relevant/important issues. Third, problem posing as an educational

approach allows the animator to raise questions on a common

problem for the participants to act, describe, analyze, suggest, and

plan. Fourth, dialogue can be a venue for a mutual learning process

because in a dialogue everyone shares one's experiences, listens to,

and learns from others. Fifth, people learn through a cycle of

reflection and action, where they can critically analyze the causes of

mistakes and failures and become capable of effective social

transformation. Finally, radical transformation of

life in the local communities must parallel the transformation in the

whole society.

In support, Wallerstein (1993) defines empowerment

education as one that "involves people in group efforts to identify

their own problems, and to develop strategies to effect positive

changes in their lives and in their communities."

Value orientation. Since the desired ends of community

organizing are people's empowerment, self-reliance, and

participation, there is a need to transform the negative value of the

people from selfish individualism to one that is socially oriented.

Value orientation essentially entails value re-orientation or

transformation. Value orientation determines desired ends of

behavior and prescribes norms or socially acceptable means of

attaining the desired ends.

Hossain (1984) cites Rokeach's (1979) definition of value as

"an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or a state of

existence is personally and socially preferable to alternative modes

of conduct or end-states of existence." Rokeach emphasizes that

once a value is internalized, it becomes a standard for guiding action,

for developing and maintaining attitude towards relevant objects

and situations. Patanapongsa (1981) cites Hushneret et al.'s (1962)

belief that "strong external pressure may produce the appearance of

change, but without alteration of character structure, such change

will be superficial." The statement implies that in order for change

to take place (as in community organizing), people must alter their

value orientation.

Mobilization. This refers to the " process whereby a group of

people have transcended their differences to meet on equal terms in

order to facilitate a participatory decision-making process" (Ben-Ali

&Carvalho1996). This means that it is a process, which begins a

dialogue among members of the community, to determine who,

what, and how issues are decided, and also to provide an

avenue for everyone to participate in decisions that affect their lives.

In an organized community, strategizing serves as a means to

address its needs. Mobilization arises from a number of factors: (1)

presence of expertise amongst the community members, (2) the

willingness of the community as a whole to give up individual

interests to form a broader cooperative, and (3) presence of

available resources to facilitate the mobilization process (Ben-Ali &

Carvalho 1996). The presence of pre-existing community groups can

potentially serve as the basis for a mobilization strategy.

X. Theoretical Framework of Community Organizing

Majority of the population of the Third World countries in

Asia, Latin America, and Africa remain poor despite the

implementation of development programs and projects. Korten

(1992) explains that this is because many of these programs and

policies are a direct consequence of the way human society equates

development with economic growth. Growth-centered development,

according to him, is not alleviating the deepening poverty and

environmental devastation that is happening globally.

Castillo (1983) sees poverty among rural poor as a

consequence of being unorganized, marginalized, oppressed, and

exploited. Poor people hardly participate in the decision-making

regarding their economic and social upliftment. Hollnsteiner (1979)

reasons out that unorganized poor people do not participate actively

in societal decisions affecting their lives because they are powerless.

A theory of poverty along this line looks at poverty as a result of

powerlessness due to lack of belief in self, possession of basic skills,

organization, and political consciousness. Korten (1992) sees this

powerlessness resulting from lack of community inertia and is self-

imposed.

Espousing the theory of community inertia, development

agents have been implementing community development programs.

However, Hollnsteiner (1979) says that these development

programs have proven to be inadequate because the agents found

out that powerlessness was not self-imposed but rather externally-

imposed and sustained by state/government policies and programs.

In this way, these policies and programs deprive the poor access to

productive resources and thus maintain them in a state of

dependency.

Hollnsteiner (1979) believes that community organizing is

the way to empower the people, make them participate, and help

them become self-reliant. It is through community organizing

whereby relatively permanent organizational structures are

established. According to Apuan (1988), these structures ensure

maximum people participation. Poblete (1995) adds that it is in the

organization where people's talents and resources are pooled and

utilized so they can carry out development projects that can respond

to their common needs and problems.

Community organizing as a development strategy is

anchored on Harbison and Myers' (1964) principle in human

resource development. This principle states that "people in the rural

areas have the basic capabilities to improve their quality of life and

that the problems confronting them can be overcome through their

own efforts with assistance and support from development

agencies."

In the '90s, community organizing was focused on people

empowerment, which is based on the concept of people-centered

participatory development (PCD). According to the concept, an

outside community organizer may help or facilitate the organizing

process, but community organizing must be initiated and sustained

by the people themselves since they are the principal actors

involved. Navarro (1993) enumerates the characteristics of this

development alternative. First, PCD seeks to return control over

resources to the people and their communities to be used in meeting

their own needs. Essentially, this refers to the empowerment of the

people in controlling their own environment to meet their basic

needs. Second, PCD seeks to broaden political participation, building

from a base of strong people's organizations and participatory local

government, with political and economic democracy as its

cornerstones. Third, PCD calls for active mutual self-help among

people, working together in their common struggle to deal with their

common problems.

The theoretical model shows that poor people who are

characteristically powerless, passive, and dependent can be

organized. The process of community organizing aims to establish

people's organizations, which will serve as the venue to empower

people, make them participate, and become self-reliant. All these

development goals are primarily aimed at achieving a people-

centered development (Figure 1).

XI. Summary

The various definitions of community organizing highlight it

as a process of problem identification and solving through collective

mobilization of people and resources. The ultimate goal/objective of

community organizing is to effect changes in socioeconomic and

environmental institutions so that people can direct their own lives.

As a process, community organizing is based on a

democratic ideological background and is governed by a certain

value orientation. The assumptions and propositions of community

organizing are, in turn, based on these two items. The sound and

effective practice of community organizing is based on certain basic

principles.

Three models of community organizing have been discussed

in the paper, namely: locality development, social planning, and

social action. There are various steps in community organizing as

discussed by different authors; the variation depends on the

Figure 1.Theoretical framework of community organizing

community setting and the characteristics of the community

organizers. Hence, there are no hard and fast rules in community

organizing. Whatever steps are followed, three processes/methods

of community organizing are present, namely: social preparation,

value orientation, and education and training.

The theoretical framework of community organizing as

discussed in the paper, provides that community organizing is a

process that aims to achieve a people-centered development for

resource-poor communities characterized by passivity, dependency,

and powerlessness. As shown in Figure 1, this kind of development

is only possible if people are conscienticized, socially-transformed,

self-reliant, participative, and empowered. These desired

characteristics can be achieved through the community organizing

process.

References

Apuan, V.N. (1988).Organizing People for Power. Some Perspectives to

Community Organization, Quezon City, Philippines: Claretian

Publications.

Bagadion,Jr., B. (1993). 'Notes and observations on community-

based resource management' in Fellizar, Jr. F.P. (ed.) Community-

Based Resource Management: Perspectives, Experiences and Policy

Issues, College, Laguna, Philippines: Environment and Resource

Management Project (ERMP).

Ben-Ali, A.M. & Carvalho, M.E. (1996).'Community Mobilization and

Empowerment in a Brazilian Favela: The Settlement of

Cachoeira, Campina Grande, Brasil',www.umanitoba.ca/

institutes/disaster_research/brazil/report3.html (Accessed29

June 2012).

Brager, G. & Specht, H. (1975). 'The process of community work', in

Kramer, R. & Specht, H. (eds.) Readings in Community

Organization Practice, New Jersey:Prentice-Hall, pp. 165- 174.

Castillo, G.T. (1983). How Participatory is Participatory Development?

A Review of Philippine Experience, Manila: Philippine Institute for

Development Studies.

Chiong-Javier, M.E. (1982). Organizing Farmers for Irrigation

Management: The Rehabilitation of an Existing System, The Upper

Alloy National Project, Naga City: Research and Service Center,

Ateneo de Naga,165 pp.

Chiong-Javier, M.E. (1987). Building People into Forestry, Field

Experiences in Bureaucratic Reorientation. Manila: Research

Center, De La Salle University.

Dacanay, E.A. (1993). 'Community Organizing: A Conceptual Design

to Resources Management Capability Building' in Fellizar, Jr., F.P.

(ed.) Policy Issues Related to the Organizational Aspects of

Community-Based Resource Management in the Philippines,

College, Laguna, Philippines: Environment and Resource

Management Project (ERMP).

David, K.C. (1982).'Issues in community organization', Community

Development Journal, 17:2, pp.190-201.

David, K.C. (2004). 'Community organizing in the Philippines: The

experience of development NGOs," in Craig, G. & Mayo, M. (eds.)

Community Empowerment: A Reader in Participation and

Development, United Kingdom: Biddles Ltd, Guildford and King's

Lynn, pp. 154-167.

Dela Costa-Ymson, G. (1993). 'Organizing for community-based

resource management: Action research group for the Social

Development Foundation' in Fellizar, Jr., F.P. (ed.) Policy Issues

Related to the Organizational Aspects of Community-Based

Resource Management in the Philippines, College, Laguna,

Philippines:Environment and Resource Management Project

(ERMP).

Fellizar, Jr., F.P. (1993). 'Policy issues related to the organizational

aspects of community-based resource management in the

Philippines' in Fellizar, Jr., F.P. (ed.) Policy Issues Related to the

Organizational Aspects of Community-Based Resource

Management in the Philippines, College, Laguna, Philippines:

Environment and Resource Management Project (ERMP).

Harbison, F. and Myers, C. (1964).Education, Manpower and

Economic Growth, U.S.: McGraw-Hill Book Co. Inc.

Hollnsteiner, M.R. (1979). 'Mobilizing the rural poor through

community organization', Philippine Studies, 27, pp. 387-416.

Hossain, M. (1984).Value orientation, Perception, and Participation

of the Members of the Libmanan Cabusao Irrigation Service

Cooperative, Camarines Sur, Philippines, Unpublished PhD

Dissertation, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College,

Laguna.

Illo, J. F. I. & Felix, N.S. (1981).Organizing Farmers for Irrigation

Management: The Development of a New System, Naga City:

Research and Service Center, Ateneo de Naga.

Isles, C. D. (1981). 'Community organization approach to extension

work', Support Communication for Rural Development Programs,

Taiwan: Food and Fertilizer Technology Center.

Kenny, S. (2007). Developing Communities for the Future (3rd Edition).

Australia: Nelson Australia Pty Limited.

Korten, D. (1992). 'NGO strategic networks: From community

projects to global transformation', Forests, Trees and People

Newsletter, No. 18, pp. 40-44.

Kramer, R. and Specht, H. (Eds.). (1975). Readings in Community

Organization Practice, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

Kwo, E. (1986).'Community development and community education',

Community Development Journal, 21:3, pp. 161-168.

Laverack, G. (2001). 'An identification and interpretation of the

organizational aspects of community empowerment', Community

Development Journal, 36:2, pp.134-145.

Manalili, A.G. (1990). Community Organizing for People's

Empowerment. Manila: Kapatiran-Kaunlaran, Inc.

Metin, R. L. (1993).'Organizing communities for forest resources

management and development' in Fellizar, Jr., F. P. (ed.) Policy

Issues Related to the Organizational Aspects of Community-Based

Resource Management in the Philippines, College, Laguna,

Philippines: Environment and Resource Management Project

(ERMP).

Murphy, P.W. & Cunningham, J.V. (2003).Organizing for Community

Controlled Development, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 337

pp.

Navarro, R.L. (1993). Towards People's Empowerment: GO-NGO

Collaboration in Agricultural Development, Maligaya, Nueva Ecija:

Philippine Rice Research Institute.

Patanapongsa, N. (1981).Value profile and values affecting members'

participation in selected cooperatives in Chiangmai, Thailand,

Unpublished PhD Dissertation, Los Baños, College, Laguna:

University of the Philippines.

Patron, M.C. (Ed.) (1987).The Community Organizing Process

(Illustrated), Diliman, Quezon City: UP College of Social Work

and Community Development.

Philippine Business for Social Progress.(1991). Handbook on

Community Training Programs for Participatory Integrated Social

Forestry, Calauan, Laguna: Center for Rural Technology

Development.

Phillips, R. & Pittman, R.H. (2009).An Introduction to Community

Development,Oxford, United Kingdom: Routledge.

Poblete, T. O. (1995). Empowerment of Local Community

Organizations in Selected Areas of Laguna, Unpublished PhD

Dissertation, College, Laguna: University of the Philippines Los

Baños.

Pyles, L. (2009). Progressive Community Organizing, New York:

Routledge, 191 pp.

Rivera, F. G. and Russel-Erlich, J. L. (1992).Community Organizing in a

Diverse Society, Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 290 pp.

Ross, M. G. (1955). Community Organization: Theory, Principles and

Practice(1st edition), New York: Harper and Row Publisher.

Rothman, J. (1968). 'Three models of community organization

practice' in Social Work Practice, New York: Columbia University

Press (Xeroxed copy).

Rubin, H. & Rubin, I.(1986).Community Organizing and Development,

Columbus, Ohio: Merrill Publishing Company.

Russel-Erlich, J.L. & Rivera, F.G. (1987).'Community empowerment

as a non-problem', Community Development Journal, 22:1, pp. 2-

10.

Sherrand, T. (1962). Community Organization and Community

Development: Similarities and Differences (Xeroxed Copy).

Swanepoel, H. & De Beer, F. (2006).Community Development,

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty, Lansdowne, South Africa: Juta and

Co. Ltd.

Wallerstein, N. (1993).'Empowerment and health: the theory and

practice of community change', Community Development Journal,

28:3, pp. 218-227.

World Bank. (2002). Overview: What is empowerment,

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPO

VERTY/EXTEMPOWERMENT/0,,contentMDK:20272299~menuP

K:546167~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:486411,0

0.html (Accessed 29 June 2012).

Appendix 1.Community organizing approaches and strategies

(Rothman 1968)

1. Community

characteristics

Community has

substantive social

problems/needs

such as

employment,

housing,

recreation, etc.

Community lacks

relationship and

democratic

problem-solving

skills.

Community is

composed of a

disadvantaged

population, which

lacks power and

organization and

suffers

deprivation,

social injustice,

and inequity.

2. Basic goal

of community

organizing

Deals with

concrete social

problems

efficiently (task

goal).

Strengthen the

horizontal pattern

of community

through

community

integration,

education, group

dynamics, and

cooperative

problem- solving

(process goal).

Shift power

relationship and

resources and

develop needed

legislation for

social change

(process and

tasks' goal).

Gathers facts about

the problems and

makes decisions on

the most rational

action.

Broad cross-

sections of people

are involved in

determining and

solving their own

problems.

Issues and

organization of

people are

crystallized to

take action

against enemy

targets.

4. Change

tactics and

techniques

Consensus,

communication,

and group

discussion

Conflict,

confrontation,

direct action, and

negotiation

Appendix1 continued…

5. Orientation

toward power

structure

Members of the

power structure

are employers and

sponsors.

Members of the

power structure

are collaborators

in a common

venture.

Members of the

power structure

are external

targets of action

and are

considered

oppressors.

6. Role of

community

organizing

Fact gatherer,

analyst, program

implementer,

facilitator

Enabler, catalyst,

coordinator, and

teacher of

problem-solving

skills

Activist, advocate,

agitator,

negotiator

... • Emphasize the role of a professional change agent when they define community organization as "various methods of intervention whereby a professional change agent helps a community action system composed of individuals, groups, or organization to engage in planned collective action in order to deal with social problems within a democratic system of values. It is concerned with programs aimed at social change with primary reference to environmental conditions and social institutions" (Kramer and Specht, 1975 as cited in Dizon, 2012). ...

... • Emphasize place-based community organizing, which they define as "a process in which local people, united by concern for renewing their own small territory, plan and act together from an organizational base that they control. It is a practice that involves collective human effort centered on mobilization, advocating, planning, and the negotiation of resources" (Murphy & Cunningham, 2003 as cited in Dizon, 2012). ...

... • Community organizing as a method is a tool for human development. Dela Costa-Ymson (1993) defines human development in the context of community organizing as "a process of unfolding the potentialities of persons to the level where they can exercise the faculties that will enable them to create, act and manage resources to live a decent life" (Dela Costa-Ymson, 1993 as cited in Dizon, 2012). ...

  • Mark Anthony Dayot Abenir Mark Anthony Dayot Abenir

This handbook highlights the public and social mission of higher educational institutions (HEI) through Community Engagement, a term that brings forth the important use of Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Community Organizing for Community Development (COCD). The unique contribution of this handbook is that it specifically situates HEI Community Engagement within the unique historical context of the Philippines, thus adding a Philippine voice in the literature of Community-Engaged Scholarship (CEnS). It also provides activity exercises and case studies where readers can situate themselves and apply the theories, concepts, and tools they have learned so they can enhance the Community Engagement programs and projects of their respective colleges and universities with their partner communities.

... The establishment of Indigenous People Policy Framework is also governed by some principles. Community Organizing as a process and a method is based on certain basic principles, which serve as guidelines to sound or effective practice 16 . Several literatures have discussed the different principles of community organizing. ...

... Project approach "attempts to organize communities around certain projects that aim for community self-reliance" while political action approach "focuses on collective action in which the community makes known its grievances and its demands to relevant authorities or to the public." 16 In practice, many community development workers employ a range of techniques, approaches, and models. Rothman enumerates three models, namely: locality development, social planning, and social action 20 . ...

... The theoretical framework provides that community organizing is a process that aims to achieve a people-centered development for resource-poor communities characterized by passivity, dependency, and powerlessness 16 CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. ...

Cognizant of the special needs of indigenous people in the Philippines, the Republic Act No. 8371 of 1997 was established to promote and protect their rights. Over the years, a number of community organizing efforts for the improvement of these communities were conducted by stakeholders from the private and public sectors. However, resistance has been reported due to poor understanding and integration of these indigenous populations' varied cultures and traditions. This study aims to describe the predominant principles and frameworks used for community organizing among indigenous people. Specifically, it seeks to propose a community organizing approach that is culturally sensitive and appropriate for indigenous communities in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas in the Philippines. A systematic review was conducted on four databases (PubMed, ScienceDirect, ResearchGate, Google Scholar) by four independent researchers. Inclusion criteria involved studies about community organizing protocols in the Philippines, published in peer-reviewed journals from 2010-2020, and written in the English language. Assessment of the quality of included studies was done using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) checklist, and narrative synthesis was employed to summarize and report the findings. Thirteen studies met our inclusion criteria out of a total of fifty-five articles searched. Based on the evidence, our proposed approach builds on Groundwork, Indigenous Capacity Building, Community Participation and Ownership, Mobilization, and Sustainability. We highlight the emphasis of harnessing indigenous knowledge and Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation to involve them in all steps of the planning and decision-making processes. Furthermore, we distill tools and methodologies that could strengthen and precipitate successful community organizing endeavors.

... All these components are combined by linking processes, which are aimed at the most effective interaction of the mentioned components to achieve the goals of the organization: communication, balancing between the components for balanced operation and decision analysis [37]. Dizon (2012) presents a definition of community organization by Kramer and Specht (1975): "Various methods of intervention, whereby a professional change agent helps a community action system composed of individuals, groups, or organizations to engage in planned collective action in order to deal with social problems within a democratic system of values. It is concerned with programs aimed at social change with primary reference to environmental conditions and social institutions" [38]. ...

... Dizon (2012) presents a definition of community organization by Kramer and Specht (1975): "Various methods of intervention, whereby a professional change agent helps a community action system composed of individuals, groups, or organizations to engage in planned collective action in order to deal with social problems within a democratic system of values. It is concerned with programs aimed at social change with primary reference to environmental conditions and social institutions" [38]. In the context of patient empowerment, community organizations are based on an active participatory decision-making model to achieve community-important goals in the perspective of health improvement. ...

  • Vestina Vainauskienė Vestina Vainauskienė
  • Rimgailė Vaitkienė

The non-development of the concept of patient knowledge empowerment for disease self-management and the non-development of the theory of patient knowledge empowerment in patients with chronic diseases, cause methodological inconsistency of patient empowerment theory and does not provide a methodological basis to present patient knowledge empowerment preconditions. Therefore, the aim of the present integrative review was to synthesize and critically analyze the patient knowledge enablers distinguished in the public health management theory, the knowledge sharing enablers presented in the knowledge management theory and to integrate them by providing a comprehensive framework of patient knowledge enablers. To implement the purpose of the study, in answering the study question of what patient knowledge empowerments are and across which levels of patient knowledge empowerment they operate, an integrative review approach was applied as proposed by Cronin and George. A screening process resulted in a final sample of 78 papers published in open access, peer-review journals in the fields of public health management and knowledge management theories. Based on the results of the study, the Enablers of Patient Knowledge Empowerment for Self-Management of Chronic Disease Framework was created. It revealed that it is important to look at patient knowledge empowerment as a pathway across the empowerment levels through which both knowledge enablers identified in public health management theory and knowledge sharing enablers singled out in knowledge management theory operate. The integration of these two perspectives across patient empowerment levels uncovers a holistic framework for patient knowledge empowerment. Keywords: patient knowledge empowerment; patient knowledge enablers; empowerment levels; self-management; chronic disease; health management; knowledge management; integrative review

This policy analysis paper revisits the existing traditional institutions concerned with Humphead wrasse management in Anambas and Natuna, Riau Archipelago Province. It provides an analysis and synthesis of policies that could give direction to the formation and/or strengthening of existing institutions for the benefit of this endangered fish species and all concerned parties. Local community's active involvement and participation is key to the sustainable development of fisheries resources. However, the local community's economic empowerment would be impossible to achieve without institutional strengthening. The paper recommends that community-based institutional empowerment or the "group approach" should be considered in Anambas and Natuna's fisheries management system for Humphead wrasse. Organized fishing communities can be effective government partners in the management of open fishing areas in their jurisdictions. Fishing communities also have a vision, mission or resource management strategy specific to their own needs, values and aspirations. Defining and articulating the community's vision, mission and values are therefore crucial to the success of any community initiatives concerning fisheries revitalization programs. The paper also proposes a logical plan for Community-Based Coastal Resource Management (CBCRM) system for consideration of the local government units in Anambas and Natuna.

  • Loretta Pyles Loretta Pyles

The second edition of Progressive Community Organizing offers a concise intellectual history of community organizing and social movements while also providing practical tools geared toward practitioner skill building. Drawing from social-constructionist, feminist and critical traditions, Progressive Community Organizing affirms the practice of issue framing and offers two innovative frameworks that will change the way students of organizing think about their work. Progressive Community Organizing is ideal for both undergraduate and graduate courses focused on community theory and practice, community organizing, community development, and social change and service learning. The second edition presents new case studies, including those of a welfare rights organization and a youth-led LGBTQ organization. There are also new sections on the capabilities approach, queer theory, the Civil Rights movement, and the practices of self-inquiry and non-violent communication. Discussion of global justice has been expanded significantly and includes an account of a transnational action-research project in post-earthquake Haiti. Each chapter contains discussion questions, written and web resources, and a list of key terms; a full, free-access companion website is also available for the book.

  • Glenn Laverack Glenn Laverack

Community empowerment is central to community development and yet making this concept operational in a programme context remains elusive. Based on doctoral work, this paper identifies and interprets nine organizational 'domains' for community empowerment. These organizational domains are not absolutes rather they serve as a point of departure for further discussion about straightforward ways to define and measure community empowerment as a process. This paper is seen as a step toward clarifying and making this concept operational to guide practitioners who wish to apply and measure community empowerment in a programme context. The implications for community development and research are discussed.

  • Rhonda Phillips Rhonda Phillips
  • R.H. Pittman

Beginning with the foundations of community development, An Introduction to Community Development offers a comprehensive and practical approach to planning for communities. Road-tested in the authors' own teaching, and through the training they provide for practicing planners, it enables students to begin making connections between academic study and practical know-how from both private and public sector contexts. An Introduction to Community Development shows how planners can utilize local economic interests and integrate finance and marketing considerations into their strategy. Most importantly, the book is strongly focused on outcomes, encouraging students to ask: what is best practice when it comes to planning for communities, and how do we accurately measure the results of planning practice? This newly revised and updated edition includes: increased coverage of sustainability issues. discussion of localism and its relation to community development. quality of life, community well-being and public health considerations. and content on local food systems. Each chapter provides a range of reading materials for the student, supplemented with text boxes, a chapter outline, keywords, and reference lists, and new skills based exercises at the end of each chapter to help students turn their learning into action, making this the most user-friendly text for community development now available.