Community development as a process:

 In this view community development moves by stages from one condition or state to the next; it involves a progressing of changes in terms of specified criteria. It is, in this view, a neutral , scientific term, subject to fairly precise definition and measurement expressed chiefly in social relation: change from a state where one or two people or a small elite within or without  the local community make decision for the rest of the people to a state where the people themselves  make these decisions about matters of the common concern; change from a state of minimum to one of maximum cooperation; change from a state where few participate to one where many participate; change from a state where all recourses and socialist come from outside to one were local people devise methods for maximum use of their own recourses the emphasis ere is upon what happened to people psychologically and n their social relationship. A few representative definition illustrations this view: “A process of social action in which the people of a community organize themselves for planning and action; define their common and individual needs and problems; make group and individual planes to meet their meet their needs and solve their problems; Execute these planes with a maximum reliance upon community recourses; and supplement these resources when necessary with services and material from governmental and nongovernmental agencies outside the community” (lee. J, 1970).

J.D.Mezirow sees the community development process as a planned and organized effort to assist individual to aquaria attitudes, skills, and concepts required for their democratic participation in the effective solution of as wide as possible a range of community problem in an order of priority determined by their increasing levels of competence.

A UNITED NATIONS, (1956) definition gives the national government major importance: “The process by which the efforts of the people themselves are united whit those of governmental authorities to improve the economic, social and cultural condition of communities, to integrate these communities in to the life of the nation, and to enable them to contribute fully to national progress”. 

Frank H. Sehnert, after analyzing many definition of community development, decide to view it “as a process for changing communities toward desired goals. Included in this process are study, training, education, planning, organization, and action that bring about the cognitive purposeful change toward the community goal.

Community development as a method:

CD as a method which puts emphasis on both the process and objectives, is a means to an end; a way of working so that some goal is attained. Sanders suggests that those who subscribe to CD as a method apply centrally advised programs which are inevitably less attentive to the needs of each community than may be desirable, especially if one is to subscribe to the ethos of community self-determination (Sabran, 2003: 6). Some view community development as a means to an end, a way of working so that some goal is attained. Other methods ( such as change by degree or fiat; by use of differential rewards; by formal education) may be supplementary to the community development method, which seek t carry thought stages suggested under process in order that the will of those using this method ( national government, privet welfare agency, or local people themselves) may be carried out. The process is guided for a particular purpose, which may prove “harmful” or “helpful” to the local community, depending upon the goal in view and the criteria of the one passing judgment. The emphasis is upon some end. Central planners, economic developers, and these representing some one professional field may look upon community development in terms of whether it will or will not help them achieve the concrete, material goals they have in mind. In the literature, of course, the terms process and method are often used interchangeably (lee,j 1970).

While still considering community development as a process, Howard McCcluskey thinks of it also in terms of method, as “the induction and educational management of that kind of interaction between the community and people which leads to the improvement of both”. It is “a method of teaching adults the use of timing the sequence of activities in bringing a project through successive stages to an acceptable closure”

Community development as a benefit:

 In CD as a benefit people just receive services and they don’t involvement. In CD as benefit we can just achieve benefit sharing. In CD as a benefit governments and agencies related to government have power and they can control on services. When we consider on CD as process more focus is on people and people’s involvement is very high, in CD as a method people are active but people’s involvement is less than to process. And in benefit, people don’t have involvement. CD as benefit is end and there isn’t mean for people that achieve something, like participation or empowerment. In CD as benefit government and sponsors prepare services for people, for example services such as: housing construction, agriculture, education, industrial, urban services and …, people don’t have any participation in establish or generating these affairs, and control on the services is by government. If we consider levels of participation as a ladder, the ladder has five rungs each corresponding to a different level of participation, which is, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and benefit sharing. The range at the bottom of the ladder is the ones with least citizen participation or “nonparticipation”. It is CD as a benefit, in this level we focus on CD as a product and we can just achieve benefit sharing. Process is in highest level, and people have participation, and people (termed) equivalent to “citizen power”.

    Through the process, people get empowerment. They learn the skills and knowledge, and learn about leadership, self-confidence and they get involvement in decision making. CD as a method is a mean, if people don’t use CD as a method, they don’t involve in CD and they lose their empowerment. And if we just focus a CD as an outcome/benefit we can just achieve “benefit sharing”.

Conclusion

Community development has been defined as a process of working with communities, in an environment that advocates the full and active participation of all community members, to assist their members to find plausible solutions to the problems they have identified and in order that indigenous people understand and acquire skills to develop culturally-appropriate programs and services for their communities (Smith, 2003: 5). People know what is best for themselves and communities.

Reference:

 

1-       Lee j. Cary “community as a process”. 1970. Page: 18 to 30.

2-       J.D. Mezirow, “community development as an educational process” international review of community development, No.5 (1960), 137-8.

3-       Frank H. sehnert, “A Functional framework for action process in community development” (Carbondale: department of community development, southern Illinois university, 1961.mimeographed).

4-       United state Government, international Cooperation Administration, community development guidelines, Airgram Circular, October 27, 1956(Washington, D.C:1956).

5-       Howard Mc Cluskey “community development” in Handbook of adult education in united states, Malcolm S. Knowles, ed.(Chicago: association of the U,S,A,1960),416-20.

6-       Smith, D., Pyett, P., Clelland N., McCarthy L., Whiteside M., Tsey, K., O’Donoghue,L and Elderton, c. (2003). Community development and empowerment: A review of interventions to improve Aboriginal health, www.faess.jcu.edu.au.

7-       Sabran, Mohammad Shatar. (2003). An introduction to community development and leadership. University Putra Malaysia Press.

8-       Bullen, Paul. (2007). Community development models and language. www.mapl.com.au/ideas/blog2.htm