Community Development – a shared responsibility

1. Community Development – a shared responsibility Or Straight A’s for Community Development Alan Barr

2. Before we start – a straw poll… • CD is: • the primary function of my role • CD is a secondary element of another role • I am not directly involved in CD • I am paid for the CD work I do • I do my CD work as a volunteer • I see CD as: • a distinct profession/occupation • an approach that many should take • both • I am confident about the future of CD

3. Aspiration Adversity Ambivalence Alliance Anxiety Ambition Ambiguity Achievement Accomplishment Association

4. Adversity and anxiety • Persistence of poverty and inequity • Public expenditure cuts • direct loss of CD posts in public sector • knock on loss of funding to voluntary and community sectors • differential impact on the most vulnerable • Equipment of practitioners • resources for the task • capacity to evidence the case for CD

5. Ambivalence and ambiguity • High profile for CD in public policy • Emergence of new language – co-production? • CD adding value or compensating for cuts that assault the foundations of a welfare state? • But what commitment from and relationship with the state? – naivety, cynicism or genuine and realistic vision? Redesigning or restructuring? • Motivation and competence of the widening range of players apparently espousing CD – necessity or positive choice?

6. Ambivalence and ambiguity • The function of CD: helping communities to organise (not organising the community!) • But for what and for whom? • a universal approach or targeting positive change in disadvantaged communities? • fostering independent communities or colonising social capital? • promoting cohesion and celebrating difference? • recognising diverse responses to needs but sustaining equity?

7. Aspiration and Ambition • Balancing principle and pragmatism in an inherently contradictory context. • What is legitimate adaptation to the conditions in which we find ourselves? • What is non-negotiable? • How can we forge a level of agreement to take forward an increasingly diversely shared responsibility and a potentially new relationship with the state?

8. STRENGTHENED COMMUNITY Community organisation Participation & involvement Personal Development Positive action COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT DIMENSIONS Liveable Sustainable Equitable A shared wealth A caring community A safe community A creative community A citizens’ community QUALITY OF COMMUNITY LIFE DIMENSIONS The ABCD Model A Healthy Community

9. Alliances and associations • Avoiding precious schisms– tribal, ideological, professional/sectoral etc • Clarifying the common denominators of CD. • Maximising available resources • Local and national mechanisms to integrate activity • Locally driven by genuine community led community planning • Nationally by strengthening CDAS as a voice for the potential of CD and a conduit for evidence of its achievements , SCDN as a network for practitioner support

10. Accomplishment and achievement • Accomplished practitioners need to give attention to their own development and be supported to do it • Achieving practitioners need clear vision of the changes they seek and capacity to critically evaluate and analyse performance • Established imperatives have not changed!