Maintain community development practice within own organisation LEGACY
Overview
This standard relates to the need for all organisations involved in community development to integrate the values and processes of community development within their own work.
This standard is relevant to all community development practitioners who support communities in this process.
The community development standards are arranged in six key areas:
• One - Understand and practise community development
• Two - Understand and engage with communities
• Three - Group work and collective action
• Four - Collaboration and cross-sectoral working
• Five - Community learning for social change
• Six - Governance and organisational development
This standard is within Key Area One.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
1 explain the purpose, values and benefits of community development to others in own organisation
2 discuss the relevance of community development processes and approaches to the work of the organisation with colleagues and senior staff
3 support own organisation to ensure that marginalised communities are reached
4 provide information about the different communities within a locality
5 audit own organisation's development needs in relation to supporting community development practice
6 provide opportunities to increase knowledge and skills in community development within own organisation
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
Community development values and processes
1 the benefits of using community development concepts in practice
2 how to challenge inappropriate, non-inclusive and tokenistic approaches to community engagement
3 how inequality and injustice impact on the lives of individuals and communities
4 different perspectives on community empowerment and community engagement
Auditing organisational needs
5 ways to agree organisational needs and priorities
6 how to tailor organisational priorities to meet community needs
Community development's relevance to organisations
7 the range of own organisational policies that may impact on communities
8 how communities are complex and dynamic
9 how to use the learning from communities' experiences for organisational approaches to work
10 the significance of divided or conflicting loyalties to community development and organisational practice
Scope/range
Scope Performance
Scope Knowledge
Values
Community development is underpinned by a set of values which distinguish it from other, sometimes related, activities in the community. These values are at the core of community development and underpin each of the standards. The values are;
1 Social justice and equality
2 Anti-discrimination
3 Community empowerment
4 Collective action
5 Working and learning together
The following examples illustrate how each of the community development values might inform practice in this standard. These statements are not part of assessment requirements.
1 community development values explicitly inform organisational decision making
2 all policies and procedures are proofed against the community development values
3 all approaches to community engagement and involvement are designed to be inclusive and empower those involved
4 the values and process of community development are regularly explored in order to ensure a common and collective understanding within the organisation
5 the skills and knowledge required within the organisation to undertake effective community development are acknowledged and creatively addressed.