CODE4105: COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
MANAGEMENT
The concept of Community
Development Planning
THE CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
PLANNING
In this topic we will focus on:
• Defining
a. Community
b. Community Development Planning
c. Community Development Plan
d. Development Plan
• Who can draw community development plan
• Why is it important to have Community Development
Planning and management
COMMUNITY
• Refers to geographically defined group of
individuals united by a social identity,
territory or common interest.
• A Community is understood as a
population that are united by a certain
identity, territory, or common interest that
it wants and is prepared to make positive
changes to the area they belong to.
WHAT IS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
PLANNING
• Community development planning
refers to the formulation of vision,
objectives and actions to achieve
social, economic, environmental
sustainability and provides a guides
community for future community
development
• Community development plan – refers
to a plan detailing the current and future
development of the community (at
grassroots level), as well as a form of
public participation in the development of
the territory.
• Development plan – is a document
describing problems and providing
solutions, assessing the potential impacts
of those solutions, setting targets and
results to be achieved in the relevant
policy area, and planning further action
Community development planning is
understood in two ways:
I. Physically as spatial infrastructure
planning
II. Social process, where the community
development plan is the result of a
community-based vision surrounding
the future of its territory and the
necessary actions to achieve it
WHO CAN DRAW A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
PLAN ?
‘If you want to know how the shoe fits, ask the person who is wearing it, not the
one who made it.” Nick Wates
WHO CAN DRAW A DEVELOPMENT PLAN?
1. A community Development plan can be
developed by a city population group or
community that wants to organize and
develop a specific part of the city i.e. a
church, PTA committees, group of people
living in a certain locality.
2. Local authorities and their
representatives.
3. Central government authorities i.e.,
hospitals and schools in Malawi.
Why is it important to have Community
Development Planning and Management
1. Provide opportunity for citizens to contribute to
the development of their place of residence
2. Bring knowledge and commitment from
community into the planning process.
3. It is instrument of expressing the interests and
needs of communities to the authorities in a
reasoned and concentrated manner.
4. It’s also a basis for implementing local
initiatives.
5. It brings a sense of belonging to their
place of residence.
• Involvement in the growth contributes to a
greater feeling of community.
6. Helps understand management
processes and the importance of such
processes.
Why should the community get involved in
planning?
1. Addition resources
Governments rarely have sufficient means
to solve all the problems in an area.
Local people can bring additional resources
which are often essential if their needs are
to be met.
2. Better decisions: Local people are
involved because they are the best source of
3 Building community working together to
achieving things together creates a sense of
community.
4 Compliance with legislation Community
involvement is a statutory requirement.
5 Democratic credibility
Community involvement in planning accords
with people’s right to participate in decisions
that affect their lives.
6 Easier to fundraise
• Many grant-making organizations prefer
community involvement to have occurred
before handing out financial assistance.
7 Empowerment
• Builds local people’s confidence,
capabilities, skills and ability to co-
operate.
• This enables them to tackle challenges,
both individually and collectively.
8. More appropriate results
Community designed solutions are more likely to be
in tune with what is needed and wanted.
Involvement allows proposals to be tested and
refined before adoption, resulting in better use of
resources.
9 Professional education
Working closely with local people helps
professionals gain a greater insight into the
communities they seek to serve.
Hence, they work more effectively and produce
better results.
10 Responsive environment
The environment can more easily be
constantly tuned and refined to cater for
people’s changing requirements.
11 Satisfying public demand
People want to be involved in shaping
their environment and mostly seem to
enjoy it.
12. Speedier development
People gain a better understanding of the
options realistically available and are likely to
start thinking positively rather than negatively.
Time-wasting conflicts can often be avoided.
13 Sustainability
People feel more attached to an environment
they have helped create. They will therefore
manage and maintain it better, reducing the
likelihood of vandalism, neglect and subsequent
need for costly replacement.
What is Management?
• is the coordination and administration of tasks to
achieve set goals.
• Such administration activities include setting the
community’s strategy and coordinating the
members in order to accomplish the objectives, in
this case which is community development
planning through the application of available
resources.
• When developing community development plan,
Community development professional should be
in touch with senior structure of community such
as chiefs.
• Sometimes community development
professionals may play the role of a facilitator
while letting community members take the
lead in actual drawing of the plan
• Your role as a community development
professional, is just to help communities
achieve the goals.
• To perform this role, you need to have a set
of skills which should also be urged among
community members such as
communication, organization and leadership.
COMMUNICATION
Follow proper channels of
communication
Look for avenues that reach the hard
to reach—those with limited English or
on a lower socioeconomic level, etc.
Communications should be two-way
i.e., ask people for input and act upon
what is submitted.
• Know the language of the local
communities.
• Listen to their aspirations and incorporate
them into the plans.
ORGANISATION
Community development professional
should be able to coordinate community
members towards planning.
Distribute tasks to community members.
PRINCIPLES OF GOOD PLANNING AND
MANAGEMENT
1. Principle of Flexibility
• Plans should be flexible meaning change
according to the needs.
• Flexible plans may be revised, in accordance
with the change requirements and so that losses
may be averted.
• planning should be such which may be changed
and revised, according to the circumstances.
This principle is used for long-term planning.
2. PRINCIPLE OF COMMITMENT
• This principle determines the ‘Time
period‘ of planning.
• According to this principle, community
members should be committed to
take part in planning activities by
arriving on time at the planning
venue.
• Community members should actively
take part in the planning process.
4. Principle of Contribution to
Objectives
• Each community Development has
predetermined objectives and goals.
• According to this principle, every plan
and sub-plan should make positive
contribution towards achieving the
objectives and goals of the Development
Planning Document.
5. Principle of Planning Promises
• It explains that the planning is for the
future and that some assumptions should
be fulfilled.
• For instance, while formulating plans,
complete, clear and reliable knowledge
should be collected, and forecasts should
be done.
6. Principle of Efficiency
• It explains that when planning in CD,
maximum results should be obtained from
minimum cost and effort.
7. Principle of Primacy
• Explains that the targets and the goals
are the first activity in planning.
• Without planning, neither other
functions of management get proper
direction, nor their efficiency nor
become possible.
• Hence, planning is the important and
the primary function of management,
on which attention priority should be
paid.
• 8. The principle of Navigation change
• This principle of planning emphasizes on the
fact that just as the sailor is attentive towards
taking his boat to the destination, by paying
regular attention to the speed, direction, and
balance of the boat, each moment.
• Similarly, CD professionals should be attentive
at all levels, listening to beneficiaries at various
stages and making improvement during both
planning and actual implementation.
9. Principle of Pervasiveness
• This principle explains the fact that
planning is a spread over time,
however, it is required that at all levels
of Community Development
management team and community
members should take part.
• Hence, planning should be in
accordance with the needs of all levels
of beneficiaries by including different
stakeholders over time.
10. Principle of Framework
• Policies mean those general principles
which govern the functions of the
organization for the achievement of its
objectives.
• This principle of policy determination
specifies that the policies of the Community
development institution should be
unambiguous, simple, sound and justified,
to make its planning effective.
• Besides, components of planning should
Principle of Cooperation
• This principal emphasis that the
success of planning depends upon the
cooperation of the whole community.
i.e executives, managers, and
subordinates of various levels should
be obtained.
• It is unnecessary hurdles may be
removed to get desired results.
Principle of Competitive Community
Strategies
• Consider what is happening in other
communities.
• Look at what can be learnt from them and
what improvement can you make on your
community development plan.
• In so doing, Your community development
initiative will be update and in line with
changing times.
