Community Economic Development

1
Community Economic Development

• Why it is important to
• Ukraine
• Presentation Kiev September 27-28, 2005

2
What CED is Not

• A Panacea
• Will not necessarily reopen closed enterprises
• Not a new concept
• Nor a simple solution
• Not a quick fix
• Wont in and by itself revolutionize an economy
  in the short term
• Wont be easy or without challenges

3

• WHAT IS COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (CED)?
• Community Economic Development (CED) involves
  the mobilization of community residents and
  resources to take charge of their own social,
• cultural and community economic development.
• It involves a focus on the people of the
  community and building up their capacity through
  Community Capacity Building (CCB) to take charge
  of their own development.

4
CED Expanding Boundaries

• Whats traditional
• Peoples capabilities
• Peoples knowledge
• Rules and laws
• Whats believable
• (When people become empowered they take their own
  power)

5
Community Economic Development
Economic Development
and

• holistic approach to development
• entrepreneurial attitude and a more proactive
  basis of activity by local people themselves
• Focus on social aspects of community (education,
  local and life skills, and supportive
  environment)
• local resources, rather than needs, become
  fundamental to the economic wellbeing of a
  community
• culture and heritage critical elements in
  understanding these resources and their
  potential.
• people aware of their own resources and
  opportunities and the environment (both internal
  and external) which influences development
• Turning recognized opportunities into economic
  and community benefit.

• focus on business - attraction, support and
  retention
• job creation focus without consideration of
  costs, environmental impacts or quality of life
  factors
• Support for business critical and jobs and profit
  are the primary outcome.

6
Two Fundamentals of CED

• First you have to trust and learn to work
  together
• Then capacity has to be built before people can
  handle many things
• (A young women in Brazil)

7
CED Principles

• A principle is a statement of fundamental truth.
  It describes the nature of things as they are,
  what is basic or essential what works and what
  doesn't, what must be included and what can be
  neglected

8
The CED Process

• Building a team
• Building community identity
• Analyzing and communicating information
• Creating and reinforcing an entrepreneurial
  culture
• Placing a substantial emphasis on human resources
• Planning and managing development
• Acting with limited financial resources but lots
  of human capital

9
WHY it is CED Important? To have Stable and
Secure Communities

• With economic and social balance
• Where people are active and involved
• With varied organizations providing support
• Which produces many of its own goods and services
• Where locally developed solutions are created
• Where development is a continuous and ongoing
  process

10
Requirements for a Stable and Secure Community

• Good leadership with community involvement
• Willingness by people to participate and support
• Knowledge, understanding and appreciation of
  history and culture
• Appreciation for the positive aspects of this
  history and wisdom from the mistakes
• Pride and inspiration from their place
• A sense of hope for the future
• Trust, openness, collaboration and consensus
  among Local Government, Business, NGOs, etc.

11
Why Communities are not Stable or Secure

• Out migration because of lack of good jobs
• Lack of access to goods and services
• Political non-stability because of little
  direction, long term vision or realistic
  expectations
• Centralization of power leading to little
  understanding of local issues and constraints
• Little understanding of real rights and
  responsibilities
• Lack of ability to initiate legal reforms for the
  betterment of life
• Lack of harmonious relationship between people
  and local government

12
CED Creating a Stable and Secure Community

• Provides people with information and knowledge
• Identifies needs, resources and opportunities
• Develops a process of balancing needs and
  resources encompassing a future vision
• Identifies leaders and assists with their
  knowledge development
• Creates the basis of community organization to
  utilize and transfer knowledge to everyone
• Provides examples from other communities for
  local people to follow
• Assists people to be open to new ideas, concepts
  and ways and means to create legislative changes
• Provides awareness, education and confidence
  (knowledge pushes progress)
• Provides a basis for continuous support
• Helps develop an entrepreneurial attitude

13
The Instruments of CED

• Locally created CED organization(s)
• Volunteers organized around issues and
  opportunities
• Independent advisors who can help these
  volunteers (supported by local council and
  others)
• Partnerships (between local council, local
  organizations and others national and
  international)
• Training activities and opportunities to share
  knowledge
• Activities, projects and enterprises developed by
  people

14
Challenges

• Lack of understanding of the concept of CED and
  its possibilities
• Getting people involved
• Building consensus around local issues
• Convincing people that change is possible
• Continuous and appropriate motivation for the
  long term
• Identifying leaders to whom people relate and
  trust
• Identifying and valuing the concept of community
• Assisting people cope with the enormity of their
  current situation due to change
• Appreciating that the state and government belong
  to people thus they have a fundamental role in
  its direction and well being

15
New Economies New approaches

• Based on local assets and resources
• Founded in local knowledge, skills and talents
• Built on the basis of history, heritage and
  culture
• Entails an appreciation for all aspects of
  community (social, economic, environment and
  spiritual)
• Encourages and supports entrepreneurship

16
Three Stages

• Planning
• Planning has to happen with and by the
  communities
• Learning
• People need to learn new skills and knowledge
  for this economic transformation to happen
• Infrastructure
• Target projects that develop the necessary
  infrastructure for economic diversification

17
Community Capacity Building (CCB)

• Capacity Building is a continuous process
  required to foster the appropriate local
  leadership that allows communities, through their
  members, to take responsibility for their own
  development

18
CCB is about

• People (raising awareness of themselves and
  others in the community and internal and external
  influences)
• Rallying and mobilizing
• Building from the inside
• Identifying leaders
• Constructing an appropriate vision
• Opportunities and a vehicle to build bridges (to
  resources)
• A dynamic and constantly flowing process

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Ingredients of CCB

• People , opportunities and participation
• Communications and networking
• Leadership (and its development)
• Perseverance , patience and focus
• Motivation and positive feedback
• Instilling the desire to be involved and take
  control
• Developing an open and transparent process
• Developing a culture of consensus
• The creation of a common focus and vision
• Community ownership and a realistic plan
• Educate, educate, educate

20
CED Increases in Canada

• One third of its communities are in decline and
  unstable
• Out migration (especially among young and well
  educated)
• Industries are closing
• Small family farms are facing bankruptcy
• The fisheries in many areas has collapsed
• 25 of recent and well educated immigrants are
  underemployed or unemployed
• Many survive on Government Benefit
• People feel less secure

21
Why Communities are not Stable or Secure

• Out migration because of lack of good jobs
• Lack of access to goods and services
• Political non-stability because of little
  direction, long term vision or realistic
  expectations
• Centralization of power leading to little
  understanding of local issues and constraints
• Little understanding of real rights and
  responsibilities
• Lack of ability to initiate legal reforms for the
  betterment of life
• Lack of harmonious relationship between people
  and local government

22
Some Questions For You

• What are the most valued elements of life here?
• How should the economy be developed to protect
  and preserve these values?
• What assets and resources are available?
• What opportunities are evident?
• How should these be developed?
• What are the challenges?
• What should CED look like?
• What are the next steps?

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Personal Readiness

• Personal Qualities
• Patience/
• Understanding
• Empathy/Sympathy
• Respect
• Humility/Kindness
• Tenderness/Tenacity

• Skills
• Listening
• Facilitating
• Research/Analysis
• Multi-Tasking

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Community Readiness

• Belief and pride in community
• Willingness to participate
• An understanding of community and its development
• A means for communications and awareness building
• Supportive local organizations, local government
  and businesses
• The foundation (core) for a community development
  organization

25
Volunteerism

• Volunteers play a key role in socializing our
  children and passing along our culture
• Volunteers play a key role in developing our work
  force and building a strong economy
• Volunteers are an important part of the social
  glue of the community
• Volunteer groups provide many of the key social
  structures in the community
• In isolated communities Volunteers are often the
  main resource for services
• (from Valuing Rural Volunteers Toolkit)

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Volunteerism Why its important

• Builds a sense of community spirit
• Helps to create self confidence
• Builds commitment
• Opens communications and dialogue
• Promotes involvement
• Builds awareness
• Provides institutional structures
• (They are the foundations of social capital)

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Volunteerism Canadian Statistics

• There are 6.5 million volunteers over 15 (25 of
  population)
• Volunteer activity accounts for 6.8 of the GDP
• Employs 12 of the economic active population
• Has the second largest volunteer base in the
  world
• Relies on more paid employees than Sweden,
  Norway, UK and US
• Service activities are the prominent feature
  (i.e. education, health and housing)

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Learning Needs Assessment

• A review of many CED training Programs
• An approach based on Knowledge and skills
• Thirteen themes of learning identified
• Requires varying levels of knowledge and skills
• The basis for individual assessment
• A foundation for participatory learning

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Communications

• Effective communications lies at the heart of
  Community Capacity Building and a Community
  Economic Development process.
• Good communications is the most critical
  element of the process.

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Why Communicate

• To keep people informed
• To build awareness
• To share ideas and suggestions
• To offer and share opinions
• To provide more focus
• To be inclusive
• To be transparent

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A Community Message

• Everyone should hear the same thing
• The message should be simple, direct and
  understandable
• There has to be an implicit simple focus and
  vision
• Everyone who delivers the message should have a
  common perspective
• There has to be convergence between the needs of
  the senders and receivers of information
• The message should be relevant
• There has to be coherency among all
  communications

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Communications Tools

• Media (radio, tv, newspapers, etc.)
• Newsletters
• Letters and mail-outs
• Posters and bulletin boards
• Telephone campaigns
• Public announcements
• Organizational meetings
• Local discussions (gossip)
• Organizational/church bulletins

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Why an Information Base

• To understand and appreciate the community, its
  assets, desires and potential
• To inform the community of its wealth (i.e.
  people, history, heritage, resources, etc.)
• To identify and link resources and opportunities
• To identify, analyze issues and to refine
  priorities
• To identify the values and key assets that will
  drive the communitys development
• To assist people interpret and appreciate their
  priorities

34
Base Line Data Gathering

• Community Resources/Attributes
• Business/Industry
• Demographics
• Culture/History
• Organizations
• Activities/Events

35
Knowing Your Community

• Demographics and socio/economic Characteristics
• History
• Traditions and culture
• Community needs and desires
• An inventory of the communitys capacity
• Key leaders
• Key players and their relationships
• Community resources
• The economic base
• Community infrastructure
• State of community communications

36
Participation

• Participation is the active engagement of the
  minds, hearts and energy of people in the process
  of their own healing and development. Because of
  the nature of what development really is, unless
  there is meaningful and effective participation,
  there is no development. (Judie Bopp PhD)

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Why Participation

• The issues are everyones
• Provides people new ideas and insights
• People identify with problems
• Provides a collective voice to governments
• People have input and feel ownership
• Provides access to people resources
• Builds local capacity and confidence
• Brings the community together
• Builds commitment
• Educational for all

38
Citizen Control
Citizen Control
Citizen Power
Delegated Power
Partnership
Consultation
Tokenism
Informing
Placation
Manipulation
Non Participation
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Engaging People

• Individual discussions
• Small group meetings (Kitchen Table)
• Themed meetings around common interests
• Local forums
• Contests (awareness raising)
• Mural creation
• Learning sessions (i.e. workshops)
• Social events/activities
• Celebrations

40
Participatory Information Challenges

• Gaining an understanding of existing the social
  and cultural climate
• Motivating people and tapping into their passions
• Knowing critical issues and establishing a base
  of interest
• Creating an environment whereby people feel
  comfortable sharing
• Providing varied opportunities for people to
  contribute
• Helping people appreciate their talents and the
  role they can play

41
Building a Strong CED Organization

• Mobilize key people in the community
• Build a strong organizational base
• Develop a vision and strategic goals
• Identify the leaders in the group/community
• Start small and build over time

42
CED Organization Functions

• Information
• Participation/Integration
• Planning
• Action
• Evaluation
• Sustainability

43
CED Organizational Activities

• Facilitate community planning
• Training/education/capacity building
• Identify resources (local/external)
• Promotion (community/opportunities)
• Support to business
• Entrepreneurial development
• Building partnerships
• Research
• Advocacy

44
Organizational Challenges

• There is a need for appropriate and realistic
  governance
• There is a disconnect between some associations
  and groups with respect to their communities
• There is a complexity of bureaucratic processes
  to reform flawed or outdated legislation
• Recognition of local groups who today are very
  important voices for their regions (they organize
  themselves)
• The necessity to ensure and understand process
  as a living, moving entity which creates
  friction, tension and conflict both necessary
  and natural and a balancing mechanism

45
Community Planning

• A means to define a bigger picture for people to
  see and believe
• Helps people to identify their own knowledge and
  skills
• Analyzes, calculates and defines priorities
• Is not a straight line process
• Is about compromise and concensus

46
One Communities View

• Gives direction
• Increases possibilities
• Simplifies tasks
• Is a learning tool
• Is a monitoring tool

47
Planning Cycles
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Operation Planning of Core Group
Communitys activities
Authoritys activities
C O R E G R O U P O F T H E P R O J E C T
Strengthening
? P E R A T I O N A L P L A N
S U S T A I N A B L E C O M M U N I T Y

Communitys goals
Capacity Building
Applied Learning
Sustainability
Businesss activities
Others activities
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CED Ukraine Project
S U S T A I N A B L E C O M M U N I T Y

P A R T I C I P A T I O N

• Project objectives
• Support and strengthen
• local community development
• associations and
• community-based ventures
• 2. Build a support base for CED
• initiatives in higher educational
• institutions
• 3. Carry out replicable community
• economic and social micro-projects
• within participating communities

• Strengthening

Capacity Building
Applied Learning
Sustainability
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An Entrepreneurial Approach to CED

• A twelve step guide to a community planning
  process
• An eleven step guide to enterprise realization

51
Tools for Community Planning

• Planning for Real
• Community Mapping
• Visioning Exercises
• Baseline Data Gathering/Benchmarking

52
Community Mapping

• A very useful tool to analyze and display
  information
• Correlates people to geography, services and
  opportunities
• Defines a strategic point in time
• A process of discovery
• A communications tool
• A step by step pathway
• An interpretation instrument for analysis and
  priority setting

53
Why Evaluate

• To determine progress towards overall goals,
  objectives and activities
• To ensure everyone is doing what they agreed to
  do
• To evaluate the effectiveness of activities and
  achieving project aims
• To evaluate everyones role, participation,
  effectiveness and contribution

54
Participatory Evaluation

• Creates a learning environment to better
  appreciate a plan and its activities
• A means to educate those involved ob specific
  details
• Ensures meaningful roles, values contributions
  and creates ownership
• Provides opportunity to explore adjustments to
  direction and activities
• Identifies individuals, Groups and Organizations
  not reaching their full potential and support
  required
• Allows introduction of new tools and techniques
  that might be beneficial

55
Participatory Evaluation

• Requires an understanding of the plan
• Requires a willingness by participants to be open
  and honest
• Requires open dialogue

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Accreditation Document

• DIMENSIONS
• Participation
• Representation
• Communications
• Culture Values
• Decentralized Leadership
• Actions and Performance
• Organization
• Partnership
• Sustainability

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Sustainability
58
Sustainability

• Sustainability is about knowing who we are, what
  we have, what we can do and who can and will help
  us. Most importantly, it requires having the
  patience to build the local understanding of what
  can be done, all the while maintaining a (dream)
  vision.

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People and Sustainability

• Sustainability is a process
• At the centre of all efforts for sustainable
  development are people
• Solutions are often developed for people not with
  people
• There is an increasing recognized importance of
  the cultural dimension of sustainability
• Space and place plays an important role in the
  meetings and cultural gatherings
• There is a need to build appreciation for the
  value of culture and heritage
• Preservation of culture and history are tools for
  sustainability and co-existence
• Culture may be the main factor complicating
  sustainability