LESSON 1-2 CORE VALUES AND PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNITY ACTION INITIATIVES

Community action is any activity that increases the understanding, engagement, and empowerment of communities in
the design and delivery of local services. It is about putting communities at the heart of their own local services which
involves helping the community to share, knowledge, skills and ideas. Community action involves the different core
values and principles which include human rights, social equality, gender equality, and participatory development.

Human rights are universal and inalienable in nature, which means all people around the globe are entitled to these
rights. According to Nickel (1992), "they exist and are available standards of justification and criticism whether or not
they are recognized or implemented by the legal system or officials of a country." Hence, these aim to identify the basis
for determining the shape, content, and scope of fundamental public norms. For example, human rights involve the three
basic rights- right to life, right to liberty, and right to property. Right to Life is a moral principle based on the belief that a
human being has the right to live and in a particular should not be killed by another human being. Example Abortion,
every baby deserved to live they have also a heartbeat. Right to Liberty is the right of all persons to freedom of their
person - freedom of movement and freedom from arbitrary detentions of others. Liberty may be deprived in terms of
administrative authorities wherein it is necessary as in the case of mentally disturbed persons. During state of emergency
or of disarray, right to liberty may legally be limited while intending to preserve life. And lastly Right to property or right
to own property is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their possessions. A general recognition
of a right to private property is found more rarely and is typically heavily constrained insofar as property is owned by
legal persons and where it is used for production rather than consumption. Example slavery and the exploitation of others.

Another principle of action involves social equity. Social equity is defined as the equality and fairness in terms of the
treatment of human beings, access to resources, and life chances. According to Global Issues Pilot Team ( 2011), social
justice is "a societal value which guides human interaction and in particular, the fair distribution of society's benefits,
advantages, and assets, not just by law and in the courts by all aspects of society." This involves the fairness in
distributing financial aids to the needy and impoverished. Here is an example of a scenario in showing social equity.
Gender equality, also known as sexual equity, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities
regardless of gender. It includes the state of valuing different behaviors, and aspirations. Example of this is the existence
of gendered comfort room.
Participatory development is also included in the principles of action. As to the definition of Tekman et al. 2012,
participatory development elicits the involvement of local population in creating policies and in planning, implementing,
monitoring, and evaluating development programs and projects that are designed to empower and help people make
effective choices. One concrete example of participatory development is the attendance and participation of the
community during meetings and assemblies.
EMPOWERMENT AND ADVOCACY OF COMMUNITY ACTION INITIATIVES
Empowerment is a capacity of individuals to make choices that can produce the desired changes in their social,
economic, and political lives. It is important that people be empowered so that they will not be depending on others for
charity. Empowerment, in varying degrees, also involves the interplay between the agency and the opportunity structure.
Furthermore, empowerment encompasses 1) having the ability to make one’s own decisions; to control, to gain further
control, to fight for one’s rights, and to say something and be listened to; and 2) being free, independent, recognized and
accepted as equal citizens, who can make a difference (WHO 2010).
These are the strategies of empowerment:
 self-confidence, positivity
 meditation,
 the people around you and priorities.
Advocacy, on the other hand, involves fighting for the rights of others and having their concerns addressed by targeting
people in position of power. It is an act of supporting a cause.
There are three types of advocates:
1. Systems advocacy - focuses on effort that shall change policies at the local, national, or international levels so that
lasting changes will be brought to the lives of groups or individuals who share similar problems.
2. Individual advocacy - focuses on efforts that will change the situation of an individual and protect his or her right.
3. Self-advocacy - focuses on strengthening an individual’s ability to communicate with other people and at the same time
persuading and convincing the individual to address his or her own needs and rights.
ADVOCACY STRATEGIES:
► Raising public awareness
► Use the media
► Eight questions that will guide your advocacy strategy
► Remember the relationship between online and offline activities.
► Consider the impact.
► Ensure your action step is front and center.
► Contact in the best way possible.
► Keep your friends close.
► Be crystal clear.
► Continuously grow your supporter list

LESSON 3-4: IMPORTANCE OF COMMITMENT AND ACTION IN PARTICIPATORY DEVELOPMENT FOR

COMMUNITY WELL-BEING
COMMITMENT- It entails dedication, ability to work hard and bear infinite fortitude. Staying committed to your goal is
one of the most fundamental principles of success.
PARTICIPATORY DEVELOPMENT- In addressing the importance of participatory development, it states that
stimulating productive energies of people in productive processes, and a more equitable sharing of their benefits, must
become more central elements in development strategies and development.
COMMUNITY WELL-BEING- is the combination of social, economic, environmental, cultural, and political
conditions identified by individuals and their communities as essential for them to flourish and fulfill their potential.
FOUR DIMENSIONS OF WELLNESS
1. Spiritual Wellness- Is that force that drives us to make sacrifices for others, our nation, and the greater good. It may
come from religious faith, heritage, experience within our community, influence of role models, or other sources
inspiration.

2. Emotional Wellness- Refers to building an awareness of and accepting one’s feelings and moods. It includes finding
ways to encourage positive thinking and acceptance of oneself.
3. Physical Wellness- Includes expanding your knowledge about your lifestyle and how food, good nutrition and physical
activity can be an integral part of your lifestyle.
4. Social Wellness- Entails being cognizant of the impact you and your actions have on your community, the society and
nature.
METHODOLOGIES AND APPROACHES IN COMMUNITY ACTION- will help you understand the purpose of
each phase and its implication to the society such as partnership and how it promotes development to the community as a
whole.

PHASES OF COMMUNITY ACTION

  Establishing links and partnership building with local groups
 Community profiling
 Needs and resource assessment
 Participatory action planning and leadership development
 Resource mobilization
 Plan implementation
 Monitoring and evaluation
LESSON 5-6: SYSTEMATIC METHODS OF COMMUNITY ACTION IN UNDERSTANDING COMMUNITY

Community action is an alternative research method that uses the community as the unit of analysis. This approach
forges research alliances with relevant stakeholders in the community explore and develop solutions to local problems.
Community action includes a broader range of activities and is sometimes describe as ‘social action’ or ‘community
engagement’ that increases the understanding, engagement and empowerment of communities in the design and delivery
of local services including:
 Building community and social capacity-helping the community to share skills and ideas.
 Community resilience-helping the community to support itself.
 Prevention- a focus on early access to services or support, engagement in design, cross-sector collaboration and
partnerships.
 Maintaining and creating wealth- for example helping people into employment or developing community
enterprise.
THIS TOOLKIT PROVIDES GUIDANCE FOR CONDUCTING ASSESSMENTS OF COMMUNITY NEEDS AND
RESOURCES.
1. Describe the makeup and history of the community to provide a context within which to collect data on its current
concerns.
A. Comment on the types of information that best describes the community
 demographic,
 Historical,
 Political
 civic participation
 key leaders
 past concerns
 Geographic
B. Describe the sources of information used
 Assets
 public records
 local people
 internet
 Maps
 phone book
 Library
 Newspaper
C. Comment on whether there are sufficient resources available to collect this information
 Time
 Personnel
 Resources
D. Assess the quality of the information
E. Describe the strengths and problems you heard about
2. Describe what matters to people in the community, including a description of:
A. Issues that people in the community care about
 Safety
 Education
 Housing
 Health
B. How important these issues are to the community?
 perceived importance
 consequences for the community
C. Methods the group will (did) use to listen to the community
 listening sessions
 public forums
 interviews
 concerns surveys
 focus groups
3. Describe what matters to key stakeholders, including:
A. Who else cares about the issue (the stakeholders) and what do they care about?
B. What stakeholders want to know about the situation
 who is affected?
 how many
 what factors contribute to the problem
C. Prioritized populations and subgroups that stakeholders intend to benefit from the effort
D. Methods you will (did) use to gather information
 surveys
 interviews
4. (For each candidate problem/goal) Describe the evidence indicating whether the problem/goal should be a priority
issue, including:
A. The community-level indicators (e.g., rate of infant deaths or vehicle crashes) related to the issue
B. How frequently the problem (or related behavior) occurs (e.g., number of youth reporting alcohol use in the past 30
days)
C. How many people are affected by the problem and the severity of its effects
D. How feasible it is to address the issue
E. Possible impact and/or consequences of addressing the problem/goal
5. Describe the barriers and resources for addressing the identified issue(s), including:
A. Barriers or resistance to solving the problem or achieving the goal (e.g., denial or discounting of the problem) and how
they can be minimized (e.g., reframing the issue).
B. What resources and assets are available and how the group can tap into the resources to address the issue?
C. Community context or situation that might make it easier or more difficult to address this issue.

In Participatory action planning it is grounded in the belief that blending local knowledge and expert knowledge leads to
strong outcomes.
Here are the steps how we implement participatory action planning:

 Launch- establish a partnership with local stakeholders and lay out an action plan.
 Understand- Create a diagnostic portrait of the use of public space.
 Explore- Identify design scenarios that will meet needs and resolve issues.
 Decide- with the various stakeholders, validate and improve upon the developed solutions.
 Act- implement the design solutions and advocate for citizen vision.
 Inaugurate- celebrate the project’s accomplishment

COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN

A community action plan is a road map for implementing community change by identifying and specifying
• WHAT will be done,
• Who will do it
• HOW it will be done.
LESSON 7-8: PLAN USING PARTICIPATORY APPROACH
Participatory planning process - one in which all the stakeholders are involved - is often the most effective and
inclusive way to plan a community intervention. A participatory process provides community ownership and support of
the intervention; information about community history, politics, and past mistakes; and respect and a voice for everyone.
It also takes time, care, mutual respect, and commitment.
EXAMPLES OF PARTICIPATORY APPROACHES
1. Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA). RRAs were designed to collect first-hand data from the local people about their
perceptions of their local environments and living conditions in rural areas. RRAs were usually conducted as 1-3 days
workshops with villagers in the field and facilitated by small teams of RRA specialists or researchers. RRA methods were
specifically adapted to respond to local conditions.
2. Participatory Rural Appraisals (PRA). PRAs use similar methods and tools as RRA, but the most important
principles in PRA was the sharing of results of analysis, decisions and planning efforts among the community members by
open and public presentation during meetings. PRAs strongly supported and facilitated the introduction of more demand-
responsive ways of managing development interaction, and process-oriented thinking.
EXAMPLES:
• Surveying and sampling
• Focus group discussions
• community mapping etc.
3. Participatory and Integrated Development (PID). In order to overcome the casual application of participatory
methods here and there, PID seeks to include workshops and their results in a broader, long-term frame of
institutionalized activities.
IMPLEMENT COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN
The implementation of the community-action plan serves as the terminal satisfaction of the discipline. It focuses on the
engagement of the students in a real community in contrast with the classroom discussion of theories and assumptions.
Students are expected to immerse themselves as guided by the core values of:
• human right
• social justice
• empowerment and advocacy
• gender equality
• participatory development.
COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN THAT APPLIED THE METHODS OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Planning is essential and strategic for any organization. With planning, organizations and communities become reflexive,
dynamic, responsive, and systematic in achieving their vision
Community action refers to the collective efforts done by the people directed toward addressing social problems
examples:
 social inequalities
 environmental degradation
 poverty
Community engagement refers to the process of developing partnerships and sustaining relationships with and through
groups of people affiliated by geographic proximity or common interests for the purpose of working for the common good
and of addressing issues that affect their well-being.
COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN- The community action plan is one of the participatory tools used to build the capacity
of community members in taking action in accordance with the problems, needs, and potential of the community.
Social Science research is fueled by the desire to find out what makes people tick. There are several diverse fields that
comprise the Social Sciences, including anthropology, economics, sociology, and psychology. Social scientists use a
range of methods in order to examine the phenomena that relate to their field, and the different methods in carrying out
social science research often form the foundation for research in other linked disciplines as well, such as political science,
market research, and media studies.
THERE ARE TWO BROAD PRIMARY CATEGORIES THAT COMPRISE SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH.
Quantitative Design category most often rely on statistical analysis, such as the analysis of numerical data to establish a
hypothesis that is provable by mathematical or statistical means. Experiments use a standard format to generate a
hypothesis, provable by mathematical and statistical methods. Qualitative Design rely on direct observation or
communication with the participants or the analysis of words, objects, or artifacts. These are methods to study the
behavior and habits of the participants.
Quantitative Design Methods
 Experimental - This can be understood as the manipulation of independent variables in each experiment, in order
to generate statistically analyzable data which can be easily understood, such as interpreting a census or an FBI
national crime report. The analysis of this type of statistical study can be best applied when social scientists
attempt to explain the voting habits of citizens in high crime areas, for example.
 Sampling - This is information gathering such as through surveys, opinion polling, questionnaires, or focus
groups.
Qualitative Design Methods
 Observational - This is the observation of phenomena with a minimum of interference, such as case studies or
key informant interviews.
 Historical - This includes the researching of historical records such as birth certificates and death certificates or
the collection of data through documentation of primary sources, secondary sources, running records, and
recollections.
 Photographs, videos, sound recordings - This is the collection and assembling of visual and audible artifacts,
such as old family photos, videos, films of war scenes, or audio memoirs and testaments.