Unit : 02

Module 13 : Role of NGO’s in Community Development

programmes

Learning objectives

By the end of this module, you will able to

 Learn about community development
 Understand the types and levels of community participation
 Discern the importance of community participation and engagement with NGOs

A. Community

A community is a social unit with commonality such as place, norms, religion,

values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given
geographical area or in virtual space through communication platforms. Communities
have shared values among themselves. Examples of Communities include:
 Business Communities.
 Caste Communities.
 Countercultural Communities.
 Ethnic Communities.
 Farming Communities.
 Gated Communities.
 Linguistic Communities.
 Tribal Communities etc.
The drivers of change is given in Table 1.
Table 1 Drivers of change in communities
Internal External
Capabilities Customers
Resources Competitors
Inventions Investors
Dissatisfaction Technology
Desire Government

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Community Development
should be - practically oriented, participative, project mode of operation
should focus on - sustainability, social justice, equality in opportunity, power &
resources, human rights, economic well being
Government Departments dealing with Community Development
All the departments in Government, work for the development of the country.
However few departments have more focus on Community Development, either directly
or indirectly. They are - Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Family
Welfare, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry
of Women and Child Development etc
Government organisations Vs non-governmental organisations
Now let us understand the difference between government organisations and non-
governmental organisations (Table 2).
Table 2 Government organisations Vs non-governmental organisations
Sl No Governmental organisation Non-Governmental organisation
1 Public need Personal initiative
2 State interest Group interest
3 Serves mass needs Serves individual and group needs

4 Standard services for all Flexible and customized services

5 Administrative apparatus and Small functional structures

complex structure
6 Financial security Financial risk
7 Standard level of professionalism High level of professionalism

8 Standard employment contracts Civil contracts and voluntary work

9 Standard prices for services Flexible prices for services

10 Strict adherence to regulatory Non-standard ideas and experience
requirements
11 Institutionalization Autonomy
12 Rationality and efficiency Spontaneity and imagination

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 Even though Community Development is a mandate of the Government, for
localized focus, it is done through NGOs (i.e. non-government organisations) and NPOs
(i.e. Non-profit organisations). The acronyms NGO & NPO are used interchangeably at
will. However, there are subtle differences (Table 3).
Table 3 NGO vs NPO
NGO NPO
Formed by volunteers Known as non-profit
Operates without the influence of Incorporated as a company under
government Sec 8 of Company Act 1956
Can be registered as a trust under Promote art, science, research,
Public Trust Act commerce
Work for betterment of society Works in a confined area
Procure funds from various sources Procure funds from corporate and
government

Community based work vs community development work

We can distinguish Community based work vs community development work
Community-Based work [which involves Community] & Community-Development
work [which is led by Community].

Community-Based work
An issue or problem is defined by agencies and professionals who develop
strategies to solve the problem and then involve community members in these
strategies. Ongoing responsibility for the problem may be handed over to
community members and community groups.
Characteristics:
 Decision-making power rests with the agency
 The problem or issue is defined by the agency
 There are defined timelines
 Outcomes are pre-specified, often changes in specific behaviours or
knowledge levels

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Community-Development work
Community groups are supported to identify important concerns and issues, and
to plan and implement strategies to mitigate their concerns and solve their issues.
Characteristics:
• Power relations between agency and community members are constantly
negotiated
• The problem or issue is first named by the community, then defined in a way
that advances the shared interests of the community and the agency
• Work is longer term in duration
• The desired outcome is an increase in the community members’ capacities

B. Citizen participation
It is about changing how politicians, developers and citizens interact with each
other to make key decisions. There are many ways for citizens to get involved in the
decision-making process. Many methods have been tried and a few ideas are presented.
Good participation is the basis for a sound democracy. When people get involved in
political life, they feel they need to be responsible to what all is happening in the society
and in the environment. Citizen participation is similar to this. The people become
involved in the development of the community, with a heightened sense of ownership and
engaging themselves for long period of time, building and strengthening trust in the
decision makers over time. People participation is the key success factor for any
community development project. It has to be handled carefully.
Sherry Arnstein proposed the Ladder of Citizen Participation model during 1969.
This model is the most widely referenced and influential models in the field of democratic
public participation. Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation is explained for better
understanding of community members participation and engagement in community
development programmes. To understand how empowered public institutions and
officials deny power to citizens, local leaders, organizers, and facilitators public
engagement and participation, this model will be helpful. Arnstein’s penetrating, no-
nonsense, even pugnacious analysis though presented in 1969 is relevant even today.
Citizen participation in democratic processes, requires the redistribution of power, if it is
to be truly genuine and participative. Without redistribution of power it is an empty and
frustrating process for the powerless.
According to Arnstein,
 citizen participation is citizen power. Participation is the cornerstone of
democracy. Without proper reallocation of power—in the form of money or
decision-making authority, there will not be real participation.

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  It is the strategy by which the ‘have-nots’ join in determining how information is
shared, goals and policies are set, tax resources are allocated, programs are
operated etc.
 It is a mechanism by which they can induce significant social reform which
enables them to share the benefits of the affluent society.
Arnstein’s typology of citizen participation is presented as a “ladder,” (Figure 1) with
each ascending rung representing increasing levels of citizen agency, control, and power.
In addition to the eight “rungs” of participation, Arnstein includes a descriptive continuum
of participatory power that moves from nonparticipation (no power) to degrees of tokenism
(counterfeit power) to degrees of citizen participation (actual power).

Figure 1 Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation

1. Manipulation
Manipulation occurs when public institutions, officials, or administrators mislead
citizens into believing they are being given power in a process that has been intentionally
manufactured to deny them power. It is an illusory form of participation. It is like people
are placed on rubber stamp advisory committees or advisory boards for the purpose of
educating them or engineering their support. The bottom rung of the ladder signifies the
distortion of participation by power holders.
2. Therapy
Participation as therapy occurs when pubic officials and administrators “assume
that powerlessness is synonymous with mental illness,”. They create pseudo-
participatory programs that attempt to convince citizens that they are the problem. When
in actual, it is the institutions and existing policies that are creating the problems for
citizens. What makes this form of ‘participation’ so unfair is that citizens are engaged in

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extensive activity. However, the focus of it is on curing them of their symptoms and not
addressing the problem.
3. Informing
Arnstein states that informing “citizens of their rights, responsibilities, and options
has to be the most important first step toward legitimate citizen participation”. However,
if proper feedback is not provided, it will only be a one way flow of information from officials
to citizens and all meetings will become a mode of communication discouraging questions
or giving irrelevant answers. In informing situations, citizens are “intimidated by futility,
legalistic jargon, and prestige of the official” to accept the information provided as fact or
endorse the proposals put forward by those in power.
4. Consultation
Arnstein notes that inviting citizens’ opinions, like informing them, can be a
legitimate step toward their full participation. However, when the consultation processes
does not include all the modes of participation, then this it cannot be considered as true
consultation. This is because it does not offer an assurance that citizen concerns and
ideas are taken into account.
The most frequent methods used for consulting people include
• attitude surveys,
• neighborhood meetings, and
• public hearings.
When power holders restrict the input of citizens’ ideas solely to consultation, then
it is considered as just a very preliminary type of participation. People are primarily
perceived as statistical abstractions, and participation is measured by how many come to
meetings or answer a questionnaire.
What citizens achieve in all this activity is that they have ‘participated in
participation.’
And what powerholders achieve is the evidence that they have gone through the
required motions of involving the people in the community.
5. Placation
Participation as placation occurs when citizens are granted a limited degree of
influence in a process, but their participation is largely or entirely tokenistic. Citizens are
merely involved only to demonstrate that they were involved.
In Arnstein’s words: “An example of placation strategy is to place a few hand-
picked ‘worthy’ poor on some decision-making boards or Community Action Agencies. If
they are not accountable to a constituency in the community and if the traditional power
elite hold the majority of seats, the have-nots can be easily outvoted.

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6. Partnership
Participation as partnership occurs when public institutions, officials, or
administrators allow citizens to fully participate. They get involved in negotiating better
deals, veto decisions, share in the funding of community projects, or put forward requests
that are at least partially fulfilled.
In Arnstein’s words: “At this rung of the ladder, power is in fact redistributed
between the citizens and powerholders. Both parties come together to plan and take
decisions through decision making bodies such as policy boards and planning
committees. If any change is required, there is some amount of give and take and
decisions are never taken unilaterally. However Arnstein states that in many partnership
situations, power is not voluntarily shared by public institutions. It is rather taken by the
citizens through actions such as protests, campaigns, or community demands.
7. Delegated Power
Participation as delegated power occurs when public institutions, officials, or
administrators give up at least some degree of control, management, decision-making
authority, or funding to citizens. A corporation that is managing a community
development program is an example of delegated power.
8. Citizen Control
Participation as citizen control occurs, in Arnstein’s words, when participants or
residents can govern a project or program or an institution, and is in full charge in terms
of framing policies and managerial aspects then it is at the top most rung of the ladder.
In citizen-control situations, for example, public funding would flow directly to a community
organization, and that organization would have full control over how that funding is to be
allocated.

Limitations of the model

Some of the limitations of the model include:
1. They cannot adequately represent the layered complexity or fluctuating power
dynamics that are typically in play in real-world participatory situations,
2. The tendency is to interpret lower levels as universally negative (or worse than)
and higher levels as universally positive (or better) when, in fact, lower levels may
be positive in some circumstances and higher levels may be negative in few others
– is a limitation of this model.
Arnstein’s ladder is a model for understanding how the degree of citizen
participation can help and affect public perceptions of legitimacy, authority and good
governance. It presents different levels of public participation, with the ‘most desirable’
forms of participation found as we move up the Arnstein’s ladder of public participation. It

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is clear from the picture, that Citizen control is considered the top most level of
participation. Everyone understands collaborative approach is good. But we need to take
into consideration that the type of citizen engagement which works for a coastal
community may not be the best strategy for a citywide engagement. So this indicates
that the topmost level of the ladder, ‘delegation’ or ‘citizen control’ are valuable, but not
always realistic or appropriate for all communities. It is found that 71% of people expect
to be regularly updated about planning issues in their community.
Their expectation includes:
Accessibility – involving the use of a mix of channels, to suit the community needs
with the appropriate objectives and content.
Transparency – making sufficient information readily available to the members of
the community, indicating the scope of influence and process clearly.
Timing and process – presenting a statement of community needs, ensuring the
community development process is carried out in a continuous and iterative
manner to produce good results in a timely manner.

C. Participation

In community development, participation refers to the full involvement and

leadership of community members in planning, developing, delivering and evaluating
community actions or initiative.
• Scott Davidson developed the wheel of participation for and with the South
Larnarkshire Council to define and encourage levels of citizen participation for
community planning and development. It is an innovative approach to
conceptualising the various dimensions of communication and engagement
processes.
• South Lanarkshire Council developed the ladder of participation into the ‘Wheel of
Participation’. Under this scheme, one moves from the extreme of no community
input, with the Council taking all the decisions, through consultation and
participation to citizen empowerment, where the community make their own
decisions on issues that affect them.
Participatory development is an important approach for people-oriented
development that emphasizes raising the quality of participation in local societies as a
step toward the realization of self-reliant sustainable development and social justice.
Now let us see the wheel of participation with its 12 stages (Figure 2).

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It consists of 4 main stages
i. Inform
ii. Consult
iii. Participate
iv. Empower

Figure 2 Wheel of participation

i. Inform
It consists of the following 3 stages
a. Minimal communication
b. Limited information
c. High quality information
a. Minimal communication
Council deciding on all matters itself, without community consultation (except when
legally required to do so), i.e. where professional judgement is used or a political
decision is made and the public hear of it after the event, e.g. via the minutes of
committee meetings.
b. Limited information
Telling the public only what you want to tell them, not what the public wants
to know.

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 c. High quality information
Providing information that the community wants and/or needs, e.g.
promotional campaigns about uptake of welfare benefits, discussion papers/
exhibitions for development plans, guidance notes for conservation area
development/ upgrading.

ii. Consult
It consists of the following 3 stages
a. Limited consultation
b. Customer care
c. Genuine consultation
a. Limited consultation
Providing information in a limited manner with the onus often placed on the
community to respond, e.g. placing a notice in the press regarding
planning/licensing applications.
b. Customer care
Having a customer-oriented service, e.g. introducing a customer care
policy, and providing a complaints/comments scheme.
c. Genuine consultation
The Council actively discussing issues with communities regarding what it
is thinking of doing prior to taking action, or what they think of existing services,
e.g. housing services liaising with tenants’ groups, customer satisfaction surveys.

iii. Participate
It consists of the following 3 stages
a. Effective advisory body
b. Partnership
c. Limited decentralized decision-making
a. Effective advisory body
Inviting communities to draw up proposals for council consideration, e.g. Planning
for Real, citizens’ juries, disability forums, Plain English Campaign.
b. Partnership

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 Solving problems in partnership with communities, e.g. Hamilton Ahead (a formal
partnership), Larkhall Joint Neighbourhood Project, and Douglas Valley
Partnership.
c. Limited decentralized decision-making
Allowing different communities to make their own decisions on some issues, e.g.
non-statutory traffic signs for Neighbourhood Watch Schemes, the powers of
Divisional Roads Engineers and Tenant Participation Officers to involve the
community.

iv. Empower
It consists of the following 3 stages
a. Delegated control
b. Independent control
c. Entrusted control
a. Delegated control
Delegating limited decision-making powers in a particular area or project,
e.g. Tenant Management Organisations, Shopmobility and school boards
b. Independent control
The Council may be obliged to provide a service but chooses to do so by
facilitating community groups and/or other agencies which provide that service on
their behalf, e.g. the delivery of care services contracts by the voluntary sector,
Tenant Management Organisations.
c. Entrusted control
Devolving substantial decision-making powers to communities, e.g. Tenant
Management Organisations.

Benefits of participatory development

• Promotes sense of belongingness
• Better health and well-being
• Set goals and improve skills
• Gives purpose and sense of contribution
• Adapt and develop new skills
• Acceptance and recognition
• Increases social networks
• Enhances social support

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 It is important to recognise that community development is a practice with a well-
developed theoretical framework. Community development practitioners should be
familiar, through training or experience, with the theory, practice and principles of
community development work. In saying this, it is important that community development
practitioners have effective and respectful relationships with the communities they are
working with, and sometimes the ability to be able to build these relationships with the
community is a more important quality in a worker than having a community development
qualification. In these instances, it is important that the worker is supported by someone
who has a good understanding of community development theory and practice.

Summary

In this module we have

• Learnt about community development
• Understood the types and levels of community participation
• Discerned the importance of community participation and engagement with NGOs

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