2. Give an example of a law and public policy that is relevant to community development.
4. List a step by step approach as relevant to community development.
6. Give an example of a community development protocol that should be followed.'
8. Give an example of a specific funding source that could be used for community development work. For this same funding source, give an example of a policy/strategy they use to encourage community input and participation.
10. Explain the following two approaches to community development.

Needs-based
Gap-based

6. Explain the following two principles/practices related to contemporary community development.

Asset-based (ABCD)
Rights-based

7. Describe the following terms in relation to community development.

Representation
Lobbying
Advocacy

8. Explain power and conflict management issues that may arise in community development.

9. Explain how networking and partnerships are important for community development.

10 .Give an example of a policy and procedure that could apply to data collection and analysis

11. List three methods for disseminating information relevant to community development and the benefit of each method.

Method	Benefit
Video
Mass media
Social media

12. Give an example of a general and a cultural issue that might relate to a community group and how you could manage it.

13. Give two examples of group processes that are useful to use as part of community development.

Reference

Legislation and public policies

Legislation surrounding community development work can include working with children, people with disabilities, confidentiality and privacy, duty of care, workplace health and safety, mandatory reporting and drug related laws.

The law changes state to state and there is legislation for both federal, state and council tiers of government:

• The federal government covers the whole of Australia and there are six state and two territory governments.
• Within each state and territory, there are over 600 local councils, each of which has responsibilities for looking after its local area.
• Councils can make local laws but have to operate within a legal framework set up by the state and territory governments.
• State and territory governments are responsible for most of the laws affecting its citizens as well as public services.

Legislation that relates to working within the community development process can include: [Q]

Community processes and protocols

In order for community development to work, there will be clearly structured processes to follow. This also relates to state and regional policies, and can follow a community strategic plan at council level.

Broadly the community processes can include:

Which may involve a number of aspects such as using a community development framework, model and approach and following government policies, programs and council initiatives. Broadly speaking, this can include a number of processes that can cover: [Q]

• sharing common issues, needs and interests[Q]
• assessing needs[Q]
• voicing opinion and gaining support[Q]
• public meetings and consultation[Q]
• addressing cultural protocols[Q]
• following government protocols
• funding applications[Q]
• writing to the local council[Q]
• lobbying parliamentarians and regulatory bodies.[Q]

• The Disability Discrimination Act 2004
• Disability Services Act1986
• Discrimination Act 2004
• Human Rights Act 1988
• Australian Education Act 2013
• The Workplace Health and Safety Act 2011
• The Child Protection Act 1999
• Children & Young People Act 2008
• Family Law Act 1975
• The Privacy Act 1988
• The Freedom Of Information Act 1982
• The National Affordable Housing Agreement
• The National disability agreement (NDA)
• Social Security Legislation Amendment (Community Development Program) Bill 2018.

Funding and related policies [Q]

You won't be able to work with a community to make changes unless you have some type of funding. Funding sources could be from the government to meet social needs or obligations, (for example the National Disability Initiative Scheme (NDIS)); it can be through the local council from grants or by a community organisation raising their own funds.

The funding available from the government and council will be closely related to social policies and can change according to the government elected, economic changes, global economy and the needs of the public.

Of course, you will want to involve and encourage community input and participation so that you can have a holistic view of where funding is required and the policies that are covered by these. You may also find that there are more needs than initially thought, or people within the community that can support the community development needs either through donations, advocacy or engagement.

Principles and practices of community development work[Q]

Community development work is determined by structures such as government policies and services, education systems, health, media, finance, employment, legislation and globalisation. It also includes micro-structures within the community such as the family, culture and ethnicity, socio-economic status or remote and rural environment in which they live.

The following principles guide these social and individual structures in community development which are closely linked to social justice principles including equity, diversity, inclusion, participation and access and equality.

	Encouraging participation and engagement by collaboration and working with people rather than for them.
	Promoting participation and decision-making from the community, whilst being inclusive and building relationships.
	Concentrating on local geographic communities as a whole, rather than specific groups and sharing resources, skills, strengths and capabilities of community members and organisations.

Traditional community development approaches [Q]

These approaches look at the needs of the local community:

The needs-based approach focusses on a community's needs, deficiencies and problems. It uses external support to meets those needs and has been criticised for having a deficit approach. For example, a community may become reliant on government funding rather than the engagement and participation of community members based on what they can also provide. It can be short term solutions to long term problems. In order for it to be a sustainable approach, it needs to be facilitated and supported regardless of any funding changes over time.

A gap-based approach to community development is similar to the needs-based approach as it relies on government funding to fill gaps in services, which can be temporary and relies on expert opinion and services that a provided based on what they think people need.

Contemporary community development approaches

The principles and practices of contemporary community development include asset-based and rights-based approaches.

The Asset-based community development (ABCD) [Q] approach is built upon a strengths-based approach and focusses on:

• community assets and strengths rather than the problems and needs
• identifying and mobilising individual and community assets, strengths and potential
• a community driven approach
• a relationship driven approach.

It involves:

	Assessing resources, skills, knowledge and experience within the community, organising the community around the issues that encourages action and taking appropriate action.
	It uses the community's own assets and resources as the basis for community development therefore empowering the people of the community to utilise what they already have within their means.

Using a Rights-based approach [Q] puts human rights at the centre of the community development. It uses human rights standards as the framework for assessing and guiding initiatives. It advocates for people who are the most vulnerable or marginalised and face the largest barriers to realising their rights.

Representation, lobbying and advocacy [Q]

Community development work requires providing representation, lobbying the right people and advocacy for those who need their interests represented.

Representationcan be seen as:

• Working with the community to effect change
• Understanding legislation, policy, funding, grants and their structures and processes
• Helping to bring positive changes in social policy, service provision, or improving access to services.
• Supporting those who are disadvantaged to bring about changes required to meet their needs.
• Taking action!

When you advocate for the community you need to be able to provide representation in a number of different areas. For example:

• Understanding the political context and environment
• The process for lobbying members of parliament
• Undertaking a needs assessment of the community and identifying all stakeholders
• Facilitating or arranging consultations and meetings
• Developing effective collaboration partnerships
• Communicating effectively with the media including social media
• Being inclusive and collaborative with the community groups and individuals.
• Working with diverse groups affected by the issues being followed up

Through advocacy you are able to represent the community through empowerment, addressing inequalities, facilitating policy implementation, raising awareness and creating engagement, making changes that addresses the needs, rights and expectations of the community.

Lobbying is part of representation and advocacy and involves communicating effectively to effect change. It requires talking with policy makers, members of parliament, and others who can create change such as councillors. It can include taking direct action through petitions, marches, boycotts, social media, or organising public meetings to increase awareness and promote the power of the community to decision makers.

Interpersonal skills

When you are working with the community, you will be doing so with a diverse range of people from different backgrounds, abilities, ages, cultures, ethnicity, languages, socio-economic situations, disabilities and diverse needs. [Q]

Therefore, you will need to be able to use appropriate interpersonal skills to ensure that their narrative is heard and commonly understood. [Q]

Interpersonal communication relates to the way in which people exchange information and meaning through their verbal and non-verbal cues. Good communication is also knowing how to use these approaches effectively so that you can enhance your own understanding and demonstrate respect for others. [Q] This can include effective communication techniques such as:

• active listening
• understanding non-verbal signals
• maintaining eye contact
• assertiveness
• being mindful of people's individual space
• using positive body language
• dealing with different points of view.

To be able to advocate for individuals and groups and ensure that their story is heard and correctly understood, you can use some strategies for interpersonal communication as listed in the table below:

Using active listening	This involves listening and responding to a person when they are talking. It includes showing you are attentive, use paraphrase to confirm understanding, summarising, reflecting and questioning.
Showing respect, empathy	Use verbal and non-verbal techniques to show you are listening. Do not interrupt the person. Recognise the person's feelings by showing empathy Be aware of a person's culture, ethnicity, religion, or social background. Building a rapport and being aware of people's differences
Having clarity of speech	This includes the way you talk using volume, pitch and tone.
Professionalism	It's the way you present yourself and represent your organisation through your language both written and verbal, as well as your appearance and business approach to communicating with people.
Individual differences	Being sensitive of people's differences. Treating people with respect Engaging as much as possible Facilitating as appropriate Using aids and equipment to support communication where appropriate (for example using an interpreter, or a different form of communication such as via an iPad or written format).
Upholds rights	Using person-centred and rights-based approaches (A model of care designed to focus on equal opportunities, non-discrimination, empowerment and participation based on the principles of human rights).
Encouraging participation	This may include providing people with information about their rights, supporting a person to raise concerns, providing an environment that establishes trust, respect and positive communication which is non-judgemental and supports a person to convey their story.

Furthermore, working with individuals, groups and communities, you may find that you come across power and conflict management issues. [Q] This can arise from people trying to influence others or the power that they have to influence, or just disagreement of issues and concerns.

The conflict can arise through clashes with personalities, ideas, values, perspectives or opinions. Conflict resolution strategies can be used to help manage any conflict.For example:

• understand the conflict
• undertake effective communication with both parties in a non-biased way
• brainstorm resolutions
• explore alternatives
• choose the best option for resolution
• using meditation and facilitation techniques
• using effective communication skills such as active listening, empathy, positive body language and effective questioning techniques.

Addressing group priorities and strengths [Q]

Let's first look at different models of work. Rothman (Zastrow, 1989) identified 3 models relating to work within the community:

• Local development/community development
• the focus is on the process of community building
• works with a broad, representative cross section of the community
• working toward a community consensus through the identification of common interests
• approach is for participation and leadership
• Social planning
• focused primarily on task goals and issues of resource allocation.
• uses rational problem solving and research and systems analysis.
• requires expertise as well as leadership skills
• Social action
• uses group action to focus on changes to policy and making changes in the distribution of power
• requires participation.

You will need to determine what type of model that you would use in order to get the most out of the group. Specifically, in relation to what their main priorities are and the strengths that they hold.

Networking and the role of partnerships [Q]

Another way to encourage community participation is through networking and partnerships. Partnerships through shared understanding and relationships created for a common cause, can be an effective way to achieve shared goals. With the range of skills and experience in a community, there can be a number of groups working toward a common agenda.

Community partnerships can be diverse and varied, and there are many types. An example are public private partnerships (PPP's) which a contractual relationship between for example a municipal government and a private enterprise. It can also be between community groups and businesses.

It is important that when looking at partnerships that you consider their role as well as your own. The role of partnerships should be effective and can include:

• Leadership
• Aligned vision
• Accountability
• Roles and responsibilities
• Communication
• Using a framework for culture and values.

Networking can be used to identify partnerships and in community development it will be influenced by key values around empowerment, equality and participation.

The key aspects of networking are to build relationships that can support your cause. It could be through:

• informal chats at council meetings
• formal correspondence to instigate a business relationship
• engaging with people in the community
• social media networking such as LinkedIn or engaging in post feeds

attending events and community meetings.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Example of a law and public policy relevant to community development The National Affordable Housing Agreement NAHA in Australia which aims to improve access to affordable housing for lowincome indivi... View the full answer