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BEST PRACTICE JOURNAL IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Executive summary

The project aims at editing a community development journal that will discuss the issues at hand from three points of view: economic, local participation and service-providing. Partnership with similar organizations in the Republic of Moldova and in Serbia will also draw on their expertise, making the journal regional in circulation and scope. The journal will be issued every three months, and interested organizations from other countries in the region are welcome to contribute.


1. Background

During recent years changes occurred in both the theory and practice of social policies. New institutions emerged, but welfare institutions are often bureaucratic in nature and lack the needed efficiency

Community Development Programs aim at encouraging the potential for development in local communities.

Community development is a field of priority interest for Romania and other CEEC in the region. The practice of community development is implemented through three ideal types of intervention:

- The economic approach—creating new jobs and, subsequently, income generating activities, investment in small and medium sized enterprises;

- The local participation approach—identifying and solving local problems, increasing associative capacity and behavior, developing human resources;

- The service-provider approach—developing the local community through social, educational and cultural services for specific target groups.

Notwithstanding the importance of economic problems for local communities, the majority of programs focused on social aspects, assuming that local stagnation is not only due to a lack of economic resources, but also to the lack of competence in identifying and utilizing such resources.

2. Purpose

To identify the best practices in current and past community development programs, as well as the practical pursuit of the three theoretical types of intervention, and to bring the acquired knowledge into a best practice journal for community development.

3. Objectives

a) To identify successful pathways in community development;

b) To increase the quality of information available to NGOs and public institutions about the profession of community worker and the ways to achieve desirable results for the community;

c) To expand the level of awareness among authorities and residents about the importance of getting involved with solving local community problems.


4. Beneficiaries/Target group

• NGOs active in community development;

• Local authorities;

• Resource centers;

• Social and economic experts.

These categories of beneficiaries need to be better informed about the professional profiles of community workers and the available means for intervention. Given that such information is not currently available, while it will be presented in a very accessible format, beneficiaries will welcome and easily use the journal.


5. Expected impact

Initiator and implementing organizations for community development projects will benefit from the availability of information related to best practices and success stories featured in the journal. This information will help these organizations develop their own activities in the field.