8 Introduction to Community Change Strategies

What are the primary community change strategies?

In reviewing the literature and current textbooks for community change work, there are four different models for change that are most commonly referred to: community development, community organization, social action, and organizational change. The title may change slightly, but the descriptors are consistent.

• Community Development
• Community Organizing
• Social Action

Community Development

Community development (also referred to as locality development) is what seems to be most closely ascribed to social work and other community change professions. This model focuses on intentional involvement with the community impacted by an issue, to identify its own needs, and to be supported in the identification and development of solutions. The goal is to create or modify a strategy in order to improve the conditions/issues in the community.^{[1]  [2]}

This community change model has likely resulted in your local domestic violence shelter, legal advocacy program, refugee resettlement agency, re-entry program for people returning from incarceration, youth after-school programming, etc. At some point, people came together, likely because there was a problem that, upon close analysis with community members, identified a need for a program or agency to help address the problem. When they did, it took a lot of time and many, many steps and resources to move from the identification of a problem to the development of an actual organization to address the problem.

A critical component of community development is systemic and environmental change so that the strategy(s) are long-lasting, not just focused on alleviating the short-term impacts of community problems. The Lutpon Center describes community development as “compassion + strategy + evidence”.\^[3]

Community Organizing

Community organizing is a model widely used in community change work. This model focuses on engagement with people directly impacted by an issue that is usually systemic in nature (oppression, poverty, safety, etc.) and uses organizing tactics to achieve change and justice.  The structure is less formal and usually involves mobilizing people to collaborate together on short-term successes to improve their own quality of life and that of their neighbors and community.^[4][5]

Community organizing could lead to a more formal strategy like community development but that isn’t required and often isn’t desired because of the interest for the local community or neighborhood to be empowered (Brueggemann & Homan).

Community development and community organizing are the community change models that are focused on in this book. I have chosen to focus on these two because they require some very specific theoretical knowledge and skill development and are not likely to be incorporated into any other course or curriculum.

Social Action

Social action is a model that is also focused on social justice, and addresses change through the redistribution of resources, policy changes, and political empowerment. This is a very important aspect of community change work and also requires very specific theories and skills but is typically the focus of social policy and/or policy advocacy courses, which are commonly incorporated into the curriculum of social work and other community change professions.

You will find other important models described in community change textbooks and articles, including research and planning; social work administration; and community empowerment are important.^[6]  However, they are what I would consider approaches and embedded into the models will be focusing on.

Next Steps for All Three Strategies

• Engaging with community
• Assessing community
  • Identifying assets
  • Assessing need
• Scenario and strategic planning
• Planning the change strategy
• Evaluating the change strategy