Several principles of good practice in community development were developed through consensus by members of the Community Development Society (CDS).
The principles are:
County Galway Community Arts Network.
2) Engage community members in problem diagnosis so that those affected may ad equately understand the causes of their situations.
3) Help community leaders understand the economic, social, political, environmental, and psychological impact associated with alternative solutions to the problem.
4) Assist community members in designing and implementing a plan to solve agreed upon problems by emphasizing shared leadership and active citizen participation in that process.
5) Disengage from any effort that is likely to adversely affect the disadvantaged segments of the community.
6) Actively work to increase leadership capacity (skills, confidence, and aspirations) in the community.
You may be trained in community development., experienced in community development., or, most ideally, some combination of the two. You may work as a local community leader, a resident professional (artist, community development worker, teacher, accountant, clergy), an external professional, or a multipurpose community development worker.
Whatever your relationship to community development, and understanding of the community development process, the type of project with which you are dealing, and the principles of good practice will help you to be more effective and successful in initiating, planning, and implementing community arts development projects.
