Community
life cycle
Contents
Most communities are reactive, rather than proactive. Its only
when something happens that has an impact on all members of the
community that anyone is inclined to do anything. Small issues can go
on for years without being a threat to the community. It is only
through some form of social activity that draws the attention of the
community to the issue, that solutions can be found. There is also the
problem that any solution is generally not representative of the
community as a whole.
Communities can
be
thought
of
as organisms that are born, grow and die.
Some communities are temporary for a specific purpose, and others are
permanent. However long their life span, they all have the same stages.
… Birth: A group of people
discover
that they have something in common.
Define themselves as a community.
… Establishment: Chaos to order. Organisation of social groups.
Organisation of political groups. Develop policies, strategies etc.
Establish formal / informal goals and objectives, hierarchies,
roles,
values etc. Identify and establish skills / resources etc.
… Action: Implement policies, strategies etc. Work towards the goals
and objectives of the community.
… Maintenance: Balance the needs of its members with the needs of the
community. Communicate, share
skills/resources with its members to maintain the community.
… Self evaluation: Chaos and change. React to issues within and outside
the community.
Develop new policies, strategies etc.
… Consolidation/growth: Implement new policies, strategies etc. Develop
the
membership base, formal / informal structures, skills / resources where
necessary. New
communities may evolve within the community that have different
specialities, skills or resources, agendas or values etc.
… Death: Can on longer function as a community for various reasons.
Community
life cycle
Once a community has been established, it generally moves between
Action, Maintenance, Self evaluation, and Growth stages
until a time
comes when
it can no longer function as a community. An important part of the life
cycle is the Self evaluation (and can happen at any time throughout the
cycle), where the community may go through a
process of chaos and change. Members jostle with each other, promote
their own
issues and agendas, form power groups and factions etc. (
M.
Scott Peck) (
Community
Life Cycle Matrix) (
Tuckman's
stages of group development)
Establishment: (Top)
While communities are as
individual as
their members, they are usually
organised or built around a set of principles that allows the members
to participate in the community
... Access: the members
must be able
to
access the community
... Communication: the members must be able to communicate with each
other
... Presence: the members must have some sort of relationship with
the
other members (see themselves, and are seen, as a part of the community)
... Participation: the members must have some sort of involvement
within the community
The community also needs ...
... A way of defining itself as a
community
:.. An agreement between the members about what the community
does and
how it is to be done
These principles could be described as the characteristcits
of the community.
Characteristics of a community:
... Has one or more roles
that
define its identity within
society.
... Has a set of goals - provides a sense of direction.
... Is organised within a set of formal/informal
hierarchies, beliefs,
values, expectations and behaviours (institutions) that defines the
boundary of
the community.
... The boundary may be explicit (physical) or implicit (defined by the
shared characteristics of its members).
... Has ownership of it's members.
... There is some form of communication between members.
... Has skills and resources that are shared between the members.
... Balance the needs of the community with the needs of its members.
... Often has clubs, teams, groups etc. within the
community.
Action: (Top)
While the community has a set of goals and objectives, the members
also
have their own defined goals and objectives which complement and
support the goals and objectives of the community. The community is
also dependant on the members achieving their own
goals and objectives, in achieving it's (the community’s) own goals and
objectives.
Members ...
... are motivated.
... feel a part of the process.
... have a clear, positive outcome: outcomes that are clear,
attainable, and worthwhile to all members.
... have effective communication: all members communicate to, and
respect each other.
... have coordination of activity: all members have clear valued roles.
All communities measure their success or failure (outcomes) against
these goals and objectives. These outcomes provide a sense of
achievement (or loss) for the community as a whole as well as the
members of the
community, and can be measured in any number of ways. Families need to
pay the bills, workers need to achieve targets, doctors need to heal
the sick etc. Two broad types of outcomes can be described as:
Objective outcomes (community)
... Are measured
scientifically and
economically
... Facts and figures,
targets etc
... Physical rewards
... Tools and equipment
... Facilities
Objective outcomes are
tangible in the
sense that they can be seen,
touched and measured by all members within the community as well as
others outside the community.
Subjective outcomes (members)
... Are measured as
benefits
... Facts and figures,
targets etc
... Physical rewards
... Skills / knowledge etc
... Emotional
... Spiritual
Subjective outcomes are
intangible in
the sense that they reflect the
member’s feelings, experiences and gains through achieving the goals
and objectives. The outcomes will have different effects on the members
according to their expectations, what their role was and how much they
were changed (learned new skills / knowledge, new life experiences, new
relationships etc).
Outcomes can be community orientated (objective / scientific), member
orientated
(subjective / social) or a mixture of both:
Shows the
relationship between
the community / members / outcomes.
Using the example of a new football ground that is built in a suburb,
it can be
seen that there are two distinct outcomes:
1) Objective: The football
ground has
been built. It can be seen and touched.
2) Subjective: The football ground is a symbol of accomplishment and
pride within the football community, in providing a valued resource for
it's members and can be shared with other communities. But what about
the other communities that may be involved? Do they have the same
feelings
as the football community?
Maintenance: (Top)
A community has
two broad functions ...
1) Supporting and
maintaining the needs of the members.
2)
Supporting
and maintaining the needs of the community.
Sometimes the
needs of the community
become greater
that
the needs of the members:
… income, The community
cannot function
with out a
source of wealth, etc.
…
qualified
staff/resources, Lack of competent staff/resources means that the
members:are not getting
the proper
support, etc.
…
maintenance,
The community needs to maintain
the
facilities, equipment to a standard that is required by the members.
…
management,
the management hierarchy increases to cope
with its own needs.
Etc.
Personal
needs Vs Community needs
Self evaluation: (Top)
Chaos and change. The community needs to be able to react to issues
within and outside
the community.
Develop new policies, strategies etc.
What
are
the strengths
and weaknesses of the community?
Effective communities
... Understand the
changing internal
and external environments and how they relate to the community
... Involve all members
... Effective communication between all members
... Understand what members need
... Aware of relevant research and the evidence base for practice
... Data gathering, analysis and reporting mechanisms
... Informed decision making processes
... Coordinating internal and external services
The
community needs to identify the needs of its
members and distribute the resources in the most effective way so that
the
members can fulfil their roles. These needs are often prioritised
according to
available resources in meeting those needs and who will benefit most.
Members
have different needs within the community.
Often,
there are a number of unresolved issues in the community
that
are not
necessarily
related to each other (politics, personal agendas, interest groups
etc). These issues may lie simmering under the surface and are
generally not
dealt with
until
a
crises mobilises the community (that the whole community
is
threatened
in a sense
that the
community will not be able to function as a whole until the issue has
been
resolved, eg the roads need fixing, power and gas shortages, strikes
for more
wages etc). Even then, where issues do not threaten the community as a
whole,
we see sub-groups (sub-communities) forming within the community that
feel that
they do not share some of the characteristics of the community of which
they
are a part of. Where there is no visible threat to the community as a
whole,
members become complacent and prefer to leave the status quo.
Individual
members (or groups) need to motivate and mobilise (create a sense of
urgency or
importance within) the community to achieve a desired outcome.
Nigel Brooks (
Building
Strong Relationships - Four Stages of Development, Four Phases of
Connection) suggests there are 4 stages in a business
relationship:
"*
Formation
- getting to know each other
* Divergence - differing opinions, disagreement, and doubt
* Convergence - reconcilement, acceptance, and agreement
* Association - performing collaboratively or cooperatively
However
the relationship can migrate to
back to the divergence phase at any time."
Consolidation, growth and
expansion: (Top)
A community needs to implement new policies, strategies etc. Develop
the
membership base, formal / informal structures, skills / resources where
necessary. New
communities may evolve within the community that have different
specialities, skills or resources, agendas or values etc.
Growth and expansion is not a goal or ideal that a community should
aspire towards, but as a
way to provide for the needs of a community. Growth and expansion is
not an end, but a means to an end. As the
member's
needs
increase,
the
community needs to find new ways to meet those needs. It may need more
space, skills and resources. Often growth and expansion works to the
disadvantage of a community, where its existing resources are
stretched
to
the limit. The community becomes unfocused and uncoordinated.
Community growth and expansion is dependent on existing skills and
resources that are within the community as well as the communities that
it is a part of. A lack existing skills and
resources result in programs that are substandard, or do not get
finished. Communication breaks down. The community may become fractured
where needs are not being met. Different groups compete for leadership
which creates social unrest, and even the social dislocation of some
groups within the community.
Community relationships: (Top)
Community
roles
determine the relationships with other communities, and the way we
interact with others within those communities.
Interdependent relationships are mutually inclusive, where
we share skills and resources to
benefit
all
members. Rather than interdependent relationships with other
communities, we see
co-dependent, independent and dependent relationships evolving.
Communities that are co-dependent, independent or dependent are often
inefficient and ineffective in providing for their own needs. You may
say that independence and
empowerment
are
the same things, Nothing
could be further from the truth. No one is truly independent.
Independent
relationships
are mutually exclusive, where we do not share with others. Co-dependent
and dependent relationships are about being dependent on each other or
one person in a relationship. Communities are no different.
Competition: (Top)
Competition encourages people and communities to aspire to greater
things. Competition also unites members toward a goal. It inspires
members to achieve things that they would not do normally. Communities
also have the opportunity to learn from the
achievements,
and also the failures. How could things have been done better? There is
also a sense of frustration in the community not achieving its goal.
How the community deals with the
frustration
is
determined by its social construction. Competition can also destroy
communities. Where the goal becomes more important than the means of
the community to achieve the goal, the community can fall apart very
easily.
Community empowerment: (Top)
The
community
takes
ownership
Self
direction
Informed decisions
Communities make mistakes. It is important for communities to to learn
from their own experiences and grow
An empowered community has the ability to
effectively
respond
to the
needs of its members.
This is NOT ...
... a sense of
independence or
dependence on other communities that it is a part of, or are a part of
it - communities complement each other and need to work together in
fulfilling the needs of their members.
... dictating to community members what they should or should not be
doing - there needs to be a sense of shared ownership and
responsibility within the community.
... dictating to other communities what they should or should not be
doing - there needs to be a sense of shared ownership and
responsibility within society.
... using skills and resources to the detriment of other communities -
skills and resources don't get used responsibly or effectively.
... growing or expanding - is
not an end, but a means to an end.
Empowered communities ...
... have shared goals,
beliefs, values,
cultures, institutions etc
... have ownership of their members
... provide valued roles for their members
... communicate effectively with their members
... can depend on their own resources
... balance their own needs
... can share and draw on skills/resources where needed
(See
Dysfunctional
communities)
Having said that, communities are not perfect places. They are
arrogant, dynamic,
protective, stubborn,
irrational,
ungainly, bureaucratic, self centred,
hypercritical, subjective ,,, and the list goes on and on. While
communities may have some of these
features,
you can't really blame the
community. Just as a chain is as strong as the weakest link,
communities are only as strong as its leadership.
Strong leadership
... determines the
direction of the
community
... provides a valued role for the community and its members
... provides
a set of outcomes which are measurable
Community rights and responsibilities: (Top)
Communities also have rights and responsibilities, both to the members
of the community and other communities that they are a part of. An
empowered community understands these relationships and how these
relationships impact on the community, and other communities that are a
part of it.
Rights:
... the right to its own
identity
... the right to set its own agenda, constitution and institutions
... the right to participate within the wider community
... the right to access skills and resources within the wider community
... the right to support its members within the wider community
... the right to protect its members from influences that disadvantage
its members
... the right to refuse entry to members that do not fit into the
community
... the right to evict members that do not accept the agenda,
constitution and institutions of
the community
... the right to refuse skills and resources to the wider community,
where its members are disadvantaged
... the right to determine its own destiny
Responsibilities:
... to ensure the agenda,
constitution
and institutions of the
community, protect and support its members, as well as
other communities and their members
... to provide a safe, secure environment for its members, as well as
other communities and their members
... to facilitate the development of valued roles and relationships for
the community,
its members, as well as other communities and their members
... to ensure that the community communicates with its members as well
as other communities and their members
... to ensure the community does not disadvantage other communities or
their members
... to responsibility use, and share, skills and resources to the
advantage of its members, as well as other communities and their members
... to respect, protect and promote the rights, cultures and
institutions of other communities and their members
... to engage with other communities in an interdependent relationship
Community
life cycle
