Program planning cannot happen without community input or interaction. The PHN must be familiar with details about the specific community in which the program will be implemented, but also with general models and frameworks commonly used in community planning and organizing. Here are three models that can be used to organize community members to facilitate change:
Grass roots approach that uses a democratic decision-making process, encourages self-help, voluntary cooperation from the members, and develops leadership within the group. This approach is time-consuming to get started but also has the potential to have the longest lasting effects. Click here to see a short video about Mission Neighborhood Centers in San Francisco – they have been empowering their community members for over 100 years!
A logical, deliberate approach to problem solving in which experts work with the community members to bring about controlled change for social problems. This approach has an increased risk of failure if the experts do not obtain community buy-in. Nobody wants an outsider to come in and tell them what to do. Read about social planning at the Community Tool Box. Can you see that social planning needs to be done with great sensitivity to the affected communities?
In this approach, one group of people or segment of an organization/community is feeling oppressed, and the organization or community is viewed as needing direct and often confrontational action to redistribute power, resources or decision making in the community. Think about demonstrations, letter-writing campaigns, boycotts, even civil disobedience. Read about social action at the Community Tool Box.
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