Guiding principles

Community development is about moving from private concern to public action. It is a relationship-based method underpinned by guiding principles. ​See this 10 minute video of Peter Westoby "Exploring Community Development".

​A tradition of community development has evolved in Queensland since the 1970s with many practitioners trained and/or mentored by people including Les Halliwell, Anthony Kelly, Sandra Sewell, Carmel Daveson, Bea Rogan, Dave Andrews and many others.

Elements  of this method of  community development practice are about moving from a private concern to public action. It is a relationship-based method underpinned by guiding principles (see Lynda Shevaller's 2015 Les Halliwell address).
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​The following principles guide those who share this approach to social and individual change work. These are intrinsically linked to social justice principles including – equity, equality, participation and access:
  • working with people rather than for them
  • enhancing participation in the community and in decision making, especially for the most disadvantaged
  • focusing on geographic communities as integrated wholes, not just target groups
  • building on the existing strengths, skills and organisational capacities of communities
  • providing opportunities for relationship building within and between communities
  • building relationships between people to share power and resources.

Informed
​communities
In Bea Rogan’s Community Development Training Booklet (2002) it states:
Community development is about the building of active, informed communities where people
  • build relationships which support, sustain, encourage and value them
  • make decisions together about things which affect them
  • act, with others, in relation to things which concern them.
  • Problems we experience in our personal lives often have wider social causes.
  • Personal experience and personal knowledge is always the starting point for community development.
  • When we act with others to address the social causes we improve our own and others' lives.
  • Every little step we take makes a difference.
  • Tiny little steps are best!
  • Every step beyond ourselves is a step inside ourselves.

Values
As community development practitioners we are influenced by the values that we, as individuals, hold. There is often a great deal of debate about values and principles and what they mean.
​“Good practice has its roots firmly located within core values, which are ideals we hold, and practice principles, which are ways we are committed to act. From these values and principles, all developmental practice flows.” (Lathouras 2010:16).
Reference: Ingamells, A., Lathouras, A., Wiseman, R., Westoby, P. and Caniglia, F. (eds), 2010, Community Development Practice: Stories, Method and Meaning, Common Ground Publishing Pty. Ltd. Melbourne.
​“An example of underpinning values and practice principles as articulated by the CD practitioners at Nambour Community Centre:
Underpinning values: human dignity and worth, integrity/involvement, belonging, reconciliation, cultural diversity, social justice.
Practice principles:  cooperation, partnerships, sharing resources, education, accountability/transparency, responsiveness, pro-activity, sustainability, integrity, good process.”
From Chapter 2 'Developmental Community Work - A Method' (Lathouras, 2010, pp. 11-28). Reference: Ingamells, A., Lathouras, A., Wiseman, R., Westoby, P. and Caniglia, F. (eds), 2010, Community Development Practice: Stories, Method and Meaning, Common Ground Publishing Pty. Ltd. Melbourne.
​We all need to reflect on our core values and then draw principles from our values, as a principle is a pathway to action. Community development practitioners have the capacity to influence individuals, organisations, sectors and systems. The principles which underpin our work will shape the direction of that influence.