Submitted by: Tiburcio, Jean Laraine & Yao, Ann Melody

Submitted to: Dr. Jocelyn Del Mundo

Date of Submission: February 23, 2015

Effectiveness & Vibrancy

EFFECTIVENESS

• The capacity or potential for achieving results (Retrieved February 10, 2015, from Wiktionary)

• Power to be effective; the quality of being able to bring about an effect (Retrieved February 10,

2015, from Wordnet)

• Achievement of goals (Robbins & Judge, 2009)

• Effective community development results in mutual benefit and shared responsibility among

community members. (Retrieved February 10, 2015, from www.peernetbc.com/what-is-

community-development)

• The degree to which objectives are achieved and the extent to which targeted problems are solved

(Retrieved February 10, 2015, from www.businessdictionary.com/definition/effectiveness.html)

• Ability of an action to cause an effect, factors are: efficacy, screening and diagnostic accuracy,

health provider compliance, patient compliance and coverage; an act is believed to be effective if

it is able to produce the desired effect/goal

• It is the capacity to produce a desired end or goal. In community setting, it is the ability to

influence people and to effect desired change, not just short-termed, but long-termed.

Effective community development should be:

– A long term endeavour

– Well-planned

– Inclusive and equitable

– Holistic and integrated into the bigger picture

– Initiated and supported by community members

– Of benefit to the community

– Grounded in experience that leads to best practices

Characteristics of Effective Community Development Organizations:

– Specific initiatives take place within the broader context of comprehensive

neighbourhood revitalization strategies

– Residents control the organization

– Leaders identify the most effective role their organization can play

– Neighborhood needs are targeted

– Project selection is driven by mission, not just opportunity

– Evaluation of projects and organization is ongoing

EXAMPLE:

Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) The Orangi Pilot Project of Karachi in Pakistan started in 1980

(Uphoff, 1997). This venture now involves most of the residents in a huge squatter settlement outside of

Karachi with almost a million people. The founder of the project is Akhter Hamid Khan, a veteran civil

servant who helped to establish a cooperative movement in Bangladesh when it was East Pakistan. The

Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) was also established based on his two tier

cooperative model of development. Orangi is Karachi’s largest slum, long considered a no hope area. The

children were playing in fi lth; the streets were filled with excreta and wastewater, making movement

difficult and creating health hazards. Typhoid, malaria, diarrhea, dysentery, and scabies were rampant in

the area. Pearce (1996) reports that the residents of Orangi were aware of these problems, but they could

not solve them because:

1. They believed that the provision of infrastructure was the responsibility of the government (the

psychological barrier).

2. They did not have the technical expertise to construct a sewage system (the technological

barrier).

3. They were not organized to undertake collective action (the sociological barrier).

4. They could not afford the costs of a conventional sewage system (the economic barrier).

Appeals for government- funded schemes were in vain. The project was established to fi ll the

gap left by the city’s incompetent government, which failed to provide the slum with sanitation (Pearce,

1996). The most urgently felt need of the community was for waste disposal, so low- cost, participatory

sanitation became the first priority. The Orangi Pilot Project organized local people into street

committees, each committee consisting of twenty to forty families living in the same lane, and lent them

money to buy the raw materials to build their own sewage facility. Residents of individual lanes banded

together to elect a project manager and contributed cash and voluntary labor to get their own sewer

installed. Uphoff (1997) reports that almost 100,000 households are now blessed with sewage facilities

for between thirty and forty dollars each, plus labor and management inputs. Besides, local management

capabilities developed through lane committees have provided the foundation for housing, health, family

planning, community- financed education, women’s work centers, micro- enterprises, reforestation, and

other activities (Uphoff, 1997). Sanitation, combined with the OPP’s health project, has brought the

district’s infant mortality down from 130 per 1,000 live births in 1980 to 37 in 1991 (Pearce, 1996).

Nationally, the figure is 95 per 1,000 live births. Impressed by the project’s success, the government,

along with international aid agencies, is trying to replicate its model for urban development in other parts

of the country. To reiterate the importance of community participation in development, Akhter Hamid

Khan states:

The collapse of government here is very deep and probably irreversible. The old socialist model that

everything will be done for the people has failed. The old institutions are dinosaurs that will decay and die.

The new institutions, the vital bodies that can get things done, are arising out of squatter settlements. The

state authorities promise to provide most services, but they fail. In future, most communities will provide

most services for themselves. . . . We have broken out of the dependency culture. (Pearce, 1996, p. 42)

VIBRANCY

• Vibrant - Pulsing with energy or activity/Lively and vigorous (Retrieved February 10, 2015, from

Wiktionary)

• Vibrant communities actively promote the well-being of their members and the community as a

whole. They do this by ensuring support, inclusion and learning for everyone. (Retrieved

February 10, 2015, from Tamarack)

• In a report titled “Reclaiming Our Humanity,” Sherri Torjman, vice-president of the Caledon

Institute of Social Policy, says a vibrant community is one that: (Retrieved February 10, 2015,

from Tamarack)

– Provides support that meets the basic needs of all members (SUPPORT)

– Promotes inclusion to enable all members to participate actively in social, economic,

cultural and political life (INCLUSION)

– Promotes opportunities for the lifelong acquisition of knowledge and skills by all

members (LEARNING FOR EVERYONE)

• Vibrancy: the people’s potential to participate in community activities, measured in terms of

community space (local social facilities), engagement (neighborliness), and strength (local

organizational capacity); can be measured by the community vibrancy index (visuals, attitudes,

economics and civic partnership)

• In sum, vibrancy is the ability to enable members of a community towards actively contributing

to the welfare and needs of their own society.

Characteristics of Vibrancy (Retrieved February 10, 2015, from Centre for Small Town Development,

York, Australia))

The following characteristics compare a healthy vibrant community versus a stagnant dying community

respectively.

Visuals

– growing population vs. static or declining population

– attractive main street vs. deteriorating infrastructure

– healthy business district vs. empty shops

– presence of young people vs. aging population & low level of youth participation

Attitude

– open to change vs. change resistance

– 'future in our hands' vs. 'dependence on outside cavalry'

– 'can do' vs. victim mentality

– positive mindset vs. negativity, cynicism

– community pride and attachment vs. locals talk down community

– openness to new and alternative thinking vs. low tolerance for controversy and

alternative thinking

Economics

– willingness to invest locally vs. 'want someone else to pay the bills'

– diversity of employment vs. limited range of jobs

– diversified economic base vs. dependence on a single employer/industry

– strong local ownership vs. strong outside ownership of resources and activities

– strong local development vehicle/agenda vs. no or weak local development

vehicle/agenda

Civic Partnership

- diversified leadership base vs. 'same faces do everything'

- leadership renewal vs. limited leadership renewal

- collaboration vs.confrontation

- 'win win' vs. 'win lose'

- consensus decision vs. making polarisation

- inclusion v.s exclusion

- newcomers welcomed and involved vs. no effort to welcome or involve newcomers

- youth ideas and participation strongly valued vs. young people are not a priority

- regular opportunities for community dialogue, feedback, idea generation vs. limited community forum

opportunities

- lifelong learning and relevant skill development opportunities vs. poor education and training options

EXAMPLES:

The following examples are initiatives of Canada and partner organizations to make a vibrant

communities all over their country.

(Retrieved February 10, 2015, from http://tamarackcommunity.ca/downloads/home/vc_01.pdf)

Trail Builder Communities

Trail Builders are the living laboratory of Vibrant Communities, where new ideas about poverty

reduction are put to the test. The five Trail Builders are active members of the Pan-Canadian Learning

Community who are ready to implement strategic, well-planned poverty-reduction initiatives over the

next three years.

Trail Builders receive extra financial and coaching support based on a well-developed community plan

rooted in extensive consultation and partnership-building at the local level. Once a Trail Builder proposal

is approved, the community will receive targeted funding support from the McConnell Family Foundation

for up to three years to augment funds already raised locally. As part of their commitment, Trail

Builders will establish measurable targets they expect to achieve during the life of their project.

Collectively, the five Trail Builder communities are expected to help at least 5,000 Canadian families

move out of poverty, and build supportive partnerships with 250 community organizations, 100

businesses and 100 low-income leaders.

The Pan-Canadian Learning Community

The Pan-Canadian Learning Community is a virtual network of up to 15 communities from B.C.

to the Maritimes. In each city, a lead organization — typically a respected and innovative community

organization that has convened a roundtable of community, business and government leaders — acts as

the primary representative for our Learning Community. They’ll hook up regularly with other Learning

Community members to share experiences, offer advice, review new poverty research and help each fine-

tune their local poverty reduction efforts. Members will also be hard at work in their own community —

recruiting partners, building local support for new anti-poverty strategies, and passing on what they’ve

learned from other Vibrant Communities members. Learning Community members receive: funding to

develop community plans; research and communication materials; sponsored forums; professional

coaching; administrative supports.

References:

Effectiveness. (n.d.) Retrieved February 10, 2015, from http://www.wiktionary.com/EffectivenessEffectiveness. (n.d.) Retrieved February 10, 2015, from http://www.wordnet.com/EffectivenessKenyon, P. (n.d.). BEHAVIOURS AND ACTIONS OF COMMUNITIES THAT DISPLAY

VIBRANCE, RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY - SOME USEFUL CHECKLISTS. Retrieved from http://bankofideas.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/HEALTHY-CHECKLISTS.pdf

Robbins, S. P. & Judge, T.A. (2009). Organizational Behavior. Philippines: Pearson Education Inc.Tamarack. (2014). What is a vibrant community. Retrieved from

http://tamarackcommunity.ca/g3s43b.htmlUnderstanding community participation. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from http://lyceumbooks.com/pdf/Effective_Community_P_Chapter_02.pdfvibrant - Wiktionary. (n.d.). In Wiktionary. Retrieved from http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vibrantWhat is community development? (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from www.peernetbc.com/what-is-community-developmentWhat is effectiveness? Definition and meaning. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from www.businessdictionary.com/definition/effectiveness.htmlRetrieved from http://tamarackcommunity.ca/downloads/home/vc_01.pdf