About us :
Definition of CDL

We use a range of words and phrases within this website. Here we define what we mean by community development, community work and community development learning. The community development training checklist will help you see how the definitions fit together and relate to your work.

What is Community Development?
The Federation uses CDX's (Community Development Exchange's) definition. This definition has been drawn up in consultation with practitioners and is widely used:

Community Development is the process of developing active and sustainable communities based on social justice and mutual respect. It is about influencing power structures to remove the barriers that prevent people from participating in the issues that affect their lives.

Community workers facilitate the participation of people in this process. They enable connections to be made between communities and with the development of wider policies and programmes.

Community Development expresses values of fairness, equality, accountability, opportunity, choice, participation, mutuality, reciprocity and continuous learning. Educating, enabling and empowering are at the core of Community Development.

What is Community Work?
Community Work is about the active involvement of people in the issues that affect their lives and focuses on the relation between individuals and groups and the institutions which shape their everyday experience.

It is a developmental process that is both a collective and individual experience. It is based on a commitment to equal partnership between all those involved to enable a sharing of skills, awareness, knowledge and experience in order to bring about change. It takes place in both neighbourhoods and communities of interest, whenever people come together to identify what is relevant to them and act on issues of common concern.

The key purpose is to work with communities experiencing disadvantage, to enable them collectively to identify needs and rights, clarify objectives and take action to meet these within a democratic framework which respects the needs and rights of others.

Community Work recognises the need to celebrate diversity and differences and actively confront oppression however it is manifested.

Community Work is based upon a set of principles and values which underpin practice.

Community work aims to -

• Promote co-operation and encourage the process of participatory democracy.
• Encourage self-determination.
• Ensure the sharing and development of knowledge.
• Change the balance of power and power structures in ways that will facilitate local democracy, challenge inequalities and promote social justice.

For details of underpinning values and principles, a fuller statement of community work aims and objectives and the knowledge and skills required for community work, please contact The Federation.

What is Community Development Learning?
Community Development Learning takes place when individuals and groups/organisations come together to share experience, learn from each other, and develop their skills, knowledge and self-confidence. It is a developmental process that is both a collective and individual experience, based on a commitment to equal partnership between all those involved to enable a sharing of skills, awareness, knowledge, and experience in order to bring about sustainable desired outcomes. Community Development Learning is as relevant to policy makers and local authority officials, for example, as it is to community workers and community groups.

Community Development Learning occurs in formal and informal settings, including professional qualifications as a community worker alongside exchange visits between groups or an organised training course on Community Development for local authority councillors.

In practice this means:

• The content of learning is rooted in people's experience and community development principles.
• The learning process is inclusive and participatory.
• The outcomes facilitate the transfer of community development learning into action for positive change within communities.

Community development learning checklist
Full membership is intended for groups or organisations (not individuals) whose main activity is centred on community development training and learning. This means that you should be trying to bring community development principles and values into all that you do. To help you decide whether you should apply for Full membership you can use this checklist which spells out some of the things we think are central to community development training. None of us are perfect but you should be trying to work to the following.

• You help communities to define their own training needs rather than just running pre-arranged courses. In other words, the process of training is as important as the content.
• You use the National Occupational Standards in Community Development Work as the basis for planning and delivering your community work training.
• You use participatory learning methods and acknowledge that participants have existing skills, knowledge and experience that will form an important part of the learning process.
• Your training helps develop people's community work skills - ie the role of enabler and facilitator helping local groups take collective action.
• In designing and delivering training you address issues of access, equality of opportunity and anti-discrimination.
• Your training includes looking at the social issues and experiences facing participants, including power and powerlessness, and helps people reflect on and translate their learning into collective community action.
• Your group works in a participatory, democratic and accountable way.