Approach

The work undertaken by the Colorado Center for Community Development is based upon requests from neighborhoods, communities, governmental entities such as planning commissions, town councils and county commissioners, agencies and local organizations. In general, the Center undertakes projects for which: 1) the requestor does not have either the necessary resources or access to the expertise needed; and 2) the Center staff feels that the local commitment is suffi cient to proceed and chances for ultimate implementation are reasonably good.

Project work is carried out using community development principles and methodologies. The following list of elements is endemic for Center work.

Broad Cross Section of Community Involvement.

Anyone who has an interest, stake or role in an issue or problem in the community must have the opportunity to participate. Moreover, there must be a structure which continuously reaches out by informing (people act on the things they know) and inviting diversifi ed segments of the community to participate.

Consensus-Seeking Decision Making.

Democracy is individual participation in the decisions that affect one’s life. The community knows the basic problems and issues confronting them. Without basic information, people exclude themselves or are excluded by others who withhold or manipulate information. The provision of information helps to assure early involvement, allows a balance of perspectives and power, and nurtures participants’ continuous involvement. Discussions in groups must be free, open, and non-judgmental of persons involved. Every effort is made to strain toward a consensus of views, giving all participants the opportunity to articulate their views and contribute.

Group Building, Leadership Development, and Capacity Building.

In community work, small groups are where people participate, act, and interact; where all people are viewed as contributors and capable of leadership; and where the most learning takes place (increase of knowledge, changed attitudes, and ultimately altered behaviors). Group development depends on participation by all members in describing and defi ning problems, suggesting alternative solutions and actions for implementation. Giving people in groups the opportunity to something on their own initiative as a contribution to the group is the foundation of leadership development. Through group activity, community and group norms merge: Refi ned and revised group development integrates the diverse interests and opinions and fosters the increased social relationships within the community.

Problem Solving Process Followed.

When people come together in the development process, it is generally to address a problem, and that necessitates some problem solving process to be followed. The most common model followed to accomplish the task goals is to (1) defi ne the problem or goal, (2) gather facts, (3) seek possible alternative solutions, (4) choose a course of action, (5) implement it, and (6) evaluate the work and recycle the results.

Issues Linked in a Holistic Manner

Communities are complex organisms in which the parts contribute to the whole. To understand a community is to understand the horizontal inter-relatedness of community segments to one another. A community’s problems must therefore be investigated broadly, allied infl uenced recognized and assessed, and linkages made when and where appropriate.