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12 ■ COMMUNITY PRACTICE: PURPOSE AND KNOWLEDGE BASE can infl uence citizen participation and its effects on participants [and] . . . can also facilitate personal and collective competencies among participants and in- crease their connections to their communities, including increasing self- esteem, personal empowerment, and community empowerment . . . leadership and po liti- cal skills . . . and community pride and belonging. (142) Another important aspect of or ga niz ing is bringing organizations together into networks or co ali tions that can effi ciently combine the separate efforts of many individuals or small groups to effect a specifi c policy or change (Bruegge- mann 2006; Homan 2008; Mizrahi and Rosenthal 2001). PLANNING Planning is a pro cess widely used in community practice, and it will also be identifi ed later in this book as one of the eight discrete models of community practice. Planning is recognized as having a fundamental role in working with community groups. Community planning involves identifying a shared vision for change and outlining the steps required to achieve the desired changes. The planning pro cess seeks to engage citizens in identifying a condition for change, specifying the intended outcomes, and defi ning activities that will produce the desired outcomes. A number of researchers have examined the various aspects of planning. Murray Ross (1967), for example, advocated the use of both local and centralized social planning in social welfare and program development. Terry Mizrahi (2009), drawing on years of practical experience, identifi ed plan- ning as “a complex sociopo liti cal and technical pro cess” (872). Marie Weil (2005b) refl ected on the complex nature of planning and emphasized both the need for and importance of “participatory” planning methods. She defi ned plan- ning with communities as “the pro cess of social, economic, and physical plan- ning engaged in by citizens and community practitioners to design ser vices, community infrastructure, and neighborhood revitalization plans that are ap- propriate to given communities— urban and rural” (218). In recent years, both the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the United Way of America (UWA) have provided comprehensive planning manuals to community- based programs to help them practice step- by- step planning. The aim of pro- moting systematic planning is to help the community programs succeed and to better mea sure the results of their action strategies (Kellogg Foundation 2004; United Way of America 1996). In part, developing the planning manuals be- came necessary when both the community- based programs and their funding sources saw a need for concrete, specifi c information about the results of the program’s actions. These planning manuals rely on the logic model, which takes participants through planning by requiring specifi cation of program c identifi

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COMMUNITIES AND COMMUNITY PRACTICE IN LOCAL TO GLOBAL CONTEXTS ■ 13 resources, inputs, outputs, activities, outcomes, and changes. Planning tools of this type can be useful with large groups because it allows each participant to better understand and envision the direction of the or ga ni za tion’s efforts. Using a planning tool also provides an opportunity to gather comments and feedback from the entire group, which can increase engagement and the likelihood of reaching the group’s intended goals. In our recent work with grassroots organizations in North Carolina engaged in sustainable development projects, we co- created a workbook with members of community organizations, which they used as they planned, carried out, and evaluated hoped- for social, economic, and environmental changes. Our work- book expands the logic model pro cess by incorporating the rationale behind the creation of the community- based or ga ni za tion. In addition, we integrated or gan i za tion al and developmental theories with planned change theory to cre- ate a continuous planning model (see fi gure 1.2) for use by and with grassroots groups (Gamble, Weil, Kiefer et al. 2005). We describe the model’s action plan in eight steps (represented by the eight boxes in the continuous circle), which were adapted from our experience and review of planning and evaluation litera- ture. This body of literature is important because it aims not only to help com- munity groups improve their collective effectiveness but also to improve the economic, social, environmental, and emotional aspects of community life (Arnold et al. 1991; Castelloe and Gamble 2005; Freire 1972; Kellogg Founda- tion 2004; Pretty et al. 1995; United Way of America 1996). The eight steps shown in fi gure 1.2 are intended to be iterative rather than sequential, which more accurately refl ects the way groups function in the real world. When elaborating the planning steps for any community project, whether local or global, it is important to ensure community participation at all points in the pro cess (Fals- Borda 1998). Although organizers might assign specifi c respon- sibilities to task forces, action groups, or committees, guidance from the whole group is required throughout all stages— planning, implementation, evaluation, and refl ection. This type of participatory planning takes time and requires the skills of a good facilitator, but it will yield big rewards in the number of people who actively support the plan and hope for its ultimate success. In addition, participatory pro cesses embody widely valued demo cratic principles (Castelloe and Gamble 2005; Chambers 1997; Couto and Guthrie 1999; VeneKlasen and Miller 2002). SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Interest in sustainable development emerged in part from the dialogue among those working to alleviate social and economic disparities across the globe and those concerned with environmental degradation (World Commission on

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COMMUNITIES AND COMMUNITY PRACTICE IN LOCAL TO GLOBAL CONTEXTS ■ 11 come these problems. [It] . . . builds upon and strengthens interpersonal, social, and community relationships while establishing ongoing organizations that en- able people to sustain collective actions.” The community considered in the or ga niz ing pro cess may be defi ned by a geographic location or may apply to those with shared goals who are living and working in distant locations. Mi- chael Reisch (2005b) described or ga niz ing that emphasizes achieving social justice as radical community or ga niz ing that is “focused on the attainment of social justice and fundamental structural and institutional changes in commu- nities and society” (287). In his analysis of the root causes of social problems, Reisch bases his assumptions on the perspective that most existing social and economic structures have effectively prevented people of low wealth from reaching their optimum potential. He concludes that it is only with “the devel- opment of alternative economic, po liti cal, social, and ideological systems” that people of low wealth can hope to participate in community building (Reisch 2005b:278). In his work in Brazil, Paulo Freire (1972) used adult education as a method for community or ga niz ing and development. His “problem- posing education” brought groups of people together to examine their current problems in light of their contextual past. Working and learning with the poorest people in Brazil, Freire learned that people, “for whom immobility represents a fatal threat, for whom looking at the past must only be a means of understanding more clearly what and who they are,” can develop the capability to participate in and build their future (1972:57). Freire sought to foster this capability through a group discussion pro cess that he called conscientization. This pro cess involves bring- ing together a group to engage in refl ection and analysis of their present situa- tion, to plan for change based on understanding the past, to take action to change negative aspects of the present condition, and then reconvene to reassess and refl ect. Freire’s views on education and development are used in many parts of the world today (Castelloe and Gamble 2005; Chambers 1997; Hope, Timmel, and Hodzi 1995; Reisch, Wenocur, and Sherman 1981). The principle that underlies or ga niz ing derives from the demo cratic value that emphasizes how important it is that people be involved in decisions affect- ing their lives (Austin and Betten 1990; Kahn 1991). However, not all or ga niz ing efforts will be equally effective. If the community members do not perceive the organizers as “legitimate,” or if an institution outside the community imposes constraints on organizers’ efforts, then or ga niz ing is unlikely to succeed (Schmid and Salman 2005). When or ga niz ing is successful, the pro cess yields important effects on the psychosocial aspects of communities as well as benefi ts that im- prove the physical, social, and economic conditions of communities. These ef- fects of the or ga niz ing pro cess were noted by Mary Ohmer and Wynne Korr (2006), who found that or ga niz ing

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