How Community Development Happens

This booklet talks about how stronger communities can help people to achieve change or improve their wellbeing; and how they can help us all to deliver on national and local priorities for our society.

But mainly it invites you to think about what it takes to develop and support stronger communities.

The booklet has been produced by Community Development Alliance Scotland (see p20), the network for national organisations that support the principles of community development. It draws on two main sources:

• Some examples of community development  happening in very different contexts around Scotland
• Some of the replies our member organisations gave when we asked them about what community development means to them: how they see it as relevant to their work, and how their work contributes to it.

An important point that the booklet makes is that although tremendous strengths exist within communities, these are not automatically put to use, especially when economic disadvantage or rapid social change makes it difficult to do so. Intervention to stimulate and support action is required if communities are to benefit on an equal
basis from empowerment legislation and policies.

The booklet goes onto outline the main features of community development and then illustrates these features using a range of case studies.

Download the booklet  here