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Discuss the approaches to community capacity building

      

Discuss the approaches to community capacity building

  

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Francis
1. Bottom up approach:
This approach focuses on training members of the organization and providing them with skills and knowledge which is not only beneficial to the individuals concerned but more importantly to the organization and the wider community. It enables developing a core of well-trained individuals which decreases reliance on external consultants and increases local capacity to sustain efforts when funding ceases. Rather than sending staff to training outside the organization or bringing in external consultants to conduct training programs, it has been argued that a more effective means of building capacity is for organizations to become committed to continuous learning and improvement. Thus, rather
than teaching new skills and knowledge, staff are encouraged to become ‘reflective practitioners' both individually and collectively with the expectation that this will lead to health programs which are more responsive to community needs.

2. Top-down organization approach:
It’s a form of restructuring which enables organizations to be more responsive to existing and emerging issues that may result in enhanced capacity. Building and sustaining capacity requires organizational capacity as well as the expertise of individuals. Training programs must be facilitated within organizations through decision-making processes which ensure that staff are able to participate.
Organizational infrastructure typically also includes non-personnel resources which in their presence or absence contribute to capacity. However, co-ordination and planning are often necessary to ensure resources, e.g. personnel, equipment and facilities can be mobilized when required and quality assurance systems may be necessary to determine whether an organization is performing optimally or to assist it to learn and improve.

3. Partnerships
This approach is based on the assumption that providing possibilities for the two-way flow of knowledge can lead to partnerships through which the resources required to plan and implement programs may emerge. This is especially so if prominent members of the community, including community leaders, community advocates and representatives, as well as professionals who can facilitate change efforts, are involved partnerships may be formed between organizations which are very different in respect of factors, e.g. power and influence, mandates and interests, but which may be crucial to achieving the aims of all parties Such interactions can lead to individuals gaining familiarity with new approaches and concepts
and result in changed understandings, attitudes and practices as well as learning the limitations of one's own professional discipline.

4. Community organizing approach:
It involves working with communities, especially with the most disenfranchised members of a community, to solve community issues: Capacity building can be characterized as the approach to community development that raises people's knowledge, awareness and skills to use their own capacity and that from available support systems, to resolve the more underlying causes of maldevelopment thus capacity building helps them better understand the decision-making process; to communicate more effectively at different levels; and to take decisions, eventually instilling in them a sense of confidence to manage their own destinies Moreover, capacity building aims to transform individuals from passive recipients of services to active participants in a process of community change . Underpinning this approach is the notion that the most successful programs are those which are initiated and run by the members of the local community. Nevertheless, the approach to capacity building is most likely to be effective in communities with existing resources, e.g. health and welfare professionals, who become involved with health promotion. To achieve this the community need to gain skills in leadership, expertise in planning and program development, decision-making and conflict resolution, developing norms and procedures and articulating shared visions It may be unrealistic to assume that lay-people are willing and/or able to take the initiative and lead a community health promotion effort. Such an effort requires passion for the issues, , an appreciation for existing community networks, leadership skills, and, most of all, time. Without accounting for such factors, even the best models are not likely to produce the desired outcomes.

5. Community asset based approach:
It involves development of policies and activities based on capacities, skills and assets of the community members. It is used to identify the capabilities of individuals and groups and groups by building capacity on them which can be used for developing the community.

6. Needs based approach:
It focuses on identifying gaps in the community then building capacity on them or investing in solution. It may involve use of external resources for example government funds, programme companies etc..
francis1897 answered the question on August 24, 2022 at 13:36


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