Discussion Post

Name

Institution

Discussion Post, Involvement of the community in development program

Involvement of the community in development program makes the community own the program which immensely improves the chances of success of the program. In this development program, I plan improve public sanitary facilities and clinics to improve the communities health status. I will involve the community in various ways.

First I will create linkage and alliances with existing organizations in the community. This will help build trust for joint action. Engaging the organizations will bring about a broad range of levels of participations (Calley, 2011). Linkages and alliances ensure that the community, stakeholders, and partners involved in your program’s development give their maximum support and contribution.

Capacity building is also a viable approach for involving communities in projects (Doll, 2010). With capacity building, I will impart, in to the community, the necessary skills needed to implement and manage the program. Procession of this skill will enable the community have a say in the planning and decision making. The community can further participate by providing labor for the implementation phase.

Involvement of the community in the initial planning of the project is also critical. Focus groups provide one of the best ways of involving the community concerns in the planning process. Each focus group will be handled by a facilitator and member s in the group will interact and discus their aspirations as the facilitator take detailed notes. Involving the community members in the planning will ensure that the project captures the desires of the community (Doll, 2010).

Resource identification and mapping is also critical. The community members will help in identifying the resources it owns and map them. This facilitates determination of how they will be used in the project.

In summary, I will use alliances and linkages; capacity building; resource identification and mapping; and participation in planning and decision making to ensure that the community and all other stakeholders are involved in the implementation of the health program.

References

Calley, N. G. (2011). Program development in the 21st century: an evidence-based approach to design, implementation, and evaluation. Los Angeles, Calif.: SAGE.

Doll, J. D. (2010). Program development and grant writing in occupational therapy: making the connection. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers