community capacity for children, youth and families robert chaskin the university of chicago
TRANSCRIPT
Community Capacity for Children, Youth and Families
Robert Chaskin
The University of Chicago
No individual can live alone, no nation can live alone, and anyone who feels that he can live alone is sleeping through a revolution.
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This is the world as it is. This is where you start.
- Saul Alinsky
Overview
• Community as an organizing principle
• Defining “community capacity”
• Strategies for building community capacity
• Promise, limitations and challenges
Why community?
• Where needs and circumstances come together
Why community?
• Where needs and circumstances come together
• Manageable scale
Why community?
• Where needs and circumstances come together
• Manageable scale
• Assets and influences:
– Built environment
– Organizations and institutions
– People and relationships
Community Influences on Family Functioning and Child Well-Being
Community Influences on Family Functioning and Child Well-Being
• Compositional factors– Poverty– Crime, safety, physical disorder– Racial isolation– Residential stability
Community Influences on Family Functioning and Child Well-Being
• Compositional factors– Poverty– Crime, safety, physical disorder– Racial isolation– Residential stability
• Processes and mechanisms– Social ties and value consensus– Institutional resources– Routine activities and resource use
Orientations to “community”
Orientations to “community”
• As context
Orientations to “community”
• As context
• As target of intervention
Orientations to “community”
• As context
• As target of intervention
• As unit of action
Community Capacity
The interaction of human capital, organizational resources and social capital that can be leveraged to solve collective problems and improve or maintain the well-being of a given community
Community Capacity
Characteristics of Community Capacity Sense of community Commitment Ability to solve problems Access to resources
Community Capacity
Characteristics of Community Capacity Sense of community Commitment Ability to solve problems Access to resources
Levels of Social Agency Individuals Organizations Networks
Social Networks
Social Networks
Community Capacity
Characteristics of Community Capacity Sense of community Commitment Ability to solve problems Access to resources
Levels of Social Agency Individuals Organizations Networks
Functions
Planning, decision making, and governance Production of goods and services Information dissemination Organizing and advocacy
Conditioning Influences Safety Residential stability Density of acquaintance Structure of opportunity Patterns of migration Race and class dynamics Distribution of power and resources
Strategies Leadership Organizational development Organizing Organizational collaboration
Other Outcomes Better services Influence on decision making Economic well-being
Strategies
• Leadership
Strategies
• Leadership
• Organizational development
Strategies
• Leadership
• Organizational development
• Interorganizational collaboration
Strategies
• Leadership
• Organizational development
• Interorganizational collaboration
• Community organizing
Challenges and Limitations
• People versus place
Challenges and Limitations
• People versus place
• Contested ground
Challenges and Limitations
• People versus place
• Contested ground
• Limitations of the local
Promise
• Context of opportunity
• Addressing basic needs
• Connecting to broader spheres
• Foundation for action, planning and advocacy