 | ||
Community-based program design is a social program design method that enables social service providers, organizers, designers and evaluators to serve specific communities in their own environment. This program design approach depends on the participatory approach of community development often associated with community-based social work, and is often employed by community organizations. From this approach, program designers assess the needs and resources existing within a community, and, involving community stakeholders in the process, attempt to create a sustainable and equitable solution to address the community's needs.
Contents
Similar to traditional program design, community-based program design often utilizes a range of tools and models which are meant to enhance the efficacy and outcomes of the program’s design. The difference between traditional design and community-based design, when using these tools, is in the dynamics of the relationship between the designers, the participants, and the community as a whole. It evolved from the Charity Organization Society (COS) and the settlement house movements. Formally, community-based program development has been professionalized by such disciplines as urban studies and planning and social work.
One advantage is a learning experience between a consumer and a social services provider. One disadvantage is a limited availability of resources. The models that can be used for it are the social-ecological model, which provides a framework for program design, the logic model, which is a graphical depiction of logical relationships between the resources, activities, outputs and outcomes of a program, the social action model, whoses objectives are to recognize the change around us in order to preserve or improve standards, understand the social action process/model is a conceptualization of how directed change takes place, and understand how the social action model can be implemented as a successful community problem solving tool, and program evaluation, which involves the ongoing systematic assessment of community-based programs.
History
Community practice in social work is linked with the historical roots of the profession's beginning in the United States. More specifically, the history of community-based social work has evolved from the COS, and the settlement house movements. However, during the earlier half of the 20th century, much of this work focused on institutionalization. Not until the 1960s did the shift from institutions to communities increase the emphasis on community-based program design. This is known as the era of deinstitutionalization. Community-based organizations and community-based programs burgeoned during this period. The poor conditions of mental health institutions and an increasing amount of research that illustrated the benefits of maintaining the relationships of the individuals served within the community surfaced to further the growth of community-based programs.
Although social work has been historically defined by these institutionalized and deinstitutionalized periods, informal community design programs have always existed. In fact, informal community-based programs predate human service applications of this approach. In 1999, Melvin Delgado, a professor at the Boston University School of Social Work illustrated this point by quoting Harper (1990) regarding African-Americans' provision of health care in the community, stating:
Blacks have always cared for the sick at home, yet it was never labeled 'home care.' Blacks have been dying at home and receiving care in the process, yet it was never called 'hospice care.' Blacks have relieved each other from the caring and curing processes, yet it was never seen as 'respite care.' Blacks have cared for each other in their homes, in their neighborhoods, and throughout their communities, yet it was never referred to as 'volunteerism.'
Formally, community-based program development has been professionalized by such disciplines as urban studies and planning and social work.
Advantages
Benefits of community-based program design include gaining insight into the social context of an issue or problem, mutual learning experiences between consumer and provider, broadening understanding of professional roles and responsibilities within the community, interaction with professionals from other disciplines, and opportunities for community-based participatory research projects. Increased sustainability is an advantage of community-based program design. The program sustainability is ensured by the identification of solutions to problems based on existing resources accessible to all community members. Also, the involvement of local community leaders and local volunteers reinforce the sustainability of the impact of the program. Other advantages of community-based program design are collaborative participation, enriching diversity, serving clients in their community, and Addressing and meeting the needs of the community.
Challenges
Some challenges of community-based program design are the limited availability of resources, propensity for high levels of staff turnover, the reliance upon unpaid volunteers, participant retention, and the evaluation of a dynamic task environment. For the same reasons that sustainability is an advantage of this approach, utilizing limited available resources is a challenge. Based on free market principals and resource scarcity, programs often operate below pareto efficiency. Limited resources result in high levels of staff turnover and reliance upon unpaid volunteers.
Socio-ecological model
One model for program design is the socio-ecological model. The socio-ecological model provides a framework for community-based programs, and emphasizes the influence that multiple levels of society have on each other (see the figure on the right). This model typically demonstrates five levels of influence, although this may vary depending on the application. The five levels usually include, depending on the application:
- the individual
- the interpersonal
- the organizational
- the community
- the public policy
These levels can vary between different applications.
Logic model
Another common tool of program design that can be employed by community-based program designers is the logic model. Logic models are a graphical depiction of the logical relationships between the resources, activities, outputs and outcomes of a program. The underlying purpose of constructing a logic model is to assess the "if-then" (causal) relationships between the elements of a program. Community-based program designers can employ logic models to ensure that program inputs (available community resources) will support the activities of the community-based program, and that the outputs (resulting from the activities) will lead to the program's desired outcomes.
Social action model
For community-based programs that seek to address macro-issues, the social action model may be utilized. The objectives of the social action model are to: 1) recognize the change around us in order to preserve or improve standards; 2) understand the social action process/model is a conceptualization of how directed change takes place; and 3) understand how the social action model can be implemented as a successful community problem solving tool.
Evaluation
An emerging and growing practice of program design is program evaluation. Evaluation involves the ongoing systematic assessment of Community-based programs. Program designers often choose to incorporate evaluation into design in order to check program processes, determine impact, build a base of support, and/or justify replication/expansion.