A report by the Regional and Community Development Section of the United Nations which states that community development has to give close attention to the strategy and tactics it considers using and the time needed to realize its goals. (Author/DR)

A study of participatory evaluation by learning teams at 10 rural sites of the Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities program showed the importance of separating indicators of participation from project impacts. Evaluation of three categories was recommended: citizen participation (process indicators), impact of participation on individuals and…

Explains the context for equity, diversity, and interdependence (EDI), followed by a case study of a Northern Ireland service organization using the EDI process to help articulate the voice of rural community groups. Illustrates the value of concerted dialogue to facilitate systemic relational change in organizations and with their constituents.…

Considers whether two rural traditions of Irish community development--community councils and community cooperatives--conform to models of radical and pragmatic collective action. Shows that both have features of both models but gravitate more toward pragmatic, populist action rather than radical transformative change. (Contains 24 references.)…

A remote Australian town's initiative to develop an Internet cafe was based on a foundation of community empowerment and capacity building. The project's failure illustrates factors that inhibit community control: overstretched local resources, failure to understand impact on existing social infrastructure and social networks, and lack of…

A case study of an official organization's attempt to organize Dutch rural women who had already formed their own informal groups illustrates issues of knowledge, power, and control. The resulting conflict demonstrates the wisdom of following local organizing practices when attempting development interventions. (SK)

A survey of 23 chairpersons of town unions (rural sociocultural organizations) in Nigeria indicated that self-help projects in education and rural development were concentrated in areas lacking infrastructure. Recommendations were made for an organizing framework, leadership training, government assistance, and efforts to encourage active…

The Torrens Valley Youth Programme in rural Australia is an example of a partnership between a community center and a nongovernmental organization to provide youth services. The program overcame such barriers as differing organizational values and culture, different approaches (top-down, hands-on), insufficient funding, and opposition from the…

An article by the Secretariat of the Economic Commission for Latin America, United Nations, which discusses regional factors affecting rural and community development in the Caribbean, existing community development programs, and emerging trends in the region. (Author/DR)

A case study of residents in a small rural Washington community identified basic differences between long-term residents and new migrants: (1) perception of community leader characteristics; (2) support of growth versus maintenance of status quo; and (3) educational attainment. Demographically, the groups were more similar than different; the…

Article by the Regional Development Section, United Nations, deals with the relationship between community development and government, at the national and local levels. Includes a section on the manner in which community development and broad policies of social institutional reform are interrelated, using land reform as a case in point. (Author/DR)

Discusses a program of the Gandhigram Rural Institute for Higher Education (Deemed University) that attempts to improve the socioeconomic condition of neighboring villages by developing educational awareness and providing training programs for children and adults. (JOW)

Introduction of cereal mills in Gambian villages affected the lives of women and their communities in terms of women's access to the technology, the time and energy it saves, its sustainability, and their level of control. The energy saved enabled greater participation in the community, but they were still constrained by illiteracy and poverty.…

Rural women in less-developed nations use fuels that can be toxic and are becoming scarce. Feminist, sociological, and community-development issues were involved in the process of introducing clear-burning fuel, enabling a focus on both the effects on the health of fuel users and concern for ecological sustainability. (SK)

Interviews with 72 volunteers who participated in community development activities over 9 years showed that (1) all increased existing knowledge and skills; (2) on average, women learned more than men; and (3) the greater the level of involvement, the greater the learning. (SK)