Community Organizing Participatory Action  Recreation

Research Community Organizing

(COPAR)  In its strictest definition refers to organizing
which takes place in a geographically
Presented by: defined living area, such as an urban poor
Rochelle P. Cabario, RN,RM community or a rural village
 A means for empowering people; its primary
Community is: aim is to transform a situation of societal
 A social group determined by: injustice, inequality and poverty.
 geographical boundaries  Both a process and an orientation; an
 common values and interest orientation for genuineness and liberating
 members know and interact with each other social transformation.
 creates norms, values and social institutions
Mike Miller’s Definition of CO:
Characteristics of A Healthy Community
 People are concerned with their health status - CO rectifies the problem of power imbalance
 Parents/Guardians are role models Transforming individuals from being passive into
 Health needs are accessible and affordable mutually respectful co-creators of public life
 Environmental and physiologic needs are
sustained  A social development approach that aims to
 Members are aware of their own health and transform the apathetic, individualistic and
biologic status. voiceless poor into a dynamic, participatory
 Attains independence and politically responsive community.
 Characteristics of A Healthy Community
 During the 1994 National Rural CO
 Gives credit to the governing body
Conference, CO was defined as a collective,
 Has a strong and reliable governing body
participatory, transformative, liberative,
 Everyone is working to attain HEALTH sustained and systematic process of building
CITIZENRY. people's organizations by mobilizing and
 Resources are open for everybody enhancing the capabilities and resources of
the people for the resolution of their issues
IN SHORT and concerns towards effecting change in
A healthy community is… their existing and oppressive exploitative
conditions.
PPHEMAGHER
Community Organizing
Characteristics:
 Human Biology History:
 Environment  Declaration of Martial Law in 1972 led to:
 Population  Elimination of formation of groups/organization
 Systems of health care grassroots activities were started by NGO’s and
church leaders like:
Classification:  Urban and Rural Missionaries of the
 Urban Philippines
 Rural  Task Force Detainees of the Philippines,
 Rurban  Episcopal Commission on Tribal Filipinos,
 Share and Care Apostolate for Poor Settlers
Components of A Community
 Core - PEOPLE SAUL ALINSKY – father of community
 8 sub-systems organizing
 Housing
 Education  1st Qtr 1970’s – CO was Philippine Ecumenical
 Fire and safety Council for Community Organization (PECCO).
 Politics/government  December 1972 – establishment of
 Health ASSOCIATION OF FOUNDATIONS with 10
 Communication system members
 Economy  From PECCO, ZOTO was born through the use
of ALINSKY’s method
 1976 – AF had total of 40 members including Community Development’s Assumptions
Philippine Alliance for Rural and Urban
Development (PARUD).  People’s worth and dignity are CD’s basic
 NGOs recognized the need to band together into values.
networks for purposes of linkaging,  Everyone has something to contribute
synchronization of activities, and cooperative  People have the ability to grow and learn
exchanges of experiences and resources.  Opportunity to reveal a new “SELF”
 Characteristics of Community Development
Principles of CO  It is for the entire community and community
life
 Brings about social change
 The social condition of the poor itself gives
 Finds solutions to community conflicts
opportunities to conscienticize the people.
 It is based on SELF-HELP and
 Tactics should be within the experience of the
PARTICIPATION
people and outside the experience of the target.
 CD’s programs should be based on a felt
 People generally act on the basis of their self- need/desire/aspiration
interest.  It is an educational process
 Man learns more effectively and more deeply  Involves technical assistance whether task or
from his own actual experiences. process goals
 The process of organizing moves from simple,
concrete, short term and personal issues to more Approaches to Community Development
complex, abstract, long-term and systemic
issues.  Welfare
 Man needs to deepen and widen his horizon,  Modernization
therefore, he must move from the particular to  Transformatory/ Participative
the universal, from the concrete to the abstract,
to apply one's experience and its lesson to Guiding Principles in Community
another situation. Development
 Throughout the organizing process, the people
must make their own decisions.  Participation by all
 Commitment
Types of CO  Voluntary involvement
 Democratic practices
 Grassroots  Transparency
 FBCO  Learning thru reflection
 Coalition  Flexibility
 Organized group
 Partnership between the people, NGO’s and
Strengths of Community Organizing LGUs
 Outsiders act as facilitators
 It is usually successful in building critical, self-
reliant, creative grassroots organizations COPAR
 Openness to experiment  A social development approach that aims to
 It is rooted in the community transform the apathetic, individualistic and
 Generates immediate success voiceless poor into dynamic, participatory and
 It immediately breaks the culture of silence, politically responsive community.
 As an approach for empowering people, it is
relatively simple and can be learned easily by  A collective, participatory, transformative,
anyone liberative, sustained and systematic process of
building people’s organizations
Key Principles in Community Organizing
Participative Culture  A process by which a community identifies its
needs and objectives, develops confidence to
 Inclusiveness take action
 Breadth of mission and vision
 Critical Perspective  A continuous and sustained process of educating
and mobilizing the people to develop their
capability and readiness to respond and take
action on their immediate needs towards solving
their long-term problems
 Pre-entry Phase
Importance of COPAR 1. Preparation of criteria and guidelines for area
selection
 Important tool for CD and people empowerment  Criteria for selection:
 Prepares community for self-independence  Leaders and community are
 Maximizes community participation and receptive/supportive
involvement; community resources are  CO can serve as model for elimination/
mobilized for community services. reduction of diseases
 High prevalence of diseases
Principles of COPAR  Economically depressed
 People, especially the most oppressed,  Must have a population at ten thousand
exploited and deprived sectors are open to and above
change, have the capacity to change and are  As much as possible no RHU/BHS
able to bring about change.
 COPAR should be based on the interest of  Phases in Guideline Preparations:
the poorest sectors of society  Piloting
 COPAR should lead to a self-reliant  Implementation of activities
community and society 2. Identification of target area
3. Assessment of target area
PHC objectives of COPAR
Entry Phase
 To make people aware of social realities
 To form structures that holds people’s basic 1. Establishment with leaders and agencies
interests. 2. Immersion
 To initiate responsible actions A. Integration with the community
B. Identification of potential leaders
Emphases of COPAR in PHC C. Information campaign on health Programs
D. Provision of basic health services
3. Agreement
 The members of the community work to solve
4. Direction Setting
their own problems.
 The direction is internal rather than external Guidelines for Health Care Worker
 The development of the capacity to establish a
project is more important than the project  Must recognize the role of local authorities
 There is consciousness-raising with regards to  Her appearance, style, speech and lifestyle
the situation of health care delivery within the should be in keeping with those of the
total structure of society community residents
 Must keep a low profile
COPAR Process
Helping Phase
 A progressive cycle of action-reflection action 1. Community profiling and analysis
 Consciousness through experimental learning  Collection of primary data thru surveys
central to the COPAR process  Walk through of the community
 Is participatory and mass-based  Collection of secondary data thru
 Is group-centered and not leader-oriented. interviews/review of records
 Data Analysis
3 Dimensions of Participation 2. Core group formation
3. Community planning Implementation
 Mode 4. Monitoring and evaluation
 Intensity
 Effectiveness Functions of Core Group

Phases of COPAR  Serve as a training ground for democratic and

collective leadership
1. Pre-entry phase  To build people’s potential and self-confidence
2. Entry phase  Help organizer gather data for deeper
3. Helping phase community studies and identify potential
4. Phase out/ sustenance phase secondary leaders
 Helps in laying out plans for formation and  A VIABLE community-based organization has
maintenance of a community-wide organization been established

Problems in Data Gathering Phase Out Strategy

 Uncooperative community 1. Conduct of an impact assessment
 Preventive measures: 2. Preparation of a comprehensive phase out
 Proper info dissemination action plan
 Conduct gen. assembly 3. Gradual pull-out of intervention
 Proper explanation 4. Institutionalization of the community
 Defective or Inappropriate questionnaires organization with other agencies who
 Preventive measures provide support
o Formulation of appropriate questionnaire 5. Provision of consultancy services
o Avoid using ready made questions
o Proper observation of the researcher Steps in Phase Out
 Determine factors to ensure sustainability
 Too many dead files  Determine when to phase out
 Preventive measures:  Identify which strategy plans to phase out
 Researcher should be well taught on how  Strategies
to fill up the forms  Education and training
 Proper observation of the researcher  Networking and linkaging
 Source is reliable  Conduct of mobilization on health and
 Questioning techniques should be development concern
reviewed and practiced  Implementation of livelihood projects
 Marking of the interviewed families  Developing secondary leaders
 Inconsistent data Community Immersion Program
 Preventive measures:
 Community health nursing practicum of health
 Proper observation of the researcher
care students.
 Inform the source of info to answer
 It is an integral part of CHN
survey as honest as possible
 Avoid leading questions
General Objectives:
 Questioning techniques should be
reviewed and practiced  Further develop the level of consciousness and
sensitivity of the community
 Lost/misplaced Documents  To provide proper motivation for the community
 Preventive measures to respond to the health needs
 Two copies should be prepared and kept  Specific Objectives
by 2 different researchers  Bring into consciousness of the actual plight of
 Consistency of the 2 copies the community’s condition
 Documents must be dealt with  Take active part in the management and
confidentiality implementation of a program organization
 Respond to health needs of the community
Phase Out  Acquire and develop skills
 Contribute to the enhancement process
Factors to ensure sustainability:
 Structure Steps in Building People’s
 Skills development and technology transfer Organization
 Systems
 Commitment 1. INTEGRATION
 Immersion
When to Phase OUT  Understand the bio-socio-cultural aspect of
the community
 When the objectives have been attained Methods:
 Change has been made  Participation of the direct production of
 Members of the community are able to take over activities of the people
the planning, implementation, monitoring and  House visits
evaluation  Conversing with people where they usually
 Community resources can be already gather
maximized by the people
 2. Social Investigation
- Known as community study Barriers to Building Organizing into
2. Tentative Program Planning CD Strategies
3. Groundwork  Community planning/development
4. The meeting organization often lack patience with the
5. Role Play commitment to organizing process.
6. Mobilization Approach  Definition of CO is tightly circumscribed.
7. Evaluation  There is a weak funding infrastructure
8. Reflection
9. Organization Application of COPAR in Community
Health Care Process
Social Mobilization
 Process of generating and sustaining the active 1. Community Assessment
and coordinated participation of all sectors at  COPAR strat used:
various levels to facilitate and accelerate - Integration
improvement - Social investigation
- Ground working
SM Perspective - People participation
1. It is a continuing process 2. Planning
2. Cyclical and dynamic; it has neither - Objective
beginning nor end - Activities
3. It is a deliberate strategy
3. Program Implementation
SM Benefits 4. Program monitoring and evaluation
 It raises people’s morale Types of evaluation
 Promotes sense of belonging 1. Impact evaluation
 Makes people committed to health work 2. Cost-effective analysis
 Contributes to wider development of the
community Community Diagnosis
 Enhances health care delivery o Process by which the health worker collects
data about the community
Factors Affecting SM
 Socio-economic environment o Types:
 Local culture, traditions and customs  Comprehensive
 Access  Problem- oriented
 Availability of resources Phases:
 Level of health literacy  Preparatory Phase
 Implementation Phase
Levels of SM  Evaluation Phase
 Individual
 Family Qualities of Health Workers in
 Community Community Settings
 Open
STEPS in SM  Tactful
 Coordinator
 IEC  Objective
 Community Organizing  Good Listener
 Training and orientation  Efficient
 Networking  Flexible
 Monitoring and Evaluation
 Feedback Functions of a Health Care Worker
 Community Health Service Provider
ABCD of IEC?  Facilitator
 Health Counselor
A = audience – target audience  Co-researcher
B = behaviour – what type of behavior  Member of a team
C = condition – under what condition  Health Educator
D = degree – to what extent
Qualities of An Organizer
COPAR Document Guidelines
 Irreverence  Title:
 A Sense of humor  title and table number
 Creativity  Barangay name
 Flexibility  Zone Number
 Tenacity  District Number
 A genuine love for the people  Date of Survey
 Table of comparison
Role of an Organizer  Shows percentage and frequency of the
 Facilitator compared data
 Animator  Shows the comparison between the variables
 Enabler  Legends
 Catalyst  Graphs
 Data Analysis
Goals of an Organizer

 Task Goals – goals concerned with the

identification of objectives and the development “What follows is for those who want to
of the means and resources to carry them out or change the world from what it is to what
implement them.
they believe it should be. “ (Saul Alinsky)
 Process Goals – refer to the enhancement and
strengthening of the community members,
competence for participation, self-direction and
cooperation.
 Relationship Goals – focus on changing certain
types of social relationships and decision
making patterns in the community.

Organizer’s Must Have Skills

 Interpersonal Skills
 Analytical skills
 Organization Development Skills
 Training Skills

COPAR Document Guidelines

1. Acknowledgements
2. Introduction
3. Table of contents
4. Community Profile
5. Vicinity Map
6. Spot Map
7. Barangay Org chart
8. Health Center Org Chart
9. Family Structure
10. Socio-Economic % cultural
11. Home & Environment
12. Knowledge and concept of health care
13. Responsible parenthood
14. Data on Community Development
15. Community Problems & recommendations
16. Appendices