What elements should be present in any community development initiative? Distinguishing community development from local development

Abstract

ABSTRACT While local development projects are critical for the improvement of local living conditions in communities throughout the world, they have often been referred to as community development. Beyond the conceptual misrepresentation it also has practical implications affecting the creation and implementation of accurate community development initiatives. Community development and local development have different defining elements, which results in specific and distinctive outcomes. In order to attain the sought-after outcomes intrinsic to community development, it is critical to denote and understand the elements that should be present in any of its initiatives. These elements are community participation, collaboration, capacity building, and empowerment. This paper defines each element, explains the benefits and challenges of each, and provides recommendations for their implementation. As a result, the distinction between community development from local development will be made clearer, providing the conceptual basis for correct development of community development initiatives.