ROTHMAN, J., ERUCH, J.L., TROPMAN, J.E.: Strategies of Community intervention. F.E.Peacock Publisher, Itasca 2001 28 / Parameters of Intervention Approaches to Community Intervention / could not be encompassed comfortably by one practice orientation, and that it would be useful to think of different approaches that addressEd each of the three empirically distinct groupings represented by the students. I begun to stake out these three approaches conceptually, delineating a set of practice variahles to be used to analyze variations among ihem. This was, perhaps, a risky departure from the prevailing casework mode, but, in time, clinical practice also broke from ita solitary theoretical mold and began to include behavior modification, cognitive dierapy, ecological practice, and other frameworks. Social action presented a special challenge. Professional fields are typically conservative and eschew any taint of militancy—and that was especially true in the wake of the conformity-drenched decade of die 1950s, when nny connection widi radicalism was viewed with supreme suspicion. 1 needed to create an intellectual framework that would legitimate social action as an academic activity as well as an area of practice on par with other forms, something that did not exist in professional schools at that time. I thought of the three approaches, or models, as ideal-types. They did not exist to a large extent in pristine, full-blown form in the real world, but were useful mental tools to help describe and analyze reality. Over time I have come to deem-phasize or soften the notion of "models," which gives greater importance and internal validity to the approaches than seems Warranted, and to accent the overlap and intermixture among approaches. The next section of this discussion will sketch out the original approaches ns ideal-type constructs, and will also make a crass-comparison of them against a set of twelve practice variables. The last section, which is more practical and the place where the analysis leads, will consider combined and variant patterns that serve to integrate the different modalities. Core Modes of Community Intervention THREE MODES OF INTERVENTION Planning bos been defined as the act of deciding what to do about some community affair while, meanwhile, life is bringing ft around to a firm conclusion. And a typical committee assigned to deal with the task is, of course, merely a form of human organization that takes hours to produce minutes. These quips express a widespread popular view of social intervention as it is commonly carried out. Here, we will try to conceive of disciplined human reckoning that plays tricks on the natural course of life and actually begets intended effects, in furtherance of community well-being. Differing and contrasting formulations of community intervention currently exist, which has been a source of perplexity and discomfort for the struggling practitioner and teacher. Taylor and Roberts (1985) describe the fluid nature of theory development, stating that in this field, "eclecticism, pragmatism and practice wisdom of professionals foster a turbulence and diversity that makes categorization and model-building especially difficult tasks" (pp. 24—25). In the founding issue of the Journal of Community Practice, editor Marie Weil states: that in order to "reclaim and strengthen community practice, theoretical approaches, guiding values and practice strategies need to be articulated bo that they are both clear and carefully connected ... a grounding ... in reality and theory should be part of that movement farwurd" (Weil, 1994, pp. xxvii). A special issue of The Journal on Conceptual Models of Practice was issued in 1996 Administration (or management) (vdI. 3, no. 3/4). another form of social practice that tal Three important approaches to purposive place in the community within organi community change can be discerned in con- tional settings. It involves developing or temporary American communities, both nizations and keeping them nina urban and rural, and internationally. We will through obtaining funding and oti refer to them as approaches or Modes A, B, resources, arranging staffing, establish and C, and they can be given the appellations and carrying out procedures, maintain respectively of locality de\>elopment, social records, and similar activities. Orgi planning/policy, and social action. Within izotions constitute the vehicle throu each mode there are several variations and which social goals are pursued and relev distinct emphases, but in this initial discus- tasks are carried ouL Tiius, they provide sion we will select out and treat one promi- machinery for steering the endeavors of neot farm within the mode for purposes of three modes of community interventior analysis. The lliree basic Modes of action do in addition to direct-service agencies on< not necessarily exhaust all possibilities, but wide spectrum of other programs in ■ they offer a serviceable framework for a community. Administration practice ha: broad inquiry. These strategies ore general in crucial bearing on the performance of nature and are applicable across professional organizations, but it exists in a differ-fields and academic disciplines. However, dimension than community interventi the author's grounding in social work and and will be treated independently and au sociology will give a particular slant or tinge from this analysis, to the discussion. Li thB presentation, community inter- Made A, Locality Development. T. vention is the general term used to cover approach presupposes that commun the various forms of community level prac- change should be pursued through brc lice. "Community organizing" ordinarily participation by a wide spectrum af peo implies social action and sometimes at the local community level in delermini includes neighborhood work involving goals and taking civic action. Its prolory; self-help strategies. But it excludes social form will be found in the literature of a si planning/ policy development approaches, ment of the field commonly termed co Community organization has traditionally munity development. As slated by an ea been the inclusive nomenclature, but it U.N. publication: "Community Dev often becomes confused with more nor- apment can be tentatively defined as rowly focused radical community organiz- process designed to creole conditions ing. Community work is frequently used to economic and social progress for the win convey a locality development outlook. On community with its active participation a the other hand, social planning usually fails the fullest possible reliance on the comn to embrace grassroots organizing efforts, nity's initiative" (United Nations, 1955). Recognizing that there is no standard terrai- Locality development is a communi nology, community intervention seems to building endeavor with a strong cmpba be a convenient and useful overarching on what Selznick (1992) terms the "mo term to employ, although "community commonwealth." He describes this practice" has similar attributes and will be words such as mutuality, identity, partici; used occasionally as on alternative. tion, plurality, and autonomy. Local 30 / Parameters of Inten'ention Approaches to Community Intervention / 31 development fosters community building by promoting process goals: community competency (the ability to solve problems on a self-help basis) and sacial integration (harmonious interrelationships among different racial, ethnic, and social-class groups—indeed, among all people). Leadership is drawn from within, and direction and control are in the hands of local people (Dionne, 1998; Mattessich and Monsey, 1997; Minlder, 1997). It ia a type of activity that has been initiated and sponsored by religious and Service groups such as The Catholic Church and The American Friends Service Committee, and it reflects highly idealistic values. The style is humanistic and strongly people-oriented, with the aim of "helping people Id help themselves." The process of educating participants and nurturing their personal development has high priority. "Enabling" techniques that are nondireclive in character and foster self-direction are emphasized. Many of die precepts of the feminist perspective on organizing overlap with the locality development approach, including stress on wide participation as well as concern for democratic procedure and educational goals—including consciousness-raising (Hyde, 1989; Naples, 1998; Halselli, 1993). The approach is also used, some would say misappropriated, by political and business leaders who espouse local initiative and privatization, relying on enterprise zones and like programs Hint essentially intend to scale back sacial programs for the poor that are carried out under governmental auspices. Some examples of locality development as conceived here include neighborhood work programs conducted by settlement houses and other community-based agencies; federal government programs such as Agricultural Extension and The National Service Corps; and village-level work in some overseas community development programs, including the Peace Corps and the Agency for International Development (AID). To these can be added community work in the fields of adult education and public health education, as well as self-help and informal helping network activities conducted through neighborhood councils, block clubs, consumer cooperatives, and civic associations (Burns and Taylor, 1998). Thinkers who contributed intellectual roots for locality development include John Dewey, Mary Follett, Kurt Lewin, and Eduard Linderaan. Among professional writings that express and elaborate this mode are Blakely (1979); Chavis et al. (1993); Cnoan (1991); Henderson and Thomas (1987); Lappin (1985); Mayer (1984); Ross (1955). The terms "community development" and "locality development" have been used Id identify the approach. The locality development nomenclature was employed in the original version of this analysis to convey this perspective on intervention in a precise way. Community development is a more polymorphic term, which sometimes connotes institutional and policy means to strengthen communities from above (Mier, 1993), or suggests industrial expansion through economic development (Bingham and Mier, 1993). Sometimes it has a national or international frame rather than an explicitly local one (Goetz and Clarke, 1993). Locality development will be the terminology of choice here, and when "community development" is used it will connote a Mode A strategy. While locality development espouses highly respected ideals, it has been criticized far its performance record. Khin-duka, in the prior edition of this book, characterizes it as a "soft strategy" for achieving change. He indicates that its preoccupation with process can lead to endless ;. meetings that are frustrating for participants and conducive to a slow pace of progress. ;■; Khrnduka further argues that concern with •". modifying attitudes and values may divert attention from important structural issues that need more direct engagement. Also, many projects draw their participation largely from racial and ethnic minorities and the poor, when it is die attitudes of the affluent and well-placed that need rearranging. Embracing consensus as a basic modus . _ i' operandi precludes arbitrary actions from . £ . occurring, but it puts those who stand to lose from needed reforms in a position to W veto effective action. The heavy emphasis on the local community may be inappropri-ate at a time when the locality has lost { much of its hold over people and patterns of life are influenced significantly by power-?; ful national and regional forces. Khinduka |" admires locality development for playing a i: gentleman's game in the often sordid arena \ of community affairs, but he worries about t, whether it can win. 1- Mode B, Social Planning/Policy. This !'. emphasizes a technical process of problem ;; solving regarding substantive social prob- { lems, such as delinquency, housing, and l_ mental health (Kettner, Monroney, and Marlin, 1999; Burcb, 1996). This particular orientation to planning is data-driven and conceives of carefully calibrated change being rooted in social science thinking and ; empirical objectivity (unlike other existing forms of planning that are more political f- and emergent). The style is technocratic, r and rationality is a dominant ideal. ; Community participation is not a core ingredient and may vary from much to lit— tie, depending on the problem and circum-f, stances. The approach presupposes that . change in a complex modern environment s- requires expert planners who, through Hie ■ exercise of technical competencies— including the ability to gather and analyze quantitative data and to maneuver large bureaucratic organizations—are needed to improve social conditions. There is heavy reliance on needs assessment, decision analysis, Markov chains, evaluation research, delphi techniques, computer graphics, and a plethora of sophisticated statistical tools. The design of formal plans and policy frameworks is of central importance, as is their implementation in effective and cost-efEcient ways. By and large, the concern here is with task goals: conceptualizing, selecting, establishing, arranging, and delivering goods and services to people who need them. In addition, fostering coordination among agencies, avoiding duplication, and filling gaps in services are important concerns in achieving service ends (Austin, 1997; MandeU, 1999). Within Ihe field of social work, educational programs in planning and policy typify the social planning/policy approach. It also finds expression in university departments of public administration, public health, urban affairs, city planning, and policy studies. It is practiced in numerous federal bureaus and departments, in United Ways and community welfare councils, and in city departments and voluntary agencies geared to planning for mental health, health, aging, housing, and child welfare. The National Association of Planning Councils has been formed to strengthen these local community planning efforts. Intellectual roots for the approach can be found in the Uiinking of scholars such as Comte, Lasswell, Keynes, Herbert Simon, and Jesse Steiner. Some professional writings that reflect this mode include Gil (1976); Gilbert and Specht (1977); Kahn (1969); Lauffer (1981); Moroney (1991); Morris and Binstock (1966); and Tropmon (1984). SI / ľaramejers aj mreirennon While this approach emphasizes rationality in an explicit and formal way, and leans on it to lend legitimation for recommended actions (often by way Df voluminous and impressive reports), the other approaches (Modes A and C) also need to be firmly embedded in rationality. Developing a means to successfully achieve broad civic participation or carrying out n protest demonstration to place pressure on public officials each require a high level of strategic calculation, linking chosen means logically to intended ends. The rationality may not be as overt and public, but it is equally related to effective and professionally sound intervention. Planning and policy are grouped together in this discussion because both involve assembling and analyzing data to prescribe means for solving social problems. They overlap in some measure, but they also probably have distinct features. Frequently, in scholarly and practice writingB, the two are treated as though they are mutually exclusive. Policy is often associated with higher social levels—with national and state, governmental structures, and the act of selecting goals and framing legislative or administrative standards rather than actually establishing programs and services. No clear basis exists for this compart-mentalization of policy functions. There is policy development at the local level as well as at higher echelons (Flynn, 1985). It is conducted under private auspices as well as under governmental sponsorship (Pierce, 1984). And it has implementation and monitoring functions in addition to the goal-setting aspect (Pressman and Wildavsky, 1984). Gilbert and Specht (1974) conceive of a "policy planner" and define policy as "a course or plan of action," thereby essentially blending the two. In (his discussion we are addressing policy as professional practice rather than as a method for conducting an analysis to understand social welfare programs (Trapman, 1984; Jansson, 1984). Ironically, many planning and policy scholars write as though the oilier area does not exist, although upon examination these authors cover a great deal of similar ground. A divergence or different emphasis (areas of less overlap) lies in policy practice's concern with megagoals or quasi-philosophical frameworks that guide legislative enactment and program development, while planning is interested to a greater degree in the details of program construction and service delivery. In this discussion, "planning" will serve as a shorthand and convenient designation for the planning/policy approach. The data-driven form of planning and1 policy practice has a certain currency and appeal, with its coherent intellectual struct ture and ostensible ease of implementation. Urban planning schools and policy studies programs place a great deal of emphasis on providing students with ever more complex and elegant statistical procedures and computer modeling methods. This may be because these are readily available, can be manipulated easily tn a technical sense, and have an aura of mastery and complete-, ness that is missing in more political forms of plonning. Webber and Rittel (1973) state that the data-driven approach is flawed because it is based on the assumption that problems are easily definable, well-bounded, and responsive to professional intervention. Instead.-they say, contemporary problems ore "wicked" in nature—unique, intractable, intermeshed with others, and situated in a constantly changing and turbulent social environment. Two important factors place constraints on the prototypical rationalistic mode. The first is the intensification of constituency politics, a contemporary development that t makes planning highly contentious and a^:. interactive. Interest groups of various !JrJ' buds feel they should have a say and have ifeft-acquired a voice, and they place ihem-selves vigorously info the pluralistic process through which decisions are made. ^ Many planners and policy professionals pr.-. believe that interests of various kinds ^'rightfully should go into the defining of ~$ goals and setting the community agenda, k,-t because these are socially constructed 5gR phenomena and involve value choices that a££extend far beyond the purview of the |] expert or bureaucrat- 1-- Another factor confounding prototypical |l',-!,;iabonalistic intervention is the impact of Ij:1 fiscal constraint There is public aversion to |«^,tMntiDn and to governmental spending for W. social programs. Concrete economic condi-[pfj.faoaa involving industrial decline and receg-||f aioaary trends also place objective limits on BpssDcial progTam options. These public atti-jjp^hides and economic strictures have shifted W fanning from an optimizing stance to what akiHefbert Simon refers to as "fiatisficing." iTfie dual effects of contentious community ■'.politics and a public leaning toward a "get •tby" level of social programming place into % question the utility of elaborate, data-driven \i planning modalities. fg^&Afade Q Social Action. This approach wit presupposes the existence of an aggrieved ior disadvantaged segment of the population ■i Ihat needs to be organized in order to make ^demands on the larger community for j increased resources or equal treatment ■(Bnbo, Kendall, and Max, 1996). The par-ihcular approach we are describing has a militant orientation to advocacy with SP iespect to goals and tactics (although not all \ advocacy is militant). It aims at making fundamental changes in the community, -including the redistribution of power and ^resources and gaining access to decision tiypiuuí-ticů iu K^ummunuy intervention i 33 making for marginal groups. Social action intervention seeks to change legislative mandates of political entities such as a city council, or the policies and proctices of institutions such as a welfare department or housing authority. Practitioners in the social action arena generally aim to empower and benefit the poor, the disenfranchised, the oppressed. The style is highly adversarial, and social justice is a dominant ideal (Karp, 1998). Classically, stemming from die high point of social action in the 1960s, confrontational tactics have been emphasized, including use of demonstrations, picketing, strikes, marches, boycotts, teach-ins, civil disobedience, and other disruptive or attention-1 gaining moves. Disadvantaged and oggrieved groups frequently do not have at hand the funds, connections, and expertise available to oUiers, and consequently they rely heavily on the resources of "people power," which has die potential to pressure and disrupt. Training institutes sponsored by the Mid-West Academy and industrial Areas Foundation have been established to equip low-power constituencies with the skills to impact higher circles of power. The social action approach has been used widely by AIDS activists, feminist organizing groups, gay and lesbian organizations, consumer and environmental protection organizations, civil rights and black power groups, and La Raza and victim rights groups. It has been embraced by Industrial Areas Foundation and ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) projects, labor unions, including the United Farm workers, and radical political action movements. Tliinlcers providing an intellectual foundation for this approach include Marx, Fourier, Bakunin, and Habermas and it was advanced in part by advocacy activities of Jane Addams and her Progressive Era allies. 34 / Parameters of Intewention Approaches to Community Intervention / 35 Alinsky's Reveille for Radicals f 1946) and Rules for Radicals (1972) have typified the orientation of the social action mode. Newer writings also reflect this orientation (Boyte and Riessman, 1986; Burglmrdt, 1987; Cloward and Piven, 1977; Delgado, 1986; Fisher, 1994; Freire, 1974; Kahn, 1992). In recent years, social action movements have expanded their strategy bent beyond the confrontational style, and "new wave" organizing now employs a wider range of adversarial tactics. Political and electoral maneuvers that are more fine tuned and diversified are being used in considerable measure. This is because the groups have' become more sophisticated over time, there is less public tolerance far disruptive metii-ods, and power elites have become skillful in counteracting confrontations. Organizing has become less stridently ideological, and middle-class groups (and right-wing factions) have been drawn into campaigning on their own behalf or in joint actions. However, there is a great deal of fragmentation among groups engaged in social action. Advocacy has token on a particularistic caste, with each aggrieved constituency advancing its own special goals and interests in a "politics of identity" (Byrd, 1999; Gitlin, 1996). Even among people of color, African-Americans, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, and Native Americans go their own ways, independently and often competitively. Thus, coalition building has become a central concern in social action, since groups are typically not strong enough to achieve significant results on their own. But these coalitions are fluid, sliifting, and irregular; new configurations Iiave to be formed for different issues on a continuing basis—thus draining off energy that might be focused oa external targets. Fragmentation is especially handicapping because of the growing concentration of political and economic power locally, nationally, and even globally (see the discussion by Fisher an Political Economy). Relatively weak local entities that are disunited find themselves contending with powerful extracommunity entities that are functionally consolidated. Human service professionals have not been prominent in die social action area, but there has been continuing participation on n small-scale basis over the years. Major national organizations such as ACORN and the United Farm Workers Union have been headed by social workers. There are relevant professional groups, such as the Union of Radical Human Service Workers in Boston and the Bertha Capen Reynolds Society nationally, and there is also a specialized periodical, the Journal of Progressive Human Services. Modest salaries and the ahsence of professional perquisites are a deterrent to long-term involvement. But new graduates with an interest in basic social change are in a position to take this on as a communal responsibility for n limited time at the beginning of Üieir career. The Nader organization's publication Good Works (Anzolone, 1985) and the "Community Jobs" newsletter list a multitude of positions and career opportunities. The richness of die experience, the chance to join hands with aspiring members of oppressed and dispossessed groups, and a sense of accomplishment in advancing a valued and meritorious cause can compensate for temporary material loss. Some professionals have and wili continue to make this a lifetime commitment. A PERSPECTIVE ON DISTINCT PRACTICE APPROACHES Talcing an overview, this three-pronged orientation, as a broad cognitive mapping fr I device for community intervention, has a certain intuitive logic. Historically, several schools of social work have developed specialized programs for training according to the three modes. Thus, a community development program that was situated at the University of Missouri epitomized Mode A; the doctoral program in planning at Brandeis University, Mode B; and a social action program based at Syracuse University, Mode C. Morris and Binstock (1966), based on an empirical examination of community organizations, suggested a similar threefold division. Friedmonn (1987) attaches different language to these same approaches— social learning, policy analysis and social mobilization, as does Lyon (1987)—self-help, technical assistance and conflict. The formulation has also provided an effective conceptual framework for a historical volume on community intervention (Betten and Austin, 1990). Empirical studies of tile formulation lend general support Cnann and Rothman (1986) found that a sample of community workers in Israel distinguish between these approaches in their perception of their work and in tíieřr practice activides. Several studies in progress have replicated the inquiry with apparently similar results in Sweden, Egypt, Japan, Chile, India, and several other countries. (In the original study, social action appeared to be a more complex phenomenon than the other interventions.) In a series of case studies in Canada, Wharf (1979) observed that locality development and social planning were distinctly discernable, but that social action, while evident, again was more diverse. (We will discuss this disparity in the next section, "The Interweaving of Intervention Approaches.") Practitioners ' in Wharf's project found the framework particularly useful as an assessment tool, as did those in another Canadian study (Johnson, 1974). The studies also suggest the existence of variations and mixed configurations, which is the subject of the next section. However, here, for analydcal purposes, we view the three approaches as relatively "pure" expressions. The merit in this is suggested by Morris and Binstock (1966) when they refer to their own classification system: The categories are somewhat arbitrary, For U is sometimes difficult to say that a particular experience fits one category but not another. For these reasons it is particularly important to achieve os narrow a focus as possible in analyzing [intervention]: Otherwise a systematic treatment is virtually impassible (p. 15). Examining ideal-types, while recognizing they are to some degree artificial, has the particular benefit of allowing us to perceive practice variables and intervention components within the modes in explicit and crystallized form. This generates a wide range of distinct practice options, across intervention orientations, that can be employed selectively and in combination. (This will be expanded upon subsequently.) PRACTICE VARIABLES AND COMMUNITY INTERVENTION APPROACHES In order to proceed with the analysis, we will specify a set of practice variables that help describe and compare each of the approaches when seen in ideal-type form. Each of die orientations makes assumptions about the nature of the community situation, goal categories of action, concepts of the general welfare, appropriate tactics, and so on. A set of twelve such variables will be treated in the passages that follow. The varinbles are based on the writer's long-term experience and review of the analyses of practice by others. They are assumed to be salient but by no means exhaustive. A 42 / Parameters of Intervention Locality Development. Intended beneficiaries ore likely to be viewed as average citizens who possess considerable strengths that are not fully developed and who need [lie services of a practitioner to holp them release and focus these inherent capabilities. The Biddies (1965) express this viewpoint as follows: 1. Each person is vrilunble, nnd cnpable of growth toward greater social sensitivity and responsibility. n. Each person 1ms underdeveloped abilities in initiative, originality, and leadership. These qualities can be cultivated and strengthened (p. 60). Social Planning. The beneficiary group is more likely to be thought of as consumers of Gervicea, those, who will rccelvo and utilize those programs nnd services that are the fruits of the social planning process— mental health treatment, public housing, health education, recreation, welfare benefits, and so forth. Weyers (1992) makes this clear in highlighting the provision of social services as a key objective of social planning. "According to this point of view the efficiency of the community's social functioning will depend on the quantity and quality of professional services rendered to the community, 03 well as the way in which the community's concrete needs are provided for" (p. 132). In policy settings beneficiaries may be conceived as both consumers and constituents. Social Action. The intended beneficiaries are seen as aggrieved victims of "the system": of slum landlords, the medical establishment, government bureaucracies, racist institutions, patriarchal entities, and corporate polluters. Those on behalf of whom action is initiated are often characterized in "underdog" terms. 11. Conception of the Role of Intended Beneficiaries Locality Development. Beneficiaries are viewed as active participants in an interactional process with one another and with the practitioner. Considerable stress is placed on group discussion in the community tiH the medium tlirough which learning and growth toke place. Beneficiaries engage in an intensive group process of exploring their felt needs, determining desired goals, and talcing appropriate action. Social Planning. Beneficiaries are clients, consumers, or recipients of services. They are active In using services, not in the determination of policy or goals. Opportunities for members nnd conaumers to determine policy nte severely limited because they are not usually organized for tiiis purpose. .. the opportunity to control policy is short-lived becnusc the coalition will fall apart, lacking sufficient incentive to bind together the otherwise diverse constituent elements (Morris and Binslock, 1966, pp. 109-110). Decisions, then, are made through die planner, often in collaboration with some community group—a board or commission, usually composed of business and professional elites, who are presumed to represent either the conmiunity-at-large or the best interests of those being served. The data-driven policy specialist is likely to be looking over his or her bnck through this process, realizing that' constituency interests and pressures could have an impact on policy enactment. Social Action. The benefiting group is likely to be thought of as an employer of the practitioner or constituents. In unions the membership ideally runs the organization. The Industrial Areas Foundation will usually not enter a target area until the people diere have gained a controlling and independent voice in the funding of the organization. The concept of the organizer as on employee and servant of the people is stressed. Kolin (1982) holds that the "staff director of the organization, if there is one, should be directly accountable to the board and should be held accountable by (he hoard" (p. 70). Those not in key decisionmaking roles may participate more sporadically in mass action and pressure group activities, such as marches or boycotts. 12. Uses of Empowerment Empowerment is a highly valued concept in contemporary thinking and parlance (Colby, 1997). However, in some ways it seems to bo a buzzword that has to do more with creating a warm feeling than conveying a precise meaning. In the context of our discussion, each intervention approach values empowerment, but uses it in a different, sometimes contradictory, fashion. Locality Development. Empowerment signifies the gaining of community competence—the skills to make decisions that peoplB can agree on and enact together. It also implies the development of a sense of personal mastery within residents, as individual growth in people is considered a component of community building and a goal of practice. Social Planning. With its reliance on facts and rationality, this approach lends to associate empowerment with information. Empowerment occurs when residents and consumers are asked to inform planners about their needs and preferences, so that they can be incorporated into plan design. Such information may be obtained through community surveys, including focus group techniques and public hearings, or through analysis of data from agency service records. Tlirough (his arrangement, consumers ore afforded the right and means to have their views enter into the process by which decisions affecting them are made. Consumers are also empowered when information is provided to them about the various services that are available and particularities about these services, bo they hecome equipped to make the best decisions about what programs and services to use. Information plays an important part in the other approaches also, but is given special emphasis in data-driven planning intervention. Social Action. Empowerment means to acquire objective, material power—far residents to be an equal party in decisionmaking bodies such as agency boards or municipal commissions, or to have the political clout to directly affect decisions made by these bodies. Electoral campaigns are mounted to win seats on legislative units by representatives from the group, who will thereby have the authority to vote and engage in tangible trade-offs on the group's behalf. There is also attention to participants' personal sense of empowerment, because those individuals with a feeling of potency are more likely to lend themselves aclively to the cause, and to contribute to (he number count necessary for "people power" tactics of social action. There is still another way that empowerment is viewed, emanating primarily from the conservative camp. Empowerment is equated with the elimination of governmental regulations and involvements, so that citizens presumably gain the freedom to conduct their lives without restraint. The popular slogan, "get the government off our backs," characterizes this way of looking at empowerment. It is reflected in the wnrk nf 44 / Parameters af Intervention Approaches to Community Intervention / 45 neoconservative planners nnd action groups □n the radical right. Getting the government off the backs of same people at the same time removes protections and assistance given !o other, disadvantaged, people and simultaneously disempowers them. USES OF A MULTIMODAL APPROACH This analysts puts us in a belter position now to describe what on ideal-type intervention mode would look like. For an ideal-type mode to be in operation it has to include, in well-developed form, a large proportion of the variables attached to that mode in Table 1.1 (within its column), and to exclude all or nearly all of the components peculiar to any other mode. This is a tough nncl rare standard to reach in the emergent, disorderly oreno of community affairs. Modal tendencies are a more realistic prospect Still, there are advantages to viewing intervention from the kind of multimodal perspective that has been presented. In the first place, it is important for practitioners who are grounded in a particular organizational situation to be aware of their moorings. This framework provides a means for assessing the strategic leanings in the practice context: What are the basic assumptions and preferred methods of action in the particular setling7 In this way, the practitioner is more likely lo perform appropriately, consistent with die expectations of supervisors, colleagues, participants, and oilier relevant actors. Going beyond conformance to what exists, the practitioner may be in a position to create a form of action to deal with specific problems. Some rough rule-af-thumb guidelines can be posited. When populations are homogeneous or there is a willingness to exchange among various community subparts and interests, it would be useful to employ locality development. When problems are evident and agreed upon in the community and lend themselves lo programmed solutions through the application of factual Information, social planning/policy approaches would be a viable way to proceed. Finally, when subgroups ore hostile and interests are not reconcilable through usual discussion and negotiation methods, it may be functional to engage in social action. By assessing when one or another form of intervention is or is not appropriate, the practitioner takes an analytical, problem-solving stand and does not become the rigidified captive of □ particular ideological or methodological approach to practice. Consequently, practitioners should be attuned to the differential utility of each approach, particularly to the tactics used in each, and should acquire the knowledge and skill that permit them to utilize these in disciplined and flexible fashion. We will he expanding on that theme in the next section. This discussion has focused on a comparison of practice variables by following Table 1.1 horizontally across the community intervention approaches. For a feel of how each intervention made would be implemented using its own set of variables interactively in combination, the table should be examined vertically, down the columns. This highlights the particularity and coalescence of each of the approaches, but it also encapsulates them synthetically. The next section demonstrates why that is so. Before proceeding with the expanded treatment, it is useful to lake a moment to clarify the domain of discourse and to indicate what is excluded. Any analysis carves Us area of inquiry out of the infinite possibilities in the empirical world. The domain in this instance is the community table 1.1 Three Community Intervention Appranchw According lo Selected Practice Variables Mode a {Locality Development) Mode B (Sodní Planning/Policy) 1. Goal categories of community neu o n 2. As sump (i ans concerning community süneture and problem conditions 3. Basic change strategy - - movement from Theodore Roosevelt to Frnnldin ber of factors noted above contributed to the Roosevelt.19 emergence of charity organization societies in England in 1869 and, by 1873, in the T , United States.22 These societies iruliaify Liberalism According to Lerner the CDme into ex5smnce to coordinate the work credo al bberahsm has been progress, its Qf ^ rivalc {es whjch jded fof mood opUrrusi. .is view of human nature ^ needs Qf ^ ^ ^ ^ societies began io offer direct relief and According >£ lioeralism "has u^.* t..~a____, mood optimist, its view of human nature rationalist and plastic; it has used human rights rather than property rights as its ends but has concentrated on social action as iU means."10 Despite its problems, he states, "liberalism lias nevertheless emerged ns a central expression of the American democratic faith."21 Liberal ideas have been important in building support among the privileged For the voice of the underclasses to be heard in the councils of government and for them to reap the benefits bestowed by government. other services, as well as to coordinate me work of other agencies.23 Murphy smnnui-rized their program as follows: They established social service lnd^f" ™ exilic listing individuals or'cases known exchanges listing individuals or "cases" known lo cooperating agencies. They evolved the "ense conference," in which workers from different agencies interested in the same "ense" or the same family—workers from the settlement house, the relief-giving agencies, the child-pladng agencies, the agencies established to protect children from cruelly, the visiting nurac association, and others—would meel to plan a constructive course of nctiDn in behalf of the "cftsc." In come instances, loo. Hie charity organization societies made broad studies of social and economic problems and recommended specific jenjedifll measures.54 These social forces contributed to this ' several ways. The move- Community Organization Institutions As we have stated, community organization activities during the period between the Civil War and World War I can be divided into two categories: the first are those which were carried on by individuals or development in at.—— _ institutions related to present-day social tnent of large populations inio the cities, as welFare activities. The charity organization wejj ng (jje waves of immigration which societies, settlement houses, and urban met the manpower needs of growing indus- ,_' *- many social problems ossoci-- societies, settlement houses, leagues are important examples. A second category of activities are those that were conducted by those with no direct connection to contemporary community organization programs but which have become areas of interest for community practitioners. Examples include the organi- "LeiMf, op. cJl.. pp. 722-723. 3Dlbid.. p, 729. 3,Iblti., p. 730. tries, led to many social problems usau^-ated with poverty, inadequate housing, vCluules Loch Mown!, 77ie Charity Organloiilan Society, 1869-1913 (London: MeihHcn and Co., 13a"!), pp. 16-21 and 94, '< "The direct services which hod slgnlflcnncefDrllioi cmeigencs of socini casework will not be pursued & this paper. Only the community organIznlian antecedents will be noted. "Campbell G. Murphy, Canmumity Organttflllori Practice (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1954J, p. 3% illness, and exploitation. Both humanitarian impulses and fear of what these people might do in desperation produced agencies directed to ameliorating conditions. In a sense, this was an effort to counter the more radical ideologies. Separate efforts also were made by groups associated with different neighborhoods and ethnic mid religious groups, and those with different problems. Difficulties which arose repeatedly were: (1) The same people were approached over and over again to provide resources for such agencies, and they began to look far ways to make charitable solicitations more efficient and leas demanding an the few. (2) Duplication of aid was apparent, and those who offered it sought ways to avoid Ihrs and prevent the pauperization of the recipients which they believed was the inevitable result of indiscriminate relief. (3) Paid . functionaries arose-who sought to rationalize these ■activities, drawing their inspiration from the same weHsprirtgs that fed a developing progmnlic philosophy. (4) The resources of some charitable societies were insufficient for the maintenance of required services, prompting an incessant search for new sources of funds. During this period, leaders of charity organization societies harbored serious reservations about the wisdom of public activity on behalf of the poor. In general, they doubted government's ability to administer aid so that it would be rehabilitative. Darwinian ideology and a hedonistic theory of motivation strongly influenced their views on the matter. The Social Darwinians regarded relief as interference with the operation of natural law, and Ihc hedonists held that the only assurance of ■hflrd work among the poorer classes was ;.the fear of hunger and exposure. This was •.tempered somewhat by humanitarian Impulses. The charity organization societies distinguished between the "worthy" and the "unworthy" poor and chose to aid the former who, for reasons beyond iheir control, Were unable to support themselves and who, through the moral example of the societies' "friendly visitors," could be rescued from pauperization. The rest were relegated to tile not-tOD-tender mercies of the public poor law authorities, never lo he supported at a level .equal to (he lowest wages in the community so Uiat Uiey would constantly be goaded toward Self-support. The functions of the charity organization societies were cooperative planning among charitable institutions for the amelioration or elimination of various social problems and the creation of new social agencies and the reform of old ones. Charity organization leaders were actively engaged in securing reforms in tenement housing codes, developing antituberculosis associations, obtaining legislation in support of juvenile court and probation work, establishing agencies nnd programs for the care of dependent children, cooperating with the police in programs for dealing with beggora and vagrants, and supporting legislation requiring absent fathers to support their children.15 Some of the most significant contributions of the charity organization societies to community organization were the development of community welfare planning organizations nnd of social survey techniques. One of the earliest and most important examples was that of Ihc Pittsburgh organization. Writing in 1922, Frank Walson discussed the significance of Uie Pittsburgh survey: !S\^'C ^"^Ovanhamm Movant in ,h* PpimS h 'I1,E Mncn,i,Jn"Co-1922>" 72 / Parameters of Intervention Few af (lie offspring of (lie charily organization movement have had mote far-rcoching consequences or given greater promise of the future than (he Pittsburgh Survey, ilie pioneer socio! survey in this country. Interpretation of hours, wages, housing, court procedure and all the test, in terms af standards of living and 'he recognition that Hie basis forjudging of social conditions is the measure of life they oIIdw to those affected by them, constitute flic vciy essence of the developments that have since I alien place in pocial work.afi Out of the Pittsburgh survey come a council of social agencies which took upon itself (he responsibility for acting upon (he recommendations of the survey and can-ducting additional studies and reforms. The Social Settlements.27 Settlements emerged fifteen years after charity organization societies. Samuel Burnett opened Toynbee Hall, one of the first settlements, in the slums of East London in 1884. Stantoa Mlbid., pp. 305-306. "Tliis section tests heavily on the analysis of Allen F. Davis In Ills Spenrlieaiia for Reform: The Sadat Selllemenis ami Ilia Progressive Movement 1890-1911 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1967). Although Toynbee Hod is commonly referred la at the first social settlement, it was opened, nil hough only half-completed, on Christmas Eve af 1BH4 by two Oxford University students (sec Davis, p. 3). A. R Young and E. T. Ashtcii, In their British Social Work in the Nineteenth Century (London: tlautledge & Kegun Paul, 1956] claimed that Oxford House wns opened in October IBM, while Toynbee Hall was nnt opened until January IBB5 (p.Z30).Thus Toynbee Hnli was one of the first settlements to open its doors. Although Oxford House was leclmlctdly the Rtsi, Sumuel Harnett, wiw fathered the seUlemeut house movement in Grcal Drilain, was nssoeimcd with Toynbee Hail. This may account for the fact Uinl a number of scholars erroneously regard Toynbee Hall 05 ihe first settlement house. See: Frank j. Bruno, Trends hi Social Work (New York: Columbia University Press, 1948), p. 114; Arthur Hillmnn, "Settlements and Community Centers," In Harry L. Lurie (ed.), EncyclopEdia of Social Work (New York: National Association of 5ocird Workers, 1965), p, 69D. The nudiotE thank David Gilbert far bringing lids to aur an en don. Coit, who visited Toynbee Hall in 1886, established the University Settlement on the Lower East Side ofNew Yorklater that year. Although charity organization societies and social setUements were prompted by the same social conditions, their analyses of the problems created by Industrialization and immigration were quite dissimilar, lending them to different objectives and programs. Bamett, an Anglican clergyman influenced by the Christian Socialists, and John Ruskin sought to bridge tlte gap between the social classes and restore human values to a society dominated by materialism. Colt, strongly affected by Felix Adler and the Society of Ethical Culture, believed that nothing short of n moral and intellectual renaissance in city life woe required. This could best be approached, he believed, by bringing together people of all descriptions into joint efforts, breaking down tho barriers of interest, age, social class, political and religious affiliations.211 Rather than looking to individual character as the root cause of social problems, settlement house leaders typically saw environmental factors as responsible for the conditions they deplored. Thus, while the charity organization societies seemed more ideologically related to the Darwinian ideology, the settlement appeared lo draw more heavily upon the liberal, or even the radical, ideologies of the day. Tfic types of individuals who became involved in these two movements also were different. Charity organization leaders were persons closer (a the upper classes in society and epitomized nablesse oblige. They favored either reforming Ihe pDDr or modifying the most adverse of their social circumstances. Although exceptions on bDih sides can be cited, the settlement house 1DStonion A. Coil, Neighborhood Guilds: An Jiulmment af Social Reform, 2d ed. (London: Swan, Sommcrsducn end Co,, 1892), pp. 7-lfi, 46-51. workers were a different breed. Typically well educated and drawn from the middle classes, they were frequently critics of the social order who identified with and shared [be lives of the paar in some measure. Their writings usually lack the condescension so often found in those of the charity organization workers. Perhaps Ihe most sinking quality of Ihe settlement program wns its pragmatism. Unlike the charity organization societies, setdements had no predetermined scheme for solving the problems of society. In fact, they had no coherent analysis of the problems they confronted. Instead, with a general concern about (he impact of such phenomena as industrialization, urbanization, and immigration upon society, they searched for answers that would be bod) feasible and effective. Services were a major theme in fheir activities. They organized kindergartens and: clubs for cliildren, recreational programs, everting schools far adults, public baths, and art exhibitions.29 Social reform was, perhaps, the mast basic and self-conscious thrust of the settlements. Services were often initiated as experiments which, if successful, could serve as models for other institutions. Indeed, many of the programs demonstrated by the selllements were taken over by other agencies. The settlements' reform efforts went much beyond the organization of new or improved services. They included legislative campaigns at the local, state, and national levels. In the field of education, MCon temporary group work also traces its origins In these settlement activities. On the other hand, die insjnr thrust of group work 1b toward personal and Interpersonal problems, and community organization, toward social condlllcns in a wider context. There is Ettme Indication, however, that group work may again he emphasizing its earlier social commitments. A History of Community Organizing / 73 they worked for the development of vocational education and guidance in the public schools, as well as for the addition of school nurses, hot; lunch programs, and education for tlte retarded and handicapped. They urged the creation of small neighborhood playgrounds, housing code improvements, reduction of congestion through city planning, and the transformation of public schools into neighborhood social centers. Although settlement workers could not agree on the value of immigration restrictions, they organized such groups as the Immigrant Protective League to ease the immigrant's adjustment to the new world. Settlement workers fought for laws to protect employed women and abolish child labor, and they helped organize the National Child Labor Committee nnd.the National Women's Trade Union League. They were often involved in municipal reform activities, both at the ward and (lie city-wide levels, and many contributed to die platform nnd organizational work of the Progressive party in 1912.30 One theme ran through bath the service and reform efforts of the setdements—participation and democracy. Many of their service acdvities were designed to permit dialogue between working people and settlement residents. The residents involved themselves in the life of Ihe community so that they might know what services were needed. They worked to reduce the barriers that separated them from their neighbors, and the neighbors from one another. They invited labor leaders and radicals of their day to use their facilities. 3aA study indicates (hot, after his defeat in 1912, Roosevelt terminated Ids relationship with social workers and returned to a more traditional Republicaoism. See W. I. Trattner, "Theodore Roosevelt, Social Workers, and die Election of 1912: A Note," Mid-America 50, No. 1 (19Ö3), pp. 64-69. 7 community chest. Businessmen and indus-trialists believed that welfare services, like public utilities, should be held accountable :'J to the public. Because contributors rarely had time to investigate agencies that asked for support, local chambers of commerce ;i organized bureaus to (1) establish standards for welfare agencies; (2) investigate indi- ;| viduol agencies and measure their opera- tions against their standards; (3) .ii recommend those agencies that met the $ test; and (4) encourage members and the :| public to support organizations that .| received endorsement.69 £ The endorsement bureau had its critics. i| Because it mainly represented the large bust- '| ness and industrial contributors, agencies ,;T.5 viewed the bureaus as potentially autocratic ;j| and a ilireat to their autonomy. Furthermore, '£fj agencies believed that the organization ■§ might dampen contributors' interest and ;;j enthusiasm.70 The demands upon a small number of contributors also became very >| great. The first major effort to remedy these 4 conditions was taken by the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. After initiating a | study of the problem in 1907, the chamber launched the Federation for Charity and | Philanthropy in 1913. Cleveland's federation is generally considered to be a major land- -?| mark in the liistory of community chests,71 a \j name which was first used in Rochester, -J NewYork,inl919.73 «»Ibid., pp. 24-29. 'i 1DIbid., pp. 29-3D. 7lIbid., pp. 6B-71. ;J "Guy Tliompsoa, "Community Chests and United :: j Funds," Social Work Year Book, 1957, ed. Russell H. Kurtz (New York: National Association of Social >3 Workers, 1957), p. 176. :;| Community chests were dominated by three kinds of people: contributors, particularly those who gave large suras; solicitors, the small businessmen, service club members and middle management types who helped to raise the chests' funds; and volunteers representative of the health, welfare, and recreation agencies that were supported by the chests. The membership delegated much of the decision making to a board of directors, which hired an executive. In the beginning, most of the work was done by volunteers. Volunteers still con-Unue to play an important part in community chests. World War I gave a great impetus to the development of chests. Overseas relief and other war-created welfare needs stimulated the development of nearly four hundred "War Chests." During the 1920s the number of communities with community chests increased from 39 to 353.73 The Council of Social Agencies and Community Welfare Council. The first decades of the twentieth century saw the development of an increasing professionalism among those who helped the poor. The friendly visitor was replaced by the paid agent The charity organization societies founded schools of philanthropy which, beginning around the turn of the century, became graduate schools of social work. The development of the social survey—a disciplined effort to obtain factors necessary for planning—was another manifestation of the growing professionalism. In short, the growing cadre of welfare professionals, with the support of many volun-leers who served as board members of charitable societies, was interested in organizing a rational, systematic approach to "Ford, up. cit., pp. 327-328. A History of Community Organizing / 31 the welfare needs of communities. Their interest included providing for the gaps in service, detecting problems, and looking to future needs. This combination of professionals and volunteers formed councils. The first councils were organized in Milwaukee and Pittsburgh in 1909. By 1926 there were councils in Chicago, Boston, St Louis, Los Angeles, Detroit, Cincinnati, Columbus, and New York.7'1 Because of the potential conflicts noted earlier, one of the problems experienced by councils was their relation to community chests or united funds. Often councils have been regarded as the planning arm of the chest or fund, and this limited their rcla-tionsliip to publicly supported health and welfare agencies. Yet when councils maintained some degree of independence from chests and funds, they seldom could provide the necessary incentives to gain compliance with their plans. Those councils that were heavily influenced by chests or funds were often assigned responsibility for distributing the money raised in the united appeal, a function seldom performed by independent councils. Another problem of welfare councils was their relation with constituents. In lhe beginning, most councils were confederations of welfare agencies, largely those supported by chests. Within such a federated structure, councils often found it difficult to take forceful action, not wanting to seriously offend their agency constituents, which had a major stake in welfare plans. With the growing professionalization of councils, they often were reorganized as councils of individual citizens with an interest in welfare problems and services. This shift was indicated in the change in name from "council of agencies" to "com- "Ibid, p. 37. 6 82 J Parameters of Intervention munity welfare council." Efforts were mode to recruit those with a reputation For influence, and decisions have increasingly reflected the views of professional planners and their volunteer constituents rather than welfare agencies. In spile of this, welfare councils have not enjoyed a reputation for effective planning.73 The Social Unit Plan. Roy Lubove76 described a local development which anticipated one trend that later became important in community organization. This plan was launched in 1915 when the Nntional Social Unit Organization was founded. A pilot area was selected in Cincinnati. The sponsors desired to test: [he theory thai a democratic and effective form of community organization which slimulntcd people lo define and meet their own needs has to divide the citizens Into small, primary units, organize the occupational specialists, and insure nn "organic" nnd coordinate working relationship between the representatives of groups having special know ledge or skill for service lo the community nnd the representatives of tiic residents.77 The social unit plan led lo tlie development of block councils, block workers, and federations of such groups, referred to as tlie Citizens Council of the Social Unit. Occupational groups also elected a council. This program lasted lliree years and "concentrated on health services."78 The movement did not expand in this form, perhaps indicative of Ihe foci that tlie time for this idea had not yet come. "These changes did not occur unit! the late 1940s and 1950s, but arc reported here In complete the discussion of community welfare councils. ■"Luhove, op, cit., pp. 175-17B. ""Ibid., p. 176. "Oiid. The Organization of Elhnjc Minorities and Women. Particularly in the South, many institutions developed among blacks because of the patterns of discrimination and segregation which existed during this period. Out of school segregation, educational organizations arose. Black newspapers also came into existence because news of the black community was ignored by the white press. The exclusion of blacks from white churches led to a variety of black religious organizations.79 Many black soldiers hoped that their return from World War I would see a change in the patterns of racism they had suffered for so long. This was not to occur, as ihe IQan and other groups intensified their campaigns and "returning Negro soldiers were lynched by hanging and burning, even while still in their military uniforms."80 One reaction to this was the Universal Negro Improvement Association of Mhtcub Garvey. This organization rapidly become the largest nonreligious black organization. Tlie purpose of the movement wns to send blades back to Africa, and Ihe attraction of this Lo mony blacks was a clear indication of their disaffection with America. There was also militancy, and as Franklin stated: This wns die spirit of what Alain Locke colled "The New Negrrj." He fought the DemocrnUc white primary, made war on the whites who consigned him to the ghello, allocked racial discrimination in employment, and pressed for legislation to protect his rights. If he was seldom successful during the postwar decade and the depression, he made it quite clear that lie was unalterably opposed to flic un-American character of Ihe two worlds of race.Hl "Much of tlie material in this section lias been drawn horn John Hope Franklin, "The Two Worlds uf Race-. A Historical View," Daedalus 94, No. 4 (Fall 1965). pp. B99-920. BDIbld.,p.912. "Ibid., p. 913. During (Ilia same period, a major thrust of Mexican-American organization was toward integration.87 This represented the desires of the growing middle class to secure their share of the American wealth. An example was Ihe Order of the Sons of America, founded in San Antonio in 1921. An intent of this organization was to show Anglos that its members were different from Mexicans who cause problems.03 The League of Latin American Citizens had similar objectives. Meanwhile, Chicanb laborers were waging their own struggle. Lopez y Rlvns points out that "all over California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and other states they went on strike for better wages and living conditions aa well as an end lo racist employment practices." These efforts, however, met with "violent repression."54 Nevertheless, an Important development was the founding in 1927 of La Confederacian tie Uriiones Obnras Mexicattos. This organization held its first general convention in May 1928. Delegates attended from twenty-one unions ns well ns mutual old societies. Farm labor groups also sbntck the fields throughout California. The Confederacian itself engaged in major organizing activities Uuoughout the 1920s and 1930s.83 The actions of the federal government which had tlie effect of undermining Native American institutions continued during this period. One piece of legislation, the Snyder Act of 1921, continued to affirm the objective of tlie Bureau of Indian Affairs to provide "for Ihe general support and civilization of Indians."1*5 However, the "Lopez y Rivas, op. cit., p. 62, "Ibid. "Ibid. "Alvarez, on. ck. pp, 211-212. "Ttylor, op. ciL, p. 19. A History of Community Organizing / S3 Meriam Report of 1928 recommended "nn acculturation program on an understanding of the Indian point of view.""7 Even though these actions may have been inspired by good intentions, their patronizing nature was unsupportivc of indigenous institutions. One author, in an attempt to characterize efforts to organize women after the adoption of tlie Nineteenth Amendment, titles her chapter "Forty Years in the Desert American Women, 1920-1960."BB In the first place, there was no indication of a women's bloc vote, which some had feared. This was not to deny the fact, however, that in specific elections in those stntes that had adopted women's suffrage, the proportions of women voting differently than men made a difference in Ihe oulcome. An example was Che defeat of antisuffrage senator John Weeks in 1918.W The National Women's Party, however, continued to operate. It maintained a platform committed to full equality and supported the first introduction of Ihe Equal Rights Amendment into Congress in 1923. However, it was quite small and in 1923 had only eight thousand members as compared to fifty thousand three years before.50 The League of Women Voters was founded in 1920. This group was much less militant titan the National Women's Party and it declared in 1931 that "nearly all discriminations have been removed."91 The League wns less concerned about women's issues than child lobor laws, pacifism, and other general reforms. The general conservatism of the 1920s took its loll on the women's movement Tlie "Ibid. "Decknni. op. ciL, p. 285. B9Ibid., p. 286. 3nIbid., p. 2B7. "Ibtd. 84 / Parameters of' httervsntion prohibition against child labor, which women's gTOups favored, was attacked as a subversive plot.92 It was even charged that all liberal women's groups were part of a Communist plot.93 Despite this, women continued to found organizations including the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs (1919) and (he American Association aF University Women (1921). Development of the Profession Mast oF those who Irained for social work in the first two decades of the twentieth century were Htudying to become caseworkers. However, by 1920 Joseph K. Hart had written a text entitled Community Organization, and between then and 1930 at least Five books were written on the subject.9'' It is easy lo see why the casework emphasis existed in view of the prevalent ideologies and issues of the period, emphasizing individual conformity la the "system." In fact, community organization practice during this period was aimed largely at enhancing agencies oriented toward personal adjustment Except, per-hnps, for the workers in settlement houses, die "social unit plan," and the organizations developing in the black community, little thought was given lo die changing social institutions to meet the needs of individuals. Even in the case of settlements, the workers there often thought of themselves as educators, recreation leaders, or group workers. In the black community, organizers rarely identified with social work. Nevertheless, some different ideas were beginning to emerge. Mary Follett foresaw the advantages Id democracy of the organization of primory groups in the local communities. 9i Eduard Lindcman, who taught for many years at the New York School of Social Work, also spoke af the value of "an attempt on the part of the people who live in a small, compact local group to assume their own responsibilities and to guide their own destinies. "9S The emphasis of this period, however, was aptly summed up by Lubove when he wrote the following: Federation employed the rhetoric of the early community organization movement, but its intensive concern with the machinery and financing cF social welfare diverted attention fram cooperative democracy and die creative group life of the ordinary citizen ta problems of agency administration and service. It substituted die bureaucratic goal of efficiency through expert leadership for what had been a quest for democratic nelf-determination through jd)iii efforts of citizen nnd cperiolisL Community organization had barely emerged 03 □ cause before it hod become n function nbsoibcd into the administrative structure of social work.77 1929 TO 1954 Social work, as well as other institutions in the United Slates, waB deeply affected by the two major cataclysms of tins period: Ihe depression and World War n. To regard these years as a single period in American history may seem odd lo some readers, but they cover a coherent period in the devel- nHM, pp. 2BB-2B9. "Ibid "M=ycr Scliwarti, "'Community Organisation." Encyclopedia of Social Work, ap. cit, 1965, p. 177. "See for example, tier book, 77ic New State: Group Organization, the Solution of Papular Government (New York: Langmans, Qteeo and Co., 19IB), p. 217. '"Eduard C. Lindeman, The Community: An Intmdnction to the Study of Community Leadership and Organiiation (New Yoifc Annoclolioo Press, 1921), p. 5B. "Lubavc, Dp. cIl, p. ISO. opaient of ideas and isHues in community organization practice. A departure, from this pattern took place in the fifties, marked by the desegregation decision of the Supreme Court and die end of McCarthyiBtn, that period of ideological repression which received Its name, as well as much encouragement, from the late Senator Joseph McCnrUiy of Wisconsin. Social Conditions lb set the stage for the discussion of the history of community organization during the period, one should call attention to several social Farces. Depression Issues. The most apparent of the social forces at play was the vast increase in unemployment The bank and stock market failures oIsd removed whatever reserves people might otherwise have utilized in such a crisis. Mortgage foreclosures deprived many of their homes, farms, and small businesses. Tlia Growth of Government. The expansion of government programs was a direct result of the depression. Government expenditures, programs, and controls grew in unprecedented ways. The government heenmu on employer, a producer of goods and services, and a vast resource to restore the industrial processes. The federal government nlso became the most significant planner and promoter of welfare programs through the enactment, in the raid-thirties, of such legislation as social security and the minimum wage. The Growth of Unionism. The depression also stimulated a major upsurge of trade unionism. The founding of the CIO showed flint the labor movement was tit last free hum tlie limits of a craft bnsis for Drgnniza- A History af Community Organizing / 35 don. The passage of Ihe National Labor Relations Act in 1935 marked Ihe beginning oF an era in which government facilitated the development of unions and thereby became less the biased protector of husiness interests. The development of strong unions in the auto, steel, electrical, meat-packing, and. other industries had a major impact upon die industrial scene. The organization of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters gave the black community an important labor spokesman, A. Phillip Randolph. The International Scene. During this period, it became evident Hint the Communist party was flrrnly entrenched in the USSR. In Spain, Italy, and Germany, facist governments seized power. American counterparts of these movements were apparent in the developments within the United States. On the inlematiDnfll level, these developments had consequences of the most serious nature for the United States. lust at the time in tlie thirties that many prDgramn to solve the social problems of the country were being tested, the need to preporc for and Uien wage World War II increasingly absorbed the attention and resources of the American people. In fact only with the war did die country clearly came out of tlie depression. The Condition of Minorities Blacks. The creation of many NcW Deal agencies "added credence to the emergent fact that for die first time the federal government had engaged and was grappling with some of the fundamental barriers to race progress."98 On the other hand, there BaFinlicl and Qunrics, cp. cIL, p. <107. 99 64 43 150 / Parameters of Intervention CONCLUSION Small groups constitute an ubiquitous element in community organization. Yet, very little of group theory is reflected in both its theory and its practice. One wanders if many committees and other groups flounder because insufficient consideration is given to important aspects of group structure and process. In this papEr, only a few components itave been discussed. There are others, such as group conflict and its resolution, norm development, decision making, and so on, Hint are of equal relevance. Given Ihe different nature of client groups, goals and strategies of inler-vendon in community organization, there is need for more rigorous study and research on die application of small group theory witliin tiiis area of social work practice. REFERENCES Bales, R. F. "The Committee Meeting." In William A. Glasser and David L. Sills, eds. The Government of Associations. Totowa, New Jersey: The Bedminster Press, Inc., 1966. Bradford. L. P. Making Meetings Work. La Jotia. California: University Associates, 1976. Brager, G. and H. Specht. Community Organizing. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973. Burghnrdt, S. "The Tactical Use of Group Structure and Process In Community Organization." In Fred M. Cox, Jolui L. Erlich, Jack Rothman and John E. Tropman, eds. Strategies of Community Organization, 3rd ed. Itasca, Illinois: RE, Peacock Publishers, Inc.. 1979. Hartford, M. E. Groups in Social Work. New York and London: Columbia University Press, 1971. Houle, C. O. The Effective Board. New York: Association Press, 1960. Jay, A. "How to Run a Meeting." In Fred M. Cox, John L. Erlich, Jack Rothman nnd John E. Tropman, eds. Tactics and Techniques of Community Practice. Itasca, Illinois: F. E. Peacock Publishers, Inc., 1977. PlncuH, A. and A. Mlnnhan, Social Work Practice; Model and Method. Itoacn, liHnois: F. E. Peacock Publishers, Inc., 1973. Rothman, J. "Three Models of Community Organization Practice," In Fred M. Cos, John L. Erlich, Jack Romman and John E. Tropman, eds. Strategies of Community Organization, 2nd ed. Itasca, Illinois: F. E. Peacock Publishers, Inc., 1974. CORE ELEMENTS OF PRACTICE 7. Fred M. Cox COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVING: A GUIDE TO PRACTICE WITH COMMENTS This problem-solving guide was developed by Uic original editors and their students. Community practitioners will find that ttie guide directs their attention to a number of factors central to assessing community problems and developing a course of action for attacking diem. There have been a number of efforts to provide a model to guide community organization proctice. Murroy G. Ross developed a set dF principles to guide community organization and a discussion of the roles of the organizer (16, pp. 155-228; 17, pp. 157-231). Ranald Ltppitt and his collaborators studied a wide range of planned change efforts, which include efforts at the community level. From tins study, they formulated a discussion of the phases of planned change, die role of the change agent, an approach to diagnosis in planned change, and an analysis of the forces operating for and against changes (9). Roland Warren provides a five-stage model of the "development and change of community action systems" (25, p. 315 and pp. 303-39). Robert Perlman and Arnold Gurin □tier a "problem solving model" in thelr study of community organization, prepared under the auspices of the Council of Social Work Education (12, pp. 61-75). This list is by no means comprehensive (19, pp. 504ff.), but it includes those that have been most influential in shaping the present effort. The guide is ordered sequentially as the factors considered are likely to he encoun- tered in practice. The guide should be used flexibly. The experienced practitioner may not need to explore each point as carefully as one new to a situation. Few will have the opportunity to employ it systematically in every practice context. Nevertheless, we believe the practitioner will find it useful as a reminder of issues that may otherwise be overlooked or questions that provoke thought that may have an important bearing on practice decisions and outcomes. Some practitioners will be confronted with more "givens" and fewer choices than others. A clear understanding of the "givens" as well as the options is crucial for effective practice. Like most general models, ibis one may fail to call attention to certain questions of importance in specific situations. Many practitioners will want to refine and elaborate the guide to suit the particulars of the practice situation in which they are involved. In general, however, we believe that the guide can contribute to a more logical and coherent approach to confrondng problems in the multiple pressures and confusions of community practice. THE GUIDE This section briefly outlines the main categories comprising the guide to community problem solving. It will be followed by a more elaborate commenlnry thot provides further detail about each of the steps in the process. In preparing a problem-solving 752 / Parameters of Intervention statement at the outset of a project, the practitioner uses this commentary as a basis for deciding about what to include in the initial analysis. I. Preliminary Considerations A practitioner starts out by spelling out certain givens in the intervention situation that serve to structure and shape further actions. Intervention is typically carried out within an agency or organization that establishes the ground rules and gives the worker an assignment (whether specific or broadly conceived) (o implement The sponsoring agency has a preexisting mission and formulates the broad goals that are to be aimed for. It also typically has evolved preferences about strategies and tactics, which the practitioner has to take into account. Within the agency, factors of various kinds color the work: specific decision makers who create policy, lines of authority, norms of operation, and programmatic structures. The practitioner, as an employee of the agency, brings to bear on the assignment personal motivations and capacities, which intersect with the opportunities that are provided in the organizational environment and form a unique meld. Such factors should be mode explicit nt the outset as part of designing a plan of action. n. Problems An early step in all practice entails a problem analysis and needs assessment in order to provide a Firm basis for action steps. It is important to identify the type of problem, its location geographically and socially in the system, and its scope, and to determine those who are affected by it. Past change efforts should be clarified so that they can be built upon in an effective way. The practitioner brings to the situation only one per- 'a -Js spective among others; therefore it is useful >> to discern the perceptions of those who are j participants in the action or who will be y affected by it in one way or another. i HI. Social Context oF Urn Problem ; To gain a meaningful understanding, the i problem has to be examined in a sophisti-cated way. What was the origin of the prob-Iem7 Can it be explained through some ' ; theoretical perspective such as communica-lion blocks, institutional racism, or interor- ^ ganizntiqnal conflict? What structures and factions either maintain or can potentially alleviate U7 What ore the consequences of J taking action or failing to do sd for different j elements in the community: Who gains and who loses? -.; IV. Intended Beneficiaries Who are the people or groups that stand f to gain from the intervention? These can '-; be identified with respect to demographics, =} spacial location, ethnic identity, economic and political standing, and so forth. ;i Cleavages within the beneficiary group should be described, as well as their rela- ; tionships with various ports of the commu- 4 nity system. V. Goals The goals of various parties in the situation should be clarified, including the beneficiary system, the agency, and significant others. Based on the overall analysis, the practitioner needs to delineate a set of professional preferred goals, with an order of priority. These should include task goals related to concrete problems and process goals related to community competency and system maintenance. VI. Strategy The practitioner needs to go on to design potential strategies to address problem situations. A set of relevant tasks have to be Injd out and an action system conceived that is made up of participants and allies. In Bddition, it is important to identify people mid forces who will interfere with or resist Hie action plan. Needed resources and their availability have to be assayed. In light of this examination a preferred strategy should he outlined. VTI. Tactics Tactics comprise the mechanics of carrying out a strategy. FirBt there is the question of entry—where to start and with whom? The beginning phase also entails the notion of leverage—what initial actions give the best chance of sustaining the strategy? There exists the important matter of determining how to work interactively with the action syslem. Specific expectations have to be formulated, including an informal "contract", between the practitioner and those making up the action system. Some implementation steps include training and supporting participants, scheduling actions over time, using resources effectively, and dealing with the opposition in appropriate ways. VM. Evnluatinn Action in itself is not the essence of intervention. Actions are calculated to bring about beneficial outcomes. It is important in thinking ahead to consider means whereby to examine results in order to determine objectively and empirically whether goals were achieved and to what extent. The practitioner should indicate how the effectiveness of the strategy will be measured, as well as the effectiveness Community Problem Salving / 153 of the tactics. Only in this way will learning be derived concerning the viability of various practice options, thereby improving practice. IX. Modification, Termination, or Transfer of Action As an intervention experience nears resolution (as indicated through evaluation), it may be necessary to formulate new goals and strategies in order to move into a next phase. On the other hand, it may be time for the practitioner and agency to withdraw. In that case certain termination actions are necessary, including preparing the action system for the change, Concluding steps may involve transferring responsibility to a new agency, or institutionalizing the results within die community to insure the stability of die change. It might be useful in doing a problem-solving analysis to look ahcud and devise a scenario that predicts potential results and suggests terminal actions. ELABORATIONS1 As part of the effort to increase the professional character of community organization practice, we need to develop guidelines for decision making that are grounded upon tested generalities. As our knowledge base expands, it should be possible to rely more heavily on insights drawn from Ihe social and behavioral sciences. The problem in basing decisions on tested knowledge is to find a way to join the hodgepodge which is the reality of community practice and the generaliza- 'Tlie author ncknavjtcilgcn the canlribullami made by Ins colleagues Jolin L. Eilich and Jnck Hothmnti, whose critical enmmcnts and suggestions were used extensively in preparing Iliis supplement to the preceding guide. 154 / Parameters cf Intervention lions derived from research, which necessarily oversimphfy, and select a few factors believed to be of overriding importance. This problem is a difficult one for at least two reasons. First, our knowledge of what factors are most influential and their effects upon matters of importance to the practitioner, together with the various conditions that affect such cause and effect relationships, is very limited. Typically, we must be content with a combination of practice wisdom and partially tested theory validated under conditions quite different than those faced by each practitioner. For example, conclusions about group behavior are often based on laboratory data rather than Celd studies. Second, even when knowledge is very full and based an rigorous study, there are serious problems in applying it Scientific knowledge is the knowledge of probabilities, of the chances that certain actions or events ore likely to be followed by particular consequences. But even a high probability or B being followed by A leaves room for the possibility, in some minority of instances, that A will not produce B. And there ore always newly emerging contingencies, the effects of which ore unknown, and relatively unique configurations of evenls and conditions that were not anticipated in the research studies. Thus, even under the best conditions, we must guard against expecting too much from scientific knowledge in guiding practice decisions. What does the problem-solving guide contribute to this process7 First it suggests the major types of information that must be obtained by the practitioner if he or she is to reach informed decisions. Second, it offers the outline of an interconnected set of frameworks witlu'n which (o collect this information, It does not, however, provide propositions or generalizations to which decisions must be referred; these comments will suggest some additional sources we have found useful for this purpose. The comments are organized in the same order nnd under the some headings as the guide flbove. Wherever possible we relate these comments to the (Iiree modes of community organization around which this book is organized. L PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS A. Summary of Assignment The practitioner provides a brief orientation to the nature of the assignment. If the guide is used for training purposes, the instructor may find llus summary particularly useful. B. Agency The organization that sponsors the practitioner's work is the agency referred to. Its primary significance is in the possibilities il opens and the constraints it places upon practice. Social action is typically sponsored by groups of lilce-minded people who feel generally oppressed by the wider society, are offended by particular governmental decisions or social norms, or shore common interests they believe can be achieved more effectively through collective action. The group is held together by some common identity (ethnic or racial characteristics, ideological or cultural similarities, goals, a piece of turf, a shared sense of being oppressed by (lie larger society). While the sponsor is likely to be homogeneous in some respects, necessary funds may be generated by the group itself or may come from outside sources which may not fully identify with the sponsor, ils goals, or, particularly, its methods. This constitutes a problem for some social action groups because, as they engage in controversial ■ nativities, they may jeopardize their financial support. On the other hand, to the extent they are homogeneous they ore able to pursue their objectives single-mindedly, without undue debate over ends and means. Locality development may be sponsored by a national government, as in the case of many community development programs in . developing countries or in industrialized countries with groups oF people isolated from modernization. In such cases there may be conflict between the aims nnd values of the national government and the people toward whom locality development is dhEcted. Governmental sponsorship, however, may bring otherwise unavailable resources to bear upon problems of underdevelopment. In other cases, locality development is sponsored by groups who seek self-development, often at the initiative and with the continued assistance of some outside group (American Friends Service Committee, a community development pro-grom In a lnnd-grant college). Under these conditions, considerable emphasis is placed upon representing various segments of lccol people and upon their voluntary choice of aims and activities. Given the diversity of people within a locality, problems often arise in finding consensus and in sustaining motivation to work on common problems, hut, because these are necessary, the programs chosen represent what local people really want and may be mare permanent than those imposed from outside. Social planning may be sponsored by government at various levels or by private organizations. Backed by constituted authorities or die socially or politically elite, these agencies tend to view their mandate as deriving from the established political process or from democratic procedures ' in which all citizens are at least nominally free lo participate. They typically focus on bringing technical skills to bear upon social Community Problem Solving / 155 problems and are dependent upon the sources of legitimacy, so that tliey often overlook the views of Uiose who are the presumed beneficiaries or targets of their planning efforts. Insistent demands for wider participation may creale operating problems for social planning agencies. If the agencies con secure substantial support, both financial and political, and highly qualified specialists, however, they may be able to resolve social problems to a greater degree Uinn if support from those affected by the plans were required or fewer resources were available. The extent to which organizations are bureaucratized has a mnjor impact upon the kinds of tasks they can undertake and the strategies and tactics available to die practitioner. Organizations vary not only in internal structure but in relations with die social environment They emerge DUt of the needs of particular constituents, with whom they have a variety of understandings about goals and methods. As noted in the text above, social action agencies are oriented toward their memhers, while social planning agencies are creoted by elites to control social problems experienced by nonelites. Zold discusses this with special reference to factors affecting the autonomy of the strategies available to the community organization agEncy (Article #5). Rein and Morris discuss the effects of the planning organization's goals and structure upon the strategies it employs (13, pp. 127-45). Parenthetically, it should be noted that formal organizations may be important lo the practitioner not only os sponsors of action but as allies in a joint effort or as targets of strategy. C. Practitioner The practitioner's activities can be analyzed from two perspectives. The first 156 / Parameters of Intervention which examines the practitioner's motivation, capacity, and opportunity, was developed by faculty members at the University Df Chicago's School of Social Service Adrriinistralion (]4). This perspective raises three general questions: (1) Tb what extent do the personal and professional goals of practitioners coincide, reinforce, compete, or conflict with the goals of those (hey are trying to help and with those of the sponsoring agency? (2) Does the practitioner have the basic qualities of intelligence, ability to cmpatliize with others, a sense of personal identity, and tile special skills and knowledge necessary to operate effectively in a particular community organization assignment? (3) Does the practitioner have the support of the agency, the human and financial resources that are necessary to do the job with a reasonable expectation of effective performance? If (here are impediments in the situation, what, if anything, can be done to correct Ihem7 Ronald Lippitt and liis collaborators give attention to some of these questions (9, pp. 92-99). The motivation, capacity, and opportunity required will vary with the type of practice and the nature of the sponsoring agency. For example, the practitioner's ideological predilections and world view will affect the motivation to work far various types of agencies and the willingness to use different strategies and tactics. Skills in working widt different kinds of people (poor people, local elite) and in using various techniques (making population projections, teaching people how to handle unfamiliar situations) affect the capacity to work in different settings. The types and amounts of resources needed for effective practice vary for agencies with various scopes, goals, and strategies. Role theory provides perhaps an even more useful perspective for analyzing the practitioner's work. The ambiguity and conflict in role definitions by various per- ~ sons with whom die practitioner interacts, ;i the discontinuity between the various roles }l one plays currently and between past ^ and present roles, and the personal \ strain involved in learning a new role and '"i coping with the problems inherent in role o ambiguity, conflict, and discontinuity must be token into account in understanding the 'A practitioner's behavior and decisions (22, pp. 17-50; 9, pp. 91-126). ■]] II. PROBLEMS This section of the guide directs the community organization practitioner's attention to an analysis of the difficulties he or she is trying to remedy. The problems of 'j: concern are usually social rather than per- ' sonal, affecting a substantial portion of the :i people served and out of harmony with their preferences. They may be substantive s in character, i.e., problems such as mental ; \\ illness, insufficient housing, or delin- $ quency, or they may involve process, h affecting the way the society, the commu-nity, and its institutions ore organized, for-malty or informally, for dealing with social problems. Often the two are closely '4 connected as, for example, when it is assumed that the negative reaction to the mentally ill stems from the lack of community-based, institutions for dealing with "/ them—well-organized family care homes, recreation programs, emergency services for coping with personal life crises, etc. j Community practitioners are typically concerned with problems of both sub- ; stance and process. .-,} At this point the guide calls for careful ! observation and description. Explaining die problem is reserved for the next section. The practitioner describes the kind of prob-lem dealt with as clearly as possible, where }. It is located, haw widely it is distributed among different Idnds of people, and die degree to which one group is affected in comparison to another. The practitioner looks at past efforts to improve conditions, who made them, the extent of their successes or failures, and the probable reasons for these outcomes. He or she gives particular attention to differences in perceptions of the problem among the affected groups. The varying ways in which the problem ja perceived will be of particular importance. The agency, various subgroups of the client, and the practitioner may all see the problem a little differently and thus favor different solutions. In the context of social action, the problem typically will be viewed as one of social injustice—on oppressed minority not receiving its fair share of political, economic, and educational resources, a group lliat lias been deprived of some benefit or lias had some social cost inflicted upon it, ar a group seeking some benefit for itself at the expense of others for reasons it considers justified, Of increasing importance recently, many negatively regarded groups seek improved status and respect. In a locality development context, the problem often will be defined as a failure to modernize, to develop the necessary capital and skills (o facilitate industrialization at an appropriate rate or to build the necessary (services ("'infrastructure") needed to support an urbanizing population. The problem may be regarded as opposition to change (strong traditional or new but counterproductive forms of social organization), onomie (languishing social organization), or loss of local autonomy (an organized community losing control to national business, philanthropic, and governmental institutions). A normative view held by some community developers is that the problem stems from the failure of local Community Problem Solving / 157 democracy, the lack of concern about and a sense of responsibility for local problems. Social planning agencies tend to define the problem as one or more fairly discrete social problems (mental illness, crime and delinquency, poverty, poorly organized services) for which they seek various technical solutions. The problems with which social planners deal are seen as forms of deviant behavior or social disorganization. Deviant behavior, such as mental Illness, delinquency, or child abuse, is at variance with prescriptions for particular social roles. Merton makes a useful distinction between two types of deviant behavior, nonconformist and aberrant, which is particularly appropriate in the light of unrest among women minority groups, gays and students (10, pp. 808-11). The nonconformist announces his or her deviant behavior, challenges the legitimacy of rejected social norms, tries to change norms regarded as illegitimate, and calls upon higher social values as justified!! on for actions. Conventional members of society recognize that the nonconformist is dissenting for disinterested reasons. In contrast, the aberrant individual hides his or her acts from public view, does not challenge the legitimacy of broken norms, tries to escape detection and punishment, and serves personal interests through aberrant behavior. Social action groups of oppressed people may define their behavior as nonconformist and seek responses from the rest of society that First confirm this definition and ultimately redefine the behavior, prompting the nonconformity as acceptable rather thnn deviant. For example, those seeking abortion law reform, acceptance of homosexual preferences, or equality in job opportunities may use nonconformist means to secure redefinitions of abortion, homosexual behavior, and equal employment opportunities as nondevianf. Social planners may 158 / Parameters of Intervention assist them through legitimate ("conformist") means that are possible within the context of their work—drafting legislation, Inking matlers to court, enlisting the support of community lenders, and so forth. Social planners may also participate in efforts to redefine die behavior of some deviants who, by this definition, are aberrant but whose crimes nre trivial and are not regarded as morally reprehensible, Dr as victimless. The smoking of marijuana in moderation may increasingly be regarded as a trivial offense nt best or a victimless crime at worse. Those who engage in drug abuse, prostitution, gambling, and homosexuality are often hurting no one but themselves. Even where behavior cannot be redefined as acceptable, social planners may assist in relieving exacerbating responses, through plans for bail reform and community care for the mentally ill, for example. Finally, planning services to modify the behavior of deviants, using new techniques such as behavioral modification, will condnuc to be useful for a number of forms af deviant behavior. Other social problems are regarded as symptoms of social disorganization, not necessarily involving deviations from prescribed norms but rather reflecting incompatibilities between various ports of a social system, such as different rates of change (for example, technology changes more rapidly than social values). Poverty, housing shortages, water pollution, unemployment, and racial discrimination nre often regarded as examples of social disorganization that constitute social problems social planners seek to solve. Locality development practitioners typically view social problems from this standpoint, focussing on those that retard the maintenance or enhancement of a society or community (sharply increasing birth rates, general apathy, lack of entrepreneurial skills, or a failure of leadership). They are also concerned with the inability of a locality to obtain resources or achieve results from self-help efforts, Another way of looking at social problems is offered by Arnold Rose (15, pp. 189-99), who defines two perspectives. One, which we will call "disjuncdve theory," regards social problems as arising from different meanings being attached to objects that form the context of socio] interaction or from different values being assigned to the hehaviors displayed in relation to those objects. Marijuana (an object) is regarded by some as a potentially dangerous mind-altering drug and by others as a means to a pleasant "high." The smoking of marijuana (behavior in relation to the object) is disvalued by some and enjoyed by others. Poverty in the United States today (a set of objects or conditions) is regarded by some as an unfortunate but inevitable byproduct of the free enterprise system and by others as a needless hardship inflicted upon substantial (though decreasing) numbers of people by the economic system. Living in poverty (behavior in relation to that condition) is regarded as avoidable and remediable by individual effort or as essentially irremediable "tough luck1' by some and as unnecessary deprivation remediable by collective effort by others. In each cose, die problem is regarded as arising from lack of agreement on meanings, values, or bath. The disjunctive Uieory is often held, at least implicitly, by (hose practicing locality development and leads to emphasis upon (lie socialization process, education, nnd communication. If meanings attached to the same objects differ, efforts can be made to give people "the facts" so that increasingly meanings can be shared. If values associated with particular behaviors conflict, communication between tiiose who disagree may ultimately lead to a greater degree of consensus. The other perspective Rose calls "conflict theory." From this point of view, social problems ore the product of competition for scarce resources (wealth, prestige, power) which results in painful struggles over their distribution, with some being dissatisfied at the outcome. Conflict theory assumes that values are held in common, that is, most people want the some things and will fight over Uieir distribution, while disjunctive theory assumes that social problems arise from wanting different things or defining the same things in different ways. Those engaged in social action tend to regard BDcial problems from the perspective of conflict theory. Although these practitioners may agree that some secondary grounds for conflict may arise from different meanings being attached to the same events (for example, the lack of a common understanding about die "facts" of poverty), they argue that die basic problem is one of maldistribution (of jobB or income). Social action practitioners try to solve social problems by mobilizing power to induce a redistribution af Ihe valued objects in favor of tiieir constituents or intended beneficiaries. in. SOCIAL CONTEXT OF THE PROBLEM A. Origins The practitioner must take care to interpret Hie origins Df a problem. He or she may understand how a problem came to be by examining its origins, but cannot thereby explain its persistence. Conditions that brought about a problem originally often fade, so that present conditions can only be explained by reference to factors currently operating. The practitioner must search for Contemporary conditions that are causally Community Problem Salving / 159 connected with tile problem and try to change them. An effort should be made tD understand the historical roots of the problem, particularly if there is a long or significant history affecting the present state of affairs. Coleman discusses what he calls residues of organization and sentiment that build up as people interact in community life and may lake the form of collaborative patterns, expressed In latent or manifest forms of social organization or in organized cleavages such as those between rival political parties or ethnic groups. They may also be expressed in sentiments of liking and respect or of hostility (4, pp. 670-95). B. Theory of the Problem It is at this point in the analysis that attention is directed toward a search for controlling factors. Assuming thot most problems are sustained by a wide variety of factors and that some are more influential than others, the practitioner's task is two-fold: First, one must locate factors tiiat have a major effect on the problem to be corrected. Second, one must choose problems one can reasonably expect to influence, given the time, money, personnel and other resources at one's disposal. In mnny social action contexts, the problem will be understood as some form of conflict between "haves" and "have-nots." But greater specificity is required. Which particular interests are pitted against one another7 What are the dynamics of the conflict? Are there any aspects of the problem or any facts that do not seem to fit into n conflict perspective? What are the implications for intervention? In many cases of locality development, the problem will he regarded as arising from barriers to communication or 160 / Parameters of'Intervention different rates of change, i.e., some form of disjunction or social disorganization. But it is important which specific theory or set of theories is selected, for this will exercise an important influence on strategies and tactics chosen. Most practitioners engaged in social planning will consider alternative theories explaining various social problems they are charged with ameliorating. But, again, the specific theory chosen is of great importance in shaping the action taken. If, for example, lower-class male delinquency is conceived of as arising from a lack of legitimate opportunities for success in American society, efforts will be made to expand those opportunities. If, on the other hand, delinquency is thought to arise from psychological problems or parental rejection, efforts will be directed toward various formB of counseling or the strengthening or substitution of parental relations. Or, if the labeling of youngsters ns delinquent and the consequent processing through the criminal justice system are thought to be responsible for die perpetuation of delinquent behavior, efforts will be made to decriminalize certain behavior and handle young people who transgress social norms outside the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, the explanation of the problem chosen. by (or more typically implicit in the behavior of) the practitioner is usually limited by the ideology and values of the employing organization or the practitioner. The practitioner should explore Iiis or her own preconceptions and those of the employer to determine what limits such preconceptions place on the choice of an explanation for the problem. However the theory of the problem arises, whether it is implicit in various predisposing values or is more rationally developed, it will have a major influence on the goals and strategies chosen for dealing with the problem. C. Structural-Functional Analysis of the Problem The practitioner begins with an assessment of available "theories of the problem." One selects the most reliable theories, and within them the factors that are both potent and potentially controllable. The next step is careful observation of the particular social problem in its context, collecting information witliin the framework of the theories and hypotheses selected earlier. The outline suggests that both the impact of various factors on the social problem in question and the effect of the problem on these factors be assessed. For example, we might identify particular social structures (schools, employers) that systematically deny opportunities to persons of lower socioeconomic or ethnic minority status, thus creating discontent, delinquent behavior, and so forth. We might then show the impact of such behavior on schools, ethnic minorities, and so forth, emphasizing the differential effects on various groups. This, of course, has implications for which groups, individuals, or organizations may be recruited into organized efforts to alleviate die problems. Two useful terms in this section of the commentary are functional and dysfunctional: The functional consequences of action strengthen and unify social systems; dysfunctional consequences produce conflict or threaten disruption of existing social patterns. However, these terms should not be confused with "good" and "bad." Functional consequences can perpetuate what is, from the practitioner's perspective, an undesirable system, such as patterns of racial discrimination in housing and employment Likewise, dysfunctional consequences may be exacfly what the practitioner desires. For example, the early sit-ins, in addiUon to disrupting preexisting patterns of race relations, tended to enhance die self-esteem of black people and provide experience in contentious organized action. IV. INTENDED BENEFICIARIES The "client" is defined as the intended beneficiary of the practitioner's activities. It may he a group of people, o formal organization, or a population category. Clients can be analyzed in terms similar to other forms of social organization. Some of the factors that may be most important are outlined in die guide. The major implication of diis section is that the beneficiaries must be identified and understood both in their context, I.e., their relations to aUier social phenomena, and in their internal structure. We must also be sensitive to changes that have taken place in the group and the reasons for them. The definition of intended beneficiaries farces the- practitioner to be clear about whom he or she is trying to help and to differentiate them from others who are regarded in more instrumental terms. There was a time when it was conventional for the community organizer to say that the client is the community. This rhetoric tends to hide the fact that particular actions may benefit some, harm others, and have Iittie effect on still others. The suggested definition makes the praedtioner consider whose interests will be sacrificed last if decisions must be mode requiring that someone pay a price. It also demands mat the practitioner consider how much to expect others to "pay" for the sake of the intended beneficiaries and decide whether the price is justifiable. If they are a group of individuals with strongly held common interests that can be Community Problem Salving / 161 rather precisely defined, the practitioner will have little difficulty in knowing wiiat benefits to work for on their behalf. On die other hand, one is likely to have difficulty in gaining allies and support for the group. If they are a heterogeneous group with common interests that can be defined only at the most general level, the practitioner probably will have trouble in defining precisely what to aim for. The chances of alienating some faction of the clientele are increased, but the group is likely to be much more inclusive, and thus the practitioner will have less difficulty in gaining needed outside support. As Rothman notes (Article #1), the beneficiary group is viewed differently in the several contexts of practice. In locality development, they are citizens and participants in local problem solving. In social planning, they are consumers and recipients of services. In social action they are victims of oppression and employers or constituents of the practitioner. The kind of beneficiaries one is able to serve is limited, in important ways, by the type of organization that employs one. That is, it is most difficult for a practitioner to give primacy to the interests of a group that is not the primary beneficiary of Ins or her employer. Blau and Scott have developed a typology of organizations based on the identity of the groups that are die primary beneficiaries of organizations (2, pp. 42-57). The main implication for practice is that the practitioner experiences grave difficulties in making clients out of groups other than those that are naturally die primary beneficiaries of the type of organization employing him. For example, the primary beneficiary of a mutual benefit association is its members. If practitioners employed by, say, a labor union define some nonmembers as the client—perhaps the people living in on impoverished neighborhood—they ore likely to run Into 162 / Parameters of Intervention diXficulties Willi members who resent liie diversion of their dues for purposes not directly related to their welfare. Community practitioners employed by such agencies as public assistance bureaus sometimes experience difficulties when they select goals with which Qis public is out of sympathy. Part of the reason for these difficulties is a failure to recognize the Inie character of such social service agencies ns commonweal organizations whose prime beneficiary is the general citizen instead of, as commonly believed, service organizations whose primary beneficiary is the clientele. V. GOALS At some point in his or her work, Ihe practitioner must define as clearly as possible die particular goals Id be achieved with die beneficiary. Lock of clarity may lead to goal displacement, i.e., Ihe unintended replacement of goals by new, often unrecognized objectives. Under some conditions—when the situation is very unstable, when there is little experience to guide action, or when knowledge of aims would help those opposed to ihem—it may be necessary to be vague in public statements or to move toward goal definition through a process of successive approximation. Many oilier factors also lead to goal displacement—insufficient resources to pursue multiple goals, factional differences in interests, procedures which come lo be valued by those who benefit from them, and so forth. Precise goal definition is one defense against goal displacement, however, and provides some criteria against wliicfi results can be measured. Resistance to goal displacement should not be used ns on encuse to avoid adopting new goals when old ones huve been achieved or are no longer appropriate, or new resources make it possible to add goals. The practitioner must take into account not only his or her personal objective but also the views Df the sponsoring organization, the participants, and oilier groups whose support is needed or whose resistance or abjections must be anticipated. It is not necessary Id accommodate the interests of the opposition or of those who are largely indifferent to or unaffected by the action, but one must da bo far those whose cooperation, whether as active collaboration or passive awareness and the absence of hindering responses, one must have. Those whose interests must be taken into account if the practitioner is to achieve bis or her objectives ore called the "action system." (This term is used in the guide under the heading "Strategy.") As suggested above, various groups have different goals, attach varying importance Id particular goals, and have contrasting sets of priorities. Factions within groups may also differ in these ways. In taking ihese differences into account, the practitioner may decide on a strategy of "something for everyone," or may begin widi one easily achieved goal of fairly high importance to all elements in order to build confidence in the organization's capability. One may develop some other rationale for selecting goals, but information about the relative priorities and salience of the goals of different factions is essential to n reasoned decision (11, pp. 25-31). Social problems may reside in a group's relations with its environment (inadequate police protection or unresponsive public officials) or among its members (uncoordinated activities, low morale, lack of commitment). Goals are of two parallel kinds. For example, a welfare council may appeal for additional public funds for a child care center or try to develop support far a human relotions commission. These are commonly referred to in the literature as "task goals." Other goals affect the maintenance and enhancement of the organization (resolving destructive factional rivalry or transforming member apathy inm involvement and commitment). These are called "process goals." In general, both types of goals must be Berved, but at particular times one type may be more important than another. At one time it was generally believed that the community practitioner should pursue only process goals, that is, be concerned exclusively with facilitating or "enabling" clients to achieve self-defined goals. Rothman orgues persuasively that the practitioner need not be limited In this manner (18, pp. 24-31). VI. STRATEGY Perfect rationality (or anything approaching it) is unattainable in most practice situations. Computer lechnology may enable some to came a bit closer. But most of us must, as Herbert Simon puts it, "satisfice" rather than "maximize" the efficiency and effectiveness of our decisions (20, p. xxv). However, some practitioners approach questions of strategy with predetermined formulas, agency traditions, and little imag-inotian. While it is not feasible to consider every possibility and identify the single best way to achieve objectives, It does not follow that one strategy is as good as the next. We ask the practitioner to consider at least two good possibilities and exercise judgment in choosing the best one. Perhaps more thnn any other nclivity, stralegy development offers the practitioner an opportunity for creativity. In applying the guide, he or she sketches each strategy, outlining the minimum tasks required to achieve success; the necessary elements of the action system; the resistance (opposition), interdependence (entanglements). Community Problem Solving / 163 ond interference (competition and indifference) forces that may be encountered; and the plans to handle them (9, pp. 71-B9). Finally, the practitioner evaluates Ms or her ability to carry them out and develops a rationale for choosing between the various suralegies being considered. As a general approach to decision making tills applies to nil types of practice. However, the relative emphasis given to various tactics (research, client participation, confrontation with organizations and their leaders) will vary with the model of practice used. To the extent til at success depends upon a correct theory of the problem and an effective strategy, success may be limited by the choices permitted by the eliles or the political process. Because social planning strategies normally depend upon the effective manipulation of large-scale bureaucracies, success may also depend heavily on whether the strategy chosen can be effectively administered. And finally, because those whose actions ore required for success—the Functionaries and the targets— are not ciphers but people with interests and values that guide what they will respond to and what they will do, strategics that assume values about which there is little consensus or which assume a nonexistent community of interests are likely lo enjoy limited success. Some recent analyses suggest that strategies that operate as much as possible in a way analogous to a competitive market situation are most likely to succeed. They maximize individual choices and allow for individual differences. They require a minimum of bureaucratic complexity, especially detailed rules and numerous functionaries to enforce or monitor compliance. It has been suggested that this is the reason for the failure of such programs as the War on Poverty, the success of Social Security, and Ihe potential of income main- 164 / Parameters of Intervention tenance programs based on negative income tax principles (7). vn. TACTICS Strategy sbndes imperceptibly into tactics. The inspiration For much oF this part oF the guide comes From Lippitt and his colleagues (9). Among the questions the practitioner is asked to consider are: Where is it possible to gain a foothold in the targets? At what point are efforts likely to be most effective? For example, the practitioner mny have access to other practitioners working in low- or middle-echelon positions in a target organization. His or her analysis, however, may lead to the conclusion that, to achieve the objective, the practitioner must gain access to the tap executive. One may, therefore, bypass colleagues in die target organization and approach a member of one's board with the necessary social and political contacts to gain the ear of the target agency executive. In order to avoid misunderstandings, it is important for the practitioner to communicate with key people in the action system (those whose cooperation is needed to carry out the strategy) so that they may develop common ideas about such things as definition of tiie problem, objectives, approaches, roles each participant will perform, and amount of time each participant will commit to the endeavor. The resulting set of agreements is referred to as the contract. Although tiie concept is borrowed from the law, it does not imply legal or even written form. The expectations must be as clear and unambiguous as possible, and all necessary participants must understand and commit themselves to the terms of the contract. In carrying the plan into action, it may be necessary to train and support participants who feel more or less uncertain about what they are doing. This is particularly relevant far those who are inexperienced in the sort of activities required by the contract The timing of various actions must be carefully planned. Resources of several kinds may require difficult coordination—it may be necessary to induce competing professionals to work together or to provide the press with newsworthy events involving large numbers of people so that politicians wQl take tiie action system's demands seriously. It is desirable to consider an "action-reaction-fiction pattern" borrowed from Alinsky (1). We refer to these patterns when one group mokes a move, intended to elicit a response from an adversary, that mokes possible further action to achieve objectives that could not have heen otherwise undertaken. For example, n group might leak information to an adversary that it plans a massive disruption of the adversary's business. The expected response is an offer to negotiate wliich, in turn, mokes it possible to obtain concessions favorable to the group that would not have been secured by an initial request for negotiations. Such tactics depend on credibility; if die adversary does not believe that there is a genuine threat, it is not likely to negotiate. The practitioner should anticipate that some form of opposition to the program undertaken by the action system may emerge and make plans to handle it Under some circumstances, no such opposition will develop—organizing a council on aging or applying for funds from the federal government to mount programs for the aging should arouse no controversy or opposition. If insurmountable opposition can be expected, however, plans should be changed unless the practitioner is deliberately trying to heighten awareness of impotence and stimulate anger as a prelude to oilier, perhaps stronger forms of action. If opposition is inevitable, a variety of approaches is avail- -;2 able to cope with it in ways that may further f ■ the action system's objectives. % Vin. EVALUATION (3,5, *, 21,24) '.>. Evaluation should be on ongoing process. Plans must be worked out for the collection V of information from participants in the ~i notion system regarding effectiveness with respect to both task and process goals. This may be quite informal (setting aside a portion of a meeting to discuss "how we're doing") or much more rigorous (standardized data collection, written reports) depending upon the size, complexity, and other requirements of the effort in which the practitioner is engaged. The important thing is that assessment not be overlooked, for the process allows die practitioner and the organization to revise their program if activities ore found to be less than satisfactory. Practitioners often Find annual or semiannual meetings good opportunities for taking stock. The results may be set forth in a periodic report. There is a tendency at such meetings to "put the best foot forward" ond overlook difficulties in order to maintain or enhance morale, build Financial resources, and avoid offending those who have heen octive in the organization. Ordinarily it is best to find ways to say what may be the unpleasant truth in a manner that nnnimizes problems. Far example, it is possible to express gratitude for individual contributions while calling attention to persistent difficulties that exist "in spite of the best efforts of everyone involved." K. MODIFICATION, TERMINATION, OR TRANSFER OF ACTION Evaluation of program and organizational effectiveness may leod Id any one of sev- Community Problem Solving / 165 eral conclusions. First, the practitioner may conclude that the program is operating much as expected, is achieving Its intended purposes, and should be continued. Second, he or she may find that some aspects are faulty, because of an erroneous analysis of the situation, a poor strategy, or particular actions .that were inappropriate or poorly carried out. This conclusion should lead to necessary revisions. Third, the practitioner ond those he or she is working with may conclude that the program has served its purpose or, alternatively, is hopelessly inepL In either case, the conclusion should be to discontinue operations and the practitioner must plan carefully for this. Finally, for a variety of reasons the practitioner may be leaving the job. Under these conditions, it is necessary to arrange either the transfer of professional responsibilities to another practitioner or the termination of the program. CONCLUSION These comments suggest how the guide may he used and offer some additional references which are intended to giVE it a broader scope nnd greater utility. We hope that practitioners will use the guide to remind themselves of some Df the more important factors they need to take into account in planning their work. Obviously the busy community practitioner will be unable to utilize fully tiie analysis suggested here in daily work-However, many of the steps in the problem-solving process will become port of the professional "equipment" he or she may apply, perhaps less formally and less rigorously but nonetheless effectively, in making day-to-day practice decisions. This is the hope we have had in preparing the guide and using it in teaching community practice. 266 / Strategies Needs Assessment and Community Development / 267 Cnnan, R. A., and I. Rothman. "Conceptualizing Community Intervention: An Empirical Test of 'Three Models' of Community Organization." Administration in Social Work 10(3) (1986): 41-55. Coleman, J. S. Community Conflict. New York: Free Press, 1957. Cox, F. M. "Communities: Alternative Conceptions of Community: Implications for Community Organization Practice." In F. M. Cox, J. L. Erlich, J. Rolhmnn, and J. E. Tropmnn, eds., Strategies of Community Organizatiatv Macro Practice, pp. 232-243. Itasca, IL: Peacock, 19B7. Dunham, A. Coi'iHiwi are proven false, inadequate, and unsnaa-factory (Ander-Egg, 1977). Neutrality, its inseparable counterpart, is defined as a valueless stance before the objective reality' (Martf, Note 1). It is said that if researchers are not neu-. tral, lhey cannot be objective (Martf, Nate. I). This does not ring true as both concepts,; are different and clearly distinguishable./ and while the pursuit of objectivity is dosir-.' able and necessary, the search for neutrality.^ ^ is not only impossible, but unwarranteiJ^tq Objectivity is desirable because its defiiuS. ^ tion implies the existence of defined value?, and positions which one is willing l&|fl Needs Assessment and Community Development / 269 change when an examination of reality requires it. Neutrality is impossible because every activity lakes place in a particular political context. If die political nature of the social sciences is recognized and accepted then an explicit definition Df social scientists' values is necessary. It is our position that this value stance must be characterized by a commitment to Uie disadvantaged and powerless groups within a given society. This commitment is to the abandonment of a spectator role and the activation of a professional's mind and art to the service of a cause (Palnu, Note 2). This cause should be the significant transformation of inequities in society which implies activism, risk, initiative, and a willingness to fight for clearly defined points of view. To summarize, needs assessment is an integral part of community development, the process of consciousness-raising. It implies a political commitment which undermines the traditional view of a neutral science and a firm commitment to the exploited, underprivileged and powerless groupB in society. Tills paper will show that needs assessment is a political process that can be conceptualized as a tool for the organization, mobilization and consciousness-raising af . groups and communities. This implies (1) >■■ -.Hint the diverse uses of needs assessment ■ methods be placed on a continuum, rang-■."" log from the perpetuation of control and ■, ■ Iho maintenance of the social system to Ha achievement of radical social change; (2) an emphasis on multiple techniques needs assessment that facilitate collec-,;,';.live activities, leadership development, ""'^growth of organizational skills, and par-.fij •icipntion of community members in j Interventions within research (Irizarry & ' ^Serrano, 1979); and (3) the belief (hat it is SfciF^BBary to examine ideologies and values - MB!]- as they influence objectives, the selection of needs assessment techniques, intervention strategies, conceptual frameworks, and the utilization of obtained data. NEEDS ASSESSMENT Purpose Needs assessment is part of a process used to plan social service programs (Phoris, 1976; Siegel, Attkisson, & Colin, 1977). It is used to determine the problems and goals of the residents of a given community to assure that an intervention will respond (o the needs of the population that is being sampled (Wbihrit, 1976). The purposes that sustain the use of needs assessment methodology can he placed on n continuum (Table 14.1) according to their political roles. Towards the lop of Table 14.1 are purposes thai foster system maintenance and control; towards the bottom are ones thai promote social change and consciousness-raising. Social system maintenance and control efforts include those activities which are carried out to maintain and/or strengthen the status quo. They also include first order change efforts which alter some of the ways in which the system functions but not the ideology on which it is based (Watzlawick, Weakiond, & Fisch, 1974). Radical, Dr second order, social change efforts imply consciousness-raising and structural and functional alterations. In consonance with these definitions, the very bottom of the continuum shows needs assessment as a mechanism used by community residents for participation and control in decision making. Needs assessment becomes a technique that facilitates second order social change. The very top of the continuum lists purposes Hi at foster system maintenance and 270 / Strategies control, including those that are used lo obtain additional funding for already established community programs (Siegcl et ah, 1977) so as to guarantee their continuation. In the middle of the continuum, but still focusing on maintenance and control efforts, are included purposes such as (a) planning for decision making and program evaluation (Murell, 1976); (b) gaining additional input toward personnel recruitment; (c) describing, measuring and understanding different aspects of community life (Siege! et tú., 1977); (d) determining discrepancies between residents' and professionals' points of view (Ronald, Titus, Stiassct, & Vess, Note 3; and (e) obtaining knowledge about community resources so as to link these to agency services. In analyzing this continuum it ia important to notice that most needs assessment efforts are directed towards consumer satisfaction and agency survival. These are legitimate and necessary goals; however, if technique development is limited to these goals, it wil! be incomplete and unsatisfactory. Needs assessment methodology, if it is to respond la a commitment to the powerless and to the fostering of social change, must (a) emphasize techniques that, singly or in combination, facilitate grouping and mobilizing people; (b) foster collective activities; (c) facilitate leadership development; and (d) involve residents in the entire research process. These characteristics ore essential bo that the technique can facilitate consciousness-raising. Categorization and Evaluation of techniques At present there is a great diversity of needs assessment techniques. In some instances it is suggested that different techniques be combined focusing on diverse kinds of ConUnuum TABLE 1<£ sn 2 in a B it. .9 b. a o 5 E ■z. a 1 1 8 d '§§ ■a S to O 3 d Obtains tnfnrmalinn from communily residents X X X X Obtains informnllon from marginal groups X ' X X X X Achieves change in services provided X X X X X X X X Facilitates identifying a wide range of needs X X X X X X Fuellltnten development of internal resources X X X X X Control of information by residents X X X X X X X X Oriented to word proven don X X X Collective view or problems X X Commitment to residents' participation in general X X Commitment la residents' participation in research X X X a. data collection X X X b. instrument construction X X X X c. data analysis X X X X d. data returns X X X Fosters relationship between residents and intervener X X X X n. more lime togellier X X X X b. dialogue X X X X Facilitate, collective activities X X X a. two or more persons X X b. two Dr more persons rcgnrding common problems X X c. adding the discussion of possible solutions X X d. Initiate collective action X X Needs Assessment and Community Development / 275 wilh explicit ideological inpuls that lead (□ consciousness-raising. The objectives suggested far tilts model include: (1) the creation of collective efforts to solve community problems ns defined by community residents; (2) the achievement of individual and group participation in the analysis of social reality; (3) Uie creation af grass-roots organizations; and [4) die development of political sldlls among participants, resulting in their increased involvement in public affairs. The model includes four phases. The first phase, familiarization with the community, includes a review of all written and statistical material regarding the community, and several visits to the same. This approach provides knowledge regarding the community's history, its structures, and Ihe processes widen facilitate the intervener's entry into the community. It should emphasize die early identification of key persons in Uie community through informal communication or through more structured means. The second phase, which arises from a later revision of the original model (Martf, Note 1), is characterized by Ihe creation of a core group that must be composed of bolh key community persona and interveners. This core group has planning, coordination, and evaluation responsibilities tliroughout the entire process of intervention within research. The creation of this core group has positive psychological and operative repercussions. Since the group is formed with community people, a mare effective dialogue can lake place. It is also possible to increase their commitment and guarantee the group's continuance in this way. In addition, the key person can acquire sldlls through modeling or training that will be useful to future community work. One of the most important tasks of this group is ihe direction and coordination Df the needs assessment. This begins wilh the core group taking an active role in evaluating the relevance of the different needs assessment techniques to their particular community. The group's next step is the consideration of alternative actions lo develop an effective propaganda campaign to inform residents of the needs ossess-ment. In this effort it is essential to obtain the support of other organized groups in the community. The core group should direct the needs assessment process per se as well as Uie process of returning the analyzed data to community residents. This can be done through letters, individual visits, group meetings, or community assemblies. The method used will be determined by the needs assessment technique previously used, by Die number of participants it entailed, and by the number of human resources available. The data should be returned prompUy and should be explained in simple terms. The third phase, formation of task groups, includes group activities suggested by the needs assessment In this phase, short- and long-term goals are defined and further action plans developed. To carry out these activities an organizational structure must he created. It is suggested that for this purpose a general community meeting should be held where task groups ore formed around the needs assessment priorities. This general meeting should be planned and conducted by all participants with the support and guidance of the core group. In addition Id the task groups, workshops and other social, cultural, educational, and recreational activities must be fostered. Workshops should concentrate on the development of skills so as to help community groups deal effectively with outside forces Ibat rally against their efforts. Some 276 / Strategies possible topics for the workshops arc lender-ship, skills to deal with service agencies, interpersonal communication, propaganda, and organizational skills. Particular attention sliould be given to internal group processes so thai the task groups' decision making will improve, their leadership struggles diminish, and their cohesiveness increase. We believe tiiat Uiis last characteristic is particularly important and that both the workshops and group tasks should emphasize cohesiveness. The last phase in the model, involvement of new groups, is initialed afler some of Ihe short- and long-term goals of the task groups are achieved. TTiis involves the development of new goals which should help in bringing together other community groups. The slops described should be repeated in a cyclical manner because needs change throughout the process and Die community may develop other goals and interests. CONCLUSION Tins paper has presented an alternative ideological framework to evaluate and direct needs assessment efforts. It has also presented a model for its use for community development. Community residents can and should control intervention within research efforts that directly or indirectly involve them and scientists should facilitate this control. If some of these changes are incorporated into current needs assessment efforts, scientists will be more responsive to ihe people to whom their major efforts should be directed. REFERENCE NOTES 1. Marlf, S. Hacia una identification de necesidades en el sector femenina del Barrio Bueu Conseja. Unpublished M. A. thesis. University of Puerto Rico, 19B0. 2. Palan, A. La investigacidn can la ticnica de observacidn: £para quiin y desde dande? Unpublished manuscript, 1977. (Available at Sociology Department, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, P.R.). 3. Ronald, L., Titus, W„ Strusser, G., & Vess, J. Views of Mental Health; A First Step in Needs Assessment. Paper presented at the B7lh Annunl Convention of the American Psychological Association, New York City, ' 1979. 4. Clifford, D. L. A Critical View of Needs Assessment in Community Mental Health Planning. Paper presented at ihe Second National Conference hh Needs Assessment in Health and Human Services, Louiaville, Kentucky, 1978. 5. Evnns, P. A Model for Conducting Needs Assessment and a Report on National Ratios. Pnpcr presented nt the 87th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, New York City, 1979. 6. Znutra, A- Quality of Life Determinants: Same Guidelines for Measuring Cam-mimity Well-Being. Pnpcr presented at Uic Second National Conference an Needs Assessment in Health mid Human Services, Louisville, Kentucky, March, 1978. 7. Kleemeir, C. P., Stephenson, D. P., Sc. Isnacs, L. D. Developing a Needs Assessment Approach for Community Consultation and Education. Paper presented at the B7lh Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, New York City, 1979. B. Kelly, M. Halion Region Services for Children: A Needs Assessment. Unpublished manuscript, 1978. (Avail-able at Faculty af Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.) 9. O'Brien, D. Merging the "technical and Community Catalytic Functions of Citizen Surveys; Ibward a Theoretical Frame-work. Paper presented at the Second National Conference on Needs Assess-ment in Health nnd Human Services, Louisville, Kentucky, 1978. Needs Assessment and Community Development / 277 Ander-Egg, E. Introduccidn a las tecnicas de investigacidn social. Buenos Aires: Humanitas, 1978. Andcr-BgE, E. Metodologia del desarrallo de comunidad. Madrid: UNIEUROP, 19B0. Aponte, S. F. "Implications far the Future of Needs Assessment." In R. A. Bell, M. Sundel, S. F. Aponte, & S. A. Murell (Eds.). Needs Assessment in Health and Human Services. Louisville: University of Louisville, 1976. Bell, R. A. "The Use of n Convergent Assessment Model in Ihe Determination of Health Status nnd Assessment of Need." In R. S. Bell, M. Sundel, J. F. Aponte, & S. A. Murell (Eds.). Needs Assessment in Health and Human Services. Louisville: University of Louisville, 1976. Delbecq, A., Van de Ven. A, & Guslaffsen. D. Croup Techniques far Program Planning; A Guide to Nominal Group and Delphi Processes. Glen view, Illinois: Scott, Fores man, & Company, 1976. Freire, P. Pedagagta del oprimido. Mexico: Sight 21, 1974. Goldman, L. Conciencia adecunda, conciencia posible y conciencia falsa. In L. Goldman (Ed.), Marxismo y ciencias htunanas. Paris: Galiemard, 1970. Iriznrry, A., Sc Senrnio-Garcfn, I. Intervrncldn en la investigacidn: Su nplicacion al Barrio fiuen ConseJD. Boleifn AVEPSO. 1979,2. 6-21. League of California Cities. "Social Needs Assessment: A Scientific or Political Process." In F. Cox, J. Erlicli, J. RnUimnn, & J. Trnpmnn (Eds.), Strategies af Community Organization. Itasca, Illinois: F. E. Peacock, 1979. Moscovici, S. "Society and Theory in Social Psychology." In J. Israel & H. Tajifel (Eds.), The Context of Social Psychology. New York: Academic Press, 1972. Murell, S. A. "Eight Process Steps far Converting Needs Assessment Data into Program Operations." In S. A. Bell, M. Sundel, J. Aponte, & S. Murell (Eds.), Needs Assessment in Health and Human Services. Louisville: University of Louisville, 1976. Myrdnl, G. Objectivity in Social Research. New York: Random House, 1969. Pharis, D. B. "The Use of Needs Assessment Techniques in Mentnl Health Pinnning." Community Mental Health Review, 1976, 1, 4-11. RappapDrt, J. Community Psychology: Values, Research and Action. New York: HdII, Rinehart. & Winston, 1977. Sanguineus, Y. La investigacidn participativn en los procesDS de desanollo de amenen latino. Revista de ALAPSO. 1981, J, 221-23B. Sieget, L. M„ Attkisson, C. C, & Cohn, I. H. "Mental Health Needs Assessment- Strategies nnd Techniques." In W. A. Hnrgrenves & C. C. Attkisson (Eds.), Resource Materials for Community Mental Health Program Evaluation, Rackvlilc, Maryland: National Institute of Mental Health, 1977. Warhelt, George J. "The Use of Field Surveys ta Estlmnta Health Needs in the General Population." In R. A. Bell, M. Sundel, J. Aponte, & S. A. Murell (Edn.), Needs Assessment in Health and Human Services. Louisville: University of Louisville, 1976. Wat2lawick, P., Weakland, J.,- & Fisch, R. Change: Principles of Problem Formation and Problem Resolution. New York: Norton, 1974. Weimer, W. Notes on the Methodology af Scientific Research. New York: Wiley, 1979. Zumga, R. "The Experimenting Society and Radical Social Reform." American Psychologist, 1975,30, 99-115. REFERENCES Ander-Egg, E. Hacia una metodologia de la mil-itancia y el compromiso. Buenos Aires: Ecro, 1973. Andcr-Egg, E. Diccionaria del trabaja social. Barcelona: Nova Terra, 1977. Ill'1 h 352 / Strategies throughout the world. The picture shows "nn expanding latticework covering the globe," Durnirtg (1989, pp. 6-7) continues. "At the local level, particularly among the close to 4 billion humans in developing lands, it appears that the world's people are better organized in 1989 Uian they have been since European colonialism disrupted traditional societies centuries ago." Community organizing efforts, with hundreds of millions of members, have proliferated worldwide in the past 20 years, extending from nadous in the West to Uiose in tiie South, and, most recently, with extraordinary results, to those in the East (Frank and Fuentes, 1990, p. 163). Similarly, the persistence of grassroots social action, as well as their proliferation, is another hallmark of our contemporary era. Many efforts have come and gone in die past decade. But the old rule of thumb that social action community organizing, like that pioneered by SaulAlinsky, lasts no more than six years, is no longer valid. ACORN celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1990. National People's Acdon (NPA) did so two years Inter, and COPS soon thereafter. Cidzcn Acdon, TMO in Houston, the New Jersey Tenants Union (NJTU), and many others recently passed the ten-year mark, with no signs of declining despite having to organize in very adverse conditions. Grassroots efforts tied to national issues, such as pro-choice, gay rights, and the environmental movement, not only persist but continue to grow. TIIE NATURE OF CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL ACTION But what is the nature of contemporary, community-based, social action organizing? Are these community-based social action efforts all of die same piece? Do prior models (Rothman, 1968; Fisher 1994) capture die complexity of current efforts7 If a global proliferation exists, what: M are the shared, essential characteristics uf; )H contemporary, community-based, social;-M action organizing? Building on the iasights;^! from new social movement theory (Epstein 1990; Mclucci, 1989), contemporary social: action organizing worldwide shores the fol-t >,y lowing characteristics: First, the efforts are community-based, dint is organized around communities of''?|l interest or geography, not at the site ofpro-'->||f duction (the factory) or against the princW pal owners of capital as was the case oE-ijj| most pre-1960s organizing (Offe, 1987). .-■'.^p" Second, the organizations are tranaclass: groupings of constituencies and cultural*!;*^! identities such as blacks, ethnics, women,l'-;ijf gay men, neighborhood residents, students,^ ecologiBts, and peace activists. Labor.!)*' becomes one, not the, constituency group.^p Class becomes part of, not the, identity^ (Brecher and Costello, 1990; Fisher, 1992)jjM Tliird, the ideological glue is a neopnpVfcgj| ulist vision of democracy. The groups reject^! authoritarianism: in the state, Ieaderahi"' party, organization, and reladonshi] (Amin, 1990). Their organizational form most often sufficiently small, loose,-ai open to be able to "tap local knowledge at resources, to respond to problems nipidlyM and creatively, and to maintain the flewMI^g ity needed in changing circumstances'.';^! (Durning, 1989, pp. 6-7). Some see oon?^ temporary social acdon as "nonideolog1-cal," because the organizations dismiss-It old ideologies of capitalism, conununisti and nationalism and because they tend ta 1 without a clear critique of the dominant sy: tem. But others argue that ideologic! congruence is their essence. Their "neopoj ulist" principles and beliefs are what mid them so important and filled with potendi (Dalian and Kuechler, 1990; Offe, 198' Social Action Community Organization / 353 ™p0yte and Riessman, 1986; Fisher and piping, 1988; Boyle, Booth, and Max, 1986). P'-fourth, struggle over culture and social klrfeallty play a greater role in diese community-based efforts, especially when com-hared to the workplace-based organizing of \ fee past, wliich focused more on economic |abd political issues. "After the great work-class parties surrendered their remain-'jjig sense of radical political purpose with ijha onset of die cold war," Bronner (1990, 161) writes, "new social movements s^jHDGrged to reformulate the spirit of resis-"^liuice in broader cultural terms." Feminism. jJBInck Power. Sexual identity. Etimic laudnnaJism. Victim's rights. Of course, cul-and identity—grounded in historical Uperience, values, social networks, and collective solidarity—have always been central to citizen social action (Gulraan, 1977). And, of course, identity and con-||jtueDcy efforts include economic and pfijlidcul issues. But as class becomes pcreasingly fragmented in the postindus-gjHal city and as the locus of workplace organizing declines in significance, resis-aiices that emerge increasingly do so at the Spmmunity level around cultural issues and dentity bases (Touraine, 1985; Fisher and Png, 1991). M'Fifth, strategies include elements of ljjcality development self-help and empow-l&inent An aim is building community 'capacity, especially in an era hostile to Jpciol change efforts and unwilling to support them. Some of the more effective forts go beyond community capacity gilding to target and make claims against ie public sector. They see the future of flinmunity-based social action as interde-jPiideot with political and economic PMgea outside their communities. They fldcratand that the state is the entity potency most responsible and vulnerable to jclal action claims and constituencies (Plven and Cloward, 1982; Fisher, 1992). But most contemporary community-based organizing seeks independence from the state rather than state power. As Midglcy (1986, p. 4) points out, central to die rationale of community participation "is a reaction against the centralization, bureaucratization, rigidity, arid remoteness of the slate. The ideology of community participation is sustained by the belief that the power of die state has extended too far, diminishing the freedoms of ordinary people and their rights to control their own affairs." Community capacity building becomes a natural focus, reflecting anti-statist strategies and decentralization trends of the postindustrial political economy.1 'This argument of a common new social movement form plays nut n bit differently in other parts of [lie world. One key difference is Hint Ifie old social movements In die Tliird World {South) and Second World [East) were nationalistic and communis lie, respectively, not social democratic as in the West (WallEEstcIii, 1990). Given tlidr subordinate position In die world economy, lite old social movements—in the South, far example—did not have die power (o deliver material security ar political liberty. They often became arms of Western imperial control. In response, community movements "musluoomcd" all aver die South. Like counterparts in the West, they are community-based, constituency or Identity oriented, ncopapulist in Ideology, and focused an self-help strategics. But in the South, community movements put greater emphasis on material needs (Frank and Fuentes, 1930). Where old social movements achieved distributional vie lories only for a Tew, as in die south era hemisphere, or where such victories did not include significant minority segments, as in die United States, new social movements struggle ta acliieve a minimal standard of living and get basic services liice bousing and healthcare. Where material victories have been won, primarily among the more affluent in the United States and Western Europe, the social base tends to be the educated middle class {Merkl, 1987). But where basic material needs still remain to be woo in die South and among the oppressed and disenfrancltlscd in the West, new social movement forms Include die poor and powerless and interweave stniggle over postmaterio! and material objectives. 354 / Strategies HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS: THE ROOTS OF IDEOLOGIES AND STRATEGIES One of the key causes for tins common form of social action organization is the common heritage of citizen resistance since the end of World War H. It is this common heritage that continues la structure and inform contemporary efforts. For our purposes I emphasize five major historical roots: the (1) community-based resistance of Saul Alinsky, (2) liberation struggles of people of color, (3) urban decentralization and citizen participation programs, (4) new left movement, and (5) new social movements. Of course, this is not to suggest mat the heritage of community resistance does not include efforts prior ta 1945 (Fisher, 1984; Fisher, 1992). Nor is it to suggest that all contemporary community mobilization efforts build on each of these antecedents or that these are the only sources. Admittedly, roots are more numerous and entangled Uian here suggested, but the following five are essential to contemporary cominuniry-bnsed social action. Or course, basic survival concerns arc Important even in tfioco groups in iiie West professing io hald to "pasunntcrialist" values. Survival is tied to ridding Die world of nuclear weapons, toxic wastes, domesUc violence, or AIDS, all of wliich cut across class lines. Relatedly, the politics of identity, concern For personal and political freedom, anil (lie desire to belong Id a supportive and I rabitablo community nre or concern io new socio! movement efforts worldwide. Dcrnncrntic self-help—community empowerment—Is their essence. Predictably, new social movements develop easily among tlic effluent and niaund pas(materialist issues. But Uiey succeed belter as agents oF transformative social clinnge when they combine both distributional and pDstmnierinlisl objectives. The distributional demands ground Identity in a class politics ihnt understands, nt least implicitly, the need tn a pan Unit mi tr( nl global economy (o Ittrgei Die public sector and stniee'e for sinie power as well as develop democratic all em stives ut the grass runts. (1) Community-Based Resistance of Saul Alinsky While the organizing projects of Saul Alinsky during his lifetime never amounted to much in termB of material victories and while his projects only took off when the southern civil rights movement shifted to northern cities in the 1960s, the community-based, constituency-oriented, urban populist, confrontational politics developed by Alinsky in the United States provides one of the earliest models of the commti-nity-hased social action form (Fisher and ICling, 1988). Beginning just before World War II, Alinsky's work in Ciucago built on the older, union-based models of social action, such as the Congress of Industrial Organizations and Communist Party United Stales of America (Horwitt, 1989; Fisher, 19B4). From these it drew its labor organizing style, conflict strategies, direct-action politics, and idea of grounding organizing in the everyday lives and traditions of working people. But Alinsky's model added something new: a kind of labor organizing in the social factory (Boyte, 1981). The community organizer wns the catalyst for change. The task was to build democratic, community-based organizations. The goal was to empower neighborhood residents by teaching them basic political and organizing skills and getting them or their representatives to the urban bargaining table (Fisher, 1994; Boyte, 1981). Both the site of production (supporting labor demands) and the public sector (making City Hall more accountable) served os Ihe primary targets of Alinsky organizing. This was an insurgent consciousness of "urban populism," based in neighborhood "people's organizations," oriented Id building community power, discovering indigenous leaders, providing training in democratic participation, and proving that Social Action Community Organization I 355 ordinary people could challenge and beat City Hall (Boyte, 1986; Booth and Max, 1986; Swanstrom, 1985; Horwitt, 1989). At their weakest, Alinsky efforts sought to replace the political program and ideology of the old social action efforts with the skills of democratic grassroots participation, the abilities of professionally trained organizers, a faith in the democratic tendencies of working people to guide organizations toward progressive ends, and a reformist vision of grassroots pluralistic politics. At their best, however, Alinsky efforts continue to empower lower- and working-class, black end latino community residents and to demand expanded public sector accountability and public participation in an increasingly privatized political context (Fisher, 1994; Horwitt, 1989; Rogers, 1990; Delgado, 1986; Kalw, 1970). Alinsky may not be the "father of community organizing," but, especially in the United States, his work and the work of his successors has been seminal to social action community organizing (Boyte, 1981). (2) Liberation Struggles of People of Color Much more significant In terms of impact ore the liberation struggles of people of cdIot throughout the world since the 1950s. The civil rights movement in the United States and the national liberation slruggles in the southern hemisphere served as important models for a communily-based, ethnic/ nationalist politics oriented to self-determination and sharing the political liberties and material affluence of the societies that exploited people of color. As a model for grassroots direct action and insurgent consciousness, the southern civil rights movement spawned most of what was to follow in the United Slates and established important precedents for others throughout Ihe world (Branch, 1988; Morris, 1984; Reagon, 1979), The liberation struggles in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, os well as specifically early efforts In Ghana, Vietnam, Iran, Guatemala, and Cuba, not only provided models for people worldwide, including activists in the civil rights movement in the United Stales, but symbolized the mobilization of a worldwide liberation struggle of people of color. The demand for national self-determination for all people (not just those of European descent), the opposition to policies of racism and imperialism, and the pica of the civil rights movement for "heloved community" helped pierce the consensus politics of the 1950s and early 1960s. More recent liberation struggles in Nlcarngua, El Salvador, and South Africa, to name but a few, continued to challenge conservative, racist, and Imperialist paradigms in the 1980s and 1990s. The continuous liberation struggles of people of color emphosize three lessons critical to the insurgent consciousness of contemporary community activism. First, citizen insurgency is not a political aberration. It is a legitimate and important, informal part of the political process lo which all those without access to power can turn. Second, if oppressed people—often illiterate, rural peasants with few resources— couid mobilize, take risks, and make history, then people of other oppressed or threatened constituencies can, with sufficient organization and leadership, do the same. Third, strategy must include both community self-help and constituency empowerment, on the one hand, and the struggle for stale power, or at least the targeting of the public seclor as the she of grievances and as a potential source of support, on the other. This dual quality of building community capacity and targeting the state, though not always in equal 356" / Strategies Social Action Community Organization / 357 balance and often in tension, as exemplified in struggles between the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Com-mitlee (SNCC), was as true for the civil rights movement in the United States as it was for tlie liberation struggles in the Third World (Carson, 1982). (3) Urban Decentralization and Citizen Participation The struggles of people in the southern hemisphere dramatized the exploitative nature of the imperial postwar political economy at'the very moment in the 1960s that some progressive capitalists, political leaders, and planners in both the public and-voluntary sectors found themselves unable to address mounting urban problems at home. From I960 onward, as liberal leaders such as presidents Kennedy and Johnson in the United Slates advocated for modest social reforms and a more democratized public sector, pressure mounted for urban decentralization and citizen participation. The Community Action Program of the 1960s in the United States and the Urban Programme of the late 1960s in Britain were among the moBt noted of public projects seeking "maximum feasible participation" at the grassroots level. But such programs proliferated widely, making state-sponsored municipal decentralization and community participation an international phenomenon (KjeUberg, 1979; Blair, 1983; Midgley. 1986; Chekki, 1979). Of course, such postwar programs differ dramatically from Alinsky and liberation movement efforts in dieir origins and problem analysis. They are initiated largely by reformers in the public and voluntary sectors—professionals such as urban planners and social workers, who either seek modest structural change or Find themselves too constrained on the job to do much more in their agencies than deliver needed services at the grassroots level. As such, these initiatives represent a more institutionalized, more formalized wing of the community-based social action phenomenon. They tend, as well. Id implement decentralized structure and democratic participation into public agencies without n sense for the contradictions inherent in doing so, but with a knowledge of the importance of linking the state and grassroots activism. The state becomes not the target of democratic insurgency but the employer and supporter of citizen initiatives (Merkl, 1985). At fheir worst, these measures defuse and coopt insurgency. At their best, contemporary organizing draws from tiiis legacy a commitment to serving the people, to advocacy, and to citizen participation: (a) Deliver services at a grassroots level where people will have better access, (b) Include more people, even lay people, in the decision-making process at a more decentralized level, (c) Make sure they have real power to make decisions and control resources, (d) Struggle from within the state bureaucracies and agencies ta achieve economic and participatory democracy for the greatest number af urban dwellers. (4) The New Left Movement Despite the efforts noted so far, urban problems and tensions continued to escalate in the 1960s. In response, direct action movements mounted, especially in the United States. Early SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) and SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) community organizing projects focused on "participatory democracy" and '"letting the people decide," seeking not only to pressure local and national policy but to create "prefigurative," diat is alternative, social groups (Breines, 1982; Evans, 1979). They also developed a critique of American policy abroad and the liberal consensus at home. They built a movement in opposition to the politics of both corporate capital and the old social movement. After 1965. organizing adopted more nationalist and Marxist perspectives; Black Power efforts, for example, were less concerned with participatory democracy and more interested In challenging imperialism abroad and at home, winning "community control," and building black identity (Jennings, 1990). Such efforts in die United States were part of an insurgent trend in the West. Massive peace protests in the United Kingdom registered Strang disapproval af Cold War policies, directly challenging social democratic regimes. These early efforts, among others, initiated a widespread "NewLBft" movement throughout the West, one which was soon to expand beyond university sites and student constituencies to develop, according to Ceccarelli (1982, p. 263), into "an unprecedented outburst of urban movements": Paris and West German cities in the Spring of 196B; Prague, Chicago, and Monterrey, Mexico, during that summer; in Italy the "Hot Autumn" of 1969 and the urban conflicts of the early 1970s; squatters in Portuguese cities after the April Revolution; and urban social movements in Madrid and other Spanish cities after Franco. All testify to a massive grassroots mobilization which developed rapidly, and perhaps even unprecederitedly, throughout Europe, the United States, and parts of die Third World (Ceccarelli, 1982; Teodori, 1969). Concern for and experimentation with participatory democracy, nonhierarchical decision making, prefigurative cultural politics, linking the personal with the political, direct-action tactics, and constituency based organizing (students, the poor, etc.) characterized new left insurgent consciousness (Jacobs and Landau, 1966; Breines, 1982). Unlike the new social movement resistances Id follow, the new left emphasized the formation of coalitions or political parties tied to national revolutionary/emancipatory struggles. There was a sense' In the late 1960s, in cities as disparate as Paris, Berlin, Berkeley, and Monterrey, that "successful and autonomous urban movements are not a real alternative outside the context of a revolutionary national movement" (Walton, 1979, p. 12). The struggle over state power, over who should make public policy, fueled local organizing efforts. Grassroots efforts were for most activists a democratic means to larger objectives which transcended the local community. This strategy persists, in a more reformist form, in certain notable notional efforts since then, such as die Green parties in Europe, the Workers Party in Brazil, and the Rainbow Coalition idea in the United States (Spretnak and "Capra, 1985; Alvarez, 1993; Collins, 1986). Community-based social action efforts which followed tended to borrow more heavily from the "newer" side of the New Left. These activists saw community organizing, alternative groupings, and grassroots efforts as at least the primary focus if not the sole end. They emphasized democratic organizational structure, the politics of identity and culture, existential values of personal freedom and authenticity, and the development of "free spaces" where people could learn the theory and practice of political insurgency while engaging in it. Sd did much of the New Left, but the oilier, more Marxist segments, closer in style and politics to the old labor-based social action, adhered strongly to older concerns with public policy and winning state power (Evans, 358 / Strategies Social Action Community Organization / 359 1979; Evans and Boyle, 1986; Carson, 1982). (5) New Social Movements Despiie n marked backlash worldwide against the radical activism of die late 1960s, the 1970s and 1980s witnessed not the end of community-based activism but (lie proliferation of grassroots activism and insurgency into highly diversified, single-issue or identity-oriented, community-based efforts. These efforts, die subject of this essay, inciude women's shelters and feminist organizations, efforts in defense of the rights and the communities of oppressed people of color, struggles around housing, ecology, and peace issues, gay and lesbian rights and identity groups, and thousands of neighborhood and Issue-based citizen initiatives, complete with organizer training centers. While tiiese organizing efforts vary from one national and focal context to another, they share a common form and movement heritage. Based in geographic communities or communities of interest, decentralized according to constituencies and identity groups, democratic in process and goals, and funded most often by voluntary sources, they serve ns the archetype for contemporary social action, The roots of their insurgent consciousness, while not always direct, can be found in die ideals discussed thus fan (1) that ordinary and previously oppressed people should have a voice and can make history, (2) that citizen and community participation, which gives "voice" to people previously silent in public discourse, is needed to improve decision making, address a wide range of problems, and democratize society, (3) that "by any means necessary" covers the gamut of strategies and tactics from revolutionary to interest-group politics, (4) that culture, whether found in a traditional ethnic neighborhood, battered women's shelter, counterculture collective, or gay men'B organization, must be blended with the quest for "empowerment" into an identity- or a constituency-oriented politics, and (5) that "the personal is political," articulated first by radical feminists in the late 1960s, guides people to organize around aspects of daily life most central to them, while keeping in mind that struggles over personal issues and relationships—personal choice, autonomy, commitment, and fulfillment—are inextricably ded to collective ones of the constituency group and the larger society. Most commentators tend to see the focus on democracy as the essence of new social-movement insurgent consciousness and the source of its potential. As Frank and Fuentes (1990, p. 142) put it, the new Bocial movements "are the most Important agents of social transformation in that their praxis promotes participatory democracy in civil society. Pitkin and Shumer (1982, p. 43) go further, declaring that "of all the dangerous thoughts and explosive ideas abroad in lbs world today, by far the most subversive is that of democracy. ... [It] is die cutting edge of radical criticism, the best inspiration for change toward a more humane world, the revolutionary idea of our time." And these democratic projects have had profound impact: empowering participants, teaching democratic skills, transforming notions of political life, expanding political boundaries, returning politics to civic self-activity, strBngthening a sense of public activism, raising new social nnd political issues, struggling against new forms of subordination and oppression, and even advancing agendas of the middle class to which formal, institutional politics remain closed (Roth, 1991; Slater, 1985). But while the emphasis on democracy unites diese efforts, it also helps detach them in the western industrialized nations from the material needs of the poor, and it contributes Id their fragmentation into a plethora of diverse, decentralized community organizations. The pursuit of democracy, without sufficient concern for equality, has resulted in the failure of the new social movements to address the material needs of the most disadvantaged. Moreover, the new social movement origins in culturally oriented, identity-based efforts tend to fragment social change efforts in general (Fisher and Kling, 1993). For example, die diversity and flexibility that theorists of postmodemity attribute to contemporary society are nowhere more evident than in the variety of these new social movement efforts. A commitment to diversity embodies Uieir emphasis on democratic politics. It encourages each constituency or identity group to name its own struggles, develop its own voice, and engage in its own empowerment Tliis may be die future of politics, a "postmodemiza-lion of public life," with its "proliferation of multiple publics [and] breaking down of rigid barriers between political and private life" (Kautmann, 1990, p. 10). But the central challenges to these efforts require more immediate and realistic strategies. How do they encourage diversity and counteract fragmentation? How do tiiey influence or get power at levels—the ciry, state, and nation— beyond their own limited universes and at the same time build community capacity? How do we organize grassroots social action efforts and at the same time build a larger social change movement or political party, the size of which can only accomplish die needed, large structural changes? PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Without question, the fragmentation of contemporary social action weakens the possibility for coherently imagined challenges to current problems. To address this problem of contemporary organizing, the historical dialectic of domination and resistance must be understood and fashioned in terms of die interplay between class, community, and the search for new cultural orientations. In this regard Kling and I have offered elsewhere the following sets of strategies (Fisher and Kling, 1991). First mobilization in the fragmented metropolis demands that broad coalitions be sought between various constituency groups, and that community politics be more cohesively integrated with electoral activity. Single community-based efforts are not large enough to challenge the enormous power of corporate capital or centralized government Because community problems almost always originals beyond local borders, die ability to effect change depends to a great extent upon caoJition-building. The success of coalition-building, however, ultimately will be based upon whether specific ways con be found to break down the racial and cultural barriers that are so entrenched in the United Stales and growing again in Western Europe. Pressure group politics, even tlirough powerful coalitions, is not enough; movements must also struggle to win and hold power, not simply lo influence it The electoral arena must became a prime target for social movement mobilizing while, at some later point, political parties serve the critical role of formalizing and structuring relationships between loosely formed coalitions and constituency-based groups (Boyte et at, 1986; Delgado, 1986; Sprelnok and Capra, 1985). We offer such advice knowing how coalition and electoral efforts draw already scarce resources awny from the fundamental lask of grassroots organizing. But the local and the global are equally necessary, and numerous models of such dually focused practice have emerged over time. 460 / Administration and Strategies custom of following established procedures. Overcoming such obstacles is by no means easy. Consider, for example, the difficulties that might be anticipated in attempting to shift the program focus of a medical clinic serving primarily young mothers and their cluldren, to a medical checkup program for the aging, or of getting a citywide planning agency to develop neighborhood planning "outposts." Adding a new program to an existing agency may result in serious coordination problems between functional units, may lead to conflict with other agency activities, and may ultimately lead to its "benign neglect." On the other hand, establishing a new ngency is often costlier than expanding the services of an existing organization. An established agency is often well recognized and supported in the community. Its staff has the training and experience to run the agency and knows how to handle all its administrative details. Moreover, the agency may have all the basic equipment necessary far the new service or program. New agencies often flounder because of the lack of experience and expertise. PROCEDURES IN ORGANIZING A NEW SERVICE OR PROGRAM Identifying the Need Tor Service No new agency ar program should be initiated unless it is propelled by the existence of n concrete and viable need. Self-evident as this may seem, attempts are too often made to develop new services without a clear definition and articulation of the needs to be met. Lack of clarity and specificity of needs is likely to result in two undesirable consequences. First, it mokes it far more difficult to mobilize community support for Ihe new program. Second, the actual design of the program may be haphazard, ad hoc, often leading to ineffectiveness and inefficiency. A cardinal principle in program design is that the greater the clarity of the program's objectives, the better its chances for success. Identifying unmet needs in the community is a complex task that necessitates several steps. The concept of "need" itself often defies adequate definition. What is perceived as a need by one group may not be so considered by another. Nevertheless, there ore a number of ways in which planners can get a quick orientation to needs. The following are illustrative strategies: 1. Planners might start by examining available statistical reports such as census data, local Social Security office data, county government surveys, health surveys. While information on the number af potential clients in a given area, their distribution in various neighborhoods, their level of income, housing patterns, health conditions and the like might not indicate what they "need," such information is often suggestive. 2. The planner-organizer might then take a second step: identifying the various agencies in the area that serve the community. Tltia involves finding out whom these agencies serve and what types of services they offer. Slatistical reports issued by relevant agencies, the local welfore council ond the public social service agencies may be of particular importance. Some communities may have developed mfonnation systems for a network of agencies that could provide invaluable data tD the planner-organizer.6 6See for example, CHILD ATA. Council Tor Community Services In Metropolitan Chicago. 3. A third step is to explore with the staff of the agencies that are current or potential providers of services to the target population the concerns and problems it has identified regarding gaps or inequities in services. 4. Very early in the process, planners should meet with community groups to discuss their wants, preferences, and interests. 5. A more systematic data-gathering procedure might be developed through a "needs survey" of Uie neighborhoods in which potential clients are most likely to reside. The facilities of a college or university or a local mental health center, as well as civic groups and volunteers, can be mobilized to conduct the survey. Questions should be designed to elicit information about the problems and unmet needs of those interviewed. A social-indicators-type survey is one of the most useful of the new devices to get at such information.7 An important concomitant of the planner's information-gathering activities is Ids or her effort to incrense the community's awareness of the needs af the target popula- . lion. Involvement of community leaders and representatives of agencies in determination of these needs sensitizes them to existing problems and Inys the groundwork for mobilizing them into action. Awareness on the part of key groups and agencies in the community is often fundamental tD the initiation of new progroms. Mobilizing Support for the Service It is extremely difficult to develop n new program without the existence and active support of a group in the community that is 7D. Fruln, "Analysis aFNeen," in M. J. Brawn, ed., Social Issues and the Social Services (London: Charles Knia.ii!, 1974); 27-56. Program Development / 461 highly committed to its development. The planner-organizer must often initiate and organize such an action group. The action gToup then gathers resources and influence, actively representing the new program's objectives, and fights for ils support in the community. In short, it assumes an advocate function. Sometimes this group will be the planner's advisory council. At other times it will be a specially organized task force on transportation or protective services or some other need. Again, it may be a purely ad hoc coalition of interested parties. What persons should the plnnner-organizer mobilize into such a group? Perhaps more than anyllung else, participants should shore a keen interest in and concern for the welfare of the target population. To be truly responsive, it must include representatives of the clients themselves. Potential for influence is another criterion for inclusion. The greater the individual prestige of the members, the greater their potential far collective influence. Influential members may include representatives of civic organizations, financial institutions, church organizations, and Ihe tike. Tlie higher the level of understanding about Ihe problems Df the target population among members of this group and the greater their expertise in the delivery of services to them, the more realistic will be the group's efforts and the greater the credibility of its suggestions to the community. Planners often enlist members of professional associations, physicians, social workers, etc., to assure this expertise. Having representatives of community ngen-cies in Ihe group increases (lie chances that their support for a new progrom will be foruicaming. The function of such a group might be: to formulate the overall objectives af the new program; to identify the target popula- 462 / Administration and Strategies lion to be served; lo identify sources of financial support for the new program; lo present the program objectives to important institutions in the community (such as city council, county government, mental health board, United Fund); or all of these. This group might also examine in detail the information and ideas developed by the planner-organizer. Although the group itself need not develop a detailed plan far action, consensus regarding the type of program to be developed is helpful. Sometimes, of course, consensus is difficult to reach. Participants must be aware that differences in opinion or in conclusion are passible, and that these experiences can be healUiy. An action group should provide the arena where ideas can be exchanged, proposals explored, and creative dunking encouraged. Ultimately, the group should formulate a basic plan for a new program by identifying and agreeing upon its major objectives and the population it should serve. It is from this action group that a body in charge of defining ar reviewing the policies for the new program may ultimately be drawn. This may be formalized as a board of directors, as an advisory council, or as an internal task force within an existing agency. The importance of an action group of this kind cannot be overemphasized. In Uic founding stages of the new program, the planner-organizer will need to rely heavily on its support, energy, and creativity, and most importantly, Dn its ability to mobilize necessary resources far the program.0 The existence of an advocate group is no less crucial when the planner decides to Inunch (be program within on existing agency, (ban when an entirely new structure is to be developed. BM. Znltl, "The Power and Function af Boards of Directors: ATheoretical Synthesis," American Journal o/SacioloBi'15 (July 19G9): 97-111. Program Development / 463 Assigning Responsibilities to a Board or Advisory Council When the interest group has developed an adequate level of cohesion and formulated a basic statement regarding the mandate of the new program, it may be reconstituted as a formal board or council. It might then be given any of the following charges: 1. Development of a specific plan for the implementation of the new program 2. Responsibility for obtaining the basic resources to get the program started 3. Authority to hire or approve the director of the new program 4. Accountability for the activities of the program director and the disbursement of fiscal resources The board or council must be helped to develop some internal division of labor to ensure that the necessary tasks will be fulfilled. -This may involve designating members as president or chairman, secretary, treasurer, program planning subcommittee and the like. In addition, clear procedures for decision making must be formulated. These steps are of particular importance since the board's decisions are bound to have critical impact on the character and direction of the program. Defining the Mission of the New Agency or Program Establishment of a new program requires a carefully planned blueprint that specifies both mission and operational objectives. It requires a thoughtful assessment of the feasibility of achieving each objective and identification of the essential means for implementing it. Identified needs coupled with available resources and means must be translated into a series of program objectives nimed at meeting these needs. The planner-organizer plays a crucial role at this stage. Possessing critical information regarding needs, as well as knowledge about potential resources, he or she must help the board, advisory council, or task force to reach consensus on what the organizatiaa's mission will be. This mission is defined in terms of needs to be met, populations to be served, and services to bo given. This mission, however, must be translated into operational terms. This requires first of all, specification of the needs to be addressed. These needs are prioritized (step no. 1), and objectives specified (step no. 2). It is not necessary that the most crucial need be acted on first. Sometimes what is most easily accomplished takes precedence on the planner's timetable. But the ultimate mission must always be kept in mind. Specifying Hie Objectives Specifying the objectives of the program 1b a process of moving from the general to the specific through careful assessment of alternatives. Assume, for example, that there is a consensus lo focus on the needs and prob- lems of aged persons living alone. In the process of identifying the needs of such a population there arises a growing awareness that they are most likely to experience problems in personal management Such consensus does not lead directly to programs or services. Are these prohlems expressed in poor household management, in inadequate diet, in poor personal care, in social isolation? Which of Utese problems are of Die greatest urgency7 If agreement an the urgency of these problems can be reached, diey may be ordered on a chart. In Figure 28.1, four specific problems are identified and ordered in terms of importance. The next task (step no. 3) is to specify the "target" population lo determine more exactly what older persons are to be helped by the new or expanded services. A similar process is followed to identify those who manifest the problems most acutely. These may be found in a minority papulation with low income, residing in a specific neighborhood. Agreements must be reached concerning this (arget population, as its characteristics will determine the feaaibility of various alternatives for responding to the needs. FIGURE 2H.1 Target Populadon General Problem Specific Problems Aged persons living alone P, Problems in personal management by die single nged (target population) Nutritional deficiencies Pu Poor management 7f af personal budgci P|3 Poor housekeeping Lack of social contact 464 / Administration and Strategies Program Development / 465 FiaURE2a.2 >- O, Getting older persons fed mirridnusly Oj locreasing knowledge about diel-i The choice of the target population should also reflect contingencies regarding the altairurient of needed resources. Grants may be earmarked for certain categories of atdcr persons. Certain agencies may be able ta provide certain services only to older persons living in their geographical jurisdiction. Also,' if it will take two years and $200,000 to develop a service for persons living in neighborhood X, while a similar level of service to persons in neighborhood Y is possible for far less and in only nine months, the choice of initial target population may be clear. Next comes exploring alternative program approaches to dealing with specific problems of the target population (step no. 4). For example, in addressing the problem of nutritional deficiencies the objective may be to provide meals to a given population. Alternatively, the service might be an educational one, in which older persons are taught about proper diet (see Figure 28.2). Similarly, in response lo financial management problems, program objectives may include helping older persons to use their financial resources more efficiently, increasing access nnd use of banking services, and the like (see Figure 28.3). Through this process a list of potential agency or program objectives can be developed. Doing a Feasibility Study After an inventory of alternative objectives has been formulated, a feasibility study of each (step no. 5) is necessary. Some of the criteria to be used ore as follows: 1. What would be the fiscal cost? 2. What would be the manpower requirements? 3. What facilities and equipment would be needed7 4. How receptive to the objective could the community be expected to be? 5. What would be the anticipated support of the objective by other community agencies? FIGURE 2B.3 O, Increasing efficient use of financial resources Oj Increasing access to banking services With such information on each objective, the plaiming task force must now shift its focus to the other side of the coin, namely assessing the potential money and credit the new program could hope to obtain (step no. 6). Some of the elements in such considerations are: 1. The availability of federal and/or state grants 2. Potential contributions by local government 3. Donations and contributions by local private organizations such as United Fund 4. In-kind contributions by social service agencies and social clubs 5. Availability of volunteers to offset or reduce staffing costs In considering various sources of sup-part, it is often necessary that the new program be affiliated with, or an integral component of, an existing agency. The auBpice-giving or sponsoring agency may bo able lo allocate a certain portion of its budget for the new program, cut Uie administrative or overhead cdsis, or provide die organizational auspices required as qualification for grants. Following the feasibility study, the board, council, or task force must then, on the basis of all the information on options and constraints, determine which services the new program will provide. This process culminates in a comprehensive policy stale-raent specifying the consented objectives of the new program, the rationale for thetr adoption, Ihe kinds of services to be provided, the clients to be served, and the individuals and groups who have assumed responsibility for the program and will be accountable for it lo the public. Such fl statement may serve as a charter, which may be required if the program is to become incorporated. In any event, it is a claim for domain and a statement of intent. Obtaining Seed Money for Start-Up Some planner-organizers assume that no project should commence unless all Uie resources needed to ensure its success arc secured. This view fails lo recognize that the most effective way lo obtain needed resources may be to start the project and count on its visibility, demonstrated utility, and receptivity by chents to attract new resources. A program once storied oflcn generates ita own momentum, attracting supporters unknown prior lo the project's initiation and quickly developing spokesmen for itself in the community. This, of course, is not always Ihe case. Many programs have foundered on inadequate funding, regardless of ihe need for the services. Every beginning necessitates some risk taking. The constraint of inadequate financial resources is a limiting factor, but it need not be an inhibiting one, Nevertheless, basic "seed" or "start-up" money is often necessary. The planner-organizer, will) a knowledge of federal and state funds and grants, and through contacts with local agencies, plays a crucial role in locating and obtaining funds. Together with the sponsoring agency or members of the board, task force, or advisory council, tlie planner-organizer may initiate orprovide technical assistance toward: (1) the submission of grant proposnls lo federal or state governmental agencies or to private foundations; (2) fund-raising campaigns with the help of local civic associations, fraternal clubs, or churches; (3) solicitation of donations from industrial and commercial organizations; (4) competition for local or revenue-sharing funds; (5) presentations before the United Fund; (G) development of contracls wilh eslnblished 466 / Administration and Strategies Program Development / 467 community agencies, such as a community mental health board, for the provision of funds for the new program; (7) locating inland resources (such as facilities and equipment) through enlistment of the aid of social clubs and the news media; (8) mobilizing volunteers to provide the initial manpower needed to start the program. The initinl resources gadiered for the new program must be allocated for two basic purposes: to set up the actual service or program, and to promote the program in the community, attracting additional resources. Often, because of inadequate financing, there is a tendency to ignore the second purpose. Yet if those resources ore not allocated Id promotion, the program may quickly reach a dead end. While it may be difficult ta divert limited dollars from needed services, failure to do so may be shortsighted, ignoring the fact that organizations must survive to be successful. Promotion requires mare than money, however. It usually requires the assignment of staff to carry it out. Specifying the Progrnm technology The program objectives formulated in the new program's policy statement do not necessarily define tiiE means to achieve them. The "set of means" by which the objectives arc to be accomplished is colled the program technology of the organization. As Uie technology becomes articulated, it provides a series of guidelines far the type of staff and skills needed and the dally tasks to be performed in serving clients.9 The components of a program technology can be derived from the program objectives discussed earlier. In the previous example, the problem of nutritional deficiencies led to identification of two objectives—getting older persons fed nutritiously, and increasing their knowledge about diets. In attempting Id implement the first of Uiese objectives, the planner-organizer should explore every possible type of service that relates to providing adequate meals for tho aging. Schematically, the process con be presented as shown in Figure 28.4. Thus S( may be a meals-on-wheels service, S1 may represent a cooperative cooking program for small groups of older persons in o given neighborhood, and S3 might be a hot lunch program nt the neighborhood schools. The choice of the specific service may be based on such criteria as: (1) known success Df similar programs elsewhere, (2) availability of expertise to implement it, (3) availability oF Dther necessary resources, (4) receptivity by the aged to be served. sCJnUic concept pf human service lEChnoIogy seeY. Hnscnfcld and R. English, can., Human Service Orsnntvitlons (Ann Arbor: Univerntty at Michigan Picas, 197*1): 12-14. FIGURE 2M Objective Service Assuming that the meals-on-wheels program has been adapted, the next series of specifications identifies the major tasks required Id provide the service. For example, S]A stands for organizing volunteers with cars; S( z, preparation of weekly visits by a nutritionist; S13, preparing the meals at the kitchen of the local church, etc. In short, this process provides a blueprint of all major tasks necessary to make tile program operative. Implementing the Program Technology Once the choice of technology is mode and its components identified, the new program can proceed to obtain the needed personnel. The program technology itself can be used to provide guidelines for the type of personnel required, and ta specify die skills required of staff. It can, in fact, be used qb the basis for writing jab descriptions— although these should not be overly prescriptive or rigid. Any program, in its initial phase, will require o great deal of flexibility from its staff. Staff may be called upon to switch roles and assume various (asks as the need arises, even though tasks calling for particular skills must be performed by qualified personnel. The success of the meals-on-wheels program, for.example, may hinge on the skills of a nutritionist needed to plan well-balanced meals. A program in which volunteers cook and deliver meals may only seem to be successful but in fact be missing the objective of gelling older people fed nutritiously. Once personnel are hired they must be given the responsibility to perform those tasks for which they are qualified. A nutritionist, for example, may not be the right person to supervise or organize drivers for the "wheels" part of the meals program. There is often a tendency to assume that a higher level of credentials implies proficiencies in many areas. Yet a nutritionist with an academie degree may know h'llle about counseling or working with volunteers. Often a volunteer is much better qualified. Developing an Appropriate Delivery Structure Division of labor, then, is all-imparianL Effective division of labor requires three critical organizational derisions: Who docs what7 In what order must various tasks be performed? Who is accountable far what is done7 The first decision requires identification of the tasks to be performed and die persons to perform them. The Becond decision is related to sequence and coordination. Some tasks must be performed before others can be begun. Those (hat are performed sequentially may be separated among several work unils. Oilier tasks must be performed together and belong to the same work unit. In every organization dietc arc certain sets of activities for which a supervisory person may be held accountable. The following principles may prove useful in guiding the development of an appropriate set of structural relationships.10 1. Those activities which need to be done simultaneously or in close proximity to each other are generally best grouped together. In the example given, the menu planning and the cooking activities should be in the hands of certain staff, while the handling of the delivery of the meals can he in the hands Df another group. A set of ,DP. ÍL Lawrence mid J. W. Lorscli, Organizations and Environment (Cnmú ridge, MA: Hncvard University Press, 1967). 468 / Administration and Strategies activities wliich must be closely coordinated should be conducted or supervised by a single unit supervisor. 2. Activities that have different time and space schedules and contingencies should generally be grouped separately. For .example, the meals-on-wheels program should be separated from a group counseling program. 3. Tasks which can be performed through explicit routines should be separated from tasks that are nonroutine. For example, determination of membership, registration, and fee assessment are routine tasks. They should not be performed by those who provide consultation to community groups, a highly nonroutine activity. 4. Activities which require different ways of relating Id the clients should be separated. For example, recreational activities far older people should not ordinarily be provided by the staff who give intensive individual counseling. While the same staff could conceivably do both, there ought to be a clear distinction between their two functions. 5. Staff should not be subjected to multiple supervision if at all possible. If it is necessary for more than one supervisor to relate to a particular staff person because of multiple roles that staff person performs, clear distinction must be made regarding the areas of jurisdiction of each supervisor. The period of initial implementation of program technology is a period of trial and error. It requires a great deal of flexibility and no little tolerance for failure and for ambiguity. Open-mindedness and willingness to explore alternative routes are essential ingredients. During the early stages of program development, lines of communication with stnff and clients must Program Development / 469 be kept as open as possible. Feedback is essential if the program is to adjust to unexpected exigencies. Staff who work direcUy with the community can provide invaluable information on the operationalization of the technology and its problems, its failures, and its successes. It is probably desirable to have a "dry run" of die technology to test its organization and to acquaint the staff with its roles and duties. This can be accomplished through simulation techniques prior to putting the program into the field. Another approach is to select clients who are willing to volunteer for the service, even though the "bugs" in it may not have been fully shaken out. Developing Ihter-Agency Relntionslups Concurrent with development of the technology of an agency or program is the development of a "support structure." This structure refers Id the organization's patterned iclationsltips to those elements in its environment that provide it with the resources necessary to attain its service and maintenance objectives. These elements include: 1. Clients or consumers of its service 2. Fiscal, manpower, technical, and other resources essential to the goal-oriented performance 3. Complementary or supportive services without which an agency's services would he unattainable, inadequate, or ineffective 4. Support or recognition from regulatory and auspice-providing bodies which give the program its authority or mandate Managing the flow of these elements to and from the program requires establish- ment of a variety of exchange relationships with other organizations in the environment. This environment is described as an agency's "task environment." It is composed of all those groups and organizations whose actions directly affect the agency's goal attainment. Exchange activities leading to receiving elements from the task environment may take the form Df: (1) competition, (2) contractual agreements, (3) cooptation, or (4) coalition formation." Agencies and programs arc frequently in competition with each other for needed resources. One agency may compete with another for a federal grant by offering to serve more clients per dollar; it may compete to obtain better-trained staff by offering better benefits. Human services agencies often make contractual arrangements, in which one organization agrees ta do something far another (often in return for something). Without such arrangements, many services would be poorly performed or left undone. Examples abound. Agencies may exchange staff with complementary competencies on a temporary basis. One agency may do the mailing and publicity for another. A community group may contract with the Welfare Council to assess the service needs of a particular neighborhood. A county department of social services may purchase services from other agencies for its clients, including recreation, menial health, or protective services it does not have the staff to provide directly. A new program or agency may also attempt to coopt key persons from other agencies whose services it seeks. Cooptation is accomplished Ihrough involving others in the design of a service or delivery of a ser- "IC Benson, "The InlerarGoniznlicnnl Network as a Political Economy," Administrative Science Quarterly 20 (June 1975): 229-46. vice program. Cooptation strategies are employed when involvement and its rewards are likely to give those who might oUierwise oppose a program a greater appreciation for why it is needed and what it is intended to accomplish. Their involvement may not only nullify potential opposition, but may actually increase support. When agencies pool their resources in a joint venture, they form n coalition. Coalitions differ from contracts in (hat (he latter require explicit agreements about what one party will do for the other. Coalitions, on the other hand, are binding only insofar as working together leads to some mutual goal attainment. It is not essential for parties in an exchange relationship to benefit equally from the exchange, or to have fully complementary goals. It is only necessary that each part perceive the relationship as being of some benefit to itself. The choice of each of these strategies depends on numerous conditions, particularly IhoBe pertaining to the perceived status and desirability of the new program in die community. The more secure and die greater the importance attached to the agency's services, for example, the more likely it is to employ competitive and contractual strategies. Enlisting Needed Elements from the Environment: In the discussion that follows, attention will be given to how agencies recruit resources or manage the flow of needed elements from the environment itself. Clients. Clients can be recruited through referrals by other agencies informed about the new program. Clients may also be informed of a service through (lie news media. To reach some isolated clients, it is 470 / Administration and Strategies Program Development / 471 often necessary to launch a door-to-door campaign using volunteers. Inadequate interpretation of an agency's services or intake policy may result in inappropriate referrals. An agency that rums away many ineligible clients causes a serious and unnecessary hardship to those clients and to its staff as well. It does harm to its own Image, often damaging its relationships to other agencies. Thus it is critical for the new program to disseminate accurate and specific information about eligibility, bodi to the public and to other social agencies. Changes in eligibility criteria should be promptly communicated to all referral sources. Permanent Sources af Funding, Often a new program must expend some of its initial and temporary resources Dn activities aimed at securing additional, more permanent sources of funding. Examples of such activities include: (1) entering info negotiations with the United Fund or United Way; (2) preparing grant applications to federal and state governmental agencies; (3) organizing a group of community influentials willing to sponsor an annual fund drive; (4) negotiating with local governmental bodies such as community mental health boards or county commissioners to incorporate the program under its sponsorship. These and other activities require that certain staff members spend considerable time and energy meeting with potential funding sources, exchanging ideas, and presenting the agency's case. It is often desirable to designate a specific staff position for sucli activities and hire a person with considerable experience in mobilization of resources. Knowledge and Expertise. Na new program can function without adequate access to at least Ihe minimal amount of necessary knowledge and expertise. In the long run, the success of an agency may hinge on the quality of services it offers, and that quality may be in direct proportion to the knowledge and expertise of its staff. Inadequate and erroneous information could be disastrous. The planner-organizer can mobilize expertise through: (1) enlisting the services of experts in the field from nearby institutes and universities; (2) consulting with and visiting programs of similar nature in Dther communities; (3) arranging information exchanges between the staff of the new agency and that of on established one in another area; (4) exploring the available literature on the problems or needs the program attempts to deal with; (5) obtaining consultation and relevant publications from appropriate state and federal agencies; (6) arranging for training and continuing education seminars. Complementary Sendees. The effectiveness of any program is dependent in no small measure on the availability of complementary services for its clients. It is not enough to give one's own service well. No matter how highly specialized a service, the organization providing that service must still ossume some responsibility for the general welfare of its clients. It cannot shy oway from its obligation to make sure that clients receive other needed services. This is particularly true when the effectiveness af the very services provided by the agency is dependent on the complementary services of olher agencies. For example, if an agency develops n child-care program, it cannot in good conscience ignore the health needs of the children, and it may contract for periodic medical examinations with the local "well baby" clinic. A nutrition program for the aged might not bo successful unless it also enlisted cooperation from the outreach staff of the Information and Referral Service, the "Visiting Nurses Association, or the Mental Health Crisis Center. A new program must identify the crucial services it will need to enlist from other agencies and programs in order to meet its own objectives. It is within the planner-organizer's responsibility to see to it that such services are or will be made available. Without them, the new program may fail. These complementary services can be arranged through several means: (1) actual purchase of such services from another agency; (2) contract of exchange of services between the two agencies; (3) a unilateral decision by die other agency to provide die needed services as a gesture of goodwill; (4) a coalition of several agencies wiUi different services all committed to serve the same clients. Monitoring and Evaluation. Every program is subject to the monitoring and evaluation of some overseeing agencies. These may be state licensing organizations, other governmental units, local administrative boards, professional associations, citizens' groups, or other interested parties. Often these regulatory agencies exert considerable influence. They may impose very specific requirements for the agency to meet A state agency, for example, may annually audit the financial transactions of the program, Dr it may check Ihe extent to which the facilities conform to state regulations. A professional organization may be responsible for accreditation without which outside grants cannot be received. The planner-organizer must see to it that the program has developed the appropriate mechanisms by which it can meet the requirements of these regulatory agencies. This is not a mere bureaucratic formality. Accrediting bodies and standard-selling organizations are often the key sources of legitimation and support of a new program. For example, an agency approved for internship of urban planners will gain considerable prestige and recognition in the professional community and could, therefore, airroct good staff. Similarly, an agency that receives a favorable evaluation by a state agency is more likely io obtain future state grants. Maintaining appropriate relations with the various ngencres and organizations necessitates the establishment of "boundary roles" for program staff. Persons in these roles develop and maintain linkages between the new program and relevant organizations in its environment.11 A staff person may be designated as the liaison with the state social service ngency, county government, local hospital, etc. The duties of boundary personnel include: (1) establishment of die necessary relations with outside groups and organizations; (2) resolution of whatever difficulties may arise in the course af a relationship; (3) obtaining relevant up-to-date information about the activities of the partner to the relationship; (4) establishment of contacts with key staff in that organization or group who may be favorable toward the agency; (5) alerting the agency to new developments that may alter the relations between the two. The ability of an agency io seize on new opportunities in the environment, to adapt to new changes, and Id be prepared for new constraints depends on the effective job performed by the occupants of these boundary roles. They serve as the ears and eyes of l3H. Aldrich and D. Herker, "Boundary Spanning Kales and Organization Structure," tuimeugraplicd paper (Ithacn, NY: Cornell University, 1974). i 472 / Administration and Strategies the agency, without which its ability to adapt, grow, and develop wauid be seriously hampered. Legitimation and Social Support. Underlying all the inter-agency relations described above is a pervasive need of the program to obtain legitimation and social support. The success of the program in achieving viability is dependent on its ahih'ty to become a recognized "institution" in the community. Once the program is perceived by key elements in the community as desirable, indispensable, and an important contributor to the general welfare of the community, it has been "legitimated." Legitimacy implies that the community is willing to accept it as a viable and necessary component of the service structure.13 Support and legitimacy do not come easily; neither are they cheap. Concerted efforts to achieve them must be made by program staff. Support generally requires at the very least a satisfied community group or gratified clients. This is the core of an agency's constituent base. This constituency should also include other social service agencies Uiat benefit in some direct way from the services offered by tiie new program. The constituent base should also include community iiiflucntiais and professionals wliD are committed to the well-being of Ihe target population. Other mechanisms to promote support for the program include: lectures and presentations by staff to various community groups; establishment of an influential board of directors; public visits to the agency's facilities; reports by the news media of the activities of the agency; etc. l3F. Selznlck, Leadership in Administration (New York: Harper, 1957). Program Development J 473 But necessary as these are, none is sufficient without solid constituent support. Getting Stuff to Perform Adequately Persons choose to work in organizations and agencies for a variety of reasons. They often join on agency staff with personal expectations and aspirations. The agency, on the other hand, expects them to perform in accordance with its needs, demands, and schedules. There may be many points of incongruity between personal aspirations of staff and organizational expectations. The larger the discrepancies, the greater the strains and the less likelihood that staff will perform adequately.1,1 Planner-organizers con help a new program determine adequate criteria for staff selection and realistic expectations for performance. Individuals who become employees of an agency make a contractual agreement whereby tiiey accept the role requirements assigned to them in exchange for the various inducements provided by the agency (salary, work satisfactions, goad working conditions). A great deal of misunderstanding can he avoided if the agency specifies its requirements at the point of recruitment Clearly written requirements can guide the agency to hire staff who have the needed skills, aptitudes, and attributes. Recruitment, however, is only a limited mechanism to ensure that staff will perform adequately. Socialization is a critical organizational process through which staff internalizes agency norms and values and learns specific role obligations. Two important socialization mechanisms are training and staff development. ML. W. Farter, E. E. Lawler. and J. R. Hackman, Behavior in Organizations (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975). In the final analysis, however, effective and efficient role performance by staff is predicated on the design of a work unit that is congruent with the tasks it has to perform.15 Tasks can be categorized by two major variables: (1) Task difficulty, which refers to the degree of complexity, amount of knowledge needed, and reliance an nonroutine decision making. For example, determination of service eligibility may be a very simple task based on few explicit decision rules, while planning community services necessitates consideration of many factors, reliance on extensive knowledge, and complex decision making, (2) Task variability, which refers to the degree of uniformity and predictability of the work to be done. For example, preparation of monthly statistical reports is a relatively uniform and predictable task, while developing ties with various agencies calls for a variety of procedures. TnskB which are low in complexity and variability call for a work unit structure which is essentially bureaucratic in the classical sense of the word. Tasks which are high in complexity and variability necessitate a work unit structure which is "human relational." In a bureocratic structure line staff has very limited discretion; there is a clear hierarchy of authority; and coordination of staff is based on an extensive set of rules and operating procedures. In a human relation structure, the discretion of line staff is high; relations with supervisory staff are collegial; and coordination is based on feedback from the other staff. When the task has both complex and noncomplex components or variable and nonvariable elements which cannot be separated, a "mixed" structure will be most appropriate."" Based on the nature of the "mix'' such a structure may provide line staff with high discretion in some specific areas and none in others. For example, the task of intake may be of such type. Workers may have high discretion in defining the problem of the client, but none concerning determination of fees, scheduling, and the like. It can be readily shown that each structure is most efficient if appropriately matched with the characteristics of the tasks to be performed. This is so because the work unit structure is designed to elicit the behavioral and role prescriptions that each task requires. Wlien conflict arises between two units or among several Bluff members because of overlapping jurisdictions, lack of coordination, or lack of mutual understanding, an nd hoc task farce to deal with the conflict may prove helpful. In a multi-service center, for example, a conflict could arise between the outreach staff and the counseling staff. The former may feel that they do not get any help in scheduling appointments and in coping with problems they encounter in the field. The counseling staff, on the other hand, may feel that it is asked to do the work of the outreach staff and that the outreach staff fails to understand what the counselors ore trying to accomplish. To resolve the conflict, an ad hoc tnsk force might be established with representatives of both parties to arrive at an acceptable solution, or an integrator position might be created. The integrator role requires that a third party become the mediator between parties in the dispute. The integrator is generally n person with adequate knowledge of the activities of the nnils of persons he or she attempts to ,SC Perrpw, op. clL, Chapter 3. IBEuo,cne Lllwnk, "Maileln of Organization Which Permit Conflict," American Journal of Sociology G7 (Sept. 1961). pp. 177-B'l. 474 / Administration and Strategies bring together, and may be in an nutiiority position in relation to both. In the example above, die integrator might be a person who has expertise in both outreach and counseling, so that his directive to both units will be respected. His function is to identify areas where coordination needs to be established and procedures that can be developed to minimize conflict He also serves as a mediator, interpreting to each unit the issues and problems the other unit needs to solve.17 A further word: Conflict is not necessarily dysfunctional to an organization. To the contrary. It can help ta effectively identity operational problems, philosophical differences, or staff deficiencies. Properly managed, conflict situations assure a changing and responsive pattern of agency operations. Conflict is often a symptom of healthy adaptation to changing needs and expectations. Developing an Intelligence and Fcedbnclt System There is a strong correlation between the extent to which an organization can adapt to changes in its environment and the effectiveness of its "intelligence" system. An effective system enables the organization Id evaluate its own activities in relation to changes and development in its environ-. menL Without such a system, the organization may find that its services and modes of operation are rapidly becoming obsolete. An effective and efficient intelligence system can provide (lie program with the new information and knowledge required to adjust to changes from both within and without In general, an intelligence system fulfills tluee interrelated functions: monitoring the exlemal task environment oF the agency, "P. R. Lawrence nnd J. W. Lorscli, op. rit, ampler 9. internal auditing of slaff and client activities, and evaluation of the agency's outputs. The monitoring of the agency's external environment is intended to alert the agency to important changes and developments in the various units upon which it is dependent These include federal and slate programs, the programs of local social service agencies, new legislation, elc. Maniloring activities can also be directed at identifying new developments in service techniques. Finally, exlemal monitoring is required to inform the agency of changes in (he character of the population it seeks to serve. The main purpose of internal auditing is to inform die agency of the activities of the staff vis-a-vis the clients. Information generated by inlemal auditing enables Btnff tD assess (he progress of (he clients and to determine future courses of action, and enables the agency management to evaluate the operation of the service .technology. Without such evaluation, the agency has no way of determining whether it is achieving its service ganls at some reasonable level. Evaluation of agency outputs occurs after clienls have been served by the agency. The emphasis is on what happened to clients and how many were served. Fulfillment of each of these intelligence functions requires several steps: (1) collection of the necessary data; (2) analysis of those data so that lhcy are useful and used; (3) transmission of relevant information lo appropriate decision makers; and (4) interpretation of the information in order lo generate additional knowledge. Since the final step of the intelligence process is the generation of knowledge, malfunction in any of the previous steps is likely to adversely affect the capability of the intelligence system to develop that knowledge. Effective external monitoring systems are dependent on the performance of boundary personnel who maintain close ties with exlemal units and who actively scan (lie environment for new resources. Staff members assuming boundary roles may develop specialized working relations with a given set of organizations. The contact person gathers essential information about Ihe availability Df given resources and Ihe conditions of their use, and transmits this information to staff members who can use it This is a necessary function if the agency is to remain up-to-date on changes and developments in its environment. Personnel who perform boundary roles must develop expert knowledge about the characteristics of the resources in tiicir oseas of specialization. They must also be able to develop cooperative and informative relationships with the major suppliers of these resources, and must develop analytic skills necessary to assess and evaluate developments and changes in the nature of the environment. Perhaps most important, they must acquire effective and efficient communication channels to decision makers wiuun (heir own organization. Internal auditing enables staff to carry out its activities on an Informed and rational basis. Internal auditing is directed at (1) Ihe case or client level, and (2) the operational or departmental level. The function of internal auditing at the case or client level is to provide staff with all the necessary information for decision making at every juncture of the client's career in the agency. This often requires the use oF a client "case record." Each client served by the agency should have a record which includes basic information about Iiirn, his own perception of Ids needs, and the service objectives for liim. Actions taken by staff and periodic evaluations of the client's performance in the agency should be systematically recorded and the impact of those services noted. A client record could Program Development / 475 be organized around topics such os background information, health status, income, housing, nutrition needs, and interpersonal problems. Each action or referral should be recorded in the appropriate topic section. A scheme must also be developed far the uniform classification and codification of the information items to he used; and procedures for information gathering, update, and retrieval must be planned. Tlds process requires that the basic information the agency plans to collect nnd use be classified and coded in a system of categories that are explicitly defined, unambiguous, and uniformly applied throughout the entire agency. Tlus process can be used lo enable staff to develop an orderly and rational sequence of services aimed at assisting the client to achieve his service goals. It can also be used to monitor the actions taken and to signal staff when new or different decisions need lo be made. Auditing procedures at the "operations" level attempt lo answer basic managerial questions about the modes of operation Df the agency or units thereof. These could include the analysis of all activities done for clients suffering from visual handicaps; the success of various treatment technologies; analysis of the type of referrals used by the agency; or the responses of staff to clients who drop out The findings of such auditing enable Ihe agency ta evaluate its operating procedures and make necessary adjustments or changes. Findings may specify such information as (1) die type of clients arriving at the agency, the range of problems they present and the services lhcy request; (2) assessment of the services given to different cohorts of clienls, the consequences of those services, or whether adequate follow-up is done by staff; (3) the performance of various staff regarding size of case load; average number of contacts 476 / Administration and Strategies with clients; (4) type of resources or intervention techniques used. Perhaps the most important function of an intelligence system is to enable the agency to evaluate its service outcomes. In the final analysis, an agency can justify its existence only if it can show competence in attaining its service objectives. To do so, it must develop reliable procedures to evaluate the use of its services. The problems involved in attempts to measure are extremely complex. They stem from the fact tiiat there is no consensus regarding a norm of "success," nor are there valid and reliable methods Id measure success. There is, however, some risk of developing inappropriate output measures. This can be observed when the number of clients seen by staff becomes the measure of success. When this criterion is adopted by staff, it may gear its efforts to obtaining a high ratio of clients per worker while reducing the amount of time spent with each. There is also a tendency of organizations to ndopt "symbolic" criteria when faced widi the difficulties af developing substantive criteria. Symbolic criteria ore testimonies by staff or clients, display of the "successful" client, self-evaluation, and other approaches that may be highly misleading and in fact could cover up serious failures by the organization. Any evaluation of an agency may be painful in that it is likely to expose serious gaps between expeclations and accomplishments. Such an exposure may undermine the legitimacy of die agency. Yet an agency connot improve its services if it lacks adequate outcome measures or fears the cDnsqucnces of such measures. In the long run, inck of adequate outcome measures may lead toward the deterioration of die organization. An ngency's service goals are often multidimensional, witli various subgoals and tasks. The design of valid and reliable outcome measures requires recognition of this fact. In general, outcome measures should relate to the goals of each subsystem in the agency. Outcome measures differentiate between the initial state of the client at the point of entry and die terminal state of that client at point of exit from the agency. In a complex service program, the new client goes through a series of assessments, which are often updated and corrected with the collection of additional information. These assessments may cover a range of attributes and problems, mich as personal care, motivation to participate, health status, financial problems, etc. These include the gamut of areas in which the agency activity plans to intervene in order to improve Ihe status of die client. At point of exit, these same attributes arc reassessed and the amount of progress shown by the client through actual performance or his own evaluation is recorded. Because an agency mny have succeeded more in some areas than in others, one measure cannot summarize the range of activities undertaken by the agency, nor can it reflect the complexity of attributes and problems presented by the client Multiple measures arc necessary. Each of these should include concrete and precise descriptions of client attributes and behaviors. These measures must become an integral part of the service technology itself. They may serve as assessment devices for the client's progress in every stage of his association with the agency. In fact, they should logically follow Ihe activities that have been specified in the service technology. They should be embedded in the daily work of the staff and not external measures imposed on the agency without direct reference to what it actually does. Needless to say, such mea- sures must be constantly reexamined, updated and refined.18 Successful use of measures for service outcome necessitates a comprehensive and effective follow-up system. Without one, the information necessary for evaluation could not be obtained. The basic function of follow-up is to gnther the necessary information regarding the consequences for the client of services given. It is the basic mechanism by which the agency can find out what has happened to its clients. Unfortunately, few service agencies have established such sophisticated measures. In a number of cases, in fact, output measures of thB type described could be overly costly in relation lo the sophistication of Ihe services provided. CONCLUDING NOTE The process of establishing a new program is highly complex and requires considerations of many inter- and intra-organi-zational factors. It is not surprising, therefore, to End (tint wliile community workers and action groups may conceive of imaginative and innovative service programs, their ability and success in implementing them are at best modesL As was shown in the above discussion, each step in the process of implementation requires a particular set of skills, expertise, and resources. Inability to enlist them nt crucial points in the program development may lead to failure or to detrimental consequences in the ability Df the program to fulfill its objectives. Program Development / 477 Thus, the systems approach used here alerts the planner-organizer to the intricate interrelations among the various building blocks of the program. It identifies Ute points at which the establishment of certain subsystems must assume priority over other organizing activities. Nevertheless, it should not be concluded that the model presented here is deterministic, in that each of (lie steps identified must be so followed. It should not be assumed a priori that an organization is a tightly coupled system in which each component must be closely articulated with all others. There is evidence to suggest that many programs mny function quite adequately even if some components or subsystems are not fully developed or are not closely inler-linkcd. The systems approach advocated here enables Ihe planner-organizer to assess at each point in the program development process the need far the establishment af certain organizational components. For example, the planncr-orgnnizcr may find that a feasibility study is unnecessary since resources have already been earmarked for certain types of programs, or that whatever service technology will be developed, support of key groups in the environment is assured. Moreover, it has been stressed tiirough-out that agency or program development involves a great deal of trial nnd error in die face of many unknown parameters. The approach developed here merely attempts to identify the critical parameters the planner-organizer must consider and thus reduce some of the risks that are inherent in any program implementation. "CWeUs, Evaluation ffeiearch (EnEtewnod CliiTfi, NJ; Prentice-Hall, 1972).