Perry County
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Defining community development is challenging since it doesn't neatly fit into a traditional discipline box. It seeps through and ties together many fields, including economics, sociology, anthropology, and more. We who work in the field don't help the confusion since we may be engaged in very different activities or operating under different beliefs. In general, community development can be summarized as activities that seek to help people improve their quality of life.
| "Community development is an art, grounded in experience, guided
by theory, honed by research, and dispensed with normative implications. Community
development is profound and simple, difficult to define but clearly recognizable, a moral
mandate and a social responsibility." --James A. Christenson & Jerry W. Robinson, Jr. |
In Extension we approach
community development from...what else...an educational perspective. We seek to
create educational opportunities for local organizations, governments, and individuals
that will ultimately increase the ability...the capacity...of the community to help
itself. Those educational opportunities may be in a traditional classroom setting,
but not always. More often Extension CD staff serve as informal learning
facilitators. We may spend time moderating a discussion, helping a group identify
their goals, or providing a local government with resources. Our primary focus is
dealing with change--from adapting to changing conditions to recognizing and taking
advantage of opportunities.
Typical community issues and opportunities include planning; use of new information
technologies; economic development; environmental concerns; decaying community
infrastructures (such as roads and bridges); and access to medical, recreational and
educational services.
What kind of
programs are available?
The short answer is: what do you want? Community development specialists use a wide
range of teaching methods. We meet with individuals on specific issues, work with
existing groups on identifying and effectively reaching their goals, and hold workshops on
topics relevant to the local community. We also serve as a catalyst for community
change, helping to created needed organizations, linking groups with similar interests and
goals, providing reliable information and resources, and facilitating the development of
ideas into projects and activities.
Specific services include:
Assisting with the
collection and analysis of information important to decision-making--such as helping with
survey design, providing sources of (or actual) demographic information and other facts,
facilitating public discussions, and more
Facilitating activities that help groups select and
implement a course of action, such as strategic planning or goal-setting
Trainings for boards
and other organizational entities (such as Chambers of Commerce or local governments)
An experience in
citizen involvement through the Crossroads Simulation--a 2 - 3 hour game geared towards
youth and adults with limited experience dealing with public issues
Assisting with the use
of technology to enhance the local community through the Missouri Express and Community Connections projects
Leadership development
through a new cross-county program (offered for the first time in the fall of 2000).
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University of Missouri Extension Perry County Perryco@missouri.edu Updated 05/15/07 |
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