Eric Shragge, School of Community and Public Affairs, Concordia University

Raïmi B. Osseni, Development in Action, CCEDNet Emerging Leaders Committee

Outline of Workshop

Why this workshop?-To revisit the role of community organizing in CED and Social Economy practice.

Why I was attracted to CED/Social EconomyComponents of Community PracticeContesting Community in Neoliberal SocietyDefinitions and Visions of CEDRole of Community in Social ChangeFramework for Grassroots organizingBuilding Radical CapacityLimits and PossibilitiesPulling it all together

 Eric Shragge, School of Community and

Public Affairs, Concordia University

Raïmi B. Osseni, Development in Action, CCEDNet Emerging Leaders Committee

Why I was attracted to CED/Social Economy

 Analysis-How we understand the world?

What is our ideology, and vision? Practice intervention-What we do to change

the world? What are we trying to achieve- outcomes? How are we doing it-process?

 Reflection- How are we doing?

Component of practice

Raymond Williams ended his discussion of community in Keywords. He stated:

Community can be the warmly persuasive word to describe an existing set of relationships, or the warmly persuasive word to describe an alternative set of relationships. What is most important, perhaps, is that unlike all other terms of social organization (state, nation, society, etc.) it seems never to be used unfavorably

(Williams, 1988, p. 76, emphasis in original)

Contesting Community

Contested Ideologies within Community and Social Movements

Because of the significance of community it has been, and continues to be, mobilized for a variety of political projects. Building upon the discussion in Fisher (1994) we identify five types:Reactionary: which try to turn back the clock to

a prior, real or imagined, time and state of affairsConservative: which attempt to maintain a

status quo that resists the advancement of social, economic, and political justice

What are the problems with community?

Adaptive/Reformist: which accept the basic premises of the status quo, but try to tweak it a bit around the edges. They try to reform gross inequities to improve and maintain society.

Radical/Revolutionary: which use the language and realm of community as a basis to try to fundamentally transform the social relations of their time.

Opt-out: which use the context of community to try to withdraw from the larger-scale social relations of their time

What are the problems with community?

"…community economic development is characterized by community-based processes and priorities

Process through which development of the community is pursued by the community

The community economy is seen in its full breadth, including all sectors and the informal economy

Planning is a central activity and is based on participatory principles of community democracy

The long-term view predominates and includes an integrated approach to both planning and implementation

Definitions and Visions of CED

Social, political, cultural, environmental and other perspectives are integrated with the economic perspective

The economic development process is a means to various social ends, including integration of community interests (e.g. the disabled, the elderly)

An inclusive ethic informs the process

Likewise, appropriate community organizations are developed to respond to the community's priorities and values, and to facilitate the maximum access to the process and the maximum control by the community."

(Douglas, 1994, p.26)

Definitions and Visions of CED

Approaches to

Restructuring for Capital

Renewal and Repair

Restructuring for Community and Ecology

Priorities Economy Economy with a nod to Distributional and environmental issues

Holistic and integrated view of economy, society and the environment

Community Development

Reduces need for state intervention; remove ‘dependency culture’

Helps to prevent technocratic errors, provides popular legitimacy, consultation rather than participation

Participation at all stages of the regeneration process, from design to implementation

Time Scales Grab it while you can

Patch and mend as you go

Build for the future

Overview of Approaches to Local Economic Development

(From Community Economic Development edited by Graham HoughtonThe Stationery Office 1999, U.K.Chapter 1 Community Economic Development: Challenges of Theory Practice and Method p.3-22.)

Approaches toRestructuring for Capital

Renewal and Repair

Restructuring for Community and Ecology

Economic Inclusion

All jobs are good Attempt to balance job creation with attention to quality of jobs

Need to address quality of work, engage in socially useful services/production

Dominant Principles

Wealth creation, business good, state bad, information is king

Social equity-pragmatism as principle, growth can be harnessed, health in diversity

Social equityFuturityGeographical equityParticipation

Key Assumptions Trickle-down worksGlobal markets bring rewards for allBusiness knows best

Trickle-down works only crudelyPragmatism over ideologyIntervention requires experts Government knows best

Capitalism doesn’t work. Globalism undermines localism. The community knows best

Overview of Approaches to Local Economic Development

The following table illustrates the dimensions of integration/opposition along with the action/development approaches. On it, I include traditions in order to illustrate each approach.

(From Eric Shragge: Activism and Social Change)

Community and Social Change

(From Eric Shragge: Activism and Social Change)

Community and Social ChangeIntegration Overlappi

ng practices

Opposition

Development

Service Provision and Development Schemes based on professional leadership and a consensus model Tradition-Asset Building (e.g. McKnight)

Service provision at the local level

Building Alternatives that create new democratic or non-market economics, new practices that are “pre-

figurative” Tradition-Feminist Services or Green Urban Development (e.g. collective community gardens)

Action Pluralist Pressure Group OrganizingTradition- Pluralist Pressure Groups (e.g. Alinsky)

Organizing people in a neighbourhood to pressure for local improvements

Social movement organizing and critical consciousness, challenging the legitimacy of existing power relationsTradition-Social Movement organizing-locally (e.g. anti-globalization activism)

(From Lee Staples Roots to Power- A Manual for Grassroots Organizing2nd Edition Praeger (2004) p.97)

Framework for Grassroots Community Organizations (GROs)

Who?

MembershipLeadershipStaffing Structure

How?

Strategies and TacticsFinancesAlliesCommunications

What?

Goals and Objectives

Whom?

Target Systems

Four traditions

Democracy-what kind? How to Sustain?

Education-Building Consciousness

Alliance-Building-Finding Allies

Mobilization- Building Power

(from Sheldrick)

Building a Radical Capacity

Proposition 1 - Understand the Importance of Community

Proposition 2 - Emphasize Conflict and Power at the Core

Proposition 3 - Organize Beyond CommunityProposition 4 - Connect with and Build Social

Movements Proposition 5 - Include an Analysis in Daily

Work and definitely Long-term Strategy

Community :its Limits and Possibilities

Questions