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Community organizing as an area of social work practice has historic roots in challenging inequality, building capacity, and meeting the needs of local peoples through taking collective action. While the literature of community organizing is rich in conceptual frameworks, practice approaches, and case studies, it lacks the level of formal theory that exists in clinical social work. Formal practice theories provide social workers with evidence informed guidance about “what to do”, “how to do it”, and “what to expect”; however, social workers engaging in community organizing have little formal practice theory. The results of this study build the beginning foundation for a direct practice theory of community organizing that can be utilized by social workers engaged in community organizing to better inform practice. In this study, I used Delphi methodology to build formal practice theory by exploring the perspectives of nine community-organizing experts with an average of nearly 30 years of experience from the union organizing and civil rights organizing traditions. Through three waves of data collection, I learned that community organizing is a dialectical process that includes three distinct stages: community building, plan, and mobilize. These distinct stages do not operate solely in a linear or cyclical fashion, but work dynamically with the ever changing social environment to achieve social change. My findings support the idea that community organizing is dependent upon the participation and inclusion of local peoples. While practitioners have distinct roles in organizing efforts, community members determine many aspects of what and how the organizing process unfolds. My findings provide the beginning foundation for a direct social work practice theory of community organizing that can be utilized to guide professional practice as well as provide a basis for further research. It is through further research that community organizing can be better understood and utilized to create evidence informed interventions that are both respectful and inclusive of community members as well as empirical and evidence informed.

O Sistema de Proteção Social brasileiro logrou um avanço desde a Constituição Federal de 1988, desafiando os paradigmas enraizados até então do conceito de pobreza e de ações assistencialistas configuradas sob a lógica da tutela, do clientelismo e da urgência, fornecendo bases para as ações socioassistenciais no país. O Ministério de Desenvolvimento Social e Combate à Fome (MDS) tem buscado consolidar a importância da proteção social, enquanto política de direito na defesa, garantia e promoção de suas ações na abrangência do território nacional. Os serviços de proteção social básica possuem como objetivo fundamental a prevenção às situações de risco pessoal e social por meio do desenvolvimento de ações psicossociais que atuam no fortalecimento dos vínculos familiares e comunitários, prestados pelo Centro de Referência de Assistência Social (CRAS). Tendo em conta tal realidade, este projeto visa identificar os limites e possibilidades das práticas psicossociais comunitárias desenvolvidas nos CRAS do Município de Várzea Paulista, a partir de uma análise crítica, sob o referencial teórico-metodológico da psicologia política, acerca das intervenções destinadas às famílias atendidas no campo da Assistência Social. Vale ressaltar que esta pesquisa teve como norte analisar as especificidades produzidas por Várzea Paulista que, entre os anos de 2008 a 2012, fundamentou suas ações buscando promover a educação popular e a participação política, através da implantação de ferramentas como o Orçamento Participativo e os Conselhos Municipais. A fim de propiciar uma inclusão produtiva das famílias acompanhadas pelos CRAS, introduziu-se a metodologia da Economia Solidária, como estratégia de superação das situações de vulnerabilidades. Por meio de uma pesquisa de campo realizada nos CRAS do Município de Várzea Paulista, procuramos investigar se as práticas comunitárias contribuem ou não para o desenvolvimento de processos de autonomia e participação política das famílias acompanhadas pelos Centros de Referência de Assistência Social CRAS. Para tanto, realizamos uma entrevista exploratória com a Gestora da Secretaria de Desenvolvimento Social, que nos forneceu dados sobre os trabalhos desenvolvidos, ajudando-nos a caracterizar as ações de Proteção Social Básica. Realizamos também entrevistas semiestruturadas com profissionais que participaram das ações dos CRAS durante o período em estudo, além de um grupo focal com alunas das oficinas, a fim de garantir o olhar sob a perspectiva de participantes das ações promovidas pela Economia Solidária. O grupo focal propiciou discussões a respeito de temas como: CRAS, participação, autonomia e fortalecimento comunitário. Utilizamos a análise de discurso para respaldarmo-nos teórico-metodologicamente, tendo em vista identificar os sentidos produzidos nas entrevistas e no grupo, analisando os dilemas, tensões e desdobramentos das práticas psicossociais comunitárias nos CRAS. Em seus discursos as participantes, apontaram algumas contribuições que, segundo elas, propiciaram uma melhora na qualidade de suas vidas. Dentre estas contribuições destacamos: novos aprendizados técnicos, aprendizados referente à comercialização, ampliação na sociabilização e o envolvimento com novas atividades anteriormente restritas ao ambiente doméstico. Contudo, percebemos que estas práticas ainda focam em estratégias de inserção no mundo do trabalho, reforçando uma perspectiva neoliberal e mantenedora do status quo. Além disso, analisamos que tais práticas não propiciaram a ampliação de um envolvimento comunitário e político, que segundo Martin-Baró (1998) e Montero (2004, 2006) são fundamentais para ações que se dizem fortalecedoras e emancipadoras, a fim de romper com estruturas fatalistas e excludentes. / The Brazilian Social Protection System achieved advancement since the Federal Constitution of 1988, challenging the so far entrenched concept of poverty and assistentialist actions configured under the logic of tutelage, clientelism and urgency, and providing new bases for the social assistance projects in the country. The Ministry of Social Development and Hunger Alleviation (Ministério de Desenvolvimento Social e Combate à Fome MDS) has sought to consolidate the importance of social protection, as legal policy in the defense, security and promotion of its actions on the range of the national territory. The basic social protection services have as main objective to prevent situations of personal and social risk through the development of psychosocial activities that work on strengthening of both family and community ties, actions developed by the Reference Center of Social Assistance (CRAS). Due to this reality, this project aims to promote a reflection on the limits and possibilities of the community psychosocial practices developed at the CRAS of Várzea Paulista city, from a critical analysis, under the theoretical and methodological referencial of the political psychology, about interventions to familiesunder the supervision of Social Services Bureau. It is worth mentioning that this research is focused in analyzing the particularities produced in Várzea Paulista between the years 2008-2012, particularly on the actions that have sought to promote popular education and political participation, through the implementation of tools such as Participatory Budget and municipal councils. In order to enable a productive inclusion of CRAS´s monitored families, it was introduced the methodology of the Solidarity Economy as a strategy to overcome the situations of vulnerability. In this context, we conducted an exploratory interview with the Manager of the Social Development Bureau, which provided us data about the projects developed, helping us to characterize the actions of Basic Social Protection. Likewise, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with professionals who participated in the CRAS´s actions during that period, besides focus groups with the workshop´s students, in order to ensure the look under the perspective of participants in the actions promoted by the Solidarity Economy. The focus group led discussions on topics such as: the CRAS itself and the community participation, its autonomy and empowerment. In this context, the discourse analysis was used in order to achieve a theoretical and methodological foundation, seeking to identify the meanings produced in the interviews and in the groups, analyzing the dilemmas, tensions and consequences of Community psychosocial practices developed at the CRAS. Therefore, some contributions were raised by the participants and, in their points of view, they have provided a better quality of their lives. Among these contributions we emphasize: new technical learnings, knowledge-acquiring processes on the products commercialization, expansion in the socialization and engagement with new activities previously restricted to the domestic environment. However, analysing from a dialectical perspective, we notice that these practices still focus on the strategies of integration into the labor market, reinforcing a neoliberal perspective and maintaining thestatus quo. Furthermore, we analyzed that such practices did not promote the expansion of a community and political involvement, which according Martin-Baró(1998) and Montero (2004, 2006) are fundamental to actions that are said to be empowering and emancipatory in order to break with fatalistic and excluding structures.

The community development in Taiwan has its unique connotation and meaning, some scholars pointed that the key to the continuous promotion of community development is in the self identity, collective participation and active support. Promotion of community development fears discontinuity. The phenomenon that commonly appears is discontinuity of residents¡¦ participation or unsatisfactory cohesive force of community. As a consequence, the community development is regarded as a mean to enable collective action of community residents, what affects the communities to enable an effective collective action is an issue to be discussed in the study. There are four purposes of this study : firstly; is to get to know the theoretical base of local community development task in Taiwan; secondly; to proof the effect among social capital, community empowerment and collective action; thirdly; to explore the operation strategies for ¡§urban¡¨ and ¡§rural¡¨ community development and lastly, to combine social capital, community empowerment and collective action theories related aspects to construct a ¡§continuous development model¡¨ for the community development in Taiwan. The research variables with regard to the community collective action of this study include: ¡§civic engagement¡¨, ¡§interpersonal trust¡¨, ¡§social networks¡¨, ¡§community empowerment¡¨, ¡§individual and social benefits (incentives)¡¨ etc., with community participants (effective sample size of 573 people in total) from 19 community development associations as research objects; including 10 communities in Kaohsiung city (urban community), 9 communities in Kaohsiung county and Tainan county (rural community), with questionnaires acquired to proceed reliability analysis and exploratory factor analysis, using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to construct variables and model test that affect the collective action of community residents for community development. According to analysis of overall sample, there is certain effect of civic engagement on social capital, community empowerment on social capital, social capital on collective action, and individual and social benefits (incentives) on collective action; moreover, a direct impact of community empowerment is shown on the collective action. According to the model fit outcomes, urban community samples are more close to ideal standard, followed by overall sample. The suggestions and strategies proposed upon the research outcomes were mainly divided into 3 directions : first of all, to increase activity management and construct interactive network from social capital perspective; second, to advance identification affection through learning capability from community empowerment perspective; eventually, to provide incentives to enable an interest from collective action perspective. There shall be positive and effective influence on the community collective action once the community development is planned and fulfilled as per 3 dimensions recommended by the study.

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Background: Non communicable diseases (NCD) are recognized as a major burden of human health globally, especially in low and middle-income countries including Indonesia. This thesis addresses a community intervention program utilizing a community empowerment approach to study whether this is a reasonable strategy to control NCD. Objective: To explore possible opportunities, common pitfalls, and barriers in the process of developing a pilot community intervention program to prevent NCD in an urban area of a middle-income country. Methods: The study was conducted in Yogyakarta Municipality. The baseline risk factor survey in 2004 (n=3205) describes the pattern of NCD risk factors (smoking, physical inactivity and low fruit and vegetable intake) and demographic characteristics using STEPwise instrument. A qualitative study was conducted in order to illustrate peoples’ perceptions about NCD risk factors and how NCD might be prevented. A pilot intervention was developed based on the baseline survey and the qualitative data. The pilot intervention was conducted in four intervention communities while one community served as the referent area. The intervention was evaluated using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Finally, a second cross-sectional survey conducted in 2009 (n= 2467) to measure NCD risk factor changes during the five year period. Results: Baseline qualitative data showed that people in the high SES (Socio Economic Status) group preferred individual activities, whereas people in the low SES group preferred collective activities. Baseline survey data showed that the prevalence of all NCD risk factors were high. The community intervention was designed to promote passive smoking protection, promote healthy diet and physical activity, improve people’s knowledge of NCD, and provide a supporting environment. A mutual understanding between the Proriva team and community leadership was bargained. Several interactive group discussions were performed to increase NCD awareness. A working team was assigned to set goals and develop programs, and the programs were delivered to the community. There were more frequent activities and higher participation rates in the low SES group than in high SES group. The repeated cross-sectional surveys showed that the percentage of men predicted to be at high risk of getting an NCD event had significantly increased in 2009 compared to 2004. Conclusion: The community empowerment model was a feasible choice as a “moderate”strategy to accommodate with people’s need when implementing a community intervention that also interacts with the service provided by the existing health system. A community empowerment approach may improve program acceptance among the people.

O Sistema de Proteção Social brasileiro logrou um avanço desde a Constituição Federal de 1988, desafiando os paradigmas enraizados até então do conceito de pobreza e de ações assistencialistas configuradas sob a lógica da tutela, do clientelismo e da urgência, fornecendo bases para as ações socioassistenciais no país. O Ministério de Desenvolvimento Social e Combate à Fome (MDS) tem buscado consolidar a importância da proteção social, enquanto política de direito na defesa, garantia e promoção de suas ações na abrangência do território nacional. Os serviços de proteção social básica possuem como objetivo fundamental a prevenção às situações de risco pessoal e social por meio do desenvolvimento de ações psicossociais que atuam no fortalecimento dos vínculos familiares e comunitários, prestados pelo Centro de Referência de Assistência Social (CRAS). Tendo em conta tal realidade, este projeto visa identificar os limites e possibilidades das práticas psicossociais comunitárias desenvolvidas nos CRAS do Município de Várzea Paulista, a partir de uma análise crítica, sob o referencial teórico-metodológico da psicologia política, acerca das intervenções destinadas às famílias atendidas no campo da Assistência Social. Vale ressaltar que esta pesquisa teve como norte analisar as especificidades produzidas por Várzea Paulista que, entre os anos de 2008 a 2012, fundamentou suas ações buscando promover a educação popular e a participação política, através da implantação de ferramentas como o Orçamento Participativo e os Conselhos Municipais. A fim de propiciar uma inclusão produtiva das famílias acompanhadas pelos CRAS, introduziu-se a metodologia da Economia Solidária, como estratégia de superação das situações de vulnerabilidades. Por meio de uma pesquisa de campo realizada nos CRAS do Município de Várzea Paulista, procuramos investigar se as práticas comunitárias contribuem ou não para o desenvolvimento de processos de autonomia e participação política das famílias acompanhadas pelos Centros de Referência de Assistência Social CRAS. Para tanto, realizamos uma entrevista exploratória com a Gestora da Secretaria de Desenvolvimento Social, que nos forneceu dados sobre os trabalhos desenvolvidos, ajudando-nos a caracterizar as ações de Proteção Social Básica. Realizamos também entrevistas semiestruturadas com profissionais que participaram das ações dos CRAS durante o período em estudo, além de um grupo focal com alunas das oficinas, a fim de garantir o olhar sob a perspectiva de participantes das ações promovidas pela Economia Solidária. O grupo focal propiciou discussões a respeito de temas como: CRAS, participação, autonomia e fortalecimento comunitário. Utilizamos a análise de discurso para respaldarmo-nos teórico-metodologicamente, tendo em vista identificar os sentidos produzidos nas entrevistas e no grupo, analisando os dilemas, tensões e desdobramentos das práticas psicossociais comunitárias nos CRAS. Em seus discursos as participantes, apontaram algumas contribuições que, segundo elas, propiciaram uma melhora na qualidade de suas vidas. Dentre estas contribuições destacamos: novos aprendizados técnicos, aprendizados referente à comercialização, ampliação na sociabilização e o envolvimento com novas atividades anteriormente restritas ao ambiente doméstico. Contudo, percebemos que estas práticas ainda focam em estratégias de inserção no mundo do trabalho, reforçando uma perspectiva neoliberal e mantenedora do status quo. Além disso, analisamos que tais práticas não propiciaram a ampliação de um envolvimento comunitário e político, que segundo Martin-Baró (1998) e Montero (2004, 2006) são fundamentais para ações que se dizem fortalecedoras e emancipadoras, a fim de romper com estruturas fatalistas e excludentes. / The Brazilian Social Protection System achieved advancement since the Federal Constitution of 1988, challenging the so far entrenched concept of poverty and assistentialist actions configured under the logic of tutelage, clientelism and urgency, and providing new bases for the social assistance projects in the country. The Ministry of Social Development and Hunger Alleviation (Ministério de Desenvolvimento Social e Combate à Fome MDS) has sought to consolidate the importance of social protection, as legal policy in the defense, security and promotion of its actions on the range of the national territory. The basic social protection services have as main objective to prevent situations of personal and social risk through the development of psychosocial activities that work on strengthening of both family and community ties, actions developed by the Reference Center of Social Assistance (CRAS). Due to this reality, this project aims to promote a reflection on the limits and possibilities of the community psychosocial practices developed at the CRAS of Várzea Paulista city, from a critical analysis, under the theoretical and methodological referencial of the political psychology, about interventions to familiesunder the supervision of Social Services Bureau. It is worth mentioning that this research is focused in analyzing the particularities produced in Várzea Paulista between the years 2008-2012, particularly on the actions that have sought to promote popular education and political participation, through the implementation of tools such as Participatory Budget and municipal councils. In order to enable a productive inclusion of CRAS´s monitored families, it was introduced the methodology of the Solidarity Economy as a strategy to overcome the situations of vulnerability. In this context, we conducted an exploratory interview with the Manager of the Social Development Bureau, which provided us data about the projects developed, helping us to characterize the actions of Basic Social Protection. Likewise, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with professionals who participated in the CRAS´s actions during that period, besides focus groups with the workshop´s students, in order to ensure the look under the perspective of participants in the actions promoted by the Solidarity Economy. The focus group led discussions on topics such as: the CRAS itself and the community participation, its autonomy and empowerment. In this context, the discourse analysis was used in order to achieve a theoretical and methodological foundation, seeking to identify the meanings produced in the interviews and in the groups, analyzing the dilemmas, tensions and consequences of Community psychosocial practices developed at the CRAS. Therefore, some contributions were raised by the participants and, in their points of view, they have provided a better quality of their lives. Among these contributions we emphasize: new technical learnings, knowledge-acquiring processes on the products commercialization, expansion in the socialization and engagement with new activities previously restricted to the domestic environment. However, analysing from a dialectical perspective, we notice that these practices still focus on the strategies of integration into the labor market, reinforcing a neoliberal perspective and maintaining thestatus quo. Furthermore, we analyzed that such practices did not promote the expansion of a community and political involvement, which according Martin-Baró(1998) and Montero (2004, 2006) are fundamental to actions that are said to be empowering and emancipatory in order to break with fatalistic and excluding structures.

Le paludisme compte parmi les plus lourds fardeaux qui pèsent sur l’Afrique subsaharienne en termes de maladie, dans un contexte international de grande mobilisation pour son contrôle. Le paradoxe est que les moyens thérapeutiques (préventifs et curatifs) adéquats pour son contrôle sont disponibles et largement diffusés. Plusieurs travaux ont montré qu’à la base de cet échec se trouvent de nombreux facteurs culturels, sociaux, économiques, environnementaux, etc. qui sont nécessaires en plus des moyens thérapeutiques traditionnels pour un contrôle efficace du paludisme. Les expériences menées dans le sens de la prise en compte de ces facteurs se sont souvent situées dans la logique des professionnels de la santé sans véritablement tenir compte de la logique des communautés. Au Bénin, le paludisme demeure la première cause de morbidité et de mortalité dans la population générale et surtout celle des enfants de moins de cinq ans. Sur les dix dernières années (1996-2005) et malgré les importants efforts engagés pour son contrôle, le paludisme est resté la première cause de consultation et d’hospitalisation dans la population des enfants de moins de cinq ans avec une tendance à la hausse. La présente étude a choisi de voir dans quelle mesure l’empowerment communautaire et la participation appropriative des parents dans l’élaboration et la mise en œuvre des projets de lutte contre le paludisme des enfants de moins de cinq ans contribue à la réduction de la morbidité et de la mortalité de ces derniers ainsi qu’à l’amélioration de la qualité de vie des populations. Pour ce faire, il a été mis en place un dispositif quasi-expérimental pré-post, pilote et témoin. L’intervention de promotion de la santé et d’éducation pour la santé a été un accompagnement du village pilote dans l’identification des priorités et la mise en œuvre des solutions propres à lutter contre le paludisme de l’enfant reconnu comme problème prioritaire de santé. Le projet a été mis en place suivant la logique de la communauté pilote qui a identifié sept différents micro-projets, suivant ses besoins prioritaires, pour efficacement lutter contre le paludisme de l’enfant. Parmi ces sept micro-projets, cinq ont été pleinement mis en œuvre, le sixième partiellement et, le dernier non encore entamé avant le terme provisoire du projet qui a été de 27 mois. L’ensemble de ces activités a impliqué environ 80% de la population de la communauté pilote. Au terme des 27 mois, la grande majorité des parents interrogés trouvent qu’il s’agit d’un projet qui leur a apporté d’éléments nouveaux dans l’appréciation de la situation de la fièvre et de sa prise en charge et, par conséquent, il devrait continuer. L’analyse des représentations, les entretiens de groupe, le dépistage actif, le dépouillement des registres dans les formations sanitaires fréquentées par les membres de la communauté pilote ainsi que le recensement des décès d’enfants pendant la période de l’intervention, comparés aux données d’avant intervention ont permis de noter un changement statistiquement significatif dans les pratiques de recours aux soins adéquats, une réduction de la morbidité et de la mortalité palustres (respectivement 42% et 87% des taux observés avant l’intervention) avec également une différence statistiquement significative comparativement au village témoin. Une confirmation de ces résultats est obtenue à partir des registres d’approvisionnement et de cession des médicaments anti-palustres utilisés dans le cadre du projet dans le village pilote ainsi que les données d’interviews individuelles approfondies. Les femmes, dont les fonctions traditionnelles dans ce milieu leur confèrent un statut de l’ombre, ont joué un rôle prépondérant dans l’initiation des micro-projets et la prise en charge adéquate des cas de fièvre des enfants. D’autres aspects du développement du village pilote ont vu le jour à partir de ce projet, tels que la mise en place d’une fontaine d’eau potable, l’élaboration et la mise en œuvre d’un nouveau modèle d’habitat permettant une meilleure protection contre les moustiques vecteurs du paludisme, etc. Il est à noter que le projet se poursuit sous la direction du comité villageois mis en place pour la circonstance et avec un contact régulier maintenu entre ce dernier et le chercheur principal.

This study examines the role women’s groups play in the lives of 10 Muslim women in South Africa. A qualitative methodology was employed to gain information from two women’s groups in Johannesburg. An open-ended questionnaire, focus groups, and individual interviews were used to elicit information. The data were initially analysed using a computer-based content analysis programme (Atlas-ti), to identify a priori and emergent themes and categories in the data. These themes and categories were then used as the basis for a qualitative interpretive analysis, focused in particular on issues of empowerment with respect to psychological, community, economic, intellectual and political empowerment, and more specifically on gender equality. The study would thus suggest that while these groups do have many positive outcomes, the issues dealt with in women’s groups cannot be isolated from the broader social context in which Muslim women live. While the processes of empowerment appear to have begun in areas of psychological, community, intellectual, economic and political empowerment in this sample of women, empowerment with respect to gender equality still seems far off.

This thesis explores the social dynamics of community gardens and their participation within them in the contemporary food justice movement in Seattle, Washington. Community gardens are seen as solutions to myriad urban and environmental problems, such as food deserts, community empowerment, urban greening, environmental education and sustainability of the food system. Three case studies of Seattle organizations, the P-Patch Program, Lettuce Link and Alleycat Acres, provide a basis for analysis of the purported benefit of community empowerment as a function of organizational structure, history and policies. City government support, flexibility, and a critical outlook towards the processes of inclusion and methods of fostering community-based leadership are found to be essential to a garden project. However, the definition of who is the ‘community’ in a community garden is called into question as more potential stakeholders and beneficiaries emerge in a changing and increasingly interconnected city. These networks of organizations and activists, complicated as they may be are a boon to the community gardening scene as they increase avenues for access for more Seattleites to healthy, local food. Community gardens are another representation of the current global movements against social inequalities, and therefore, to take full advantage of this opportunity for social change, community garden organizers must remain critically conscious of who is included and how this participation occurs.