National Occupational Standards for Community Development
The National Occupational Standards for Community Development were revised in 2009. They outline clearly the Skills, Values and Practice Principles required for community development work and have been developed to provide a guide and reference point for best practice.
National community development organisations
1. The Community Development Exchange (CDX) website has many publications and information sheets available to download free of charge on topics such as community empowerment, community development in action, strategic approaches to communtiy development and equalities case studies. The What is community development? leaflet provides some definitions that can be used as a starting point for understanding what community development is.
2. The Federation for Community Development Learning website also has a range of publications, some of which are free of charge. They provide definitions of community development and community development learning. The Summary of Good Practice for Community Development Work is helpful.
3. The Community Development Foundation is a source of community development expertise and delivery in the UK.
Regional community development organisation
Community Development South East (CDSE) is a Network for those who use a community development approach in their work.
Funding information
Surrey Community Action have introduced Funding Alerts to ensure that the Voluntary and Community Sector in Surrey has up to date information about new grants and is aware of changes to the criteria for existing grant funds.
Engaging communities through sport
Sports Scotland has commissioned a manual to assist those setting up and running sports-based projects in the community. It advises on: setting aims and objectives; lessons learned from good practice; and monitoring and evaluating projects to determine their impact on sporting and community outcomes. It is intended to be a practical manual that supports the principle of evidence-based policy - ‘what works and why?’ It should allow those running sports-based projects to demonstrate their impact.
Sport England has published five themed guides advising local councils on how sport can assist in the delivery of local priorities. The Shaping Places Through Sport series details how local authorities and their partners can use sport to build stronger, healthier, sustainable and more prosperous communities.
Other resources
1. Unionlearn and the TUC have published a document called "Coping with the Economic Downturn: a practical guide for working people and their familes" which several community development workers have found useful.
2. The Paul Hamlyn Foundation in association with NIACE have developed an Evaluation Resource Pack that provides tools and techniques for planning evaluation that is participatory and empowering.
