community development

Membership and affected people

Distinguishes self-identified members, administratively included populations and affected people who lack recognised membership.

1. What connects this community, and where do members disagree about its boundaries? definition
2. Which affected people fall outside the recognised membership, including displaced members or people unable to participate? boundary

Competing accounts of progress

Records whether actors prioritise empowerment, mutual support, services, livelihoods or other changes, without presuming agreement.

1. What would count as development for each constituency, and which proposed changes would they reject as harmful? definition
2. Who articulated each account, through what process, and which disagreements remain unresolved? provenance

Participation barriers and influence

Connects participation patterns to access conditions and evidence that contributions altered decisions.

1. Which constituencies are absent or rarely heard, and what evidence links this to timing, language, disability access, care responsibilities, cost or fear of repercussions? measurement
2. Which changes to engagement arrangements could reduce those barriers, and who can authorise and resource them? action

Community mandate and recourse

Separates claimed representation from demonstrable mandates and records who controls priorities and resources.

1. How were representatives selected, whom are they accountable to, and how can their mandate be reviewed or withdrawn? provenance
2. Who has final authority over priorities, budgets and contested decisions, and what recourse do excluded or dissenting members have? action

Capacity beyond project staff

Looks for demonstrated collective capabilities and the distribution of knowledge and responsibility.

1. What can members now organise or negotiate themselves, compared with the baseline, and what examples demonstrate that change? measurement
2. What learning, mentoring or succession arrangements would reduce reliance on a few leaders or external facilitators? action

Usable assets and constraints

Distinguishes resources present in a community from resources members can actually mobilise.

1. Which local skills, networks, spaces, funds and other assets can members access, and who controls or restricts their use? boundary
2. Which unmet needs require external resources or institutional change rather than additional unpaid community effort? action

Community-grounded action logic

Records why an initiative was chosen and how its activities are expected to improve conditions or collective agency.

1. Through what community process was this initiative selected, and which alternative priorities were deferred or disputed? provenance
2. How is the initiative expected to change lived conditions and collective capacity, and what evidence would challenge that expectation? measurement

Partnership terms and influence

Records what public bodies, funders, businesses and practitioners commit to and how community actors can influence those commitments.

1. Which external decisions or funding conditions constrain community priorities, and where is there evidence of community influence over them? boundary
2. What commitments can community representatives negotiate, monitor or challenge, and through which accountable channels? action

Benefits, harms and contribution

Distinguishes completed activities from changes in lives and collective influence without assuming causal attribution.

1. Which community-selected indicators changed from baseline, for whom, over what period, and with what uncertainty about the initiative's contribution? measurement
2. Did improvements coincide with displacement, exclusion, conflict or unequal burdens that aggregate indicators fail to capture? measurement

Durable gains and responsible exit

Records what can persist after external support changes and whether continued activity remains community-supported.

1. Which gains depend on temporary funding, particular leaders or unpaid labour, and what evidence indicates those dependencies are manageable? measurement
2. Under what community-agreed conditions should the initiative continue, adapt, transfer responsibilities or close? action

Check these first

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these check these first hold for the sense of community development this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Kinds and varieties

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of community development this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Standards and regulation

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of community development this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Real-world use

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of community development this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Typical measurements

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of community development this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Failure modes and hazards

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of community development this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Regional variation

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of community development this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of community development this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance