Achieving Better Community Development (ABCD)

Achieving Better Community Development (ABCD) is a general framework for planning, evaluating and learning from community development approaches and interventions.  It supports those in community development – community members, practitioners, policy makers, funders, to be clear about they are aiming to achieve and how they should go about it.   It also helps them to develop a theory of what happens in community development and how to measure the changes.  It does not prescriptive measures or processes for organisations to use; rather it sets out a broad framework.  Although a generalist framework for all community development, the ultimate outcome is a healthy community.

The principles underpinning the framework are:

• All stakeholders should participate
• Evaluation criteria and methods should reflect the motivations and objectives of all the participants
• Evaluation should be an integral element of community development, which continuously informs planning and action
• Attention should be given to evaluating the empowerment of communicates and the changes in the quality of community life that result
• Community life should become more satisfying, sustainable and equitable

You can find more useful community development resources on the SCDC webpage.