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It’s been a memorable week sharing our research on #communityled change with @GlobalGiving and @globalfundcf. If you missed the webinars, here are my takeaways from the chat + post-Zoom discussions: (1/12)
First of all, working with research partners like @Tewaforwomen @SolidarityFound @cafrussia @ZGFZambia @LINCenter & FASOL has been remarkable. As Shubha from @SolidarityFound said… (2/12)
… practitioners in the Global South often get overlooked as producers of knowledge; they’re valued as the “hands and legs” of #globaldev work, rather than the head. We all need to work harder to amplify voices often excluded from these development & #philanthropy convos.(3/12)
Thanks to @DanaDoan3, @mary_fifield and @hodgsonjj for developing a rich participatory action research #PAR approach detailed in the report: https://www.globalgiving.org/learn/community-led-approaches (4/12)
There are many similarities between participatory action research #PAR and #communityled work itself, including the challenge of respectfully engaging citizens, working in a flexible way, and probably needing to budget more time than you first anticipated, TBH. :) (5/12)
Next, we heard loud and clear that community leaders want funders to understand the need for more holistic, continuous efforts rather than focusing on projects. Shout out to @TrustBasedPhil for leading this effort among donors. Similarly… (6/12)
A shared language (that describes the importance of relationships, trust, and power dynamics) is needed between funders and nonprofits in order to accelerate #communityled change. (7/12)
Despite all the positive talk, folks shared concerns about community-led initiatives. Local power dynamics are complex, and can be problematic when there are disagreements within a community, or between the community and its partners. Going forward… (8/12)
There's a need for more research to understand effects of external incentives on #communityled work, to understand potential harms (from the perspective of communities), and to understand how to move funders to fund processes w/out imposing their own timelines & goals. (9/12)
There are related efforts by the @communityleddev, @TheEquityIndex, @HartogKim, the Poor Philanthropist Study, and many others (that's just who was mentioned), leading convos about #shiftthepower and #decolonizing development. (Wish we could all meet up in person!) (10/12)
. @GlobalGiving is committed to continuing conversations with and among you folks (and participating in what you’re learning and doing) in a collective effort to understand, support, and accelerate community led-change. Thank you for joining us! (11/12)
Finally, here’s a summary of all the other key findings we shared this week: https://www.globalgiving.org/learn/community-led-approaches
and a 10-Minute Survey (if youre a #globaldev #communityled practitioner and want to help us complete this phase of the research!) https://bit.ly/surveyCLcharacteristics (12/12)
and a 10-Minute Survey (if youre a #globaldev #communityled practitioner and want to help us complete this phase of the research!) https://bit.ly/surveyCLcharacteristics (12/12)
