Community Animation Capacity

There are many approaches to community development work, and the one I have developed over the years I have termed "community animation" mainly because the former term has taken on the focus of economic development for many people. Economic development is important, but is not the main focus of what I do in my work with communities.

I regard many of the organizations and many of the individuals in a community as "animating systems". That is, these sub-units pour life into the community in independent and inter-dependant ways. I define this process very broadly, taking in profit and non-profit organizations, churches, service clubs, government and para-government organizations. Many individuals also function to animate communities in their individual and family impact on others.

I find myself, in terms of community animation work, dealing on a wholesale level , so to speak, with such organizations and individuals. Sometimes such individuals and organizations have become stalled or sidetracked, disheartened, or exhausted, overwhelmed or under-resourced. I find that my role in life has been to come along side such individuals and organizations and try to do whatever is needed to bring them back into play, or strengthen, encourage, empower, re-engage, re-integrate, or whatever, in their community dynamics. Rarely I find myself providing directly the things which are needed in order get the community moving again, until it can produce what only a community can produce. Mostly I work one step back from the community, and endeavor to bring the missing pieces (in terms of animating organizations and/or individuals) back into play, and limit myself to such activity. Most of what I do is behind the scenes, and is itself, in its own way "community animation".

A few years ago, I realized an important distinction in this matter of community animation. There is a large difference between those who do community animation (or CD) as a focus occupation, and those who do it as one of several "operational level" approaches, or capacities. Once that issue became settled in my mind, then I was able to do it without getting sidetracked into activities which a full-time, major-focus practitioner would be involved in by necessity. Community animation is one of five tactical capacities I use in order to complete my life tasks.