If you have read the title on this image, you might be thinking "What have productive workplaces got to do with community development, engagement and participation? "
The answer is that they have a lot to do with one another. Ultimately what we're talking about is group change and the principles are the same no matter what type of group. (Of course, the way you apply the principles may well differ depending on the group and circumstance but the principles remain the same).
To answer the question of why participation and engagement have become so important in community development, you need to understand how society has evolved and continues to evolve.
There are many (and possibly an infinite number) of ways of describing this but one of my favourites is provided by Marv Weisbord in the book featured above.
For a full understanding you need to read the book but here's the evolution that Marv noticed in the way we manage groups:
Experts Solve Problems (1900) - Everybody Solves Problems (1950) - Experts Improve Whole Systems (1965) - Everybody Improves Whole Systems (2000+)
The 2 aspects of this are (1) a focus on improving the whole system instead of problem solving (the glass half full instead of half empty), and (2) a focus on everybody working collaboratively to effect change rather than getting the answers from experts.
So the answer to the question posed in the title of this post is "Because that's the way we have evolved. The most effective change requires collaborative effort.
Are there any other benefits to understanding this evolution provided by Marv Weisbord?
Well, there's probably a number but here's the one I suspect is the most significant for most people. (No research data just my suspicion.)
The idea of focusing on problems and the idea that experts have the right answers is so heavily ingrained in our psyche that from time to time we forget. We forget that its important to focus on the positive and we forget that the best way to effect change is through collaborative effort.
Committing this evolution to memory helps you remember. Every time you think about an initiative, you AUTOMATICALLY begin thinking about those 2 aspects.
And getting participation and commitment to action around an initiative is like chalk and cheese compared with just implementing an experts advice - no matter whether the issue relates to youth development, economic development, sustainability, transport, health, mental health, poverty, education or broader issues like community strategic planning or community visioning.
Learn this evolution off by heart and it will automatically have you thinking about getting "Everybody Improving the Whole System".
