
Guiding Principles for Community Planning
Nick Wates, 2000
Alternative versions rtf and pdf
Further reading

In The Community Planning Handbook, Nick Wates presents an A-Z of general
principles, which may apply to a range of local situations. They are reproduced here as an
aid to community activists, practitioners and other interested parties. Publication
details about the Handbook can be found at the end of this
guide.
Accept different agendas
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People will want to be involved for a variety of reasons, for
instance: academic enquiry, altruism, curiosity, fear of change, financial gain,
neighbourliness, professional duty, protection of interests, socialising. This need not be
a problem but it helps to be aware of peoples different agendas. |
Accept limitations
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No community planning activity can solve all the worlds
problems. But that is not a reason for holding back. Limited practical improvements will
almost always result, and community planning activities can often act as a catalyst for
more fundamental change. |
Accept varied commitment
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Far too much energy is wasted complaining that certain people
do not participate when the opportunity is provided. All of us could spend our lives many
times over working to improve the local environment. Everyone has their own priorities in
life and these should be respected. If people do not participate it is likely to be
because they are happy to let others get on with it, they are busy with things which are
more important to them or the process has not been made sufficiently interesting. |
Agree rules and boundaries
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There should be a common understanding by all the main
interest groups of the approach being adopted. Particularly in communities where there is
fear for instance that others may be trying to gain territorial advantage it
is vital that the rules and boundaries are clearly understood and agreed. |
Avoid jargon
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Use plain language. Jargon prevents people from engaging and
is usually a smokescreen to hide incompetence, ignorance and arrogance. |
Be honest
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Be open and straightforward about the nature of any activity.
People will generally participate more enthusiastically if they know something can be
achieved through their participation (e.g. if there is a budget for a capital
project). But they may be quite prepared to participate at risk providing they know
the odds. If there is only a small chance of positive change as a result of people
participating, say so. Avoid hidden agendas. |
Be transparent
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The objectives and peoples roles should be clear and
transparent at events. For instance, it my seem trivial but the importance of name badges
to prevent events being the preserve of the in-crowd can never be stressed enough. |
Be visionary yet realistic
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Nothing much is likely to be achieved without raising
expectations. Yet dwelling entirely on the utopian can be frustrating. Strike a balance
between setting visionary utopian goals and being realistic about the practical options
available. |
Build local capacity
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Long-term community sustainability depends on developing
human and social capital. Take every opportunity to develop local skills and capacity.
Involve local people in surveying their own situation, running their own programmes and
managing local assets. |
Communicate
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Use all available media to let people know what you are doing
and how they can get involved. In particular community newspapers or broadsheets are
invaluable. |
Encourage collaboration
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Create partnerships wherever possible between the various
interest groups involved and with potential contributors such as financial institutions. |
Flexibility
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Be prepared to modify processes as circumstances dictate.
Avoid inflexible methods and strategies. |
Focus on attitudes
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Behaviour and attitude are just as, if not more, important
than methods. Encourage self-critical awareness, handing over control, personal
responsibility and sharing. |
Follow-up
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Lack of follow-up is the most common failing, usually due to
a failure to plan and budget for it. Make sure you set aside time and resources for
documenting, publicising and acting on the results of any community planning initiative. |
Go at the right pace
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Rushing can lead to problems. On the other hand, without
deadlines things can drift. Using experienced external advisers may speed up the process
but often at the expense of developing local capacity. Get the balance right. |
Go for it
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This is the phrase used most by people who have experienced
community planning when asked what their advice would be to others. You are bound to have
doubts. It is usually a leap in the dark. But you are unlikely to regret taking the
plunge. |
Have fun
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Getting involved in creating and managing the environment
should not be a chore. It can be a great opportunity to meet people and have fun. The most
interesting and sustainable environments have been produced where people have enjoyed
creating them. Community planning requires humour. Use cartoons, jokes and games whenever
possible. |
Human scale
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Work in communities of manageable scale. This is usually
where people at least recognise each other. Where possible, break up larger areas into a
series of smaller ones. |
Involve all those affected
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Community planning works best if all parties are committed to
it. Involve all the main interested parties as early as possible, preferably in the
planning process. Activities in which key players (such as landowners or planners) sit on
the sidelines are all too common and rarely completely achieve their objectives. Time
spent winning over doubters before you start is well worthwhile. If there are people or
groups, who cannot be convinced at the outset, keep them informed and give them the option
of joining in later on. |
Involve all sections of the community
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People of different ages, gender, backgrounds and cultures
almost invariably have different concerns and perspectives on issues. Ensure that a full
spectrum of the community is involved. This is usually far more important than involving
large numbers. |
Learn from others
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There is no need to re-invent the wheel. One of the best
sources of information is people who have done it before. Dont think you know it
all. No one does. Be open to new approaches. Get in touch with people from elsewhere who
have relevant experience. Go visit them and see their projects seeing is believing.
Do not be afraid of experienced consultants but choose and brief them carefully. |
Local ownership
Process
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Local people should own the community-planning process. Even
though consultants or national organisations may be providing funding, advice and taking
responsibility for certain activities, the local community should take responsibility for
the overall process. |
Maintain momentum
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Regularly monitor progress to ensure that initiatives are
built on and objectives achieved or altered. Development processes are invariably lengthy;
the participation process needs to stay the course. If there has to be a break, start
again from where you left off, not from the beginning. Periodic review sessions can be
very valuable to maintain momentum and community involvement. |
Mixture of methods
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Use a variety of coherent and compatible involvement methods,
as different people will want to take part in different ways. For instance, some will be
happy to write letters, others will prefer to make comments at an exhibition or take part
in workshop sessions. |
Now is the time
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The best time to start involving people is at the beginning
of any programme - the earlier the better. But if programmes have already begun,
participation should be introduced as soon s possible. Start now. |
Personal initiative
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Virtually all community-planning initiatives have happened
only because an individual has taken the initiative. Dont wait for others. That
individual could be you. |
Plan your own process carefully
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Careful planning of the process is vital. Avoid rushing into
any one approach. Look at alternatives. Design a process to suit the circumstances. This
may well involve combining a range of methods or devising new ones. |
Plan for the local context
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Develop unique strategies for each neighbourhood. Understand
local characteristics and vernacular traditions and use them as a starting point for
planning. Encourage regional and local diversity. |
Prepare properly
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The most successful activities are invariably those on which
sufficient time and effort have been given to preliminary organise and engage those who
may be interested. |
Process is as important as product
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The way things are done is often as important as the end
result. But remember that the aim is implementation. Participation in community planning
is important but is not an end itself. |
Professional enablers
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Professionals and administrators should see themselves as
enablers, helping local people achieve their goals, rather than as providers of services
and solutions. |
Quality not quantity
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There is no such thing as a perfect participation process.
The search for one is healthy only if this fact is accepted. Generally, the maximum
participation by the maximum number of people is worth aiming at. But any participation is
better than none and the quality of participation is more important than the numbers
involved. A well-organised event for a small number of people can often be more fruitful
than a less well-organised event for larger numbers. |
Record and document
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Make sure participation activities are properly recorded and
documented so that it can be clearly seen who has been involved and how. Easily forgotten,
such records can be invaluable at a later stage. |
Respect cultural context
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Make sure that your approach is suitable for the cultural
context in which you are working. Consider local attitudes to gender, informal
livelihoods, social groupings, speaking out in public and so on. |
Respect local knowledge
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All people, whether literate or not, whether rich or poor,
whether children, women or men, have a remarkable understanding of their surroundings and
are capable of analysing and assessing their situation, often better than trained
professionals. Respect local perceptions, choices, and abilities and involve local people
in setting goals and strategies. |
Shared control
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The extent of public participation in any activity can vary
from very little to a great deal. Different levels are appropriate at different stages of
the planning process but shared control at the planning and design stage is the crucial
ingredient. |
Spend money
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Effective participation processes take time and energy. There
are methods to suit a range of budgets and much can be achieved using only peoples
time and energy. But over tight budgets usually lead to cutting corners and poor results.
Remember that community planning is an important activity, the success or failure of which
may have dramatic implications for future generations as well as your own resources. The
cost of building the wrong thing in the wrong place can be astronomical and make the cost
of proper community planning pale into insignificance. Budget generously. |
Think on your feet
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Once the basic principles and language of participatory
planning are understood, experienced practitioners will find it easy to improvise. Avoid
feeling constrained by rules or guidance provided in handbooks. Use your own best
judgement. |
Train
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Training is invaluable at all levels. Encourage visits to
other projects and attendance on courses. Build in training to all your activities.
However avoid training becoming an end itself. |
Trust in others honest
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Start from a position of trusting others and generally this
will be reciprocated. Lack of trust is usually due to lack of information. |
Use experts appropriately
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The best results emerge when local people work closely and
intensively with experts from all the necessary disciplines. Creating and managing the
environment is very complicated and requires a variety of expertise and experiences to do
it well. Do not be afraid of expertise - embrace it. But avoid dependency on, or hijacking
by, professionals. Keep control local. |
Use experts little and often
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Use experts little and often to allow local
participants time to develop capability even if it means they sometimes make mistakes. |
Use facilitators
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Orchestrating group activities is a real skill. Without good
facilitation the most articulate and powerful may dominate. Particularly if large numbers
of people are involved, ensure that the person or people directing events have good
facilitation skills. If not, hire someone who has. |
Use local talent
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Make use of local skills and professionalism within the
community before supplementing them with outside assistance. This will help develop
capability within the community and help achieve long-term sustainability. |
Use outsiders, but carefully
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A central principle of community planning is that local
people know best. But outsiders, if well briefed, can provide a fresh perspective, which
can be invigorating. Getting the right balance between locals and outsiders is important
avoid locals feeling swamped or intimated. |
Visualise
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People can participate far more effectively if certain types
of planning information are presented visually rather than in words. A great deal of poor
development, and hostility to good development, is due to people not understanding what it
will look like. Use simple graphics, maps, illustrations, cartoons, drawings,
photomontages and models wherever possible. And make the process itself visible by using
flipcharts, post-it notes, coloured dots and banners, etc. |
Walk before you run
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Developing a participatory culture takes time. Start by using
simple participation methods and work up to using more complex ones as experience and
confidence grow. |
Work on location
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Wherever possible, base community planning activities
physically in the area being planned. This makes it much easier for everyone to bridge the
gap from concept to reality. |
Further Reading

The Community Planning Handbook: How people can shape their cities, towns
and villages in any part of the world.
Nick Wates, Earthscan, 230pages, 2000. Price £14.95 ISBN 1 85383 654 0
The handbook provides a practical guide to planning and running community participation
projects irrespective of location. The author provides a list of methods, fully explained.
From planning an activity week to user groups, each method can be important in its own
right, but together they can be a very effective approach to community planning. Also laid
out are some general principles for consideration such as the need to accept varying
agendas, the necessity of transparency, and the importance of utilising local knowledge.

Making Micro-plans: A community based process in programming and development.
Reinhard Goethert and Nabeel Hamdi, Intermediate Technology Publications, 160 pages,
1988. ISBN 1 85339 085 2
Micro-planning is a community-based process, which enables local people to prepare and
implement programmes for settlement upgrading and regeneration. The aim is that local
participants contribute not only to the content but also to the structure of the programme
so that plans are not pre-packaged and handed down to local communities by governments and
funding agencies. What often stops people from solving their housing and other problems is
not so much lack of skills or willingness but an adequate framework for articulating
problems, defining solutions, and building consensus and partnerships. After the first
chapter which deals with the theory of Micro-planning, chapter two shows the methods
illustrated in practice through a community-based workshop in La Pintana, low-income
community outside of Santiago, Chile, and in chapter three a workshop in Sri Lanka.
Section II of the book includes the handbook itself for readers to carry out their own
workshops.

The Urban Poor as Agents of Development: Community Action Planning in Sri
Lanka
United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UN Habitat), 88 pages, Nairobi 1993,
(HS/278/93E) ISBN 92 1 1312035
This publication describes the principles and the application of the community action
planning and implementation approach (or CAP). The approach was developed and introduced
by the Urban Housing Division of the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) of Sri
Lanka in its urban housing programme to improve the living conditions in low-income
settlements in the mid 1980s. Unlike conventional planning and implementation approaches
of national housing agencies, the CAP approach is people-centred, support-based and
multi-sectoral. Its aim is to empower the urban poor to improve their living conditions
through self-help, with external agencies acting as supporters and facilitators. Because
development is a multi-faceted process, the approach focuses not only on shelter and
infrastructure, but also on social and economic issues such as savings and credit
associations, income generation and the improvement in the position of women and children.

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