Community development in a contested society: leadership structure and agency in poor neighbourhoods in Belfast

Abstract

The ubiquitous objective of empowerment, found in most theoretical accounts of community development, is examined to consider the extent to which accounts adequately take account of structure and agency. Two poor and contrasting neighbourhoods in Belfast and the community development organisations that work within them were selected for detailed study. Interviews were carried out with political leaders, civil servants, and community development practitioners, to explore how different organisational and cultural groups interpret community development.

The lack of an established policy framework by government in Northern Ireland for community development is described with associated contested objectives within an enforced coalition. The work of community development organisations reflects how those organisations address the inadequacies of government policies in addressing the needs of poor neighbourhoods. Acquiring short term funding to address long-term needs, going beyond the reach of government policy to address neighbourhood needs, and challenging government actions whilst building and maintaining relationships with government decision makers are discussed in the context of the leadership of indigenous community development workers, who act as interpreters between the different cultures in neighbourhoods and government organisations.

In the context of difficulties in structuralist accounts, the work of community development organisations in enhancing participative democratic accountability, framing its work to enhance the agency and choices of individuals, and challenging and working with government is then reviewed. The nature of community development leaders and the values they espouse are suggested as the basis for a framework for the evaluation of community development. The research concludes that the contested nature of community development suggests an organisational framework for evaluation of community development work by the organisations themselves is the most appropriate.

Date of Award	Feb 2023
Original language	English
Supervisor	John Offer (Supervisor) & Derek Birrell (Supervisor)