Organize the Community for Action

Strategies for identifying and recruiting core group members

If you decide against using a pre-existing group or no appropriate group is available, then you will need to devise a strategy for identifying possible group members. The BASICS child survival project has also had experience in this area and has found success with the following strategies (Green):

  • Self-selection. Ask people to divide into small groups, based on their personal preferences. For instance, the Child Health Institute in Haiti set up women’s groups by asking one mother to choose one friend; the two women then chose a third, the three chose a fourth, and so forth (Storms, 1998). Women who know and trust each other may be more comfortable participating in group discussions and more willing to provide assistance to other members. On the other hand, cliques can develop and some community members may feel excluded and rejected. When the topic is highly personal—for example reproductive health—some members may prefer the anonymity of a group composed of relative strangers, if this is possible.
  • Common characteristics. Recommend group participation to women receiving prenatal care at a health center. Organizing pregnant women into groups provides them with much-needed social support during pregnancy, delivery, and infancy. Having children of the same age group could facilitate education regarding the nutritional needs of children of various ages. Mothers with children of the same age serve as an important reference group as mothers adapt to children’s different developmental stages.
  • Recruitment by volunteer leaders. Identify volunteer leaders and ask them to form groups. Volunteer leaders can inspire people to join their groups. These groups are likely to be based in a small geographic area. A study in Honduras found that most volunteer breastfeeding advocates had contact with women who lived within a three-mile radius of their home (Rivera et al., 1993).
  • Nominations by community leaders. Ask community leaders to suggest candidates for core group membership. This approach may be subject to favoritism and thus not assist women most in need of support groups. To nullify the favoritism factor, the CHPS program in Ghana has established a policy that nominees of community leaders must receive approval at a general community meeting or “durbar” (Fiagbey et al., 2000).
  • Public promotion. Hold a public event and recruit group members from among the attendees. This strategy opens up group membership to a diverse audience, but finding common ground may be more difficult in such a diverse group.

Each of these strategies has its advantages and disadvantages. Group dynamics and cohesion are dependent on group composition. Groups that have great diversity of age, education, income, social status, and motivation have more difficulties than groups which are homogenous (Hyma and Nyamwange, 1993).

Groups That Work

The World Bank has identified five characteristics of successful community groups:

  1. The group must address a felt need and a common interest.
  2. The benefits to individuals of participating in the group must outweigh the costs.
  3. The group should be embedded in the existing social organization.
  4. It must have the capacity, leadership, knowledge and skill to manage the task.
  5. It must own and enforce its own rules and regulations.
Designing Community Based Development , World Bank, 1999.

Developing the core group

Once you have identified your core group, you will need to develop them into an effective team. On this subject, we can learn a lot from the work of the organization development and leadership fields about the stages of group formation and development. Let’s look at some of this important work and see how it relates to your role in developing your core group.

The Tuckman Model of group development

Your group may want to think about the general stages which the literature says most groups go through as part of their development. The Tuckman Model of group development (1965) was based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and designed as part of research which examined more than fifty studies of group organization. The original model presents four stages of group development: forming, storming, norming, and performing. A fifth stage, adjourning, was later added by Tuckman and Jensen (1977). A brief description of each stage is presented below (Kormanski, 1985):

Forming. This stage orients the group members to the group goals and procedures. Group members become more aware of the issues and begin to establish working relationships. During this stage, dependence (What can I do? How can I get the support I need?) is of primary concern. (Typically, the “forming” stage of group development occurs in the Organize the Community for Action and Explore the Health Issue and Set Priorities phases of the CAC.)

Storming. When orientation and dependency issues are resolved, the group moves on to define tasks and assign responsibilities. This process can create conflict and, at times, hostile relationships. Group members may resist or challenge group leadership. If conflict is suppressed, group members may become resentful; if conflict is allowed to exceed acceptable limits, group members may become tense and anxious. Some conflict is healthy for the group and helps the group to move forward. (The “storming” stage often occurs at the end of the Explore the Health Issue and Set Priorities stage and/or during the Plan Together phase of the CAC.)

Norming. The group becomes cohesive and cooperative. Group members communicate, share information and express their opinions. Group unity develops around achieving the CM goal. (The “norming” stage often occurs at the end of the Plan Together phase of the CAC when plans are being finalized and coordination mechanisms put into place.) Performing. The group becomes productive. Members emphasize problem solving, meshing of functional roles, and interdependence. Members are simultaneously independent and dependent. (The “performing” stage often occurs during the Act Together and Evaluate Together phases of the CAC.)

Adjourning. This is the planned or unplanned termination of the group, its tasks and relationships. Planned adjournments involve acknowledging participants for their achievements and allowing people to say goodbye to the group. (“Adjournment” may occur at the end of the Evaluate Together phase of the CAC. At this point, group members may renew their commitment to the same health issue and determine whether they would like to maintain the same structure, roles and responsibilities, and composition or change the make-up of the group.)

An old group or a new group?
The role of leaders and external facilitators in group development
Core group norms
Documenting core group and other meetings
Assessing and monitoring core group capacity