S
tr
engthening C
ommunit
y L
ear
ning C
en
tr
es thr
ough Link
ages and Net
w
or
ks: A S
yn
thesis of Six C
oun
tr
y R
epor
ts
...from the study we found that the administration of activities by CLC networks,
including both internal and external organizations, was mostly related to
activities that existed in the community plan and had to be based on the status of
problems and needs of the people in the community as a matter of importance.
Activities that are the responsibility of external state agency networks, but
that are not in line with the status of problems and the needs of the people in
the community, are first modified so that they respond to the problems and
needs of the people. The activities then receive the acceptance of community
leaders, who are members of the CLC committee, and network organizations
within the community. The result is that many different agencies changed their
commitments to place the people as the centre of attention when administering
activities.
Thailand Report, p. 30
The role of the leadership of the CLC is a crucial part of this stage. The leader must first
see to it that the community is involved in the needs analysis and participates actively,
and then ensure that the community's real needs and opportunities are identified in
such a way that they can be addressed in an appropriate manner by potential partners,
as in the Thailand case study mentioned above. A description of these types of leaders
is described in the Thailand Report:
From the results of the study, we found that at the CLCs there were people who
initiated and coordinated the work of networks and that these individuals had
similar characteristics. These key people were deeply rooted in the community,
were socially acceptable, and had produced clear results related to community
development for a long period of time. They believed that activities for
development or for the solution of problems on the whole began with the
knowledge and understanding of the problems and participating in the analysis
of such problems and collective decision-making.
Thailand Report, p. 28
Step 3: Find Partners
Having looked at the demand side, the CLC leaders must then take the trouble to put
together a comprehensive picture of the supply side. This means that they have to be
aware of the range of government agencies, associations, NGOs, private sector entities,
funders, etc. who could meet their communities' needs or capitalize on potential
opportunities.
From experience gained through implementation of Ganokendras, DAM initiated
a programme of strengthening Ganokendras that included establishing intra-
organisational networking and inter-organisational linkage with other agencies
in the community. The strengthened Ganokendras, utilising the advantages of
networking and linkage, provide services that include immunisation, primary
health care services, maternal and child health services, agricultural counselling,
water and sanitation, various skill development training like training on livestock,
poultry, fisheries, apiculture, and ICT, gender development training, and raising
awareness in regard to the environment, prevention of drug abuse and trafficking
of women and children, microfinance, and cultural programmes, etc.