Concept and Process of "Community Empowerment and Networking Program

Abstract

Community Empowerment and Networking Program is an innovative approach to community development that seeks to optimize utilization of local resources and opportunities, without restriction to any specific sectors. The program was developed to effectively produce positive socioeconomic impact within target communities by maximizing synergistic effects from appropriate coordination of three functions of African Institute for Capacity Development (AICAD), namely Research and Development, Training and Extension, Information Network and Documentation. During the process of program development, exhaustive reference was made to experiences from various community development programs around the world. The program targets community groups which have common interest with regard to community development, poverty reduction, and improvement of livelihoods. The purpose of the program is "to empower target communities to take an initiative in community-driven development activities towards poverty reduction". The overall goal is "to improve the social and economic livelihoods of the target communities". If successful, the model will be expanded to embrace more regions in East Africa and elsewhere. The program was initiated in selected regions in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda in March 2006. These are referred to as "Model Regions". The east side of Mt. Kenya including Embu, Mbeere and Tharaka districts is the model region in Kenya, while the model

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Concept and Process of “Community Empowerment and Networking
Program”
Daigo Makihara1, 2, Benedict Mtasiwa3, Jane Kembo1, Bernard Bazirake1,
Yasuyuki Morimoto4, Patrick Maundu4, Patrick Kariuki5, Patrick Wakhu1
1African Institute for Capacity Development (AICAD), P.O. Box 46179, GPO
00100, Nairobi, Kenya
2Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Tokyo, Japan
3Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), Kampala, Uganda
4International Plan Genetic Resources Institute, Sub-Saharan Africa Regional
Office (IPGRI-SSA), c/o ICRAF, P.O. Box 30677, GPO 00100, Nairobi, Kenya
5International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), P.O. Box 30709, GPO 00100,
Nairobi, Kenya
Abstract:
Community Empowerment and Networking Program is an innovative
approach to community development that seeks to optimize utilization of local
resources and opportunities, without restriction to any specific sectors. The
program was developed to effectively produce positive socioeconomic impact
within target communities by maximizing synergistic effects from appropriate
coordination of three functions of African Institute for Capacity Development
(AICAD), namely Research and Development, Training and Extension,
Information Network and Documentation. During the process of program
development, exhaustive reference was made to experiences from various
community development programs around the world.
The program targets community groups which have common interest
with regard to community development, poverty reduction, and improvement of
livelihoods. The purpose of the program is “to empower target communities to
take an initiative in community-driven development activities towards poverty
reduction”. The overall goal is “to improve the social and economic livelihoods of
the target communities”. If successful, the model will be expanded to embrace
more regions in East Africa and elsewhere. The program was initiated in
selected regions in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda in March 2006. These are
referred to as “Model Regions”. The east side of Mt. Kenya including Embu,
Mbeere and Tharaka districts is the model region in Kenya, while the model

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regions in Tanzania and Uganda are Kibaha and Mityana districts, respectively.
The areas of intervention and target community groups will be identified
on the basis of results of field reconnaissance in the model regions. In order to
benefit the target communities, appropriate approaches for intervenention in the
target community groups will be identified through participatory methods. The
basic approaches include “community mobilization and participation”, “transfer of
appropriate knowledge and technologies to the communities”, “addressing
problems which hinder the communities from development”, “generating ideas
for community development”, “planning and implementation of community
development activities by communities”, “networking the participating
communities for information sharing”. Other approaches could also be
considered when and where required. In order to keep abreast with the needs of
the communities, mechanisms for receiving inquiries and inputs from the
communities will be established. The data accumulated through this program
such as needs, problems and opportunities within the communities, as well as
the ways of coping with them, will be stored in a database, regardless of their
perceived success or failure. The information will be utilized in future when
dealing with other similar cases.
Specific activities in the program such as participatory community
surveys, needs analysis, research implementation, training, extension, and
community development, will be implemented and facilitated with the help of
AICAD’s partners. These include universities, Non Governmental Organizations
(NGOs), Community Based Organizations (CBOs), national and international
research/training institutes, central and local governments, and private
organizations/enterprises. AICAD will take the role of coordination and
management of the whole program. Community coordinators will be identified
from local human resources in the model regions as a channel of communication
between communities and AICAD. In order to ensure the sustainability of the
community development activities, local human resources such as extension
workers and active farmers will be fully utilized.
Keywords: African Institute for Capacity Development (AICAD), Community
development, Community empowerment, Community needs, Kenya, Knowledge
and technologies transfer, Networking communities, participatory methods,
Tanzania, Uganda

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Background
African Institute for Capacity Development (AICAD), an autonomous
institute established in 2000, aims at achieving poverty reduction and
socio-economic development in Africa through human capacity development. It
is a joint venture between the three countries of East Africa, Kenya, Tanzania
and Uganda with the support of the Government of Japan through Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
AICAD has three core functions namely Research and Development
(R&D), Training and Extension (T&E), Information Network and Documentation
(IN&D). R&D facilitates research projects in order to generate knowledge and
technologies to be used for poverty reduction. T&E provides demand-driven
training and extension programs. The function of IN&D includes collecting,
processing, storing, retrieving, and disseminating information. The three
functions are geared toward linking knowledge to application within communities
in order to reduce poverty in Africa.
Community Empowerment and Networking Program (CENP) was thus
developed to effectively produce positive socioeconomic impact within target
communities by maximizing synergistic effects from appropriate coordination of
the three functions of AICAD. In this paper, the innovative concept and the
unique approach of CENP is presented (Fig. 1).

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Model areas selected
Target communities identified
Participatory community survey conducted
Needs, problems,
opportunities
identified
Subject matters for community-
based research projects identified
Appropriate knowledge,
technologies, and ideas
for community
development generated
Research projects implemented
Needs, problems, opportunities analyzed
Inquiries from the communities
Mechanism for receiving inquiries established
Mode of knowledge and technologies transfer designed
Knowledge and technologies
transferred to the communities
Community development
plan developed
Community development plans implemented
Interactive learning forums organized
Information stored in the AICAD database and utilized
Monitoring and evaluation
Target communities empowered to take an initiative
in community-driven development activities
Social and economic livelihoods of the target communities improved
Fig. 1 Flow Chart of Community Empowerment and Networking Program
Model areas selected
Target communities identified
Participatory community survey conducted
Needs, problems,
opportunities
identified
Subject matters for community-
based research projects identified
Appropriate knowledge,
technologies, and ideas
for community
development generated
Research projects implemented
Needs, problems, opportunities analyzed
Inquiries from the communities
Mechanism for receiving inquiries established
Mode of knowledge and technologies transfer designed
Knowledge and technologies
transferred to the communities
Community development
plan developed
Community development plans implemented
Interactive learning forums organized
Information stored in the AICAD database and utilized
Monitoring and evaluation
Target communities empowered to take an initiative
in community-driven development activities
Social and economic livelihoods of the target communities improved
Fig. 1 Flow Chart of Community Empowerment and Networking Program

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Objective of the program
The program covers community groups which have common interest
with regard to community development, poverty reduction, and improvement of
livelihoods. The purpose of the program is “to empower target communities to
take an initiative in community-driven development activities towards poverty
reduction”, which is intended to be achieved as direct benefit to the target group.
Since various projects will be designed for respective target communities, the
specific purpose of each project shall be set differently (Fig. 2). The overall goal,
“to improve the social and economic livelihoods of the target communities”, is
intended to be achieved through indirect and long-term impacts/effects of the
program. Activities to be implemented in the program shall be aiming at
achieving this common overall goal.
Common Overall Goal
Improve the social and economic livelihoods
Needs, problems, opportunities of communities
Project
Propose 1 Project
Propose 2 Project
Propose 3 Project
Propose 4
Project 1 Project 2 Project 3 Project 4
Implementation structure of
Community Empowerment and
Networking Program
Fig. 2
Common Overall Goal
Improve the social and economic livelihoods
Needs, problems, opportunities of communities
Project
Propose 1 Project
Propose 2 Project
Propose 3 Project
Propose 4
Project 1 Project 2 Project 3 Project 4
Implementation structure of
Community Empowerment and
Networking Program
Fig. 2

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Model regions
The program was initiated in selected regions in Kenya, Tanzania, and
Uganda in March 2006. These are referred to as “Model Regions”. The unit for
model regions was specified within the local governments’ structure. The model
regions have been selected on the basis of set criteria, such as poverty
indicators, meteorological conditions, geography, environment, ethno-genesis,
culture, access, social security, existing resources, infrastructure, population, etc.
Existence of ongoing and past development activities have also been
considered for selection of model regions. The east side of Mt. Kenya including
Embu, Mbeere and Tharaka districts is the model region in Kenya, while the
model regions in Tanzania and Uganda are Kibaha and Mityana districts,
respectively (Fig. 3).
Structure of implementation
Specific activities in the program such as participatory community
KENYA
UGANDA
TANZANIA
Lake
Victoria
Lake
Tanganyika
Indian
Ocean
Mityana District
in Uganda
Embu,Mbeere and
Tharaka Districts
in Kenya
Kibaha District
in Tanzania
Location of the model regions in
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
Fig. 3
KENYA
UGANDA
TANZANIA
Lake
Victoria
Lake
Tanganyika
Indian
Ocean
Mityana District
in Uganda
Embu,Mbeere and
Tharaka Districts
in Kenya
Kibaha District
in Tanzania
Location of the model regions in
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
Fig. 3

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surveys, needs analysis, research projects, training activities, extension
activities, and community development activities, will be implemented and
facilitated with the help of AICAD’s partners. These include universities, Non
Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Community Based Organizations (CBOs),
national and international research/training institutes, central and local
governments, and private organizations/enterprises. AICAD will take the role of
coordination and management of the whole program. Community coordinators
will be identified from the local human resource base in the model regions as a
channel of communication between communities and AICAD. Community-based
activities will be facilitated through the community leader because leadership is
one of the essential aspects for community development. In order to ensure the
sustainability of the community development activities, local human resources
such as extension workers and active farmers will be fully utilized. Each specific
activity will be monitored and evaluated periodically using appropriate monitoring
and evaluation methods for the purpose of quality control.
Field reconnaissance
Areas of intervention and target community groups will be identified on
the basis of results of the field reconnaissance in the model regions.
Under-utilized local knowledge, technologies, resources, and opportunities such
as indigenous/local products and useful indigenous plants will be identified
through the field reconnaissance. The program will intervene in the effective
utilization of these for improvement of livelihoods, and address challenges that
hinder their effective utilization. Areas where technological
innovation/improvement is required will also be addressed. Basic information
about community groups in the model regions should be collected. Ongoing and
past activities, culture as well as socioeconomic status will be considered to
identify areas of intervention and target community groups. As need arises,
communities will be mobilized to address particular issues. Community
coordinators and reliable intermediaries such as NGOs and CBOs will also be
identified through the field reconnaissance.
Participatory community survey
In order to benefit the target communities, appropriate approaches for
intervention in the target community groups will be identified through
participatory methods, such as Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and

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Participatory Learning and Action (PLA). Through the participatory community
survey, knowledge and technology gaps as well as specific needs for each target
community group focusing on effective utilization of development opportunities
will be identified. Baseline data on the target community groups shall also be
collected in a participatory manner. Understanding the actual status of the
communities is a fundamental activity for success of the program. The
community participatory survey will be the base of the all activities followed,
therefore require enough time and efforts.
In order to keep abreast with the needs of the communities, mechanisms
will be established for receiving inquiries and inputs from the communities in
order to ensure that the program benefits the communities. The role of
community coordinators will be to maintain contact between communities and
the program.
Approaches to community needs
Under the framework of CENP, various projects designed for respective
target community groups will be carried out toward achieving the common
overall goal (Fig. 2). Information and data captured through the community
participatory survey will be analyzed by the community groups and experts to
determine appropriate approaches for each project. The basic approaches
include “community mobilization and participation”, “transfer of appropriate
knowledge and technologies to the communities”, “addressing problems which
hinder the communities from development”, “generating ideas for community
development”, “planning and implementation of community development
activities by communities”, “networking the participating communities for
information sharing”. Other approaches could also be considered when and
where required. Characteristics of each approach are as follows.
Knowledge and technologies transfer
In order to fill the gaps identified within the target community groups,
appropriate global knowledge and technologies will be utilized where applicable.
The knowledge and technologies will be transferred to the target community with
the help of appropriate intermediaries. Modes of knowledge and technology
transfer could be varied and could include for instance, grass-roots training,
information dissemination through media, farmer’s seminars, workshops,
demonstration, manuals, etc. If necessary, the identified knowledge and

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technologies will be tested and translated into dissemination packages.
Community-based research
In case appropriate knowledge and technologies will not have been
identified, the gaps should be filled by knowledge and technologies generated
through research. Problems which hinder the communities from development
could be addressed by research. Ideas for utilizing local resources and
opportunities for community development could be generated through research
as well. Research topics will be selected by the target communities in order to
meet the diversified needs of the communities. Research topics selected by
researchers are often different form the community needs (Prateep 2004b;
Shiratori 2005). The research projects will be community-driven in order to
ensure that the knowledge and technologies developed through research will be
used by them (Oizumi 2004; Prateep 2004b). The target community groups shall
develop plans and implement research projects with the help of professional
researchers who will be identified through AICAD’s network/database. Although
data analysis may be a task for the professional researchers, the results will be
assessed by the community groups in order to ensure that they are effectively
utilized by the communities.
Community-driven development activities
In order to empower the target communities, planning and
implementation of community-driven development activities will be facilitated
through the community leaders. The community development plan should be
focused on effective utilization of local knowledge, technologies, resources, and
opportunities for improvement of livelihoods. The community development plan
should be developed on the basis of self-reliance so as to ensure sustainable
implementation. Appropriate guidance on planning and implementation of
community development activities will be provided in order to harmonize the
concepts of the community development plan. The community development
plans will be shared and discussed with the other participating community
groups for improvement at a forum to be set by the program organizer.
Basically the community development plan will be implemented by the
community groups based on self-reliance. However, as the need arises, the
community groups will be supported and facilitated in implementation of the
community development plans through provision of relevant information,

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knowledge, technologies, and materials.
Interactive learning among communities
In order to enhance the efficiency of the development activities, a
network of the participating communities will be established for information
sharing (Fig. 4). A series of interactive learning forums will be organized within a
model region and among model regions to mobilize local wisdom, local
resources, knowledge, technologies, good practices, as well as the results of
each particular activity. Various means of interactive learning forums could be
employed such as workshops, exchange visits, information and technology
exchange. Networking the communities will create an opportunity for the
indigenous people to express opinions and share experiences (Prateep 2004a;
2004b), which is expected to accelerate community centered development.
Interactive
learning forums
Community centered
development
Intervention with various modalities
Community
Community
Community
Community
Community
Community
Community
Networking the participating
communities for information sharing
Fig. 4
Interactive
learning forums
Community centered
development
Intervention with various modalities
Community
Community
Community
Community
Community
Community
Community
Networking the participating
communities for information sharing
Fig. 4

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Expected outcome and scaling-up strategy
CENP is an innovative approach to community development that seeks
to optimize utilization of local resources and opportunities, without restriction to
any specific sectors. Activities will be expected to have synergistic effects. It is
expected that the model will realize balanced development of the economy,
society and environment in the model regions so as to improve the livelihoods. It
is also expected that the target communities will be inspired to address pertinent
issues by themselves and recognize the importance of self reliance, which is
absolutely essential to reduce poverty (JICA Regional Support Office for Eastern
and Southern Africa 2006, Prateep 2004b). If successful, the model will be
expanded to embrace more regions in East Africa and else where.
Scaling-up will be done through information sharing with development
partners. The data accumulated through this program such as needs, problems
and opportunities within the communities, as well as the ways of coping with
them, will be stored in a database, regardless of their perceived success or
failure. The information will be utilized in future when dealing with other similar
cases.
In the end, it is expected that CENP will be geared toward attainment of
the Millennium Development Goal (MDG), namely eradicating extreme poverty
and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality
and empower women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health,
combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental
sustainability, developing a global partnership for development.
Acknowledgement
Community Empowerment and Networking Program (CENP) is being
implemented as part of “African Institute for Capacity Development (AICAD)
project phase II” with support from Japanese Government through Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
References
1. Oizumi, N. (2004) Project on strengthening technology development,
verification, transfer and adoption through farmers research groups. Farming
Japan. Vol.38-5:53-58.
2. Prateep, V. (2004a) Capacity building of farmer leaders for sustainable
agriculture development in the central region of Thailand. Perspectives and

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approaches for sustainable rural development in Africa. Proceedings of the
International Conference. Morogoro, Tanzania:69-79.
3. Prateep, V. (2004b) Strategy and implementation process for appropriate
technology development by farmers in Thailand. AICAD Reports volume 6,
Proceedings of the “Symposium on application of research results in
dissemination”. Juja, Kenya:55-59.
4. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Regional Support Office for
Eastern and Southern Africa (2006) Chapter 2 the poverty issue. In:
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sub-Saharan Africa. Nairobi, Kenya:7-15.
5. Shiratori, K. (2005) A case study on cooperation to strengthen the system for
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