Community capacity building: Starting with people not projects

Abstract:

In recent years, governments have responded to the socioeconomic challenges facing rural areas by emphasizing community empowerment and capacity building. This paper explores the impact of a community development initiative based on such foundations in a small town in remote western Queensland, Australia. We suggest that significant pressures influence the ability of rural communities to take control of, and accept responsibility for, their own futures to the extent currently considered appropriate by government. The challenge for government, therefore, is how to enable processes of capacity building, consultation and community ownership without creating unreasonable pressures on residents of rural communities.