Submitted by Maryam Ahmadian
Affiliate Faculty
George Mason University
IACD&CDS Board Member and Director

Community participation does not only represent taking part in an action planned by health care professionals in a top-down approach. The concepts of health promotion, self-care and community participation also developed during in 1970s in the developed countries. The purpose of this short blog is to review community participation models in health proposed by Rifkin and to prompt the role of individual’s participation in the decision-making process towards preventive behaviors. It is not applied to formulate a single model to embody community participation in health programs. Furthermore, the previous models didn’t explicate other relevant factors (e.g. cultural, social, behavioral, economic, or structural) affecting community participation in health programs especially the power of self-care.

Another challenging issue is the boundary between participation and activity which is not measured in the quality of community participation in health programs. Rifkin (1991) stated that there are five levels of public participation in health programs as follows:(1) Health benefits (2) Program activities (3) Implementation (4) Monitor and evaluation (5) Planning. These approaches also restate the three models of community participation in health: compliance, contribution, and community control by Rifkin (1986). Conceptualizations of the models and levels of community participation in health programs are seldom scrutinized in previous studies, nevertheless community participation in health programs increasingly documented as a key factor to improve and maintain health interventions and its outcomes.

To understand the importance of self-care within community participation levels and models in health programs, this short blog places an emphasis on health benefits and compliance which underline on individual’s participation in health programs and people’s decision-making power which could be inclined to a partnership between health care professionals and individuals. In fact, self-care would provide the whole community with the capacity to cause sustainable changes at all levels, individual and community to achieve and maintain optimal health. It could benefit those especially who tolerate the greatest burden of chronic disease such as cancer diseases. Self-care, community participation in preventive programs, health empowerment and sustainability of health developments in preventive behaviors would alter this discussion further. Self-care has the potential to increase the intentions of individuals to perform preventive behaviors, which can promote early detection of cancer diseases.

Future research should evaluate targeted communication interventions for addressing self-care and seeking health benefits, patient’s compliance to health promotion recommendations for at-risk communities. Without any doubt, self-care as a first level or model of community participation in health makes individuals and the community engage in health activities to maintain their health and well-being.

Submitted by Anne M. Cafer

Anne M. Cafer is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Mississippi. She also serves as Coordinator for the Community Based Research Collaborative housed within the UM Center for Population Studies, of which she is an affiliated researcher. She holds a BSc in both molecular biology and sociology, an MA in anthropology, and a PhD in Rural Sociology. She works primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Mississippi Delta. Her research uses a systems approach to examine community resilience and social change around food procurement, agricultural systems, environmental sustainability, and community health/nutrition at the community level, both domestically and internationally. She also has an interest in scholarship of teaching, specifically the impacts of community engaged learning on both community and student outcomes. Her advanced courses are community based participatory research courses where students are actively involved with community stakeholders to explore collaborative solutions to non-resilient systems. Dr. Cafer is a former Borlaug Scholar in Global Food Security, a member of the prestigious Rollins Society at the University of Missouri, and has worked as a consultant with groups such as Land O’Lakes International Development and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. She is also a Andrew Carnegie Fellowship nominee.

Her previous editorial experience includes founding and serving as Editor-in-Chief for a student run and targeted publication, Agrarian Frontiers: A Rural Studies Review, at the University of Missouri, as well as Assistant Editor for the Nebraska Anthropologist a publication of AnthroGroup, a student based organization at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her most recent editorial experience is serving as Guest Editor for Community Development for a special issue on community resilience, slated for the second issue of 2019. The nature of these publications has given her extensive experience in recruitment and solicitation of manuscripts, book reviews, and reviewers.

As editor, her vision for CD Practice is to consistently publish high quality, peer reviewed, practice-based pieces that address salient issues within community development practice and complement the types of scholarly work being published in Community Development, as well as increase readership of the publication. To this end she aims to publish two issues a year. The first, a themed issue around specific practice topics; second, an end-of-year issues that will include shorter practice related pieces from authors who have published in Community Development during that calendar year. As editor she looks forward to working with society members to promote their work! 

Happy new year! Welcome 2019! What a joyous year for us here at CDS as it marks the official beginning of our 50th anniversary year celebrations! We have our homecoming conference, Coming Home to Cultivate the Future, coming up July 14-17 in Columbia, Missouri. What a perfect year to honor someone in our field who has made an outstanding contribution through an award (nominations due February 14)! I can't wait to see you in July and to see what the future has in store for us!

Meanwhile, your board has been busy working together to make sure our organization is ready to face the future. We have committees focused on revamping the bylaws and the structure of our organization, as well as preparing us a budget to ensure proper operations through our 50th year and beyond.

We are focused on growing our membership to reach those that have been with us over the years and the next generation of community developer. Our 50th anniversary and homecoming are the perfect time for outreach and we encourage our members to do the same. Will you commit to reaching out to one old colleague and one new to tell them about our annual conference? Imagine how robust our network would be and how lively our conference would be if each and every one of us did this! I'll be making my calls today!

Finally, thank you for your commitment to our field and to our organization. Without dedicated members like you, we would not have made it 50 years - Thank you!! Give yourself a nice little pat on the back - 50 years looks good on you CDS. 

Submitted by Jane Leonard

And the submissions are in from around the world!

We’re happy to report we have over 100 Call for Proposal submissions in from 14 countries for the 2019 CDS Annual International Conference and 50th Anniversary celebration!

Countries represented are Australia, Botswana, Cameroon, Germany, India, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and the USA). Submissions from the USA are from across the country, coast-to-coast – so a nice mix! 

Thanks everyone for getting the word out! Non-USA based presenters will be notified by Feb. 1, 2019; USA-based presenters notified by March 1, 2019

Volunteers needed for the 2019 Conference!

Make history! Be a 50^th anniversary CDS volunteer! 

Serve as a moderator for one (or more) of the many concurrent break-out sessions we will have over the course of the July conference. Moderators get everyone started on time, welcome attendees and introduce presenters in the break-out room, and get everyone out the door on time. Contact Jane Leonard at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you are interested in helping out!

Keynote Speaker Spotlight:

Tawanna Black, Founder & CEO of the Center for Economic Inclusion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, will join us in Missouri as the keynote speaker on Tuesday, July 16, 2019.

She is a nationally recognized thought leader well known for influencing, inspiring and equipping cross-sector leaders to transform a personal conviction for equality into actions that produce equitable and thriving communities.

Ms. Black has led the Northside Funders Group since 2013, a place-based, collective impact organization of 20 corporate, community and private foundations, and public-sector investors committed to aligning investments and strategies to catalyze racial and economic equity in North Minneapolis.

In 2018 she launched the Center for Economic Inclusion, an unprecedented cross-sector social enterprise committed to strengthening the Minneapolis-St. Paul region’s civic infrastructure and collective capacity to disrupt systems and influence market forces to catalyze shared prosperity and advance an inclusive economy.

Awards season is open for the Community Development Society. But the deadline for people and programs to be honored at the 2019 CDS Conference is fast approaching.  The Society offers awards in 11 different categories. Seeking awards is a two-step process. First, a person put forth a nominee for an award. Then, the person or program nominated is asked to submit additional information for the Awards and Recognition Committee to review. Information about each of the awards is below. 

• The Duane L. Gibson Distinguished Service Award is presented to a CDS member in recognition of superior and long-standing service to the field of community development, and, in particular, work for the advancement of the Society. Board members and officers are ineligible for this award. Self-nominations are not accepted. The most recent award recipient is Connie Loden in 2018.
• The Ted K. Bradshaw Outstanding Research Award is presented to a CDS member in recognition of a significant stream of superior research which exemplifies and positively impacts community development practice and represents a lasting contribution to the field. The award will recognize research which reflects the Principles of Good Practice throughout the research process. Nominations should focus on highlighting exceptional current research. Only one Outstanding Research Award is bestowed by the Society each year. Self-nominations are not accepted. The most recent award recipient is David Campbell in 2016.
• The Community Development Achievement Award is presented to a CDS member in recognition of his or her outstanding contribution to community development. The person may be recognized for teaching, research, practice, programming, administration, or any combination of these roles. This person should exemplify the Principles of Good Practice as adopted by the Society. Self-nominations are not accepted. The most award recent recipient is Lionel “Bo” Beaulieu in 2018
• The Outstanding Program Award is presented to a CDS member or a group in recognition of completion of superior programming that exemplifies and positively influences community development practice and has demonstrated sustained success. The award will recognize an established program that reflects the Principles of Good Practice throughout the implementation process. Only one program can be recognized annually. The most award recent winner is the University of Kentucky Extension Community & Leadership Development Training Series in 2018.
• The Innovative Program Award is presented to a CDS member or a group in recognition of a superior innovative program (recent or on-going) using the Principles of Good Practice as adopted by the Society. This award will recognize a new, creative, and promising program contributing to community development practice. More than one program may receive this award. The most recent recipients were the West Virginia Recruitable Communities Program and the Northern West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Center’s BAD Buildings Program in 2018.
• The Donald W. Littrell New Professional Award is presented to a CDS member in recognition of a superior contribution to the field of community development and the Society. This person should exemplify the Principles of Good Practice as adopted by the Society. Self-nominations are not accepted. The most recent recipient is Neil Linscheid in 2016.
• The Current Research Award is presented to a CDS member in recognition of a current research project(s) or product that represents an important contribution to the field of community development and reflects the Principles of Good Practice as adopted by the Society. The most recent recipient is Ben Winchester in 2017.
• The Student Recognition Award is presented to a CDS member who is either an undergraduate or graduate student, in recognition of his or her contribution to community development through a paper, an article, a field project or internship, or other applied research. This person should exemplify the Principles of Good Practice as adopted by the Society. The most recent recipient is John C. Hill in 2018.
• The Friend of Community Development Award is presented to a person who is not a CDS member, but who has made a significant contribution to the field of community development. This contribution could have been accomplished through his or her role as author, educator, administrator (public or private sector), community organizer, or elected or appointed official. This person should exemplify the Principles of Good Practice as adopted by the Society. Self-nominations are not accepted. The most recent recipient is Gavin Rennie in 2016.
• The Outstanding Community Development Educator Award is presented to a CDS member in recognition of their excellence in teaching and instruction within the field of Community Development. The person may be recognized for their outstanding contributions within community development education. This person should exemplify the Principles of Good Practice as adopted by the Society and illustrate them in their educational practice within formal and/or non-formal educational settings. Self-nominations are not accepted. The most recent recipient is Gary Goreham in 2018.
• The International Community Development Award recognizes an outstanding contribution to community development in an international setting. Individuals or teams are eligible for the award. The award can be presented to a CDS member or to a person who is not a current CDS member but who exemplifies the Principles of Good Practice as adopted by the Society. The most recent recipient is Cornelia “Cornel” Hart in 2017.

For more information, visit the CDS Awards Page, then click on the name of a particular award to learn more information or to reach the “Nominate” button for each honor.