Alice K. Johnson Butterfield

University-Community Partnerships

The title of this work is “University-Community Partnerships: Universities in Civic Engagement.” This publication responds to the growing trend of university-community partnerships and campus civic engagement. Community Outreach Partnership Center (COPC) programs, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), have provided new financial incentives for universities and communities to partner in community building. Reports on higher education from the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land Grant Universities (1999) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (Ehrlich, 2000) have identified civic engagement and community partnership as critical themes for institutions of higher education (IHEs). University-community partnerships have emerged as vital for teaching, research, and practice. Reports of these interdisciplinary efforts are found in urban planning, higher education, and community development literature. Our intention in soliciting manuscripts for this publication was also prompted by the particular lack of attention to university-community partnerships in social work. While we acknowledge the new interdisciplinary nature of these partnerships in this publication, we take special

Social networks among poor women in Ethiopia

English Social networks are social capital for poor women living in a slum neighborhood in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Based on neighborhood, friendship, kinship, gender and ethnic ties, informal networks provide social, emotional and financial support. Social network analysis is a promising method for community development and participatory social work in Africa. French Les réseaux sociaux représentent un capital social pour les femmes pauvres qui vivent dans les bidonvilles à Addis-Abeba, en Ethiopie. Basés sur des liens de voisinage, d’amitié, de parenté, de genre et de culture, les réseaux informels apportent un soutien social, affectif et financier. L’analyse du réseau social est une méthode prometteuse pour le développement communautaire et le travail social participatif en Afrique. Spanish Las redes sociales son de suma importancia para las mujeres pobres que viven en los barrios de pocos recursos de Addis Abeba, Etiopía. Basadas en barrios, amistades, relaciones, géneros y lazos étnicos, las redes informales proveen ayuda social, emocional y financiera. El análisis de las redes sociales es un método promisorio para el desarrollo de las comunidades y el trabajo social participativo en África.

“We Can't Eat a Road:” Asset-Based Community Development and The Gedam Sefer Community Partnership in Ethiopia

Asset-based community development strategy (ABCD) is a development that recognizes and builds upon the strengths and assets of individuals, associations, and institutions to address the felt needs of the local community. As the application of ABCD in an urban area of Africa, The Gedam Sefer Community Partnership (GSCP) was formed to improve the lives of poor families living in a slum neighborhood of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Five building blocks of ABCD from the literature are used to analyze and evaluate the 5-year formation and implementation of the GSCP. The article examines the process of engagement between community and university members, the difficulties encountered in attempting to implement ABCD through an international university–community partnership, and the formation of the communitys own new association. To sustain hope and build community and organizational capacity, the practical and symbolic value of short-term development activities with immediately visible results are outlined. Findings are discussed in relation to engagement with the community; the use of communication to connect ideas, assets, and people; and ABCD from the inside out and bottom up.

Learning from Africa: Publication and Research

Researchers living and working in Africa face a number of challenges in making sure that the results of their research find a route to their colleagues elsewhere. This article articulates some of the many challenges that researchers from the Global South face in publication and research. Suggestions are made for the possible transformation of relationships between academia in the Global North and those of the Global South.

Addressing poverty and child welfare: The integrated Community Development and Child Welfare Model of practice

The Integrated Community Development and Child Welfare Model (CD-CW) engages workers with families and communities to reduce poverty, and at the same time, improve the well-being of children. Skill building in asset-based development, family enterprise, and child trauma is delivered through a three-stage, applied training model. CD-CW was pilot tested and implemented with 100 livelihood and child welfare workers in Ethiopia. Data from Learning Portfolios, team consultations, and a 2-day evaluation retreat are reported. Findings include the importance of using asset-based assessments, applied assignments, and integrated training to address poverty directly as a root cause of child maltreatment.

Interdisciplinary Community Development from International Perspectives

Preface: Defining Community and Its Development. Interdisciplinary Community Development from International Perspectives: An Introduction. DEFINING INTERDISCIPLINARY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. Towards Interdisciplinary Community Collaboration and Development: Knowledge and Experience from Israel and the USA. The Contribution of Law and Social Work to Interdisciplinary Community Development and Peace Building in the Middle East. Adult Literacy Education and Community Development. UNIVERSITIES AND INTERDISCIPLINARY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. Reconceptualizing Community Organization in India: A Transdisciplinary Perspective. Transcending Boundaries: An International, Interdisciplinary Community Partnership to Address Domestic Violence. From Disciplinary to Interdisciplinary Community Development: The Jos-McMaster Drought and Rural Water Use Project in Nigeria. INTERDISCIPLINARY PRACTICE BY NGOs. NGO Development in Croatia: De Facto Interdisciplinary Practice. Pentru Voi Fundatia: Interdisciplinary Community Development Using Social Enterprise in Romania. Measuring Wellness Through Interdisciplinary Community Development: Linking the Physical, Economic and Social Environment. AFTERWORD. Interdisciplinary Community Development: Setting the Future Course. Index. References.

Securing the Common Good

September 6, 2010 marks the 150th birthday of Jane Addams—community organizer, activist, founder of the settlement house movement in the United States, and pioneer social worker. On her 150th birthday, the first full biography of Jane Addams (1860–1935) in almost 4 decades, will be published by W. W. Norton. Louise W. Knight (2010) traces how Addams’s passion for social justice developed and how she translated her ideals into action. The book emphasizes Addams’s belief that no matter what one’s race, gender, or class, being a citizen in a democracy is a life-transforming opportunity and responsibility. On the occasion of this sesquicentennial anniversary, it is important to celebrate the life of Jane Addams, but also to remember that working as a citizen for the common good is a fundamental part of her legacy (Knight, 2006). In Addams’ own words, “the good we secure for ourselves” is not protected until “it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life” (Addams, 2001, p. 17). The six articles in this issue of the Journal of Community Practice echo this theme of working for the common good. Each article richly illustrates a variety of ways that practitioners and scholars work to secure the common good. Herein, readers will find solid examples of such efforts through legislative advocacy, organizational development, community-based research, and other methods of community and organizational practice. The first three articles focus on securing the common good through various types of advocacy processes. “A Model for Change: Legislative Advocacy to Improve Access for the Uninsured and Underinsured in New York State” presents the advocacy effort behind a recent amendment to public health laws in the state of New York. Elissa D. Giffords, Rosemarie Guercia, and Donna Kass discuss the process of a local advocacy effort that grew into a major statewide effort to improve hospital care for the medically indigent through charity care and community benefits. The article provides

Bringing experiential educational groups to the United States: an analysis of group development in an international travel and study program

Abstract International exchanges and travel and study projects have been gaining popularity in many fields including social work. Embedded in a group context, the success of these initiatives depends heavily on the group process of all members involved. This article analyzes the impact group dynamics have on an international travel and study project that brought 11 doctoral students and their dean from Ethiopia for a one-month experiential education program. A model of group development, which emphasizes behavioral outcomes in groups (forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning), is presented as an organizing framework. The discussion draws on a qualitative analytical study, which revisits Tuckmans model, and proposes a revised model that defines group development stages by individual, group, purpose, and work concerns that drive conflict throughout all group stages. Implications for social work education include de-emphasizing stages of group development, being mindful about what is known about small groups, and improving empirical research and training for leading international groups.

Can Africa Learn From Africa? Can the World Learn From Africa?

A report released in June 2011 by Phyllis Freeman and Goolam Mohamedbhai, two internationally acknowledged experts on higher education, examined Addis Ababa University’s (AAU’s) postgraduate development and expansion supported by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) for 92.9 million SEK (Swedish Kroner’s). “While all the quality questions deserve a great deal of analytical attention. . . . Ethiopia’s experiment, and AAU’s central role within it, amount to an experiment from which the world can learn” (Freeman & Mohamedbhai, 2011, p. 26). The two editors of this publication have taken a large share in the development and conduct of this incredible experience for over 5 years. The conceptualization of this revolutionary postgraduate expansion of masters and PhD programs largely benefited from three earlier pilot projects of postgraduate education at AAU. Although these three programs were independently developed and managed, the projects all shared a unique approach toward capacity building in higher education. The vision was that it is possible to develop quality postgraduate education—including the doctoral level—in a university that does not possess in situ its own large number of academic staff. Such a vision would become reality if a sizable consortium of higher education professionals from around the world supported the programs. This would require that the entire system of delivering the content and managing graduate education be radically transformed and reengineered. Although founded in 1951, AAU had less than 900 students enrolled in its masters programs prior to 2006, and only 89 students enrolled in doctoral programs. Five years later, in academic year 2011, the same university registered over 9,000 students for master degrees and graduate specializations, and over 1,300 as doctoral students in various programs of study. The conversation needed to mount such an ambitious effort at AAU took more than a year. Dialogue and discussion occurred within the university, as well as with political and economic actors of the country, the community at large, the Ethiopian Diaspora abroad, international bilateral and multilateral development partners, and several international research

Community Organizing and Practice Coming of Age: Are We Sitting on the Sidelines?

When Barack Obama made his political push for the Presidency, critics scoffed at his experience, which included his work as a community organizer. One might even recall the mocking tone of how the phase community organizer was used by opponents at the Republican National Convention and in certain media. Many from the Conservative side of politics thought it important to deride Obama’s background as an organizer. Two events helped to dispel this characterization of community organizing (CO). One, of course, was Obama’s political campaign that mobilized grassroots support and garnered small donations into a sizable campaign war chest like never before. This stellar CO feat helped propel him into the White House. The other event was one that we at the Association for Community Organization and Social Administration (ACOSA) used for our tagline during the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Annual Program Meeting in Philadelphia in 2008. In accepting her Emmy Award for the role of Abigail Adams in HBO’s John Adams, Laura Linney remarked: “I’d like to thank the great community organizers who helped form our country” (Stanley, 2008). Whether that comment or Obama’s victory helped put the luster back on CO probably isn’t a fair debate, but it does underscore the sense of renewal that has come to CO or, as it is referred to in the social work tradition, community organization or community practice. For many of us, this is both a frustrating and exciting time. As the time of hope has become maybe a bit less hopeful in the current recession and its long economic malaise, it is a time for reflecting on the true challenge of community practice. We have entered an age of increasing inequities in wealth, health, education, employment and opportunities for a better life, and it is in such a climate that community change is critical. This resurgence of CO, which even the New York Times, in its Fashion & Style section, reported “Never looked so good” (Rimer, 2009), provides a catalyst for ACOSA to focus on the state of community organization and macro practice. This is the theme of this issue of the Journal As former ACOSA Chairs, one of our goals has been to energize ACOSA around reexamining community practice and curriculum in community