Assessing small community groups

Abstract

Many community groups in the UK do micro-project work to help families and young people in low-income neighbourhoods. This paper establishes a common set of criteria for assessing the effectiveness of small community groups and uses these as basis for developing an evaluation tool for community groups and those working with them. It draws on the literature to identify those factors that are seen to be important to the functioning of community groups, where necessary adapting these to smaller groups. These criteria are then ‘tested’ on a small number of community groups across the UK, using a participative approach and questionnaire to explore these issues with each group. Our framework appears to capture all the key aspects of the groups we visited, although some of the assessment criteria need to be interpreted carefully, helping to refine our own understanding of what makes a good community group. This approach is a useful way for community groups to identify their own strengths and weaknesses and, if developed further, has potential applications in the evaluation of capacity-building schemes.

Muchas asociaciones locales de voluntariado en el Reino Unido trabajan en micro-proyectos para ayudar a familias y a jóvenes en barrios pobres. Este artículo establece un conjunto de criterios comunes para evaluar la efectividad de dichas asociaciones y utiliza este último como base para desarrollar una herramienta de evaluación de las asociaciones y de aquellos que colaboran con ellas. La literatura existente identifica aquellos factores que son considerados importantes para el funcionamiento de estas asociaciones, adaptándolos a grupos más pequeños si es necesario. Estos criterios son luego evaluados a través de un enfoque participativo y un cuestionario que explora los temas de interés. Dicha evaluación se lleva acabo entre un pequeño número de grupos de voluntariado en el Reino Unido. Nuestro enfoque captura todos los aspectos clave de los grupos visitados, aunque algunos de los criterios de evaluación deben ser cuidadosamente interpretados, ayudándonos así a redefinir nuestra opinión sobre cuáles son las características propias de un buen grupo de voluntariado. Este enfoque resulta de utilidad para que las asociaciones de voluntariado puedan identificar sus puntos fuertes y sus debilidades y, potencialmente, pueda aplicarse a la evaluación de desarrollo de capacidades.

Keywords:

• community group
• self-help
• evaluation

Notes

Liz Richardson is a Research Officer in LSE Housing at the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) at the London School of Economics. She works on community engagement, neighbourhood renewal, and evaluation of community development. Address: Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK.

Tom Sefton is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) at the London School of Economics. His research interests include evaluation, the distribution of public spending, income dynamics, and fuel poverty. Address: Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK. [email: [email protected]]

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Liz Richardson

Liz Richardson is a Research Officer in LSE Housing at the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) at the London School of Economics. She works on community engagement, neighbourhood renewal, and evaluation of community development. Address: Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK. Tom Sefton is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) at the London School of Economics. His research interests include evaluation, the distribution of public spending, income dynamics, and fuel poverty. Address: Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK. [email: [email protected]]