Community Power Dynamics – Original material presented by Dan Kahl, Kansas State University

Brief Overview

Every community has a leadership structure of people and organized groups who exert influence over different areas of the community taking a position of power. Community development projects, by their nature, are efforts that support a shared vision of how the community should change or processes of developing a shared vision. Therefore, community development projects might be seen as a challenge by a community’s existing power structure. The people who are behind new energy in the community to discuss and effect change need to understand how others will view their efforts. Projects are more likely to be successful if the organizers work with and draw on the resources of others in the community, often some of these resources reside with people in positions of power.

Key Points

• Having the power to participate in community development and effectively bring change in a community has two components: 1. A person needs to believe that they have the capacity (skills, knowledge, resources) to change their community; 2. They also need to believe that their community will support their efforts.
• It is often well known who holds position of power in a community. If you are a newcomer to a community or an outsider who is consulting on a community development project it is important to find out how other residents view their place’s power structure.
• Power is not a zero sum game although that is how many people view it. Working to transform this view can build support for sharing leadership in a community.
• Academics have identified several theories to describe community power. Dan mentioned four: pluralism, elitism, class-based, and the growth machine. Less important than understanding the differences between these theories is to think about how power is distributed and linked in a place.

Points I would add:

• People who hold power in a community might vary by issue. Holding power is not the same as being in a leadership position. Some influential people prefer to work behind the scenes or have moved out of power positions after a long period of volunteering but are still sought out by existing leaders.
• An important element of the capacity part of power in community development is access to financial resources and previous experience. Too often the link between community capacity and change is reduced to social capital. However the best connected communities still need financial resources for many projects.

Translating these concepts into practice:

• If you are not an established leader but you are motivated to make a change in your community, you should make an effort to work with other leaders in the community sooner than later. You don’t need to seek permission for your efforts, but you do need to attempt to access the wealth of experience and resources these leaders hold.
• Don’t let your effort to change the community be seen as an insult to another person’s best efforts or their perceived vision of the community. Think about whom your project might affect and sit down and talk to them about your goals and invite them to be part of a diversification strategy. Try to present your efforts not as a competition but as coordination of multiple interests the leaves room for the work of others.
• It may seem like a waste of time to try to bring others in the community around to your idea, but the investment you make can have significant returns. An inclusive strategy that has broad buy-in and support from the community and accesses the ideas, abilities, and resources of the community stands a better chance of success.
• The development process gets personal quickly, people in the community can purposefully seek to damage your reputation and thwart your efforts, not on the grounds of your idea, but the process you use in trying to get there.
• Stay focused on the project’s results, the positive change you seek in your community. Keep talking to others in the community who share your interest in change and be prepared to adapt roles and share credit.
• Established leaders in a community carry a lot of institutional knowledge and experience. Seek out this expertise to avoid missteps.
• Community members express support and disapproval in a variety of ways. In some of the rural communities, disapproval turns into overt or anonymous violence against an individual advocating change. When this happens the community needs to directly address this violence with the support of outside mediators. The community should not tolerate this type of behavior as a way to express disapproval.

In the next session we will be discussing techniques for mapping community assets.