Caroline Irby

Child centred
community Michelle Gilbert

development
A guide to what we
do and how we do it

Victor Brott
Plan’s Vision
Plan’s Vision is of a world in
which all children realise
their full potential in
societies which respect
people’s rights and dignity.
Plan’s child centred community
development approach
Child centred community development is a rights-based approach in which children, families
and communities are active and leading participants in their own development. It enhances
their capacity and opportunity to work together with others to address the structural causes
and consequences of poverty at all levels.
Introduction
Child centred community development is the
term we use to describe how we aim to do our
development work. It encapsulates very
simply where we are in development:
we support communities to develop the
structures and skills they need to provide a
safe and healthy environment in which
children are able to realise their full potential
(‘community development’). It is our belief,
based on many years of experience, that this
can be achieved only if children’s best
interests are at the heart of everything we do
and if children themselves actively participate
in the process (‘child centred’).
The aim of this leaflet is to explain why and
how we aim to do this. Much of it will be
familiar to many of you: child centred
community development is not a magic new
formula; rather it is a natural development of
what we already do and the lessons we have
learned while doing it.
Plan’s Mission
Plan strives to achieve lasting improvements in the quality of life
of deprived children in developing countries through a process
that unites people across cultures and adds meaning and value to
their lives by:
● enabling deprived children, their families and their communities to
meet their basic needs and to increase their ability to participate in
and benefit from their societies
● building relationships to increase understanding and unity among
peoples of different cultures and countries
● promoting the rights and interests of the world’s children
How has child
centred community
development
evolved?
Child centred community development is a way of
working that places the emphasis firmly on the child.
It provides the foundation for the future development
of aspects of our work; developments that will be
necessary if we are to reach as many children as
possible.
Plan’s approach to working with and for children has
evolved as our experience and knowledge has grown
and in response to changing needs. Our original focus
was on providing aid and welfare support to specific
individual children. Experience showed, however, that
this approach placed too much emphasis on the
individual child and too little on empowering a
community to meet the needs of all its children.
Today, that focus has changed. Over the years, our role
within communities has evolved from directly
implementing projects and programs to supporting
communities to identify their needs and devise
solutions to meet those needs. This has involved the
active participation of community members.
Increasingly, however, it became clear that even this
process risked decisions and assumptions being made
about what would really benefit the children. A natural
and vital development, therefore, was to include the
What do we mean
by ‘child centred’?
All Plan’s work has its foundations in the fundamental rights of
children as expressed and internationally agreed in the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The child
centred approach therefore aims to support children to realise
these rights through, for example:
● promoting awareness and understanding of children’s rights
● encouraging and enabling children to participate in their
own development
● listening to what children have to say about what is
preventing them from realising their rights and adapting
projects and programs to address this
● facilitating children to take part in policy discussions at
local, national and international levels alongside community
members, partners and Plan staff
● acknowledging that children’s rights are inextricably linked
to the achievement of fundamental human rights within
communities as a whole
children themselves. Clearly, any such involvement must
be appropriate to the age, sex and circumstances of the
children. A great deal of work has therefore been
undertaken in recent years to encourage and enable
children’s participation.
This process has led Plan to three fundamental
conclusions:
● that children’s development must be based on long-
term and integrated commitment
● that children can participate fully only when they are
supported by their families and given the means to
do so
● that families and communities can meet their
responsibilities towards the children only when they
have the skills and knowledge to meet children’s
needs and uphold children’s rights
It is on these conclusions that child centred community
development is based.
What do we mean by
‘community development’?
Community development means working with
communities to build upon the skills and knowledge they
have and need to become active participants in, rather
than passive recipients of, the development process
through, for example:
● promoting a community’s leadership and management
of projects and programs
● enabling community members to determine their
development process and strategic plans
● building the capacity and skills of community leaders
● linking community organisations to local government
and other organisations that are developed to provide
quality services
● ensuring that the most marginalised members of the
community (such as the poorest and women) are
included
How do we implement child centred
community development?
So far, everything sounds good in principle but how do all staff put it into practice? The answer is by
understanding that child centred community development represents the principles by which all work
in Plan should be undertaken. This applies as much to a member of staff in a national organisation as
it does to one working in a country office or in a community. If Plan is truly to become a child centred
community development organisation, every one of us needs to understand the organisational tenets
on which it is based (the ‘foundations’) and how these translate into our basic approach to our work
(the ‘cornerstone components’). Only then can we compare these with our current attitudes,
behaviours and ways of working, and define how we can really begin to apply the child centred
community development approach within the context of our own jobs.

The organisational tenets (‘foundations’)

The child centred community development approach is based on three foundations: civil society, rights and
principles and scaling up. These are the solid bases underpinning and guiding all our work.

Civil society Rights and principle

Plan’s work is based on the reality that people living in poverty are often All Plan’s work is based on the rights a
unable, or have fewer opportunities, to raise issues affecting their lives with Rights of the Child. Every human being
society and to access opportunities tha
those institutions, decision-makers and authorities able to support change.
their full potential.
This is true in the community setting and in regional, national and
international settings. They can only truly participate in development if they Plan is also staying true to its Program
● child centredness
are able to do so. This is why Plan works with families and children,
● gender equity
particularly those who are most marginalised (such as by their sex, ethnic
origin or age), and supports their inclusion in community groups. In other ● empowerment and sustainability

words, Plan, through organisational community groups, promotes true ● integration

accountability at the most basic level. By doing so, we promote good ● environmental sustainability
governance of formal structures to all members of a community and wider ● cooperation
society. We believe that this process allows the poorest and most ● institutional learning
marginalised to identify their needs and demand quality services to meet
those needs.

What are the implications for our work? What are the implications for ou
● We need to encourage and enable all members of a community to participate in ● We need to build and extend our experti
formal community structures ● We need to ensure that our principles are
● We need to strengthen the skills of these community-based organisations ● We need to accept that we alone cannot
● We need to use our position, experience and network of support to raise but instead work with partners, groups an
awareness of the issues involved at national and international levels through ● We need to analyse and acknowledge all
development education and advocacy widest possible understanding of why pro
interrelate
 Michelle Gilbert
es
as detailed in the Convention on the
g has an equal right to participate in
at support and enable them to reach
m Principles:
ur work?
se on rights-based programing
e put into practice in all work
address every abuse of children’s rights
nd organisations to achieve our aims
aspects of all children’s rights to get the
oblems exist and how their causes
Liba Taylor
Scaling up
Development work that is confined to an individual community will only
ever address the problems that cause poverty and restrict children from
realising their true potential in a limited way. This is why Plan is always
looking at the wider picture, taking successful initiatives and both
replicating them in our own work and using the lessons learned to
strengthen the services provided by other organisations and governments.
Equally important is to strengthen the capacity of local organisations so that
they can address the issues facing families living in poverty and influence
government institutions. In this way, services such as schools, water and
health will genuinely be tackling the issues identified at community level
and all members of a community will be empowered to demand better
access to them.
What are the implications for our work?
● We need to work with families, communities and partners to identify why children
are living in poverty and excluded from opportunity
● We need to use this information to support changes in policy and community
management of quality services
● Working within networks and alliances, we need to use our knowledge and
experience to influence national policies and advocate for change at the
international level
 The ways of working
(‘cornerstone components’)
Partnerships,
networking and
relationships building
Children experience a wide range of relationships.
Their relationship with their family and immediate
community is one of the strongest; others include
their relationship with external organisations
(including Plan), individuals (including sponsors),
their school, other children and local government.
These relationships need to be understood and
strengthened at all levels if we are to identify and
address the structural and institutional causes of
poverty. This is why child centred community
development seeks to involve all stakeholders at all
levels. Creating networks and establishing
partnerships and alliances are vital aspects by
which awareness is created, policy is influenced
and structures surrounding the child can become
more participatory and child friendly.
What are the implications for our work?
● We need to work in an even more open and
cooperative way, and develop the skills necessary to
form positive and successful partnerships
● We need to understand the roles of different
stakeholders and work effectively with them at all
levels
● We need to look at our current relationships within
communities and, where necessary, transform our
working style to ensure mutual learning
If the foundations represent the fundamental
structure on which our work is based, the
four cornerstone components are the building
bricks of projects and programs. They
represent the four ways of working by which
we aim to achieve our Vision and Mission.
Child centred programing
Through child centred community development,
children are active participants in development
rather than passive recipients. Their participation,
however, must be handled carefully to ensure both
that children are genuinely being listened to and
that vital issues such as their age, gender, social
status, language and religion are taken into
account. This is the only way of genuinely
understanding their issues and concerns. Child
centred programing is based on this fundamental
approach.
Once issues have been identified, their causes are
reviewed and analysed. This ensures that program
designs address the wider problem: identifying
institutional discrimination towards children and
their families and looking at how this can be
changed using local knowledge and resources
backed up by technical expertise. Through this
approach, communities are able to identify and
mobilise their own resources, learn how to access
other essential resources from local government
and non-governmental organisations, and identify
and strengthen local knowledge and practices.
What are the implications for our work?
● We need to ensure that children are participating
meaningfully in the development process in a way
that is relevant to their circumstances
● We need to work closely with communities to
identify the type of programs and interventions
required
● We need to be careful not to build expectations that
we cannot meet
Facilitating participatory
processes
Children, their families and communities have a
right to basic services such as health care and
education, services that the state has an obligation
to provide through its ratification of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child. They
therefore need to be supported in advocating to
and working with ‘service suppliers’ at district and
national level. This is the only way that children
and their families can truly own their
development; child centred community
development aims to build their capacity to
address the issues involved and demand quality
services. By everyone, particularly children and
women, being encouraged and enabled to get
involved in identifying the issues at community
level and by their representatives participating in
district-level assessment and activity planning,
local officials will have a much better
understanding of living conditions and service
delivery is likely to be improved.
What are the implications for our work?
● We need to work with communities and our own
staff so that everyone understands why a
participatory approach is necessary
● We need to demonstrate to adults that child centred
community development does not mean that they
will be marginalised in favour of the children
● We need to understand what local institutions can
and cannot do and build the capacity of communities
to demand better quality services from them
Supporting groups and
organisations
In reality, most children and their families living in
poverty either cannot or do not speak out about
the issues affecting their lives. This is primarily
because they are marginalised: those with the
greatest needs are rarely those in positions of
authority or power within their communities.
Child centred community development supports
the inclusion of all members of a community and
encourages them to form and use their own
representative organisations through which their
voice is more likely to be heard. At the same time,
the approach supports communities in identifying
their own resources to meet their needs. This
means that they are also able to identify more
clearly what services they need from external
institutions and, through the strength of their own
organisation, gain access to the relevant resources
from local government and non-governmental
organisations.
What are the implications for our work?
● We need to understand the unique structure of each
community, identifying where the power rests and
encouraging the formation of organisations
representing the most marginalised and those living
in the greatest poverty
● We need to support community efforts to mobilise
resources from community and other local sources
● We need to promote transparent systems through
participatory monitoring and evaluation

Conclusion
Child centred community development should not be viewed as simply a program-based approach. Rather, it
should guide all of our work, wherever that work is done. We cannot yet claim to be a child centred community
development organisation. It will take time, effort and honest self-examination on the part of all staff to
understand what it means both in relation to how we undertake our individual roles and the implications for the
organisation as a whole.
We need to challenge unfair or exploitative balances of power in a wide range of relationships: for example,
between children and their parents, between communities and local authorities, between Plan and communities,
and between ourselves and our colleagues. Only by looking critically and honestly at how this balance of power
negatively affects individuals or individual groups can we understand what needs to happen to address the
inequalities.
Applying the child centred community development process throughout Plan will be a continuous learning
experience. It is therefore vital that we share our experiences with colleagues and learn from both success and
mistakes. It will also take time but if we all understand and are committed to it, we can make it a reality.
Plan’s Vision
Plan’s Vision is of a world in which all children realise their full
potential in societies which respect people’s rights and dignity.

Plan’s Mission
Plan strives to achieve lasting improvements in the quality of life of

Caroline Irby
deprived children in developing countries through a process that unites
people across cultures and adds meaning and value to their lives by:
● enabling deprived children, their families and their communities to meet
their basic needs and to increase their ability to participate in and benefit
from their societies
Your pocket guide to
● building relationships to increase understanding and unity among peoples of
different cultures and countries child centred
● promoting the rights and interests of the world’s children
community development
The three foundations
Rights and principles
We believe and are committed to the principle that every human being has an
equal right to participate in society and to access opportunities that support and
enable them to reach their full potential.
Civil society
We work with families and children, particularly those most marginalised, and
support their inclusion in community groups. We believe that this will allow
them to identity their needs and demand quality services to meet these needs.
Scaling up
We look at the wider picture, taking successful initiatives and replicating
them in our own work and using lessons learned to strengthen services
provided by other organisations and governments.
The four cornerstone components
1. Partnerships, networking and relationships building
Creating networks and establishing partnerships and alliances are vital aspects by which
awareness is created, policy is influenced and structures surrounding the child can
become more participatory and child friendly.
2. Child centred programing
Through child centred community development, children are active
participants rather than passive recipients in the development process.
3. Facilitating participatory processes
By encouraging and enabling children to identify issues at a community level, local
officials will have a better understanding of living conditions and service delivery.
4. Supporting groups and organisations
Encouraging the inclusion of all members of the community to use their own
organisations means that their voice is more likely to be heard, thus giving them
better access to external institutions.
Text © Plan 2005
Published by Plan Ltd
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February 2005

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