Many community action projects fail because they lack a systematic plan for dealing with opponents. Project leaders need to analyze who will benefit and who will lose from the project. Carefully thinking through who is likely to be opposed to the project and determining how to deal with that opposition will lead to a greater chance of success. The nature of change and its impact are unclear-fear of the unknown. Resources are limited-if some get them, others won't.
People feel criticized.
People expect the change to interfere with accomplishment of their goals. Community loyalties, values or norms are ignored. The change is perceived as serving someone's personal interest. Strategies based on keeping the opposition in the dark and not letting them know what is taking -place are almost doomed to failure. Once the opposition learns of the project, if they can show they were not being dealt with fairly, decisionmakers are likely to reject the project.