The value of collaboration in an integrated community development programme as experienced by stakeholders

Field: Social Sciences (Social Sciences)

Background Collaboration between stakeholders is a valuable tool to enhance holistic development in communities. Consequently through this project the researcher endeavored to determine the value of collaboration in development of a community. Goal and objectives The purpose of the study was to explore the value of collaboration of an integrated community development programme as experienced by stakeholders which was introduced in Kuils River. The following objectives were set to determine whether: • collaboration is a solution to community development • an integration of all community stakeholders makes a difference in developing societies. Research design For the purpose of this study a phenomenological research design with a qualitative approach was applied. Population and sampling The population comprised of the various stakeholders involved in the programme. Through purposive sampling 10 participants were selected, which consisted of one focus group of five participants and five face to face individuals interviews. Interview Guide and data collection Interviews were conducted with one focus group and five individual participants. Each interview was guided by a semi-structured interview guide based on the objectives. Data was collected personally by the researcher. A pretest was not done. Validity To ensure the validity of the study the principles of credibility, conformability, dependability and transferability were applied. v Ethical considerations Consent to conduct the study was obtained from the Ethical Committee of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Stellenbosch University. Informed written consent was obtained. The interviews were recorded with the consent of the participants. Participation in the study was voluntary and the ethical principles pertaining to privacy, anonymity and confidentiality were maintained throughout the study. Data analysis Data was analysed according to Tesch (1990:154-156). Recorded interviews were transcribed. Transcribed data was grouped into themes, subthemes and coded throughout the process. Findings During the interviews, specifically with the focus group, participants described the value of collaboration of various stakeholders in community development: “Collaboration is very important. Integration of all the parties definitely contributes to the development of the communities”. It was shown that empowerment enables communities to fulfil their individual tasks more effectively as the following comment illustrates: “We are linking in and through that we are empowering our communities, our community in Kuils River and now also other communities”. The project identified new evidence of a broader range of the value of collaboration and has identified the value of personal, spiritual and emotional support experienced by stakeholders. Furthermore, the study has shown the high importance of personal development and empowerment experienced by stakeholders and that the integration of all community stakeholders does make a difference in developing societies. Recommendations Recommendations were made based on the scientific evidence obtained and include the following: Effort should be made to involve the best possible people in the integrated community development programme (ICDP).