When talking about community assets the phrase ‘use it or lose it’ is an increasingly heard. A version of this plea could be applied to community development – ‘write it or lose it’. Why? After some 30 years in community development I am very aware of how little has been written from the practitioner’s perspective. As a result, examples of good practice – where community development has made a real difference in people’s lives – have been lost. Bad practice, where community development values are co-opted or ignored for political ends, keeps being reinvented resulting in a cynical view that community development ‘doesn’t work’.
The Community Development Journal is approaching its fiftieth year and is read in over 80 countries around the world. In addition to academic articles, the Journal is committed to the practitioner’s voice and produces ‘Notes from the Field’. This is an opportunity for those ‘doing community development’ to reflect on their experiences, share and celebrate good practice. Pieces can be up to 1,500 words, written in accessible language, and relate to current issues and dilemmas in community development from any part of the globe, from work at a neighbourhood level or with communities of interest,
In busy lives it is always difficult to find time to write – and many practitioners avoid the very act of writing up their practice – or are new to writing for a Journal. We do offer thorough feedback on all pieces submitted to ‘Notes from the Field’ as part of the process of encouraging more practice based community development literature. If you are interested in submitting to the Community development Journal, or just want more details, please contact me at a.j.mccabe@bham.ac.uk or for a more informal conversation, call 00 44 (0)121 415 8561
So this is the plea to IACD members – write it, don’t lose it! We look forward to hearing from you.
Angus Mccabe
Community Development Journal
