Meeting in Auckland, New Zealand, just prior to our 2017 international conference, the IACD Board agreed the key work plan priorities for the coming work plan year. This starts on April 1st each year (to coincide with our financial year). 2017/18 sees IACD moving into year two of the four year 2016-20 Strategic Plan agreed in New Delhi in March 2016.
During this second year of our four year strategic plan, our aim is to continue much of the work we commenced in 2016/17. Our policy into practice priority will continue to be the SDGs and community empowerment/capacity building but at a deeper level. The range of ways in which we deliver this support will continue i.e. conferences, resource bank, continuing professional development opportunities, networking and publications. Specifically the Board wishes to do the following:
- To organise a World Community Development Conference in 2018. 2018 is IACD’s 65th birthday year and we want to use this to celebrate the importance of community development around the world. The conference will be taking place in Ireland. This will we hope be the largest gathering of community developers from around the world. Our partner will be Ireland’s CD association Community Work Ireland.
- To expand the Global Community Development Exchange. As highlighted in the 2016/17 year’s report, the initial R&D for GCDEX has taken place. Our challenge now is to fill this unique resource bank and to encourage practitioners and trainers from around the world to share their work freely, providing practical learning and teaching resources for community developers to use and share across the world and making it the largest repository of such resources in the world.
- To develop the new IACD website. In light of the technical difficulties we encountered last year, the IACD Board took the decision in January 2017 that we needed a new website. Initial work has begun on this and we have agreed the new design and a much easier navigation.
- To publish three issues of the IACD magazine Practice Insights. In 2016/17 we met our agreed target of three issues of the magazine. Practice Insights magazine is intended for the busy practitioner and receives very positive feedback.
- To organise a Practice Exchange continuing professional development programme. Following the success of our India/Nepal programme in 2016/17, we are planning to organise another field programme, this time either to South Korea or South America.
- To continue and reinforce the work towards creating international occupational guidelines for the community development field. This project enables IACD to share and build upon our work in producing a global definition of community development in 2016. We have gathered together examples of national standards from around the world and already run two consultation workshops. From this we aim to publish draft guidelines by September 2017 and in the autumn to run a one day international conference on this work.
- To design and deliver an IACD international CPD blended learning programme for community development practitioners around the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As a result of our 2016/17 roadshow of events highlighting the important opportunities the SDGs present for CD policy and practice, it has become clear that agencies and fieldworkers need further professional development support. Our intention is to design a certificated and accredited CPD blended learning programme that could be delivered through trainer partners in different countries.
- To support at least three events in IACD’s global regions. Last year we held two international conferences and several smaller one-day events. Besides the Ireland World Community Development conference, we intend to continue to run mini conferences/round table events that bring together members in different countries. Our priorities here would be in South East Asia and South America.
- To continue to enhance UN awareness of, support for, and influence of community development and practitioner and project engagement with relevant UN issues and instruments. We aim to do this through engagement with other UN accredited civil society groups, to support and influence implementation of the SDGs, through statements to the HLPF (High Level Political Forum in New York) and through development of links with and awareness of community development at the Geneva based Human Rights Council, human rights instruments and the International Labour Organisation.
- To continue to run a lean and mean HQ office in Scotland. Our move of office to the Scottish Community Development Centre in August 2016 has proved hugely positive. Here we are able to provide member service support for CD’s international network. We have no plans to increase the admin support at the office but this will be kept under review as membership grows and thus demands for membership support.
- To continue to grow our membership numbers by 20% p.a. We set this per annum target in our Strategic Plan. With our current membership numbers a c400 this would be a c80 increase during the year.
- To secure a grant from a US based foundation. With the election of a US based IACD President, Paul Lachapelle is now leading on approaches to US foundations to try to secure funding for IACD’s work.
