This exploratory case study adds to the growing literature on leaders and leadership development in communities experiencing poverty in the global south. It explores how leadership is conceptualized among community-identified leaders in Muñoz, Dominican Republic. Drawn from semistructured interviews, the eight participant narratives provide…

The author's career experiences--as an impartial observer of community building, as an advocate working from within urban communities, and as a catalyst working from the outside--have given him a unique perspective into the dynamics of institutional/community engagement. "Basically, they have left me with three overriding convictions. First,…

Posits that increased communication of community leaders involving relatively short communications paths should lead to program success. However, measures of connectivity and average distance in the communications structure reveal no significant relationships. Suggests other factors which may be more important to rural community development…

In Iran, community mosques have been decentralized institutions of local power. Mosque leadership was influential in the overthrow of the Shah. However, the resulting Islamic Republic dominated and used mosques as agents of social control. (SK)

Purposes of this guide for change agents are to (1) present four methods for identifying community power actors (community leaders), (2) provide a description of how change agents might use each of the four methods, (3) compare the four methods, (4) suggest ways to use a combination of methods or combine elements from various methods, and (5)…

The preparatory manual is one of a series produced by the Refugee Welfare Training Team in Qui Nhon, Binh-Dinh Province, Vietnam, for use in training teams of government personnel to work with refugees. The purpose was to improve living conditions, overcome lethargy and despair, develop a community structure, engage group action, and prepare for…

This paper focuses on defining and comparing four approaches for identifying the community's power actors. It outlines how professional change agents might use each of the four approaches to identify community power actors who are relevant for community development. The four approaches include the positional, the reputational, the decision-making,…