Community Roles in Policy
Published on January 8, 2009
There has been growing interest in recent years in place-based interventions and their unique contribution to tackling complex issues, such as poverty. While communities are pursuing a range of direct interventions, they are recognizing increasingly that the problems faced by individuals and households living with low income result not from their own weaknesses but rather from problems and barriers in the broader economic and social system. This paper discusses the following activities in which communities can engage with respect to policy:
- monitoring policy developments
- building an evidence base
- enabling access to existing benefits
- improving programs and services
- creating new programs or services
- reducing basic costs
- designing appropriate environments
- creating contextual change
- reducing barriers and disincentives
- assessing policy impact.
ISBN – 1-55382-328-1