Local Government-Supported Community Development

Abstract

There is increasing support for local solutions to poverty through community-based organizations (CBOs). However, a dilemma remains: How can CBOs secure resources necessary for change and yet maintain autonomy in definition of development priorities and delivery strategies? The authors examine a community-development model used in central Florida that includes local government support in the formation and activities of a CBO, and they explore the threat to community autonomy associated with differences in development priorities between community-based and external forces. The results provide encouraging evidence that development models that include cooperation between local government and low-income communities do not necessarily produce sublimation of community priorities.