South Alive: A Grass Roots Approach to Community-Led Development in Southland
Established 12 years ago, South Alive has lived into the ethos of community-led development, shaping its mission around building pride in the South Invercargill area. "From the beginning, it has been driven by what the community has identified that they want to happen in South Invercargill," Courtney explains. Unlike traditional models, South Alive doesn’t just implement projects; it plays a pivotal coordination role, empowering the community to lead changes themselves.
The organisation's governance board sets the overall direction for South Alive to ensure that projects stay true to enhancing community pride in South Invercargill. The board involved at this level makes sure that any project carried out by South Alive aligns with the overarching goals: Physical Space, Community, Capacity, Governance, and Sustainability.
The heart of South Alive's initiatives is its volunteer action teams, which Courtney describes as the main drivers of change, ensuring "the passion is within our volunteer action team." These teams have led to impactful projects, such as the planting of 80 fruit and nut trees around South Invercargill, advocacy for housing quality, and the development of a dog park. This work is a direct reflection of community feedback and the evolving passions of volunteers, showcasing community-led development ethos.
South Alive engages with its community through a blend of formal and informal channels, from public meetings and annual surveys to casual conversations or even over a coffee at The Pantry café located within their hub. "Everything from formal opportunities to conversations collectively builds a picture of the community voice," Courtney notes. This inclusive approach helps navigate the challenge of engaging with South Invercargill's diverse 18,000 residents, ensuring a wide range of voices are heard.
Reflecting on her move to Southland, Courtney was struck by the community-minded spirit of the area. "People are generally very 'community-minded'. People are our biggest asset," she observes, emphasising the community's capacity to drive their own development. She points out the strength of community-led development lies in the local community driving change, a stark contrast to externally imposed solutions. This grassroots approach is complemented by a governance model that focuses on supporting and amplifying existing community strengths.
To gauge the impact of their initiatives, South Alive measures the levels of community pride, which have impressively risen from 35% to 90%. But this is also supported by the stories that they hear from people in the community. That "is the easiest way to know that we’re contributing to these changes," Courtney adds, validating the importance of storytelling in measuring success.
For those interested in initiating their own community-led projects, Courtney advises, "build those relationships with people in the community that you can see are also passionate about their community." She stresses the importance of focusing on the community's assets and strengths, suggesting, "It's so easy for us to say what's wrong in a community and try to fix that, but focus on what's great in our community, and how can we amplify that to make our community even better." This approach not only fosters positive change but ensures that development initiatives are rooted in the community's collective vision and strengths.
If you are thinking about implementing community-led development practices in the work that you are doing, here are the key principles that the team at South Alive have drawn on:
Community-driven Initiatives: Projects and initiatives are based on the desires and needs identified by the community itself, rather than being imposed from the outside.
Empowerment and Capacity Building: CLD focuses on empowering community members to take the lead on development projects, building local leadership and enhancing community capacity.
Inclusive Participation: Ensuring diverse community voices are heard and involved in the decision-making process, reflecting a broad range of perspectives and needs.
Responsive and Adaptive Planning: Strategies and plans are adaptable and responsive to community feedback, allowing for the dynamic evolution of initiatives to meet changing community needs.
Local Leadership: Prioritising the development of local leaders who can drive and sustain initiatives within the community, ensuring long-term impact and relevance.
Reversing Traditional Power Dynamics: Flipping traditional top-down models to place decision-making and initiative leadership in the hands of community members.
Leveraging Community Energies and Interests: Utilising the passions, interests, and energies within the community to fuel projects and drive change.
Emphasis on Sustainability: Projects are designed with a long-term view, aiming for sustainability and enduring benefits for the community.
Recognition of Community Assets and Strengths: Focusing on the strengths and assets within the community, rather than solely on deficits and needs, to foster positive development.
Narrative and Storytelling: Valuing the power of narrative and storytelling in understanding impacts and outcomes, recognising that stories can effectively communicate the depth and breadth of community change.
