Importance of COPAR: 1.

COPAR is an important tool for community development and people empowerment as this helps the community workers to generate community participation in development activities. 2.COPAR prepares people/clients to eventually take over the management of a development programs in the future. 3.COPAR maximizes community participation and involvement; community resources are mobilized for community services. Principles of COPAR: 1. People, especially the most oppressed, exploited and deprived sectors are open to change, have the capacity to change and are able to bring about change. 2.COPAR should be based on the interest of the poorest sectors of society 3.COPAR should lead to a self-reliant community and society. COPAR Process:

A progressive cycle of action-reflection action which begins with small, local and

concrete issues identified by the people and the evaluation and the reflection of and on the action taken by them.

Consciousness through experimental learning central to the COPAR process because

it places emphasis on learning that emerges from concrete action and which enriches succeeding action.

C OPAR is participatory and mass-based because it is primarily directed towards and C OPAR is group-centered and not leader-oriented. Leaders are identified, emerge

biased in favor of the poor, the powerless and oppressed.

and are tested through action rather than appointed or selected by some external force or entity.

Phases of the COPAR Process

I. Pre-entry Phase A. Is the initial phase of the organizing process where the community/organizer looks for communities to serve/help. B. It is considered the simplest phase in terms of actual outputs, activities and strategies and time spent for it. Activities include: 1. Designing a plan for community development including all its activities and strategies for care development. 2. Designing criteria for the selection of site 3. Actually selecting the site for community care II. Entry Phase A. Sometimes called the social preparation phase as to the activities done here includes the sensitization of the people on the critical events in their life, innovating them to share their dreams and ideas on how to manage their concerns and eventually mobilizing them to take collective action on these. B. This phase signals the actual entry of the community worker/organizer into the

community. She must be guided by the following guidelines however. 1. Recognizes the role of local authorities by paying them visits to inform them of their presence and activities. 2. The appearance, speech, behavior and lifestyle should be in keeping with those of the community residents without disregard of their being role models. 3. Avoid raising the consciousness of the community residents; adopt a low-key profile. III. Organization Building Phase A. Entails the formation of more formal structures and the inclusion of more formal procedures of planning, implementation, and evaluating community-wide activities. It is at this phase where the organized leaders or groups are being given trainings (formal, informal, OJT) to develop their skills and in managing their own concerns/programs. IV. Sustenance and Strengthening Phase A. Occurs when the community organization has already been established and the community members are already actively participating in community-wide undertakings. At this point, the different communities setup in the organization building phase are already expected to be functioning by way of planning, implementing and evaluating their own programs with the overall guidance from the community-wide organization. 1. Strategies used may include: a. Education and training b. Networking and linkaging c. Conduct of mobilization on health and development concerns d. Implementing of livelihood projects e. Developing secondary leaders

CRITICAL STEPS (ACTIVITIES): Integration Social Investigation Tentative program planning Groundwork The meeting Role Play Mobilization or action Evaluation Reflection Organization