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Faith/Community-Based Organizations and the Political Process Model: Social Mobilization as an Explanation for Member Participation in Community Building Author: Malik R Watkins Dissertation School: The Ohio State University Pages: 150 Publication Date: June 2001 Availability: Access Number: 10733 Abstract: This dissertation explores the applicability of the Political Process Model (a social movement framework) to community building initiatives. I hope to identify participant characteristics (including faith-based organization affiliation) and explain their relationship to the level and quality of individual participation in community development programs. The absence of a participation component in most community building models inhibits the examination of community participation processes and the identification and measurement of variables associated with productive development initiatives. The application of social movement theory to the study of community building identifies participant characteristics, levels and quality of participation, and the conditions that precede collective neighborhood social action. This provides an additional component to community building models that increases their overall effectiveness. The national movement towards citizen participation in neighborhood revitalization has been a consistently developing theme of United States public policy (e.g., VISTA, Model Cities, Community Development Block Grant, AmeriCorps). Many of the current community mobilization programs utilize techniques similar to those employed during the Civil Rights Movement (door-to-door campaigns, community organizing, faith-based organization utilization, indigenous organization formation, etc.). Therefore, exploring the applicability of social movement theory to local community building initiatives is an appropriate research topic. The purpose of this study is to determine the strength of variable relationships and the amount of variability explained in levels of member participation while assessing the applicability of the Political Process Model to community building programs. The first objective is to determine the relationships between level of member participation and source of member recruitment, previous program affiliation, level of cognitive liberation, attitude towards program, and fundamental attribution error (all variables are derived from the Political Process Model.) In addition, the research will explore the influence of faith-based organizations on individual member participation. This research involves a case study of a community development organization: the Columbus Housing Partnership (CHP) an Enterprise Foundation affiliate. CHP is a private non-profit organization formed to develop affordable housing and strengthen the capacity of community building organizations (several being faith-based) within Franklin County, Ohio. CHP builds organizational capacity by partnering with for-profit developers, community and faith-based organizations, and neighborhood development organizations to address issues influencing resident quality of life. These community-building efforts have been implemented through a Community Safety Program that utilizes AmeriCorps members to organize residents around community issues. AmeriCorps member activities are based upon building and strengthening the social network within target communities while developing partnerships amongst residents and service providers, city departments, and local government. Members are asked to complete a questionnaire that measures specific attributes theoretically contributing to levels of participation. Correlational research will then be utilized to determine the association of variables with member participation, and multiple regression will be utilized to assess the applicability of the Political Process Model to community building programs. |
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