Community organizing: An ecological route to empowerment and power

TLDR

The abstract argues that examining how social power develops and manifests in community organizing can advance empowerment theory and community psychology practice. The study aims to inform theory and practice through an ecological analysis of organizing processes and interventions. Implications are presented in a matrix adapted from Zimmerman's empowerment framework, mapping processes and outcomes across multiple levels. Lessons from a national community organizing network show that empowerment and power are linked via organizing principles and a cycle of activity, revealing a reciprocal relationship between organizational power development and individual member empowerment.

Abstract

Abstract An important contribution to empowerment theory and community psychology practice can be made by examining how the concept of social power is developed and manifested in the context of community organizing. Theory and practice may be further informed through an ecological analysis of organizing processes and interventions. Lessons from a national community organizing network highlight the relationship between empowerment and power through a set of organizing principles and a cycle of organizing activity. Perhaps most important is the understanding that a reciprocal relationship exists between development of power for community organizations and individual empowerment for organization members. Implications for empowerment theory in the community organizing domain are provided in a matrix adapted from Zimmerman's description of empowerment processes and outcomes at multiple levels of analysis.