Community Driven Dialogue: Transforming the Rhetoric of Locally-Led Development into Reality

By Billy Gorter

In an era where "locally-led development" risks becoming another development sector buzzword, organisations must move beyond aspirational statements to demonstrate how this principle transforms into practice. At This Life, our work in Cambodia offers insights into how international NGOs can genuinely support community-driven change while acknowledging and addressing inherent power dynamics.??

Our journey began in 2007 with a simple but powerful premise: local communities are the experts in identifying practical ways to improve their lives. Rather than arriving with predetermined solutions, we recognised the need for and commitment to listening, engaging, and supporting communities to realise their own visions for change.?

Understanding Community Driven Dialogue?

At the heart of our commitment to locally-led development is our Community Driven Dialogue process. This isn't just another consultation tool – it's a fundamental reimagining of how development priorities are set and decisions are made.??

Community Driven Dialogue provides a structured yet flexible framework for communities to come together, share their voices, and collectively shape their future. The process is designed to be deeply inclusive, ensuring that traditionally marginalised voices – including women, people with disabilities, and ethnic minorities – are not just heard but are central to decision-making.?

The preparatory stages for a Community Driven Dialogue process involve careful stakeholder mapping to ensure representation from key groups including government staff, school staff, students, parents, and community leaders. We stage preliminary interviews to gather community views and record them. Throughout preparation we gather baseline community demographic data to ensure marginalised participants are counted and so we can tailor the process to suit. This is followed by development of targeted questions and selection of appropriate participatory tools to meet the baseline data.?

Community Driven Dialogue Process?

The What-Why-How Approach?

• Our facilitated community dialogues use a structured "What-Why-How" approach through multiple touchpoints:?

• Community meetings of participants in safe, accessible spaces?

• One-on-one interviews with community members who may be hesitant to speak in groups?

• Focus group discussions with specific demographic groups to ensure all voices are heard?

• Community-wide events where findings are discussed and consensus is built through collaborative exercises?

Tailored Visual and Participatory Techniques?

• We employ culturally appropriate tools to ensure meaningful participation, including:?

• Problem and solution trees to visualise root causes and potential solutions?

• Community mapping exercises to identify local resources and challenges?

• Seasonal calendars to understand community patterns and needs?

• Preference ranking activities to prioritise issues and solutions?

• Visual aids and practical demonstrations to overcome literacy barriers?

Scoping Community Strengths?

• Our comprehensive asset-mapping process includes:?

• Identifying existing community leadership structures and decision-making processes?

• Documenting local knowledge and traditional problem-solving approaches?

• Mapping available resources, skills, and capacities within the community?

• Understanding existing support systems and social networks?

• Recognising successful community-led initiatives that can be built upon?

Sensitivity to Local Language?

• We ensure linguistic and cultural accessibility through:?

• All materials prepared in Khmer and relevant local languages?

• Local facilitators who understand cultural nuances and can build trust?

• Visual aids to overcome language barriers?

• Documentation that captures both words and cultural context?

• Translation support for minority language speakers when needed?

Post-Community Driven Dialogue Stage:?

• Analysis and prioritisation of identified issues through collaborative community workshops?

• Sharing findings with stakeholders and authorities through structured feedback sessions?

• Collaborative development of community action plans with clear roles and responsibilities?

• Integration of findings into This Life's program design and strategic planning processes?

Issues identified in the Community Driven Dialogue are then analysed by local leaders within This Life. Findings are shared with stakeholders and authorities to collaborate with the community and This Life facilitators on the development of community action plans.???

What makes this approach truly transformative is how it shapes everything we do.? Community Driven Dialogue findings form the basis of This Life's program design - in direct response to community-led priorities identified throughout the process. Our strategic planning isn't developed in boardrooms in Australia – it emerges from thousands of conversations with community members across Cambodia. When communities identify a need, we don't arrive with predetermined solutions. Instead, we work alongside them to understand the context, test approaches, understand preferred solutions, and scale what works.???

Aligning with ACFID's Vision?

This approach directly embodies ACFID's Quality Principle 2 on locally-led action and inclusion. As the Code states, "Development and humanitarian initiatives enable sustainable change by supporting local leadership and inclusive approaches." Our Community Driven Dialogue process ensures that communities aren't just consulted – they're in the driver's seat.?

For example, when communities in Siem Reap identified challenges around youth justice, we didn't import external models. Through Community Driven Dialogue, we worked with local authorities, families, and young people themselves to develop This Life Beyond Bars, a program that has achieved remarkable success because it was shaped by those who understand the context best. Today, recidivism rates among youth program participants remain below 2%, compared to 60% when baseline data was collected.?

Addressing Power Dynamics?

Being an Australian organisation working in Cambodia, we're acutely aware of the power dynamics inherent in international development. Our response goes beyond simply hiring local staff ( 95% of our team are Cambodian). It involves a deliberate transfer of decision-making power to local communities and staff through:?

?

• Structuring program development so that community priorities drive the strategic direction (Community Driven Dialogue).?

• Building strong relationships with local authorities and community leaders who ultimately lead implementation and replicate programming principles after This Life has ceased programming.?

• Training and mentoring local staff to take on leadership positions, including succession planning for senior leadership.??

• Regular reflection on our role as facilitators rather than decision-makers through revisiting and reevaluating our organisational? mission.?

• Ensuring This Life’s Board receives regular community feedback through our quarterly reporting.?

?

Impact through Local Leadership?

The results of this approach speak for themselves. In 2022-23, our programs directly benefited more than 6,290 individuals and indirectly supported over 93,900 children and adults. But more important than these numbers is how these results were achieved – through initiatives designed, led, and implemented by the communities themselves.?

?

Our This Life in Schools program illustrates this perfectly. Rather than imposing external education solutions, such as …. This Life staff work with School Support Committees to maximise the use of existing government processes. Today, 85% of these School Support Committees continue to function effectively long after our direct support ends – a testament to the sustainability of truly locally-led initiatives.?

?

Learning and Evolving?

Through our Community Driven Dialogue process, we've learned that true locally-led development takes time. Rushing to solutions undermines community ownership. Power dynamics need to be actively managed, not just acknowledged. Cross-cutting issues like gender equality and disability inclusion must be intentionally woven throughout the process?

Success looks different when communities define it. Real sustainability in development programming? comes from supporting existing community structures rather than creating parallel systems.???

Looking Forward?

As the development sector grapples with calls for decolonisation and localisation, our experience suggests that the path forward lies in genuine partnership with communities. This isn't about international NGOs stepping back entirely – it's about reimagining our role as allies and supporters of locally-led change.?

The future of development must be locally-led, but getting there requires more than good intentions. It demands concrete processes like Community Driven Dialogue, organisational structures that empower local decision-making, and a willingness to continuously examine and adjust power dynamics at all levels throughout the organisation.?

At This Life, we don't claim to have all the answers, but we're committed to walking alongside communities as they chart their own path to positive change. After all, sustainable development isn't about what we do for communities – it's about what communities achieve for themselves.?

---??

Author Bio?

Billy Gorter is the Founder and Executive Director of This Life, a community development organisation working across eight provinces in Cambodia. With over 20 years of experience in community-led development, Billy is passionate about supporting communities to define and act on their own solutions to complex social challenges.?

?