Rhodes University Community Engagement Office

5 Prince Alfred Street, Grahamstown, 6139

Tel: 046 603 7229 Fax: 046 622 8869

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY/PROJECT PROPOSALFORM 2012

Community engagement provides the opportunities to put our

commitments into practice and to exemplify our values through deeds and
action.
Dr Saleem Badat

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY/PROJECT PROPOSAL FORM

For Students Organisation Community Engagement Initiatives
1. Introduction
Community Engagement is a core function of Rhodes University and all other higher
education institutions in South Africa. The role of the Community Engagement
Directorate at RU is to harness the abundant and well-intentioned enthusiasm and
energy of staff and students in such a way that we do make a difference to the lives of
others by giving due consideration to our intended activity/project and its
consequences. Therefore, we need to make sure that our initiative or intent to serve
others is well planned with clear objectives and coordinated so that we avoid
duplication of activities and address real issues to make a difference to ourselves and
others. We need to always remember that in helping others who are vulnerable and in
need and in sharing knowledge and skills we also learn about ourselves as human
beings, expand on our existing knowledge and construct new knowledge. The benefits
of community engagement, if conducted according to community development
principles such as participation, sustainability and learning, are a two-way process:
the students and staff of RU and community members gain from the initiative.
2. Purpose
This proposal format serves the following purposes:
i) To assist us (RU students/staff) to think about the community engagement
activity/project that is intended in a focused, planned and systematic manner
ii) To assist us to work within the framework of excellence in CE as contained in
the Community Engagement Student Handbook
iii) To assist the Community Engagement Directorate to coordinate all community
engagement activities/programmes undertaken at Rhodes University
iv) To enable the Community Engagement Directorate to maintain a database of or
record community engagement activities implemented by RU staff and
students
v) To assist the Community Engagement Directorate to monitor and evaluate
community engagement activities at RU and for RU to assess its contribution
to the development of local communities through community engagement
interventions
This proposal form is intended to provide preparatory guidance by asking such
questions as: What do we hope to achieve from this initiative? Who is our intended
community partner? How are we going to include our community partners in the
planning of the activity? How is the activity going to be developmental and
sustainable? What resources will we need and how are we going to obtain them? What
is our timeframe for the activity?
The timeframe needs to be very clear in our plans and how are we going to measure
the impact. If the activity/project will need mentoring after implementation, how is
this going to happen? As students you will also need to reflect on your experiential
learning from interacting with a local community and being involved in community
development. Your activity/project needs to be well documented so that other
students may learn from your community engagement experience.

Date Submitted to RUCE office:

1. Profile of Students Organisation

Organisation/Sports Club/Residence/
Hall/Society Name:
Project Chair:
Contact Details

Cell:

Email:

2. Project Details
Briefly describe proposed community engagement activity/event: (specify
the frequency of the event: once a term/monthly/weekly)
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Target Group/Community and their physical location, and the location of the
event: (This might be the same)

How was the target group identified and why [Reason(s) for choosing Target
Group/Community]
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Reason(s) for activity/project/event
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Objectives of the activity/project/event: [Objectives need to be simple,

measurable with a clear timeframe]
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Contact details of Community Partner

Name of Organisation:
Name of Chair/Director:
Contact details of
Cell:
Chair/Director:

Landline:

3. Resources required for activity/project/event: (examples of

resources are transport, equipment, people and finance)
Resources required

How will resource be

obtained
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Who will be responsible

for this resource

4.

Budget

Estimated budget
Item

5.

Quantity Cost

Funding of the activity/project/event:

How will the activity/project/event be funded?

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Who is responsible for the finances and financial reports?
Name:
Contact details
Cell:
Email:
Financial Accountability Monitoring (detail how this will take place)
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6. Outline the process to be followed to achieve objectives (from

initiation):
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Specify the relevant steps required to put the project into action

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7. Delegation of Tasks (in line with the process to be followed)
Name

Task/Duty

Timeframe

8.

Monitoring

How will the activity/project be monitored?

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9.

Evaluation

How are you going to measure the impact of the activity/project and assess
that the objectives have been achieved? If mentoring is needed, how do you
intend to provide for this?
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10. Community participation in the sustainability of the

activity/project
How are you going to include the target group/ community in the
activity/project (from the initial stage until after the student group leaves)?
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How will the community engagement activity be sustainable?
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NB:
1. Documentation of the CE activity/project is important
2. Discuss any training needs in relation to the activity/project with the RUCE Coordinators
3. Even if the activity is a one day event or donation, we need to evaluate it so
that we may learn from the mistakes and others may also learn from what was
well done. If it is a donation, we need to monitor it for few weeks to make sure
the donation is implemented according to the need.
4. RUCE is available to assist you by way of guidance through the
activity/project/event.

Contact details for RUCE

Director
Di Hornby
D.Hornby@ru.ac.za
046 603 7229
Co-ordinators
Community partner and student organisations
Vuyani Zondani
V.Zondani@ru.ac.za
046 603 7227
Systems and scholarship
Julie Lothian
J.Lothian@ru.ac.za
046 603 7229
Student Volunteer Program
Nosipho Mngomezulu
N.Mngomezulu@ru.ac.za
046-603-7230

SUMMARY OF THE GUIDELINES TO EXCELLENCE IN COMMUNITY

ENGAGEMENT AT RHODES UNIVERSITY

It is important for students to note that the people we work with are from
different socio-economic backgrounds and they are individuals with thoughts,
ideas, feelings, and experiences and that they are not just subjects or
objects of a community engagement project. Different world views needs to
be taken into consideration. Therefore it is important to try to put our own
beliefs to one side temporarily and put ourselves in the place of the other, i.e.
try to imagine what it must be like to view the world from the perspective of the
people we work with.
When participating in community development one needs to be aware of the
power dynamics that can take place. Power is established by who controls what
form and direction the community engagement should take, why it is
implemented, how it is implemented, and the outcome of the
engagement. Every person involved in a community engagement project is the
locus of different types of power.

When initiating a community engagement project, we should

remember the principle of working with community partners and not
for them.

The principles of participation, ownership, learning and sustainability

which are the foundations of the community development process
should be incorporated in the initiation stage of a CE activity/project.
Community Engagement should not be seen as a one-way process.
Rather it is a reciprocal two way learning process. For example, staff
and students bring to the process their academic knowledge (to be
tested in reality) and resources, while the community members bring
access to and understanding of people, traditions, and culture of the
community. The Learning Action Reflection (LAR) framework for
community engagement to be implemented in 2010 is intended to
benefit students learning process and self development.

We need to look for common goals and interests. This means listening
carefully and actively to the ideas and voice of others.
There should be no coercion from project initiators on community members or
staff and students to participate. In general, if someone does not wish to
participate in a project this must be respected.
Co-ordination of CE activities/projects is essential if we want to make a real
difference to the communities we engage with as an institution. Therefore, the
co-ordination of all CE activities/projects by the Community Engagement Unit is
necessary to avoid duplication of projects, address gaps, make a positive impact
and be able to assess the impact of CE activities by Rhodes University staff and
students.
Annual reporting on all community engagement activities will be required by
means of an internal and external monitoring and evaluation system to be
implemented during 2012.