Community Oriented

Participatory Action
Research (COPAR)
DEFINITIONS
A social development approach
that aims to transform the
apathetic, individualistic and
voiceless poor into dynamic,
participatory and politically
responsive community.
A collective, participatory,
transformative, liberative, sustained
and systematic process of building
peoples organizations by mobilizing
and enhancing the capabilities and
resources of the people.
A process by which a community
identifies its needs and objectives,
develops confidence to take action in
respect to them and in doing so,
extends and develops cooperative and
collaborative attitudes and practices in
the community
 IMPORTANCE
Helps the community workers to generate
community participation in development activities
Prepares people/clients to eventually take over the
management of a development programs in the
future
Maximizes community participation and
involvement; community resources are mobilized
for community services
gets people actively involved in
selection and support of community
health workers
Functions as an alternative for medical
cases that dont require further
medical involvement
Mobilizes community resources
improves both projects effectiveness
during implementation
 MAIN PRINCIPLES
People have the capacity to change
and are able to bring about change
COPARshould be based on the interest
of the poorest sectors of society
COPARshould lead to a self-reliant
community and society.
Most oppressed, exploited
and deprived sectors
People are open to change, have the
capacity to change and are able to bring
about change
COPARshould be based on the interest of
the poorest sectors of society
COPARshould lead to a self-reliant
community and society.
EMPHASIS

Community working to
solve its own problem
Direction is established
internally and externally
oDevelopment and implementation
of a specific project less important
than the development of the
capacity of the community to
establish the project
oConsciousness raising involves
perceiving health and medical care
within the total structure of society
LEVELS OF COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMNET

Level I the people are just

physically involved in the
implementation of programs
designed by the organizing
agency.
LEVELS OF COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMNET

Level II When the people are

involve in making yes-no
decisions to the plans or programs
presented by the organizing
agency.
LEVELS OF COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMNET

Level III When

working committees are
created to make decisions
for the community.
LEVELS OF COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMNET

Level IV Requires the active

involvement of the majority of
community members in making
decisions throughout the entire
problem solving process
FIVE CRITICAL
DIGNOSES
1. COMMUNITY
DIAGNOSIS

It is both aprofileand aprocess.

Community diagnosis can lead to a good
start as basis for program planning,
implementation and evaluation. It can
help prepare the community to prioritize
the multiple needs and tasks at hand.
When a program is being set up, a
community diagnosis can assist in
planning a series of health trainings
wherein knowledge and skills are built up
at the time that health education activities
and medical services are undertaken.
2. Leaders Identification /
Core Group Formation

Different leaders are

needed in different tasks.
3. Community Mobilization
/ Organization

Organizing people to act

on the identified problems
on a sustained level.
4. Resource mobilization /
Project Management
The process of systematic
identification, selection, acquisition, and
utilization of resources towards
attainment of project objectives. These
resources include the 5M's:Money,
Manpower, Man-hour, Materials,
andMachine.
Clarification and Capability
Building
Unjust structures are the
creation of people and are
products of the greed and
egotism that are deeply
embedded in human nature,
the human spirit.
Consciousness raising
and skills enhancement
are considered crucial for
the projects/programs'
sustainability.
COPAR PROCESS
A progressive cycle of action-reflection
action
Consciousness through experimental
learning central to the COPAR process
COPAR is participatory and mass-based
COPAR is group-centered and not
leader-centered.
CRITICAL STEPS IN
IMPLEMENTATION

Integration - Living with the people to experience

and understand their culture economy, leaders,
history and lifestyle.
Social Investigation - Collecting, collating and
analyzing data in a systematic process in order to
draw a clear picture of the community.
Tentative program planning - Choosing an issue
to work on in order to begin organizing the people.
Groundwork - Continuously going around
and motivating the people on a one-on-one
basis to do something on the issues that has
been chosen.
Meeting - An opportunity for the people to
collectively gain the power of confidence by
discussing their problems and issues.
Role Play - Training the people through
stimulated activities to anticipate what will
happen and prepare themselves for such
eventually.
Mobilization or action - Actual experiences of
people in confronting the powerful and the actual
exercise of people power.
Evaluation - The people reviewing the previous
steps to determine whether they were successful
or not in their objectives.
Reflection - Discussion of the factors that
facilitated or hindered the activity, done at the end
of every activity.
Organization - The result of many successive and
similar activities of the people.
PHASES OF
COPAR
PRE-ENTRY PHASE
Is the initial phase of the organizing
process where the community or
organizer looks for communities to serve
or help.
It is considered the simplest phase in
terms of actual outputs, activities and
strategies and time spent for it.
Key Activities:
Preparation of the Institution
Site Selection
Criteria for Initial Site Selection
Identifying Potential Municipalities
Identifying Potential Community
Choosing Final Community
Identifying Host Family
ENTRY PHASE
Sometimes called the social preparation
phase
Is an integration process and acquisition of
relevant information necessary for the
conceptualization of the community
diagnosis which is crucial in determining the
strategies for organizing the chosen
community.
Guidelines for Entry:
1.Recognize 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.
Key Activities:
Integration with the
community
Community Study
Core Group Formation
ORGANIZATION-BUILDING
PHASE
Entails the formation of more
formal structures and the inclusion
of more formal procedures of
planning, implementation, and
evaluating community-wide
activities
The phase where the organized
leaders or groups are being given
training (formal, informal, OJT) to
develop their style in managing their
own concerns/programs
Most crucial stage of all
Utilizes the people and relies on then
to create and strengthen community
health organization.
KEY ACTIVITIES
Community Health Organization (CHO)
o preparation of legal requirements
o guidelines in the organization of the CHO by the core
group
o election of officers
Research Team Committee
Planning Committee
Health Committee Organization
Others
Formation of by-laws by the CHO
SUSTENANCE AND
STRENGTHENING PHASE
Occurs when the community
organization has already been
established and the community
members are already actively
participating in community-wide
undertakings.
The point the different committees
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.
Strategies used may include:
Education and training
Networking and linkaging
Conduct of mobilization on health and
development concerns
Implementing of livelihood projects
Developing secondary leaders
Key Activities
Meeting with the organizational leaders.
Evaluation of the programs.
Re-implementing of the programs (For unmet
goals).
Education and training of CHO for monitoring
and implementing of community health
program.
Identification and developing of secondary
leaders.
 Linkaging and networking.
Conduct of mobilization on health and
development concerns.
Implementation of livelihood projects.
Formulation and ratification of constitution and
by-laws.
Setting up and institutionalization of financing
scheme for community health program/activities.
PHASE OUT
When healthcare workers leave the community
to stand-alone (SELF RELIANCE)
Should be stated during the entry phase so that
people will be ready during this phase
The organizations built should be ready to
sustain the test of the community itself because
the real evaluation will be done by the residents
of the community itself.