A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR COMMUNITY-BASED DEVELOPMENT

This study proposed a theory of community-based development based upon a case study of the Evangeline region of Prince Edward Island (Canada ). Evangeline is a small Acadian community with an economy that is bas ed upon an interrelated system of cooperatives. Since general theories do not provide compelling explanations of how the phenomenon of commu nity-based development takes place in a particular situation, this stu dy adopted an inductive approach. Using a tentative theoretical framew ork derived from the history of the region and from the community-base d development research literature, the study investigated the actual f ormation process of four Evangeline cooperatives through interviews wi th the initiators, a review of relevant documents and participant obse rvation by the first author. The framework developed in this study pro poses that effective community-based development must include three es sential elements: community consciousness; strategies of empowerment; and the establishment of supportive structures. Each of these elements has subcomponents that are essential for community-based development. For community consciousness, these are community attachments and a mo vement perspective; for empowering activities, these are involvement s trategies and strategies of self-reliance; and for supportive structur es, the subcomponents are community development organizations to mobil ize community resources, and external government and non-government or ganizations responsive to community initiatives.