LOCAL GOVERNMENT-SUPPORTED COMMUNITY-DEVELOPMENT - COMMUNITY PRIORITIES AND ISSUES OF AUTONOMY

There is increasing support for local solutions to poverty through com munity-based organizations (CBOs). However, a dilemma remains: How can CBOs secure resources necessary for change and yet maintain autonomy in definition of development priorities and delivery strategies? The a uthors examine a community-development model used in central Florida t hat includes local government support in the formation and activities of a CBO, and they explore the threat to community autonomy associated with differences in development priorities between community-based an d external forces. The results provide encouraging evidence that devel opment models that include cooperation between local government and lo w-income communities do not necessarily produce sublimation of communi ty priorities.