Community Collective Action Research Articles

Governance drivers of rural water sustainability: Collaboration in frontline service delivery

This paper contributes to a long-standing debate in development practice: under what conditions can externally established participatory groups engage in the collective management of services beyond the life of a project? Using 10 years of panel data on water point functionality from Indonesia’s rural water program, the Program for Community-Based Water Supply and Sanitation, the paper explored the determinants of subnational variation in infrastructure sustainability. It then investigated positive and negative deviance cases to answer why some communities successfully engaged in system management despite being located in difficult conditions as per quantitative findings and vice versa. The findings show that differences in the implementation of community participation, driven by local social relations between frontline service providers, that is, village authorities and water user groups, explain sustainable management. This initial condition of state-society relations influences how the project is initiated, kicking off negative or positive reinforcing pathways, leading to community collective action or exit. The paper concludes that the relationships between frontline government representatives and community actors are important and are an underexamined aspect of the ability of external projects to generate successful community-led management of public goods.

Factors Influencing High-Rise Gated Community Collective Action Effectiveness: Conceptualization of the Social-Ecological System (SES) Framework

Managing common property in gated communities is challenging. Although numerous studies have demonstrated that there are several determinants of collective action effectiveness and performances in gated communities, empirical research drawing on a multidimensional social-ecological system (SES) framework in quantitatively exploring relationships between institutional–physical–social factors and gated community collective action remains lacking. Therefore, based on Ostrom’s social-ecological system (SES) framework, this study attempts to identify factors influencing the self-organizing system (collective action) of gated communities in China. Using stratified purposive sampling, ten gated communities with various characteristics in the Taigu district were selected, in which questionnaires were then distributed to 414 households to collect valid data within the communities. Taking the ridge regression as a more robust predictive SES model with a penalty value of k = 0.1 and regularization, R Square of 0.882, this study, among 14 factors, ultimately identified six key institutional–social–ecological factors based on the descending standardized effect size, and they are: (i) types of community; (ii) presence of leaders; (iii) exclusiveness systems of a gated community; (iv) age of gated community; (v) strict enforcement of rules; and (vi) number of households that affect residents’ collective action in terms of community security, hygiene and cleanliness, and facility quality. The research findings provide urban managers and communities novel insights to formulate strategic policies towards sustainable housing and building management.

Rural microgrids – ‘Tragedy of commons’ or ‘community collective action’

ABSTRACT Providing universal electricity access is India’s national priority and part of its global commitment to sustainable development. India has an increasing urban-rural gap in electricity consumption. Microgrids can evolve as a viable solution, especially for last-mile connectivity in rural areas. Through a field survey, this paper evaluates the functioning and governance of solar microgrid projects in eight villages of Komna Block in the eastern province of India. These projects were hailed for their holistic implementation with a significant portion of the budget invested in governance aspects. However, the field survey showed that most of these projects were dysfunctional and had suffered from the ‘tragedy of commons’, where people over-exploit a common resource leading to its collapse. One of the projects, which was functional, reflected ‘community collective action’, where people cooperate to manage the system. An analysis of these projects revealed that, for the sustainability of microgrids, it is imperative to acknowledge energy aspirations of rural households, to develop the capacity of the local youth for microgrid maintenance, to have a governance based on the common-pool resource theory, and to have complementarity with the main grid. The study also examined the inconsistencies in the definition of microgrids and proposed a forward-looking definition for the global south.

A community-based systems dynamics approach for understanding determinants of children's social and emotional well-being.

We report on our application of a community-based systems dynamics modelling approach to identify key factors affecting children's social and emotional well-being (SEW). Using a group model building process with 31 stakeholders in 2 communities in British Columbia, Canada, we constructed two causal loop diagrams composed of 250 variables, 534 connections and 63 feedback loops. Feedback loops, systems complexity, and prominent systems level variables illustrate the interconnectedness of multilevel determinants influencing children's SEW. The community-based models highlighted areas for place-based intervention planning that require collective community action and intersectoral commitment toward common objectives for practice and policy on SEW.

Transforming social norms to improve girl-child health and well-being: a realist evaluation of the Girls\u2019 Holistic Development program in rural Senegal

BackgroundEarly adolescence is a critical period where social norms, attitudes, and behaviors around gender equality form. Social norms influence adolescent choices and behaviors and are reinforced by caregivers and community members, affecting girls’ reproductive health and educational opportunities. Understanding how to shift these often-interconnected norms to delay child marriage, pregnancy and keep girls in school requires understanding of the structure and dynamics of family and community systems. The Senegalese and American non-governmental organization, the Grandmothers Project—Change through Culture, seeks to address these intertwined factors through innovative community change strategies that build on the specific structure and values of West African collectivist cultures.MethodsThe Girls’ Holistic Development approach in rural Vélingara, Senegal posits that by increasing recognition, knowledge and empowerment of elder community women and reinforcing intergenerational communication and decision-making, community members including girls will support and advocate on behalf of girls’ interests and desires. We assessed the Girls Holistic Development approach using Realist Evaluation with a mixed-method, quasi-experimental design with a comparison population. We examined differences in intergenerational communication, decision-making and descriptive and injunctive norms related to early marriage, pregnancy and schooling.ResultsAfter 18 months, intergenerational communication was more likely, grandmothers felt more valued in their communities, adolescent girls felt more supported with improved agency, and norms were shifting to support delayed marriage and pregnancy and keeping girls in school. Grandmothers in intervention villages were statistically significantly more likely to be perceived as influential decision-makers by both VYA girls and caregivers for marriage and schooling decisions compared to girls and caregivers in comparison villages.ConclusionsThis realist evaluation demonstrated shift in social norms, particularly for VYA girls, in intervention villages favoring delaying girls’ marriage, preventing early pregnancy and keeping girls in school along with increased support for and action by grandmothers to support girls and their well-being related to these same outcomes. These shifts represent greater community social cohesion on girl-child issues. This research helps explain the linkage between social norms and girls’ reproductive health and education outcomes and demonstrates that normative shifts can lead to behavior change via collective community action mechanisms.

Composed Indicator of Community Forest Governance in San Miguel Topilejo, Mexico City

Community Forest Governance is a process of building agreements and decision-making about rules and norms for the use and access to forest resources of common use. The main objective of this study was to know the level of governance about the management and conservation of the forest of the agrarian community of San Miguel Topilejo, in Southern Mexico City. A survey was applied to a representative sample of 58 community members. The level of governance is determined by a composed indicator that includes criteria and specific indicators of social capital, collective action, and local organization. The main finding shows that social capital is low because there is little cohesion between community members. Community collective action shows a lack of cooperation and coordination to enforce norms and sanctions in the use of forest resources. The level of organization is low because the structure of positions and roles is very basic and not specialized. The conclusion is that the level of governance is low because this community has no clear common objectives, there is a lack of well-established norms and sanctions, and there is a lack of involvement of owners in the decision-making process and management of forest resources of common use.

Knowledge Action Repertoires and the Outcomes of Collective Action: Local Community Action for Environmental Protection

The article uses the knowledge practice repertoire approach, combined with an integrated opportunity approach, to investigate the role that local community knowledge based on holistic worldviews plays in the formation of collective actors, action and outcomes. This is argued to be crucial given that environmental governance is shaped instead by knowledge based on a worldview of a nature/culture divide, and that local community knowledge is key to responding to the planetary crisis and subject to this potential ontological clash. Attention to local community collective action using this lens can shed light on whether and how spaces can be made for different approaches, giving a fresh view to how outcomes matter. The article presents two case studies of local community collective action through community protocols from South Africa and Argentina. Community protocols are documents, recognised in international environmental law, where local communities set out their worldviews, their traditional knowledge and practices in support of environmental protection, and link these to rights and protections in national and international law as a basis for collective action. They are thus ideal sites for investigating knowledge practices and ontological politics. Focusing on different types of knowledge practices and opportunity contexts helped to untangle the complex question of how outcomes mattered to the local communities in these cases.

Child Poverty and Health in the United States: Introduction and Executive Summary.

Child Poverty and Health in the United States: Introduction and Executive Summary.

Belonging in STEM: an interactive, iterative approach to create and maintain a diverse learning community

Diversity is a key driver of scientific innovation, yet fields in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have struggled to retain diverse communities. Research suggests that fostering a sense of belonging is critical for retaining diversity. We propose an iterative process that aims to improve sense of belonging among laboratory (lab) members through self-reflection and community collective action.

Liberalism and Identity Politics: Puerto Rican Community Organizations and Collective Action in New York City

Liberalism and Identity Politics: Puerto Rican Community Organizations and Collective Action in New York City

Large-scale citizen science provides high-resolution nitrogen dioxide values and health impact while enhancing community knowledge and collective action

We present outcomes from a large-scale air quality citizen science campaign (xAire, 725 measurements) to demonstrate its positive contribution in the interplay between advances in exposure assessment and developments in policy or collective action. A broad partnership with 1,650 people from communities around 18 primary schools across Barcelona provided the capacity to obtain unprecedented high-resolution NO2 levels and an updated asthma Health Impact Assessment. It is shown that NO2 levels vary considerably with at some cases very high levels. More than a 1,000 new cases of childhood asthma could be prevented each year by lowering NO2 levels. Representativity of site selection and the minimal number of samplers for land use regression modelling are considered. Enhancement of community knowledge and attitudes towards collective response were observed and identified as key drivers for successful large-scale monitoring campaigns. The results encourage strengthening collaboration with local communities when exploring environmental health issues.

Analisis Pandemi Covid-19 Dalam Presfektif Collective Action (Studi Kasus: Kecamatan Cariu Kabupaten Bogor)

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, many people are affected by health, economic and social aspects. With the existence of a government policy regarding large-scale social restrictions to break the chain of the virus but it creates new problems in the community. Starting from the existing problems, social actions or social activities can help overcome covid-19. Collective actions taken by the community in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic are small things that can help overcome problems in the community. Community collective action in the form of preventive, curative and promotive actions. Collective preventive action is to distribute masks, hand sanitizers, and spray disinfectants. Collective action in a curative manner, namely by providing social assistance, working on the waqf land and fish ponds, then the visiting neighbor program. Collective action in a promotive manner, namely by disseminating information related to Covid-19 to the public and also by making a handbag made by a cariu student forum from betel leaf. Collective action fosters empathic norms and attitudes in society. Collective action works best when free riding is avoided. The large number of illegal riders made the collective action not maximal. Collective action will also run well if data data and information are well available. Collective action can work well if social capital in the form of a sense of belonging, human values, and empathy grows in individuals.

Large-scale citizen science protocol provides high-resolution nitrogen dioxide values while enhancing community knowledge and collective action

We present an already tested protocol from a large-scale air quality citizen science campaign (xAire, 725 measurements, see Ref. [1]). A broad partnership with 1,650 people from communities including 18 primary schools in Barcelona (Spain) provided the capacity to obtain unprecedented high-resolution NO2 levels. Communities followed the protocol to select measurement points and obtain NO2 levels from outdoor locations n=671, playgrounds n=31, and inside school buildings (primarily classrooms) n=23. Data was calibrated and annualized with concentration levels from the city´s automatic air quality monitoring reference stations [2].

Liberalism and Identity Politics: Puerto Rican Community Organizations and Collective Action in New York City

Liberalism and Identity Politics: Puerto Rican Community Organizations and Collective Action in New York City

Can Development Programs Shape Cooperation? : Results from a Framed Field Experiment in Indonesia.

Empirical studies among small-scale societies show that participation in national development programs impact traditional norms of community cooperation. We explore the extent to which varying levels of village and individual involvement in development policies relate to voluntary cooperation within community settings. We used a field experiment conducted in seven villages (208 participants) from an indigenous society in Indonesia known for their strong traditional cooperative norms, the Punan Tubu. We framed the experiment in terms of an ongoing government house-building program. The results indicate that there were synergistic and antagonistic interactions between existing cooperative norms and government development policies. Participants' cooperation in the experimental setting was low, probably because the Punan Tubu are used to cooperating and sharing both under demand and in a context in which uncooperative behavior is largely unpunished. Variation in experimental behavior was related to both village- and individual-level variables, with participants living in resettlement villages and participants living in a house constructed under the government program displaying more cooperative behavior. The cooperation evident in resettled villages may indicate that people in these villages are more comfortable interacting in anonymous settings and less committed to the demand-sharing norms still prevalent in the upstream villages. The more cooperative behavior among villagers who have previously received a house might indicate that they recognize that they are now better off than others and feel more obliged to cooperate. Policies aiming to capitalize on existing cooperative behavior to stimulate community collective action should consider the specific conditions under which cooperation occurs in real settings since traditional norms that regulate cooperative behavior might not translate well to cooperation in government-led programs.

The Collective Action of Urban Communities in Disaster Risk Reduction: A Case Study in Yogyakarta City

The people of Yogyakarta City who live in the watershed always suffer in the rainy season. The threat of flood disaster, landslides and dengue fever has become a routine that has never been resolved. This article aims to discuss collective actions of urban communities in disaster risk reduction. This study used a case study approach. The author chose the research location in Kampung Gambiran, Yogyakarta City, because it could explain the stages of collective action of urban communities in reducing disaster risk faced each year. The findings showed that the collective actions in Kampung Gambiran could reduce disaster risk. The stages of collective action in Kampung Gambiran start from 1) the first stage: the emergence of disquiet and ideas, 2) the second stage: the formation of an environmental community, and 3) the third stage: achievements. The collective action of the community initiated the city government to create a Program Kampung Hijau, one of which aims to mitigate flood disasters.

Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on Community Resilience: Empirical Evidence in the Nickel Mining Industry in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

Mining is an important industry in Indonesia. A nickel mining company has operated for almost 45 years. It has managed corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes in the neighbouring local community. In addition to the environmental conservation and mitigation, as well as socioeconomic enhancement, the CSR is expected to nurture resilience in the local communities. This study’s goal is to examine the effect of CSR on community resilience (COM-R) in the surrounding community. To analyse the effect of CSR practise on COM-R, Partial Least Squares -Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) is used. Results show that CSR has a positive effect on and a significant relationship with COM-R. Results also indicate that CSR’s contribution to COM-R enhances community collective efficacy, community action, and adaptation. Thus, the verified CSR and COM-R model benefits other researchers, companies, and governments to be further explored.

How does leadership factors spur the success of sister city cooperation?

Some scholar indicated the leadership factors contribute to the success of sister city cooperation. However, research on the extent of its contribution is still limited. To fill this gap, an investigation of leadership factors was carried out through in-depth interviews with key actors who played a role and were directly involved during the process of sister city cooperation. This study examines the mechanism of local leaders which succeeded in building and implementing sister city cooperation to solve city problems. We found that local leaders designed sister city project or activities according to local needs and characteristics by involving academics and local communities, maintained and developed cooperation consistently and continuously by forming sister city management team, and encouraged community collective action to implement sister city cooperation through direct communication and incentives. The results of this study enrich the knowledge of leadership roles in city management and provide lesson learned for leaders of cities in the world.

Community Elites and Collective Action: The State and the Starved during the Chinese Famine (1959–61)

Tens of millions of peasants died during the Great Famine in China from 1959 to 1961. Numerous Chinese peasants remained silent during the famine while others staged resistance. This article explores how peasant resistance was possible in a communist regime and how the government contained such resistance. It finds that resistance was considerably affected by the availability of protest leaders. Chinese peasants were organized into rural collectives controlled by the party-state through local cadres. Sympathetic rural cadres played crucial roles in facilitating peasant resistance. However, government control generally deprived rural communities of protest leaders. When collective resistance did occur, the government contained its influence through accommodation and repression. Effective control rendered the government insensitive to the famine suffered by the vast rural population of the country.

Event attribution and partisanship shape local discussion of climate change after extreme weather

Extreme weather events may provide opportunities to raise public awareness and spur action to address climate change. Using concepts from the study of social movements, we conducted a systematic comparative-case analysis of 15 communities that experienced extreme weather events in the United States between 2012 and 2015 to identify under what conditions, and through what mechanisms, the experience of an extreme weather event generates community discussion and collective action linked to climate change. Although collective action related to climate change was rare post-event, we observed community discussion about the event’s link to climate change in slightly more than half of the cases, especially in Democratic and/or highly educated communities that experienced events for which attribution to climate change is more certain. Our results suggest that, although a single event may have limited impact on discussion or collective action about climate change, partisanship and an event’s attribution to climate change matter. Extreme weather events may raise public awareness of climate change. This comparative-case analysis shows that single events had limited impact on climate change discussion, but this was more common in Democratic communities and for weather events with a more certain attribution to climate change.