About us

The Federation for Community Development Learning (FCDL) welcomes the membership of everyone who is interested in or who practises Community Development, whether as a community activist or voluntary worker or paid worker. This includes generic Community Development Practitioners or Practitioners from other occupations (health, housing, environment and many others) who are interested in using a Community Development approach in order to engage with and work effectively with communities.

We support a network of individuals, groups and organisations around Community Development learning and practice and wish to share information and good training practice, to learn from each other and to provide good opportunities for Community Development learning.

All our work is based on Community Development theories and practice and is underpinned by the Community Development National Occupational Standards, aiming to bring together the skills, knowledge and values, for anyone who does Community Development. We understand Community Development as a learning process, which is why we aim to support our members in any aspect this involves.

What are the Community Development National Occupational Standards? Find out here

Community Development learning takes place when individuals and groups/organisations come together to share experience, learn from each other, and develop their skills, knowledge and self-confidence. It is a developmental process that is both a collective and individual experience, based on a commitment to equal partnership between all those involved to enable a sharing of skills, awareness, knowledge, and experience in order to bring about sustainable desired outcomes.

Community Development learning is as relevant to policy makers and local authority officials, for example, as it is to Community Development Practitioners and community groups. Community Development learning occurs in formal and informal settings, including gaining recognised qualifications as a community development worker alongside exchange visits between groups or an organised training course on Community Development for local authority councillors or other policy makers.

In practice this means:

• The content of learning is rooted in people's experience and Community Development values and principles.
• The learning process is inclusive and participatory.
• The outcomes facilitate the transfer of Community Development learning into action for positive change within communities.