David Chavis gave a talk entitled 'The Science of Community' at the Virtual Community Summit 2014 in London.

1. David M. Chavis
Virtual Community Summit 2014
20 February 2014

2. Our goal is to create a beloved
community and this will require a
qualitative change in our souls
as well as a
quantitative change in our lives.
~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

3. Peter Kropotkin
Charles Darwin
Mutual Aid
Survival of the Gene
Social Darwinism
Survival of the Fittest

4. Just because you call it a
“community” doesn’t make it
one.

5. We Live in Multiple Real World
and Virtual Communities:
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Family
Neighborhood
Nation
Faith
Cultural/Ethnic
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Interest
Profession or vocation
Workplace or school
Political and social
causes

7. Community Development is Very Important
Factors that have the most effect on
human psychological, social, and
physical well-being include:
 A sense of Community;
 Individual and collective Control and efficacy; and
 Cash-adequate economic and other resources.

8. Research shows that developing a sense of community:
 Develops a sense of individual and collective
efficacy and Control, and
 Increases access to resources including Cash.

9. Elements of a Sense of Community
(McMillan & Chavis, 1983)
 Meeting needs based on common values;
 Membership;
 Influence; and
 A shared emotional connection.

10. Tactics for Strengthening a Sense of
Community Framework
Meeting Needs
 Identify common priorities and needs;
 Support collective action on priorities and needs
(e.g. ,small grants, community organizing);
 Improve systems of care and other services; and
 Improve community environment.

11. Membership
 Increase community identification and
identifying other members;
 Increase sense of safety and trust;
 Clear, but inclusive, boundaries; and
 Recognize and reward member success.

12. Influence
 Provide and support opportunities for collective
action on priority issues and needs;
 Communicate power or influence of similar
people or communities;
 Develop leaders who are responsive and
accountable to members; and
 Build collective leadership capacity.

13. Shared Emotional Connection
 Promote sense of common history and experiences;
 Conduct social events to promote interaction;
 Support small wins, nothing builds community like
success;
 Communicate successes; and
 Build pride.

14. The Basic Questions for Evaluating
Community Development
 Are you meeting the priority needs of members?
 Do members have a sense of membership?
 Do your members influence each other, the
community itself and larger systems?
 Is there a shared emotional connection?
 What are you doing to promote each of these
elements?

15. Connections
 Bonding (within community, such as neighborhood)
 Bridging (across communities)
 Linking (with larger systems)

16. Community Science

17. Collective Action
 Leads to collective power, resources, and hope
through organized citizen lead efforts.
 Community leaders are people who represent their
constituency and are accountable to their
constituency.
 Influencing larger systems.

18. Five C’s Strategy For
Community Development
 Community
 Connections
 Control
 Cash
 Collective Action

19. The greatest challenge and opportunity for
community development is to create caring within
and among communities.
When there is caring within and among
communities , there is more equity and justice.

20. Community Science

21. The greatest challenge we face on
this planet is to develop the sense of
community and therefore caring for
all other communities.

22. I am, and always will be, the
optimist. The hoper of far-flung
hopes, and the dreamer of
improbable dreams.
~Eleventh Doctor