Four Worlds Community Story Framework: A Tool for Participatory Community Research
Part One: An Introduction to the Four Worlds Community Story Framework
The Four Worlds Community Story Framework is a tool for helping communities explore what is happening and what is needed to make life better for everyone. The Community Story Framework has proven to be a powerful tool for getting community members involved in thinking about and taking action on their own to improve the quality of life for all.
The Community Story tool recognizes that a community consists of many different groups of people with different interests, needs, and experiences. One way to think about these different groups is to think about the life cycle:
1. Children (0 to 12 years of age)
2. Youth (12 to 25 years of age)
3. Women (20 to 55 years of age)
4. Men (20 to 55 years of age)
5. Elders/Seniors (55 and older)
The Community Story tool also recognizes that individuals do not live in isolation. They live in families and communities. Families and communities have different dimensions. Some of the dimensions of community life that can be analyzed to build a human and community development plan are:
6. Family life
7. Political life
8. Economic life and the care and use of the environment
9. Social life
10. Cultural life
The Community Story tool brings people together in small groups to look at these different aspects of life by focusing on the following general questions for each of them:
1. What is life like now?
2. What can we learn from the past?
3. What would things be like if they were good (i.e., in a healthy, balanced future)?
4. What has to happen, and what do we have to do to get from where we are now to where we want to go?
The Process of Producing a Written Report
Round one
1. Small groups (eight to twelve people) discuss the four main questions: What's happening now? What can we learn from the past? What would a healthy future look like? What do we have to do to get to that healthy future?
2. Groups then bring back their findings to the whole workshop. Everybody listens to each report, and after each one, participants are invited to make additions and comments. It is important to negotiate the consensus of participants on what is "true" so that what is reported is truly a community perspective. If differences between one or more perspectives cannot be resolved, it is important to report that the community holds differing views and to say what they are.
3. Everything that participants agree upon is then taken, topic by topic, and written up (by a community research team or by outside helpers in close consultation with a community advisory team) into themes and put together in a Round One report. The themes, as written up in Round One, may contain ideas given in the groups but also may contain things shared in the many talking circles and other meetings held during the research process.
What's next?
1. The report returns to the community for further changes, additions, and verification. Copies of the report should be available to every household in the community (in small places), or to key community representatives and relevant organizations in larger places.
2. The following processes are suggestions for community consultation mechanisms:
a.Part One: Focus on the Person - Using community radio, take a different topic daily that focuses on individual wellness (children, youth, women, men, elders). With each topic, that section of the report that day would be explored in important local languages (if necessary, use bilingual facilitators on the air). Then let people call in and give their comments (talk-back radio).
b.Part Two: Focus on the Community - Repeat the on-radio process for the topics related to the collective life of the people (family, political, economic, social, religion, and culture). Be sure to explain what was written in the report in easy-to-understand language.
3. Hold one or more public meetings or focus groups to allow people to talk face-to-face and agree on the changes they want added to the document. People can also be invited to send or phone in their comments to a designated contact person.
4. The edited Round One report goes back to the community.
After That?
1. Round Two is all about moving to take action. It focuses on (using a similar process as Round One) building on the thinking already done, picking targets, planning action, and starting to work on that action. It also involves continuing the healing work and strengthening community support groups.
2. Round Three focuses on learning. In Round Three, the personal growth work continues, and the community action groups go much deeper into analyzing root causes and needed action. A learning/capacity-building plan comes from this round.
3. Round Four continues the personal growth work. The community development work focuses on building a community organization to keep the process going for the long haul, uniting the different action groups into a community-wide movement. It also works on building regional capacity to support and back up the community.
Later On?
After about one year, the Community Story process is used again to evaluate progress and plan the next phase. Information and analysis from the Round One report are used as a "baseline" (a starting point) of comparison to see what has changed after a year of hard work. In this way, the community can evaluate whether or not their efforts are getting them where they want to go.
Part Two: The Community Story Framework Tool
The following section contains guiding questions for each of the ten theme areas covered by the Community Story Process:
ï Children
ï Youth
ï Women
ï Men
ï Elders/Seniors
Family Life
ï Economic Life
ï Social Life
ï Cultural and Spiritual Life
ï Political Life
Children (ages 0 to 12)
The following four general questions are designed to help you think more deeply about the theme:
1. What is it like now?
2. What can we learn from the past?
3. What would it be like if it were good (in a healthy, balanced future)?
4. What has to happen, and what do we have to do to get from where we are now to where we want to go?
More detailed questions are provided below to help guide your discussion about these general questions.
The Present and the Past
1. What is life like now for our children?
2. How healthy are they: mentally? emotionally? physically? spiritually?
3. Are they safe? (specify problems or dangers)
4. Are they learning what they need to? (specify learning needs)
5. What problems/obstacles do children face today?
6. What needs do children have that are not being met?
7. How were things different for children in the past? What was expected of children then?
8. What is expected of children today?
The Future
9. What would be a child in a healthy family and community be like?
10. What needs to change in the way things are now to achieve that future?
11. Who has to be involved in making those changes
ï Personal level (i.e., the child's self)?
ï Interpersonal level (i.e., the significant relationships the child is involved in)?
ï Organizational level (i.e., what the agencies do)?
ï Community level (i.e., how the community inter-relates and organizes itself)?
12. What parts of the changes can communities do independently with little or no help from outside? What actions are needed?
13. What sorts of help do communities need to bring about the needed changes?
Goals
14. What are the main goals to be achieved in the next seven years to improve the future of our children?
Youth (ages 12 to 25)
The following four general questions are designed to help you think more deeply about the theme:
1. What is it like now?
2. What can we learn from the past?
3. What would it be like if it were good (in a healthy, balanced future)?
4. What has happened, and what do we have to do to get from where we are now to where we want to go?
More detailed questions are provided below to help guide your discussion about these general questions.
The Present and the Past
1. What is life like now for our youth?
2. How healthy are they: mentally? emotionally? physically? spiritually?
3. Are they safe? (specify dangers)
4. Are they learning what they need to learn? (specify learning needs)
5. What problems/obstacles do youth face?
6. Is it different for girls than it is for boys? If yes, how?
7. What needs do youth have to be healthy or balanced?
8. How were things different for youth in the past? What was expected of youth then?
9. What is expected of youth today?
The Future
10. What would life be like for youth in a healthy family and community? What would a healthy youth be like?
11. What are the key things that will need to change in the way things are now in order to achieve a healthy future for our youth?
ï Personal level (i.e. the self)?
ï Interpersonal level (i.e., interpersonal relationships)?
ï Organizational level (i.e., what the agencies do)?
ï Community level (i.e., how the community inter-relates and organizes itself)?
12. Who has to be involved in making those changes?
13. What parts of the changes needed can the community do on its own with little or no help from outside? What actions are needed?
14. What parts of making the needed changes do communities need outside assistance? What kinds of help are needed? What sorts of learning are needed?
Goals
15. What are the main goals to be achieved in the next seven years to improve the future for today's youth and for the next generations of youth coming up?
Women (ages 20 to 55)
The following four general questions are designed to help you think more deeply about the theme:
'
1. What is it like now?
2. What can we learn from the past?
3. What would it be like if it were good (in a healthy, balanced future)?
4. What has happened, and what do we have to do to get from where we are now to where we want to go?
More detailed questions are provided below to help guide your discussion about these general questions.
The Present and the Past
1. What is life like for women in our communities: mentally? emotionally? physically? spiritually? socially? family life? economic life? cultural life?
2. What are the main issues/problems/challenges women are facing today in our communities?
3. How was it different for women in the past?
4. What are women's main needs to be healthy and balanced? Are these needs being met? What are the obstacles?
5. Which groups/categories of women are having the hardest time getting their needs met? Why
?
The Future
6. What would life be like for women in a healthy family and community? What would a healthy woman be like?
7. What are the key things that would have to change in the ways things are now in order to achieve a healthy future for our women?
ï Personal level (i.e., the self)?
ï Interpersonal level (i.e., interpersonal relationships)?
ï Organizational level (i.e., what the agencies do)?
ï Community level (i.e., how the community inter-relates and organizes itself)?
8. Who has to be involved in making these changes?
9. What parts of the changes needed can communities do on their own, with little or no help from the outside? What actions are needed?
10. What sorts of help are needed from outside the community to support the process of making the changes that are needed?
11. What sorts of learning are needed for these changes to occur? Who needs to learn?
Goals
12. What are the main goals to be achieved in the next seven years to heal, transform, and improve the lives and conditions of women?
Men (ages 20 to 55)
The following four general questions are designed to help you think more deeply about the theme:
1. What is it like now?
2. What can we learn from the past?
3. What would it be like if it were good (in a healthy, balanced future)?
4. What has happened, and what do we have to do to get from where we are now to where we want to go?
More detailed questions are provided below to help guide your discussion about these general questions.
The Present and the Past
1. What is life like now for men in our communities: mentally? emotionally? physically? spiritually? socially? family life? economic life? cultural life?
2. What are men's main issues/problems/challenges in our communities today?
3. How was it different for men in the past?
4. What are men's main needs to be healthy and balanced? Are these needs being met? What are the obstacles?
5. Which groups/categories of men are having the hardest time getting their needs met? Why?
The Future
6. What would life be like for men in a healthy family and community? What would a healthy man be like?
7. What are the key things that would have to change in the ways things are now in order to achieve a healthy future for our men?
ï Personal level (i.e., the self)?
ï Interpersonal level (i.e., interpersonal relationships)?
ï Organizational level (i.e., what the agencies do)?
ï Community level (i.e., how the community inter-relates and organizes itself)?
8. Who has to be involved in making these changes?
9. What parts of the changes needed can communities do on their own, with little or no help from the outside? What actions are needed?
10. What sorts of help are needed from outside the community to support the process of making the changes that are needed?
11. What sorts of learning are needed for these changes to occur? Who needs to learn?
Goals
12. What are the main goals to be achieved in the next seven years to heal, transform, and improve the lives and conditions of men?
Elders/Seniors (ages 55 and over)
The following four general questions are designed to help you think more deeply about the theme:
1. What is it like now?
2. What can we learn from the past?
3. What would it be like if it were good (in a healthy, balanced future)?
4. What has happened, and what do we have to do to get from where we are now to where we want to go?
More detailed questions are provided below to help guide your discussion about these general questions.
The Present and the Past
1. What is life like now for the elders in our community?
2. What are the main problems/issues our elders are faced with?
3. How healthy are our elders: mentally? emotionally? physically? spiritually?
4. What was different for elders in the past? How have things changed for today's elders?
5. What are our elders' main needs to be healthy, balanced, and fulfilled as human beings?
6. Are these needs being met? What are the obstacles?
The Future
7. What would an older person be like (mentally, emotionally/socially, physically, spiritually)?
8. What would being an elder in a healthy family and community be like?
9. What would have to change in order to achieve a healthy future for our elders?
ï Personal level (i.e., the self)?
ï Interpersonal level (i.e., interpersonal relationships)?
ï Organizational level (i.e., what the agencies do)?
ï Community level (i.e., how the community inter-relates and organizes itself)?
10. Who has to be involved in making these changes?
11. What parts of the changes can communities do independently, with little or no help from the outside? What actions are needed?
12. What sorts of help are needed from outside the community to support the process of making the changes that are needed?
13. What sorts of learning are needed? Who needs to learn?
Goals
14. What are the main goals to be achieved in the next seven years to heal, transform, and generally improve the lives and conditions of this and future generations of elders?
Family Life
Something to think about: Families are the foundation institution of any community. If families are strong and healthy, the community will also prosper. If families are dysfunctional, disunited, and unhealthy, there is no way our communities can be healthy.
Families are made up of many relationships. The relationship between husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters, children and grandparents, cousins, uncles, aunties, nephews, nieces ... all of them make up the web of relationships that make up our immediate and extended families.
In many cultures, the family is the primary political, economic, social, and cultural grouping. It is impossible to effectively become healthy people and build healthy communities without healthy families.
The following four general questions are designed to help you think more deeply about the theme:
1. What is it like now?
2. What can we learn from the past?
3. What would it be like if it were good (in a healthy, balanced future)?
4. What has happened, and what do we have to do to get from where we are now to where we want to go?
More detailed questions are provided below to help guide your discussion about these general questions.
The Present and the Past
1. What is happening to family life in our communities? Is it healthy? Strong?
2. What is happening in the key relationships that make up strong, healthy families such as:
ï husband and wife?
ï parents and children?
ï Grandparents and children?
ï between children (brothers, sisters, cousins, etc.)?
ï extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces)?
3. What has changed from how families used to be in the past? What can we learn from the past?
4. What basic minimum needs must be met for a family to be healthy?
5. Are our families getting their needs met? Explain.
The Future
6. What would a healthy family be like (mental, emotional, spiritual, physical)?
7. What are the key things that will have to change in order to achieve a healthy family life for our communities:
ï Personal level (i.e., the self)?
ï Interpersonal level (i.e., the significant relationships)?
ï Organizational level (i.e., what the agencies do)?
ï Community level (i.e., how the community inter-relates and organizes itself)?
8. What other development issues are connected to building healthy families (political, economic, social, and cultural/spiritual). Be specific.
9. What part of the changes needed can families and communities do on their own, with little or no help from the outside? What actions are needed?
10. What sorts of help are required from outside the community to support the process of making the changes that are needed?
11. What sorts of learning are needed? Who needs to learn?
Goals
12. What are the main goals to be achieved in the next seven years to heal and develop our families so they are healthy and strong?
Economic Life
Something to think about: Based on how most societies have lived and prospered, true economic development is based on harvesting from the earth, manufacturing (i.e., making things), providing services others need, and cooperating and trading with neighbors.
Consider this: true economic development is paid for (powered or driven) by hard work and healthy economic relationships with the earth and other people.
The following four general questions are designed to help you think more deeply about the theme:
1. What is it like now?
2. What can we learn from the past?
3. What would it be like if it were good (in a healthy, balanced future)?
4. What has happened, and what do we have to do to get from where we are now to where we want to go?
More detailed questions are provided below to help guide your discussion about these general questions.
The Present and the Past
1. How are people getting what they need to live (to meet their basic needs)?
2. How is what is happening today different from what it was in the past? What if anything was lost that we need today?
3. How are people's personal, social, spiritual, and other development affected by how they obtain money and the material things they need to live?
4. How well off are people in our communities today? Do people have what they need to live a healthy, balanced life? Can people afford the basic necessities?
5. What are our communities' main economic barriers, obstacles, and problems?
6. Who are the worst off economically in our communities? Why?
7. How does how people earn a living affect the natural environment (air, water, earth, plants, animals)? How is the environment influencing the people's economy? What is happening with the people's relationship with the natural environment?
The Future
8. What would a truly healthy community be like economically?
9. What are the key things that will have to change in order to achieve a healthy economic future for our communities:
ï Personal level (i.e., the self)?
ï Interpersonal level (i.e., significant relationships)?
ï Organizational level (i.e., what the government, agencies, and businesses do)?
ï Community level (i.e., how the community inter-relates and organizes itself)?
10. What other personal and community development issues must be addressed to address the challenge of economic development effectively?
11. What do we have as people and as communities to build on for a better economic future?
12. Who has to be involved in making the necessary changes?
13. What part of the changes needed can communities do on
their own, with little or no help from the outside? What actions are needed?
14. What sorts of help are required from outside the community to support the process of making the changes that are needed?
15. What sorts of learning are needed? Who needs to learn?
Goals
16. What are the main goals to be achieved in the next seven years to develop ourselves economically towards a sustainable future?
Cultural and Spiritual Life
Something to think about: This area refers to the general pattern of life by which people live. It includes their sense of identity, customs, beliefs, values, morals, ideals, ceremonies, and spiritual practices, as well as their traditional language, ways of knowing, technologies, arts, crafts, and sciences.
We refer to "culture" and "spirituality" within development mostly to talk about the "software" of development, i.e., the guiding principles and the vision which call us to a possible and desirable future and which shape how we go about the processes of change.
For many peoples, the conflict between the dominant culture (European capitalism, materialism, and commercialism) and indigenous or "traditional" cultural ways is an important part of the struggle for health and balance.
When discussing "spirituality," we're not discussing any particular religion. Rather, we are talking about our human capacity to know and love the Creator and to choose life-promoting and life-enhancing ways.
We talk about spirituality together with culture because spirit animates the heart of all living cultures and because, without spirit, cultures, like individuals, become dead things, unable to grow and change.
The following four general questions are designed to help you think more deeply about the theme:
1. What is it like now?
2. What can we learn from the past?
3. What would it be like if it were good (in a healthy, balanced future)?
4. What has happened, and what do we have to do to get from where we are now to where we want to go?
More detailed questions are provided below to help guide your discussion about these general questions.
The Present and the Past
1. Do we have a healthy sense of who we are as human beings, and do our communities have a sense of their identity?
2. What is the current condition of our traditional culture (such as language; spiritual knowledge and practices; healing arts and knowledge; survival technologies and knowledge; music, arts, and stories)?
3. Do our young people respect and learn about the old ways from the elders?
4. What is the relationship between our traditional ways and the churches? What impact are the churches having on life today? What is good and what needs to change about how churches work in our communities?
5. To what extent are we drawing on the cultural knowledge, wisdom, and resources from the past to help us solve today's critical problems? Is it useful or important to do so? Explain.
6. Do our people have a shared/common vision of what kind of communities we want to build and who we want to be in a healthy future?
Do we have a clear idea of what moral and philosophical principles we must live by to develop our potential as human beings?
In short, do we know where to go (as human beings and as communities) and how to get there?
The Future
7. What would a community be like if it were healthy and strong in culture and spirituality?
8. What will have to change to achieve this ideal?
ï Personal level (i.e., personal growth, healing, learning)?
ï Interpersonal level (i.e., the nature and quality of our relationships)?
ï Organizational level (i.e., what the agencies, community organizations, and churches do)?
ï Community level (i.e., how the community inter-relates, organizes and relates to the outside world)?
9. What parts of the needed changes can/must communities do independently with little or no help from outside? What actions are needed?
10. What sorts of learning are needed? Who needs to learn?
Goals
11. What are the main goals in the next seven years to create culturally and spiritually healthy communities?
Political Life
The following four general questions are designed to help you think more deeply about the theme:
1. What is it like now?
2. What can we learn from the past?
3. What would it be like if it were good (in a healthy, balanced future)?
4. What has happened, and what must we do to get from where we are now to where we want to go?
More detailed questions are provided below to help guide your discussion about these general questions.
The Present and the Past
1. What is the current political reality we live with: inside our communities? between ourselves and outsiders? in the world?
2. How is the current political reality affecting our people's human and community development?
3. What is the quality of ordinary people's participation in shaping the worlds we must live in?
ï Who has the power inside our communities?
ï Who decides about money and important things?
ï Does everyone have a meaningful voice in shaping decisions that affect them? Who does not?
ï Are some people prevented from influencing what is agreed upon and decided?
ï To what extent do the people being "helped" or "served" by programs get asked to help design, implement, and evaluate those programs?
ï To what extent do people control their communities' development processes?
4. What was our political life like in the past? What can we learn from that past?
5. Are there tensions between the culture of the community and the culture of government systems and programs? Explain.
The Future
6. What would a truly healthy community be like politically? (list its features)
7. What will change to bring about this politically healthy future?
ï Personal level (i.e., personal growth)?
ï Interpersonal level (i.e., the quality of our relationships)?
ï Organizational level (i.e., what the government and agencies do)?
ï Community level (i.e., how the community inter-relates and organizes itself and how it relates to the outside world)?
8. What parts of the changes needed can/must the community do on their own with little or no help from the outside? What actions are needed?
9. What sorts of help are required from outside the community to support the processes of making the changes that are needed?
10. What sorts of learning are needed? Who needs to learn?
Goals
11. What are the main goals in the next seven years to create a politically healthy future?
Social Life
Something to think about: The community's social life refers to the nature and quality of how we live together. Western society has organized social development into three main categories of work:
1) health
2) education
3) welfare.
The following questions touch on those three areas and the more basic issues: unity, caring, sharing, and community identity.
The following four general questions are designed to help you think more deeply about the theme:
1. What is it like now?
2. What can we learn from the past?
3. What would it be like if it were good (in a healthy, balanced future)?
4. What has happened, and what must we do to get from where we are now to where we want to go?
More detailed questions are provided below to help guide your discussion about these general questions.
The Present and the Past
1. What is the current reality of social well-being in our communities? Following are some things to think about in answering this question: family well-being/health; levels of substance abuse; levels of communal violence; levels of crime against property and people; levels of physical and sexual abuse; levels of mutual support and a climate of encouragement; levels of gossip and backbiting; levels of cooperation and volunteering; how the community responds to emergencies or crises; how the community accepts outsiders; how the community forgives those who break the rules or offend people; how the community deals with diversity, minority views, and those who are different.
2. Is the community unified or divided (common vision, shared plans, sense of identity, feelings of belonging, mutual support, and love)?'
3. Does the community have control over those things that lead to health (mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, environmental, etc.)?
ï Is there a strong sense of collective awareness, decision-making, and action related to health?
ï Is there a strong emphasis on promoting human wellness (mental, emotional, physical, spiritual) and preventing sickness or injury, or are most "health" money and energy focused on the primary mission of the health system--sick care?
4. Is education as it is now meeting the learning needs of the people?
ï Are children dropping out of school?
ï Are school leavers able to contribute usefully to their own (economic) upkeep and community development?
ï Is there a portion of the population that education is not serving well?
ï Does the community provide opportunities for lifelong learning for its members?
ï What needs to change about the educational system?
5. Are current social welfare and child protection programs effective? Why or why not? What needs to change?
6. Is the justice system (i.e., the police and the courts) working? If not, what changes are needed?
7. Do health, education, welfare, or justice program initiatives address the people's real social development needs? What should change in the way these programs work?
The Future
8. What would a socially healthy community be like?
9. What will change in how we live and carry on our community life to create socially healthy and viable communities
ï Personal level (i.e., personal growth, healing, learning)?
ï Interpersonal level (i.e., how we relate to one another)?
ï Organizational level (i.e., what the agencies, programs, and community organizations do)?
ï Community level (i.e., how the community organizes, interacts, and relates to the outside world)?
10. What can/must the communities do for themselves without much outside help?
11. What sorts of learning are needed? Who needs to learn?
Goals
12. What are the main goals in the next seven years to create a socially healthy future?
