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Community Development Operating Model — Dutsen-Kauna Foundation field photograph
How we work

Community Development Operating Model

From Research Consent to Implementation, Funding, Completion, Maintenance and Long-Term Impact.

Report a community needSponsor a project
Core operating principle

Eight commitments behind every intervention.

  1. 01
    Listen first.
  2. 02
    Validate with the community.
  3. 03
    Choose projects by evidence.
  4. 04
    Fund transparently.
  5. 05
    Implement with local ownership.
  6. 06
    Maintain with community responsibility.
  7. 07
    Report publicly.
  8. 08
    Repeat with improvement.
Eight steps

From listening to improvement.

Listen — step 1 of how we work
STEP 1
Listen

Community research with consent — people define the need.

Verify — step 2 of how we work
STEP 2
Verify

Field verification of every reported need before any commitment.

Design — step 3 of how we work
STEP 3
Design

Co-design the intervention with engineers and the community.

Fund — step 4 of how we work
STEP 4
Fund

Transparent funding with a public project number and progress bar.

Implement — step 5 of how we work
STEP 5
Implement

Local ownership: community members build alongside our teams.

Monitor — step 6 of how we work
STEP 6
Monitor

Follow-up visits check the intervention still works and serves.

Report — step 7 of how we work
STEP 7
Report

Photos, budgets and outcomes published for donors and community.

Improve — step 8 of how we work
STEP 8
Improve

Lessons learned feed the next cycle — repeat with improvement.

Chapter 01 — Listen: Community research.
Chapter 02 — Respond: Food, emergency & housing.
Chapter 03 — Empower: Empower women and youth.
Chapter 04 — Build: Water, energy & infrastructure.
Chapter 05 — Educate: Learning & skills.
Chapter 06 — Sustain: Community ownership & long-term impact.
Chapter 01 — Listen

Communityresearch.

Every intervention begins with listening, research consent and community validation.

How we work Report a need
01
06
The full cycle

Sixteen stages. One accountable system.

  1. 1

    Community Entry

    We are invited or identify a community through research, partners or a reported need.

  2. 2

    Research Consent

    Leaders, women's and youth representatives consent to a needs assessment.

  3. 3

    Needs Assessment

    Household surveys, focus groups and observation document the real situation.

  4. 4

    Community Validation

    Findings are presented back and confirmed publicly by the community.

  5. 5

    Project Prioritisation

    Needs are ranked by evidence, urgency, reach and feasibility.

  6. 6

    Project Design

    A costed intervention with beneficiaries, timeline and maintenance plan. A DKF-PRJ number is issued.

  7. 7

    Funding

    Sponsors, donors and partners fund the project transparently against the published budget.

  8. 8

    Procurement

    Competitive, documented procurement with conflict-of-interest declarations.

  9. 9

    Implementation

    Delivered with local labour and community oversight committees.

  10. 10

    Monitoring

    Field reporting, photographs and spending updates published to the project page.

  11. 11

    Completion

    Completion report and independent verification.

  12. 12

    Handover

    Formal handover to the community with roles and responsibilities agreed.

  13. 13

    Maintenance

    Community maintenance committee and agreed contribution arrangements.

  14. 14

    Long-Term Impact

    Follow-up at 3, 6 and 12 months; outcomes and impact recorded separately from outputs.

  15. 15

    Public Reporting

    Impact report published; donors and sponsors notified.

  16. 16

    Learning & Improvement

    Lessons feed the next cycle — repeat with improvement.

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