Community Capacity Building: Lessons from Adult Learning in Australia

Across multiple disciplines concerned with community development there is growing interest in the phenomenon of community capacity building; activities, resources and support strengthening the abilities and skills of individuals and groups to take action and to lead the development of their own communities. This book is a valuable resource that presents the latest research into the social and educational issues involved and offers new insights into effective strategies and outcomes for both specific and global communities. Through experiences in Australia and drawing on examples of good practice internationally (including the UK, US, Canada, Europe and New Zealand), the contributors, themselves a mixture of academic researchers and community members, examine with great breadth and depth how regional and rural communities sustain themselves for equitable and prosperous futures and how community members and university academics can create useful knowledge together. This text uniquely brings community capacity building to life through the personal involvement of academic staff in the community as active partners helping to create new knowledge.