The Learning Lunch podcast explores ideas, approaches and social innovations – creating opportunity for non-profit organisations’ teams to discover what others are learning and space to reflect on what these insights might mean for their own strategy and programme implementation.
If you work in civil society or the socioeconomic development sector, you have probably heard, or used, the term “community ownership” because it aligns with broader goals of promoting social equity, empowering local communities and sustainable development.
Community ownership goes beyond passive involvement or consultation and aims to empower communities to actively participate in decision-making and take responsibility for outcomes. In principle, civil society organisations and development experts use this term to describe communities with a significant degree of control and influence over projects, initiatives, or resources that directly affect them.
The principle underpinning “community ownership” is that people from within a community are more adept at articulating the barriers and enablers to their own development than technical experts from outside.
In this Nourish & Flourish podcast, we talk about barriers and enablers of community ownership. We speak to Sinazo Nkwelo, Director of DGMT’s Place-based Synergies portfolio.
Sinazo Nkwelo joined the DG Murray Trust in March 2020, drawn by the opportunity to drive a strategy that concentrates investments to address the developmental needs of people in specific communities. She has been involved in this work for the past three years. Prior to this, she worked in corporate as a management consultant and impact investor. Her limited experience in community development has served her well, enabling her to come into the work with humility. She brings the perspective of a humble learner, who continues to learn from the mistakes and triumphs of implementing community projects.
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