What is Community Led Development?

Community led development is a movement that is gaining traction around the world as people in under-resourced, neglected or impoverished areas seek to rebuild their communities and re-establish a sense of pride in the place where they live.  Its about communities working together across traditional boundaries to create change and solve the problems they face.

Community led development is:

• inclusive
  'Powerful communities create a place for everyone's gifts - there are no strangers - Mary Nelson
  
  
• open and transparent
• happens from the inside out
  'Meaningful and lasting community change always originates from within, and local residents in that community are the best experts on how to activate that change.' - Peter Kenyon, Bank of IDEAS
• constant, two-way communication
• builds capacity
  'Communities that view their citizens as their greatest asset and invest in the development of their full potential are those that will have the capacity to effectively compete in the global political, social and economic arena' - David Littrell
• uses local resources as much as possible
• embraces differing viewpoints
• encourages communities to support and take ownership of the solutions they create for themselves
• believes in the community's ability to solve its own problems and make things happen

How do you define community led development?