CDRAs Courses for 2009

The Community Development Resource Association is a non-governmental African organisation, based in Cape Town, South Africa. Our purpose lies in contributing to the effectiveness of organisations that do not marginalise but include, that maximise the value of human diversity and that counter the tendency to use power to undermine and exploit in ways that diminish creative potential – organisations that are empowering in their impact on society. We aim to contribute to building a society that is sustainable and civil. We promote organising principles, processes and practices that promote inclusion, dignity and development.

We are offering the following courses in Cape Town over 2009:

Developmental Approaches and Skills for Group Facilitation
“Bringing life to group process”

A five-day course for practitioners to actively learn essential facilitation concepts and skills for working developmentally with groups of people in small group, workshop or training course settings. Practitioners learn the key elements of facilitation and improve the way they already facilitate. The course offers an opportunity to experience, critically examine, reflect on own practice and learn to practice a “developmental” approach to facilitation.

Date: 8 – 12 June 2009 (non-residential)

Advanced Facilitation
“Facilitating emergence…”

This course offers an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding and practice of working with emergent unfolding processes in groups, with a focus on the role of the facilitator. This course is for practitioners, with a practice and some experience involving facilitation, who want to enliven their practice and enhance their skills, so that they are better able to work intuitively and in the moment. It will be useful for practitioners who want to generate learning from within and between stakeholders, and to improve existing developmental interventions so that they become more conscious and participatory.

Date: 9 – 13 November 2009 (non-residential)

Observation, Insight and Intervention
“Developing a new discipline for facilitating change”

This programme runs over 19 days, providing an in-depth introduction to Goethean methodology, specifically as a means for developing a new approach to social intervention. It addresses itself to four aspects: understanding living process; practising new ways of seeing and thinking (developing methods), engaging in processes of self-development (to facilitate our own change as our understanding and approach changes); and translating and applying our new understanding and capacities into the situations with which we are engaged. The programme includes a 6 – 8 day residential retreat which will run over a weekend.

Date: 18 May – 5 June 2009

Supporting Sovereign Local Organisations
“Walking alongside, offering support”

A five-day course working with the core concepts, frameworks and elements of an organisation development practice. For experienced practitioners or leaders, in any field, to help them to build a more effective practice for supporting the development of sovereign local organisations. The foci here will be to understand what effective organisations are, how they work, change and can be supported in developing more effective approaches to their own development. The course will work with the core content of the “Barefoot Guide to Working with Organisations and Social Change”, due for release in early 2009.

Date: 20 – 24 July 2009 (non-residential)

Developmental Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting
“Enabling clarity, direction and support”

In this five-day course participants will explore and develop approaches and methodologies that enable planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting processes to support rather than obstruct a developmental field practice – a PME approach beyond logframes. For directors, programme/project managers and field-team leaders as well as donors. This is not a basic skills training course in project management.