Community Mobilization & Participatory Development Professional Certificate

Many projects fail not because the idea was bad but because the people it was meant for were never asked. This course teaches the practical skills of community mobilization and participatory development in plain language, so that you can help communities identify their own priorities, plan together and take action.

It is written for youth leaders, volunteers and staff of community groups and small NGOs in South Sudan and East Africa, and for students who want to work with communities. You will learn the core principles of participation, inclusion, ownership, do no harm and conflict sensitivity; how to understand a community through stakeholder mapping and attention to gender, youth, persons with disabilities, and displaced and host groups; how to run common participatory tools safely and respectfully; and how to facilitate meetings, mobilise and care for volunteers, build a problem tree, make an action plan and budget, and draw on the community’s own resources.

You will also practise working with local authorities and traditional leaders, planning awareness campaigns, handling disagreements, setting up feedback and complaints routes, monitoring with the community, planning for sustainability and exit, and keeping children and volunteers safe. All examples are fictional and are labelled as such.

The course has six modules and 24 written lessons, each with a worked example, a practical activity that needs only pen and paper or free tools, reflection questions and key terms. Every module ends with a quiz, and Module 6 contains a capstone planning project and a 12-question final examination. It is designed for about 20 hours of study at your own pace. On completion you receive a Bang Ti Lenydoor certificate of completion. It is not an accredited qualification, and the course does not promise jobs, income or funding.