u' I! I i l ‘ W [Ill H I I HHIHIHIHI ! l ...... LIBRARY Michigan State University AN ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND SERVICE CENTERS IN SAUDI ARABIA By Mansour Al—Taiyar PLAN B PAPER Submitted to Michigan State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Department of Resource Development 1984 rem: 7‘31! d ABSTRACT AN ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND SERVICE CENTERS IN SAUDI ARABIA By Mansour Al—Taiyar In recent years, Saudi Arabia has become one of the largest oil producers-exporters in the world. This rapid increase CH? incoming revenue has made it possible for the central government to implement a major community development program. However, this program has not had the success that the designers had hoped that it would have. The main purpose of this study was to determine the application of theoretical community development concepts to the situation in the Saudi Arabian Community Development Centers. The author believes that a thorough study of these concepts, combined with an investigation of current community development practices will lead to more of an under- standing of how these centers can have more influence. It is necessary to understand why it is not working before one can devise more effective community development policies. The community development concepts utilized are 1) planned change- well thought out effort to bring change taking into consideration the target system's needs, values and culture; 2) change agent —— person(s) that has the skills necessary to implement change; 3) and the target system -— citizens that will directly benefit from the change. The author concludes that Saudi Arabian planned change attempts are well organized and benefit the local residents. However, these Mansour Al‘Taiyar changes are occurring two fast. Change must happen at a slower pace if the desire is to have local residents participate in the change program. Hence, the author recommends several courses of action that will result in improved performance of Saudi Arabian Community Development Centers. These include: 1) additional emphasis on self—help pgorams, even at the expense of slower development; 2) local participation in planned change; 3) increased training of change agents; and 4) an increase in the number of community development centers. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all I wish to express my gratitude to God for without His help and guidance during this project it would not have been possible. Next I would like to offer my deepest appreciation to my major advisor, Dr. William Kimball, whose recommendations for revisions, and suggestions have helped me tremendously not only in the preparation of this text, but for any future ones that I may write. His many hours of assistance have proved invaluable. I would also like to acknowledge the members of my committee; Dr. Carl Goldsmith (my minor advisor), Dr. Frank Fear and Dr. M.H. Steinmueller. I wish to thank them for their help and support in this project. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE -- COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS AID SAUDI ARABIAN DEVELOPMENT Slow Saudi Development Needs Community Development The Purpose of The Methodolog CHAPTER TWO This Research y of This Research Putting Community Development in Context The Concept of Summary of the The Concept of Summary of the The Concept of Summary of the Summary Planned Change Concept of Planned Change Change Agent Concept of Change Agent the Target System Concept of the Target System CHAPTER THREE -— A REVIEW OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN A Brief Backgr SAUDI ARABIA ound on Saudi Arabia iii Page ii vii viii 12 13 16 16 20 20 22 22 Location Population Geography Economics Government - Basic Units The 5-Year Development Plans A General Review of Community Development in Saudi Arabia Social Development Health Services Social and Youth Services Special Programs for Nomads Information Services Human Resource Development Education Training Water and Agricultural Development Water Development Agriculture A Review of Community Development and Service Centers in Saudi Arabia Historical Background of Centers Standards for Selecting Locations of Community Development Centers The First Stage The Second Stage The Third Stage Basic Objectives of Community Development in Saudi CD Centers Special Activities of the Saudi Arabian Community Development and Service Centers iv 22 22 24 24 25 34 36 36 37 37 38 39 39 39 4O 42 42 42 43 43 46 47 48 49 50 52 Method of Work Services Provided by the Community Development and Service Centers Social Section Cultural Section Health Section Agricultural Section Summary of Community Development in Saudi Arabia CHAPTER FOUR - THE APPLICATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS Assessing the Application of the Planned Change Concept An organized well thought out effort To bring about change in an existing social system By closing existing performance gaps Allowing the participation of the target system in the changing process Benefit the target system Take into consideration the values and culture of the people Successfully establish a link between the government, the change agent and the target system Have an apporpriate time dimension in terms of long and short range goals A Brief Summary Assessing the Application of the Changed Agent Concept Have the appropriate knowledge, credentials and planning skills Be able to work with people, both as a leader and as a team member Understand the values and cultures of the people Have the patience to help the client system and the target system become involved in planned change V 52 53 53 57 59 61 62 66 67 68 7O 7O 71 73 74 74 75 75 76 77 77 78 78 Be a person the target system respects, preferably a citizen of the country involved A brief summary Assessing the Application of the Target System Concept CD will benefit target systems if target system concept is followed The target system can be divided into several sub-groups that adopt new proposals at varying speeds Community development will be more beneficial if the early adopters in the target system actively participates in the planning of the program A brief summary Summary of Chapter Four CHAPTER FIVE - CONCLUSIONS CONCERNING THIS STUDY OF APPLICATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS Summary of Chapters One, Two and Three Summary of Chapter Four Findings Conclusion Recommendations for Increased Effectiveness of Saudi Arabian Community Development Centers Implications Limitations BIBLIOGRAPHY vi 79 79 8O 80 81 82 83 83 85 85 86 88 9O 91 92 93 Table 1. LIST OF TABLES Page Community development and service centers in Saudi Arabia and their places and dates of establishment, and location and number of 44 areas and villages. vii Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure 1. 3. LIST OF FIGURES Normal Bell-Shaped Adoption Curve Administrative Divisions of Saudi Arabia The Saudi Council of Ministers- Ministry Ministry Ministry Ministry Ministry Ministry of Labor & Social Affairs (A) of Labor & Social Affairs (B) of Labor & Social Affairs (C) of Health of Agriculture and Water of Education viii Page 18 23 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 CHAPTER ONE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS AID SAUDI ARABIAN DEVELOPMENT Slow Saudi Development Needs Community Development In recent years, Saudi Arabia has become one of the largest oil producer-exporters in the world. The rapid increase of incoming revenue due to this production has encouraged rapid development and change in all aspects of Saudi Arabian society and its infrastructure including economics, education, health and communications. The large increase of revenue has given the government a large financial base (N) which to build a development program. Unlike other developing countries which may have to struggle to buy necessary equip- ment and technology, Saudi Arabia can purchase these items relatively easily. It must be pointed out, however, that money does not equal development. Development implies not only increased income, but a change within the society to improve the lives. of all of the in- habitants and to raise the country's general standard of living. As part of the plan to achieve this objective, government community development and service centers have been established throughout the country. As 23 method and process, community development (CD) is con— sidered one of the most effective ways to speed up social and economic advancement. As this has proven true in other developing countries it is reasonable to assume that this should hold true for Saudi Arabia. So far, however, this has not been the case. The programs have not 1 used the Inethods and_ processes effectively. III the beginning, the client system (indigenous committees) and the target system (citizens) merely accepted whatever was offered them by the government and by CD specialists (change agents), with very little real development being realized. In order for the development to take place, effective approaches must be developed with the use of CD concepts so that real change in the way people live may come about. It is important for Saudi Arabian's future to have a total team effort between the govern— ment and the people. The Purpose of This Research It is the purpose of this research to investigate why community development projects have not been very successful in Saudi Arabia. In. order' to accomplish this, one inust understand. the conditions in Saudi Arabia and have a thorough knowledge of current community develop- ment programs. The Saudi Arabian government has already established a method of instituting change that the people accept. They have organized com- munity development centers. Both the government and the people consider these centers to be the most important avenue for development. Hence, it is the overall objective of this study: to determine the application of C.D. concepts (planned change, change agents, and target system) in Saudi Arabian Community Development Centers. The Methodology of This Study In order to accomplish this task it was necessary to develop a method or a means of organizing the research materials in a logical order. Furthermore, it was necessary to proceed in such a way that one step logically led to a better understanding of the next one. While gathering this information the author followed three steps and they were as follows: 1. A careful review was made of CD and related literature which resulted in the identification of three central concepts and their features: a. planned change; b. the change agent; c. and the target system. 2. A review of literature and materials about Saudi Arabia in- cluded material on the history, demography, and general living conditions in Saudi Arabia, with special emphasis (n1 C.D. centers. 3. Finally, it was necessary to synthesize the information gathered in steps one and two and apply CD concepts to the existing situation in Saudi Arabian CD centers. CHAPTER TWO In order to evaluate the goals and methods of a Community Develop- ment program it is necessary to have a clear theoretical base or concept of how the plan should ideally work based on past experience with similar programs. This concept then may serve as a base for organizing the prognmn as well as :1 way through which it is possible to measure the program's progress. A concept is a theoretical definition of a perceived reality. Just as many people may interpret reality differently there are many varying definitions of the concepts that try to explain that reality. The definition will vary according to the planned application and, the individual's perception of the conceptual reality. It is useful there- fore to lxxflciat the most commonly accepted definitions of three major CD components, planned change, the change agent and the target system, to have an idea of the theoretical role and goals of each to be able to later apply these to the existing CD program in Saudi Arabia that will be described in Chapter Three. Putting Community Development in Context In order to better understand these three concepts i1: is useful to carefully review the concept of Community Development to get a clear view of the context within which the three chosen concepts work. 5 The term "Community Development” came from community organization and economic development. The Community aspect involves both Utopian socialism and local action and the development aspect involves national planning, allocation of resources and systematic movement toward definite goals. The 1948 Cambridge Conference (Cary, 1970:25), defined CD as: ”a movement designed to promote better living for the whole community with the active participation, and if possible on the initiative of the community." Many other definitions have evolved since that conference, but Christenson and Robinson point out that the concept of CD is still in need of ”mature professional identity” (1980:3). Considerable dis- agreement and confusion on meaning exist. Part of the problem of defining CD is defining what a community is. In early days it was easy to identify a community as those people living, close together' and separated from other groups of people. Now that is not enough, since all people living close together in 21 large, complex city are not a community. Christenson auui Robinson (1980:6) suggest that "community is best defined by four elements: (1) people, (2) within a geographically bounded area who are (3) involved in social interaction and (4) with one or more psychological ties with each other and with the place they live." By their criteria, tribal nomads, although they don't settle permanently in one place, are involved. in .social interaction, have psychological ties with each other and with the geographical area in which they travel and thus form a community. The second part of CD is development. Development means improve- ment, that 1AM planned or directed change in the direction of equal distribution of social goods such as education, housing and participa— tion iJI political decision—making. While development as improvement involves social enui psychological change ix: communities, development as growth involves technological and economic changes. The United Nations (U.N.) defines CD as "a process in which efforts of local people are united with government to improve economic, social and cultural conditions in communities, to integrate them and help them participate fully ill the nation's progress” (1980:10). The U.N. view stresses the involvement of government activities to improve conditions in communities and integrate them into the nation so that they can contribute to national progress. A good single definition to describe CD is that given by the U.S. International Cooperation Administration (Community Development Review 3:3—6): 1. C.D. is a PROCESS 2. in which people of a community 3. organize themselves for planning and action 4. in which they define their needs 5. make plans to meet their needs 6. execute these plans with a maximum reliance on community resources 7. and supplement these resources with services provided from outside the community. This definition is especially useful in that it clearly points out the steps in the process in one single idea. 7 The Concept of Planned Change Planned change is an1 important concept with which to begin since it is the base of the CD program. The success that the change agent has in convincing the target system to accept the change depends very heavily on the original plan for change. If the foundation of the CD program is built on a weak theoretical base it is likely that those who carry out the program -- the change agents and the target system -— will have a more difficult time in carrying out their respective roles. In "Introduction to Social Change," Zaltman and Duncan (1977:10) define change as "the relearning on the part of an individual or group (1) in response 13) newly perceived requirements of £1 given situation requiring action, (2) which results in a change in the structure and/or functioning of social systems." They note that planned change involves a deliberate effort, a stated goal, a change agent to modify the struc- ture or process of a social system and the necessity that members of the system relearn their roles. Social change can also be defined by a time dimension (short or long term) and the level of society (indi- vidual, group or society) that is the target of the planned change. In addition to deliberate effort and stated goals, the concept of planned change has a number of inherent dimensions along which any specific planned change can be located. Relative advantage is the unique benefit that the change provides to the target system. Other ideas and practices do not provide this benefit or at least not as well. The impact on social relations of any specific change may be great or small, but there will always be some impact on relations in the target group. Divisibility means that the planned change can be carried out on a limited scale (i.e., a sample or trial group) and reversibility 8 refers to the case with which it can be discontinued and the target returned to its original state. All planned change has a greater or lesser degree of complexity (of both understanding and use) which may affect its adoption. Its "fits" with the situation for which it is planned is its compatability and the ease of disseminating information about the planned charge is its communicability. There are also dimen— sions of risk and uncertainty which are related to the degree of commit- ment necessary to adopt the change. "Susceptibility to successive modification is important where technology is changing rapidly ..." (Zaltman and Duncan, 1977:16). Zaltman and Duncan indicate that one of the key problems that planned change can encounter is rationalistic bias (the belief that because a change is rational it will be accepted and implemented once the target system is informed about it). Other pitfalls are poorly defined problems and goals and overemphasis on individuals without concerning their social and physical environment. Technocratic bias is an overemphasis on developing the change program without adequate attention to implementing it. Havelock and Havelock (1973), in their first chapter of Training for Change Agents described four approaches to planned change. In the first approach, change is seen as a problem—solving process which goes on inside the user or change target. Problem-solving begins with the users' felt need which is translated into a diagnosis or problem statement. The change agents' role i1; non-directive and 'resources inside the user or target system are fully employed. Change as a research development and diffusion process is a very systematic process often seen in business and industry. It involves five assumptions: (1) that there is 23 rational sequence in evolving and applying change; (2) that involves a long—term, systematic planning process; (3) division of labor according to the steps in the planning process; (4) that the user' or' client is rational but takes only :1 passive role; but (5) will likely accept the change or new idea because it will be presented the right way, at the right time, and will meet the need if the process has been designed properly. This approach differs greatly from the problem—solving approach in the user's passive role -- as opposed to the user's very active role in problem-solving. The third approach views change as a social interaction process and emphasizes how ideas are diffused through social systems. Empirical research supports five generalizations about this process. "(1) That the individual user or adopter belongs to a network of social relations which largely influences his adoption behavior; (2) that his place in the network (centrality, peripherality, isolation) is a good predicator of his rate of acceptance of new ideas; (3) that informal personal con- tact is a vital part of the influence and adoption process; (4) that group membership and reference group identifications are major pre- dictors of individual adoption, and (5) that the rate of diffusion through a social system follows a predictable S-curve pattern ..." (Havelock and Havelock, 1973:18). The final approach, change as a linking process, combines some of the ideas of the other three approaches. Planned change results from collaboration of the change agent with the target system. The two need to emphasize with and understand each other, as well as the change agent stimulating the problem-solving process of the change target. The agent also needs to have links with many diverse resource providers 10 so he has the potential means to make available to the client target for meeting diagnosed needs and problems. It is this approach which is most appropriate to the experience of CD in Saudi Arabia. In a final note to the chapter, Havelock and Havelock discuss a recent emphasis on conflict and crisis models of planned change. These views recognize the elements of controversy, disruption, conflict, power grelations and unrest as essential factors if real change is to occur. The authors contend these elements can also be treated in the linkage model. "Conflict ... underlies the dialogue between and within systems; linkage can only be achieved as a synthesis of such conflict" (1973:37). The issue of conflict in planned change is treated more fully and realistically by Willard K. Dodge (1980) in his discussion of recogniz— ing conflict and using negotiation and collaboration in effective power relations. Dodge, in the "Ten Commandments of Community Development" (1980) presents some of the pitfalls of planned change efforts from his own experience. To avoid some of the hazards that can disrupt change programs, he recommends that planners and change agents should keep ten principal points in mind. First, assume the people involved are motivated by self-interest, unless proven otherwise. If planned change is to work, the self-interest of most of the people involved needs to be fulfilled. Second, since society is the interaction of (self) interest groups, effective change involves ”assisting, the oppressed people to form themselves into effective self-interest groups that have enough power and aggressiveness to get their share" (1980:26). Also, planned change should not be based on the premise that people 11 behave rationally, because they do not. Worrying about right and wrong or what should be done is a trap that causes a1 loss of objectivity, making one less able to understand why people are doing what they are doing. Dodge cites two exceptions: one should always be concerned about his own integrity and sometimes a group can be effectively mobilized by a strong sense of being right or anger at being wronged. Dodge's fifth principle ii; that participation is a means, not an end in itself. "People participate to get something or to do something” (1980:27). Sixth, people's behavior i1; greatly influenced by their position or role within the immediate organization. The seventh and eighth principles are based on the premise that conflict is inherent in change. It should be expected, recognized for what it is, and dealt with in ways to advance the change efforts. This. ‘is most effectively done by understanding community- power dynamics -- and then negotiating and forming coalitions to use power. In his ninth principle, Dodge (1980:29-30) warns that community decisions are not necessarily, rational, purposeful or controlled they are mostly the unintended byproduct of :1 series of interactions among com- munity interest groups, no one of which ends up with the decision they would have made if they could have controlled the outcome. ihi his final principal, Dodge warns community change agents not to expect to be liked or thought well of. If they do, the desire to be liked will get in their way and they'll be more concerned about the impression they are making than confronting people with the realities of their problems. They'll also be disappointed. 12 This view of planned change differs from most others; it is neither conceptual or idealistic. Because it comes directly from the author's experience iJI the field, it is realistic and pragmatic. Dodge recom- mends using what works —- and avoiding idealistic traps that sound good but are not effective. Summary of the Concept of Planned Change After reviewing and synthesizing current literature (n1 planned change, the author presents the following definition as tflua one most appropriate for this study, planned change involves: 1. an organized well thought out effort 2. to bring about change in an existing social system 3. by closing existing performance gaps 4. and allowing the participation of the target system in the changing process. In addition, it must: 5. benefit the target system; 6. take into consideration the values and. the culture of the people; 7. successfully establish a link between the government, the change agent and the target system; 8. and lastly, have an appropriate time dimension in terms of long and short range goals. 13 The Concept of Change Agent In their chapter, "The Change Agent," zaltman and Duncan (1977:186) define the change agent as ”any individual or group operating to change the status quo in the clients' system such that the individuals involved must relearn how to perform their roles." Proceeding from that premise that social interaction is the basis of social life and the medium through which social change occurs, they find that planned change in— volves deliberate manipulation 'of social interaction. between *varied individuals and groups. In this manipulation, one of the basic func— tions of tflua change agent is to establish a link between the client's needs and possible means of satisfying those needs. They present five basic qualifications for change agents. First are technical qualifications. These include competence in the task of the change project, ability to adapt and apply his skills to problems of a simple nature, institution-building capabilities, and credentials for establishing credibility. Second, administrative ability, including the willingness to spend time on relatively detailed matters; planning skills, especially planning for tflua unexpected; personnel management skills; ability to work well with others and ability to tolerate and be creative in overcoming red tape. Third, skills in interpersonal relations -- empathy with members of change team and members of the target system -— is vital because of its effect on openness, risk—taking and trust. Fourth, job orientation skills include motivation, initia- tive, and drive; ability to tolerate and work around constraints; dedi- cation to developing client systeni skills and resources. Finally, there are leadership skills including poise and courage of one's convictions, political fitness to obtain the active cooperation <3f 14 others and emotional maturity with integrity and adequate self- confidence. Zaltman and Duncan (1977:201—205) quote eight generalizations, developed by Rogers and Shoemaker (1971), that they consider empirically important and relevant concerning change agent success. Briefly, these state that change agent success is positively related to: 1. the extent of change agent effort (critical threshold); 2. his client orientation, rather than change agency orienta— tion; 3. the degree to which his program is compatible with client needs; 4. his empathy with clients; 5. his homophilly (similarity) with clients; 6. his extent that he works through opinion leaders; 7. his credibility in the eyes of his clients; 8. his effects in increasing his clients' ability to evaluate innovations. Change agent errors that limit effectiveness often. arise from deficient planning, including premature commitment to particular strategies without involving the client system, failure to get client participation, failure to consider the informal social system and failure to identify influential persons who are open to change. In planning change, an initial decision is the type of change agent to be employed. The dimensions of this choice are whether the agent should be an insider or an outsider to the client system, whether he will be similar to or different from the client system in certain traits (i.e., age, education, social background) and whether one 15 individual or a change team will be used. In performing some of the change agent tasks, one or another dimension often has a distinct advantage. Zaltman and Duncan (1977:215) detail the relative advantage of variou dimensions but most are implicit in the objectives of the change agent tasks. The change agent's tasks begin with establishing a relationship with the client system so that (1) he is seen as a competent and legiti- mate helping person, (2) there is an exchange of expectations about the change process, and (3) adequate sanction is given to the change target. The second task is diagnosis, to enable the agent to understand "the issues around the change the client system is contemplating." Data should be collected from members of the client system about the change issues, need and openness to change, resources available for change and commitment of the members. Next, in selecting the correct helping role, the agent needs to feed back the diagnosis to the client and choose his own role in the process (i.e., expert, facilitator). In determining change objectives, the agent and client are defining the nature and scope of the change program and who will be affected. The change agent's task of reducing resistance to change can be approached through involving clients in determining objectives, examining members' percep— tions of anticipated change to find misunderstandings, trying to antici- pate resistance before it is mobilized and "pointing out the long-run benefits of the change and how they outweigh any immediate problems" (Zaltman and Duncan, 1977:22). A final task of the change agent is to maintain the change in the client system. To do this, it is necessary to institutionalize the change by the development of individual and shared norms and role expectations among organization members that 16 support, reinforce and incorporate the change as an ongoing organiza- tional practice. Otherwise, the change agent must remain in the client system. Given these six tasks and the dimensions of the change agent role, the ideal change agent is specified as (1) a team because it has more resources and offers a better division of labor than a single agent, (2) consisting of both an inside agent to provide understanding and help maintain the change and an outside agent for objectivity, and (3) an optimal mix of similarities and differences to facilitate both communi- cation and credibility of expertise. Summary of the Concept of Change Agent The change agent is the medimn through which the planned change is effected in the target system. When one chooses a change agent it is important to know if that agent will play a central role or a less dominating one. However, to be effective any change agent must: 1. have the appropriate knowledge, credentials and planning skills; 2. to be able to work with people, both as a leader and as a team member; 3. understand the values and culture of the people; 4. have the patience t3) help the clients and the target system become involved in the planned change; 5. and be a person the target system respects, preferably a citi— zen of the country involved. The Concept of the Target System This is tflua last part of the CD process which everything else is working toward. The target system is made up of those that will be 17 affected by the planned change and actually implement the change. Even if the plan for change is well carried out by the change agent, if he is not able to convince the target system to adopt the change, all of his work will be lost. Within the target system exists a very important group -— the client system. They are the ones that work within the group to bring about the desired change. They usually are chosen by, and work closely with the change agent to influence the target system to adopt the proposed plan or innovation. The "adopters" who make up the target system usualy follow a pattern of adoption. E.M. Rogers has provided a chapter about innovation "adopters” in a social system or community. Adopters may be individuals or organiza— tions and they are differentiated on the basis of innovativeness -— "the degree to which they are relatively earlier in adopting new ideas than other members of the system” (Rogers, 1983:242). In individuals, inno- vativeness indicates behavioral change, which is the prime goal of most change programs, and so it is one of the best indicators of the success of development programs. Rogers classified adopters, (M1 the basis of innovativeness, into categories by their position on the bell-shaped or the cumulative s- shaped curve of adoption. The first 2.5 percent to adopt an innovation are the ”innovators”. The next 13.5 percent are the "early adopters". The 34 percent between the mean date of adoption (M) and minus one standard division (SD) are the "early majority;” between M and +1 S.D. are tine "late majority" (another 34 percent). Finally, the last 16 percent to adopt (+1 S.D. to +2 S.D.) are the "laggards" (Figure 1). 18 M Percentage ' S.D. +1 S.D. Of -2 S.D. +2 SOD. Adopters 2.5% 13.5% 34% 34% 16% Date of Adoption FIGURE 1: Normal Bell-Shaped Adoption Curve SOURCE: Rogers, 1983:247. Rogers describes the five categories as pure or ideal types to facilitate comparison. He characterizes innovators as 'venturesome. They go outside their social systems to import new ideas so they tend to be cosmopolitan, have financial resources and to be able to under- stand and apply complex knowledge. Early adopters, by comparison, are more integrated into their social systems. They tend to be the opinion leaders who serve as respected role Inodels for’ others. The early majority "adopt new ideas just ahead of the average number of the social system" and (flu: late majority adopt "just about the average" (Rogers, 1983:249). The laggards are the late adopters. They may be prevented by respect for traditional ways, lack of financial resources, or cautious skepticism from adopting anything new until everyone else has done so. In making generalizations about socioeconomic characteristics, it was indicated that early adopters tend not to differ from others in age but are better educated, of higher social status, more upwardly mobile, 19 more commercial (ys. subsistance), more specialized. and richer than later adopters. In personality characteristics, early adopters tend to be less dogmatic and more abstract, rational, intelligent, and motivated than others. They are less fatalistic and have more favorable attitudes toward education, science, change and risk. Their communica- tion behavior indicates ting; are more socially interconnected, cosmo- politan, have more exposure to interpersonal and mass media communica- tions and more exposure to change agents (Rogers, 1983:251-261). These differences between adopter categories suggest that change agents should use somewhat different techniques and approaches with each category -- thus following a :strategy’ of ”audience segmentation" (Rogers, 1983: 264). The paradox between innovation and need is that those who most need the benefits of new technology (the less educated, less wealthy) tend to be the last to adopt such innovations, thus widening socio-economic gaps in a community. Change agents can alter this with a target audi— ence segmentation strategy of greatest resistance, in which communica- tion efforts are concentrated on those who are lowest in socioeconomic status, those hardest to reach. In Rogers' chapter on organizational innovativeness he shows that innovation in organization is a longitudinal process rather than being associated with the characteristic variables of individual adoption. The innovation or adoption process is a sequence of five stages that all organizations go through. In the first stage, agenda settigg, organizational problems cu: promising innovations are identified, which are then considered together and a fit between them planned and designed in the matching stage. These initiation activities end at the decision 20 to adopt. Implementation activities consist of redefining/restructuring the innovation and/or organization and clarifyint the relationship between the innovation and the organization as the innovation is put into full and regular use. In the final stage of routinizing, the innovation loses its separate identity and becomes an element in the organization's ongoing activities. Summary of the Concept of the Target System After reviewing several ways community development authors present the concept of the target system, this study will focus on the following major points: 1. Community development will benefit local residents ii? the target system concept is used to identify the group of indi- viduals who will benefit from planned change. 2. People in a target system can be divided into several sub- groups, ranging from innovators (early adopters) to laggards (late adopters) that adopt the new proposals at varying speeds. 3. Community development will be more beneficial if the early adopters in the target system (client system) actively parti- cipate in the planning of the program. Summary CD is a process that involves both the local people and the govern- ment in order to improve conditions in the community. This occurs through the recognition of a problem and selecting an appropriate plan for change. Then a change agent must be selected to facilitate the target system's adoption (M3 the proposed change or innovation. These three key components must be seriously considered if the CD program is to be effective. Keeping in nfixui the theoretical (H) concepts outlined here, then, 21 a discussion of’Saudi Arabia's actual community development experiences and results are detailed in Chapter Three. In Chapter Four, the con— cepts will be applied to the Saudi CD experience. CHAPTER THREE THE REVIEW OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN SAUDI ARABIA A Brief Background on Saudi Arabia Location Saudi Arabia lies in the far southwestern portion of Asia. It comprises most of the Arabian Peninsula (four-fifths), covering about 2J3 million square kilometers (El—Mallakh, 1982:16). It is bounded by the Red Sea on the west; on the south by North Yemen, South Yemen, and the Sultanate of Oman; by the Arabian Gulf, the State of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, the State of Qatar and the State of Kuwait on the east; on the north are Iraq and Jordan. A map of Saudi Arabia is provided (”1 page 23 t3) help the reader understand Saudi Arabia's location and divisions. Population In 1980 Saudi Arabia's population is estimated at 8,244,000. Of this number, 27 percent is nomadic and 39 percent live in towns with 30,000 or more inhabitants. Because only 1 percent of the land is habitable, population density figures may be misleading. Counting all the land, the density is 1.5 persons per square mile, but it must be remembered that the total population..actually resides 111 only 1 22 23 1 \ ‘5 ’ I d \ ADMINISTRATIVE ownsno o , - « An Natl. \ \. NS sat 4.. . . ¥- _ \ C u’ 'I ". 2 l ‘1“)? 1.\ J ‘ - 9p ‘- /’—' Sln‘ah. I a | _'_"T' OURAYYAT AL JAwr- " “I; L \ \\’\ ,4" ~ _. 1" \-~<-’ \.>. 19. .MM' ‘~- ‘. ~ 0°40 \z” ~\ ‘1 A '5 ' ‘~ “'* ' " ’40 _‘ ‘ .Hall _‘ 4* -1 3 2‘ - Q , HAIL ’ . . . 0‘ / . _.’ ebravdah ‘ ~\ Dar“: an . p A "“2" L639 .'_.~ ‘< ,- '. ,i MEDINA . “- GASIM /-—-' .Medina 21"“-’ ’ O Vanbu t A“, QWADH V I’\ I ‘ 0A. Khfllfah / '- F f \ — I =’ MECCA L, Jam 1’ RIYADH ,J .Mg“ Runygs _/ Tad . .’ Source: Dar' Al Shorouq, Ed., SAUDI .ARABIA. and Its Place in the World, Ministry of Information, Riyadh, 1979. Figure 2. Administrative Divisions of Saudi Arabia. 24 percent of the land. The population is very young; 44 percent are under 15 years of age, and more than half are under 20 years old. Only 2.7 percent are (anr 65 (El-Mallakh, 1982:20-24). About 40 percent are between 20 and 64 years of age. Ninety-four percent of tine Saudi Arabian citizens are Arab. The northern, central and western areas are virtually unmixed, while some mixture does exist in the remaining «eastern ‘region. The official language of Saudi Arabia is Arabic, and the official religion is Islam. All citizens are required to be Moslems (Kurian, 1982:1526). Geography Geographically, Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Middle East. Most of the land is desert. The lack of water is a major obstacle to production and consumption activities. Rainfall is erratic, averaging 2 to 4 inches annually. The largest desert, the Rubal-Khali (Empty Quarter), spreads across the southern part of the peninsula occupying almost one-third of the land. Nowhere in the country is there enough consistent rainfall to support intensive agriculture. Economics From an economic perspective, Saudi Arabia is the world's largest government—owned oil producer-exporter. Oil accounts for over 95 percent of the country's exports by value and is the major source of foreign exchange. More than 90 percent of the government revenues are derived from the government—owned oil company revenues and taxes, although efforts are being made to diversity the Saudi economy. There are substantial deposits of such minerals as copper, lead, zinc, gold, 25 silver, iron, phosphates, uranium auui potash, 1J1 addition in) Saudi Arabia's oil. At present, however, there is no large-scale development of these minerals. Government - Basic Units Saudi Arabia is an Islamic country where the authority is derived from Islamic Law. A great deal of the decision making is based on consultation (shura) and consensus (ijma). The government consults with experts in each field to provide the bases for decision-making and seeks total agreement from many individuals within the government before going ahead with policies. There are no political parties. The Council of Ministers is tine highest level 111 the government. It consists of all governmental organizations and its power is derived from the King who is considered the head of this organization. The chart of the next page shows these organizations. From this chart, I will list only the ministries which are respon- sible for community development in general and service centers in particular. They are as follows: a. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs whose primary respon- sibility is community development and service centers, social and youth services which consist of social affairs programs, social care, social security and social insurance programs. Also this Ministry is respon- sible for vocational training. A chart follows which shows the organi- zation of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. b. The Ministry of Health, which is responsible for health ser— vices in general and in community services in particular. The chart 26 "Ti Sums hum of W M hm W '0' cm AIM" Ewan Tuufld twin”! mean Ununfla snub quflu Hum” Puma! Ihdu 'hhfimua ludic- IMO. Municipal i Minor-l fiflwu lhuuun Marin: Main mam" Utah Aukflmn EHMU' W.“ Ammo Haw" Immnu: i” a Public mum: gunpii Huh numfinu) Em fimmnb Foreign Communication: National Ammn Rum» 1W lnfmtion High: Onion:- 6 Education Education Aviation SOURCE: Fouad Al-Farsy, Saudi Arabia, A Case Study in Development, 1 9 7 8 . FIGURE 3. The Saudi Council of Ministers 27 W 0-6 in: . Social goal? Guam! Diamante Dmlopmm mm (0:05.230; Mair: SOURCE: Fouad Al-Farsy, Saudi Arabia, A Case Study in Development, 1978. FIGURE 4. Ministry of Labor & Social Affairs (A). 28 Deputy Minister for Labor Affairs i ice oi 0.6 of 0-6 0' Administration the Deputy Manpower Labor at Research is Minister Affairs Statistics D-G oi Administration Inspection of Legal Affairs Administration Administration Services Tenders Administration oi Financial of Employees' Administration of More 5 Afloirs Services Projects thion I I . . . 1 Main Labor L Main Labor Main Labor L Main Labor Office at Office at Office at Oflico at Alina 0am Jiddan Riyadh SOURCE: Fouad Al-Farsy, Saudi Arabia, A Case Study in Development, 1978. FIGURE 5. Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (B). SOURCE: FIGURE 6. 29 Deputy Minister for Labor Affairs I f \. W D... mmnmn noun swan hmuw hmun hmuw hmun fimun Umw. Que mac Cm». mum fine We! Admin. tor (intentional Training Ir at am» a I\XHMot n . zgzgzml Mum. Fwdumgb GynnMMl hunnfln Tnhmgb Ihnhnu T Fouad Al-Farsy, 1978. Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (C). A. Case Study in. Development, 30 of this organization is shown on page 31. c. The Ministry of Agriculture and Water, which is responsible for agricultural development in general and community development in particular. The chart on the following page shows its organization. d. The Ministry of Education, which is responsible for general education and for community development in particular. The chart of this organization is shown on page 33 . All planning for (H) in Saudi Arabia takes place at the national level since there are IN) decentralized, regional. governments. The population does run: participate directly 111 the government, but their needs and desires are taken into account. Every unit of government needs to make its plan of development for its department based on the collection of data through surveys and research. Although the citizens have rm) direct input at this stage, the unit (agency or ministry) is responsible to respond to the people's needs and desires. Once the agency has drawn up its plan then it is sent to the Head of the Ministry for his approval. When he approves it he sends it on to the Ministry of Planning. They, in turn, do more research and surveys. In addition the Ministry rely on the expertise of inter- national companies ikn: advice. The Ministry takes into account the illiteracy and lack of awareness of the population and for that reason, rather than having direct citizen involvement surveys and random samples are used to determine public opinion. Once the plans of all of the Ministries get to this stage they are next reviewed to make certain that the plans are consistent with overall objectives and goals. From 31 C w Mum Mm , l lhlflm '0 Wm M m m rm m. ' ihflmn a mmw hammu afr' 23:: "uh". human i 'h" Eula: :Efifih, :zark i dunno , hunummh (huumn :::3=:. Ohm“ lMal Hung “iii an... own an SOURCE: Fouad Al—Farsy, Saudi Arabia, 1\ Case Study’ in Development, 1978. FIGURE 7. Ministry of Health. SOURCE: FIGURE 8 . 32 ( Saline Water Org. of King Cornersion Faisal Project on grunting; Gmup Resettlement 6 Drainage Project Rehabilitation in Al-Hasa f f \ N \ General Asst. flog Min Inspector 6on.Admin. for Minister's Admm. for Ayiculunl General Org.. Planning 6 Office Research 6 Dev Budget Awmmmd Training " bk . . l . Affairs irs Fouad Al-Farsy, 1978. 0.". Min. Asst. .M’ . ”WWW for Wflmrils Saudi Arabia, A Case Study in Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Water. SOURCE: FIGURE 9 . Office Regional Directorate: Examination Unit Fouad Al-Farsy, 1978. Asst.Oog.Min. Admin. Affairs 33 Counsellors Oog. Min. for enmmmue Admin. Affairs Budget 6 Planning Unit 0-6 of N NW Youth Caro Admin. of floaltbiScbool 909018 Admin. Culture 0-6 of Admin. Cultural 8 Admin. of Der. uni. for General Technical Libraries Affairs 043 of Private Admin. of Asst. DUI! Min fa Education Public Affairs T - ' -' 6 Mum eel-uni Affairs Akin. ( Cami! of Arts 6 Sciences $2.71... l I {W .552 l Akin. of . industrial Ade”. " i‘n‘m Ehcauon Atria. of w ' Affairs ikflffl W! 0-6 of Recession. L. Saudi Arabia, A Case Study in Development, Ministry of Education. 34 there it is sent to the Council of Ministers for final approval. The 5-Year Development Plans The development plans are the most recent step in Saudi Arabian planning for development which goes back to the 19405 with the increase of oil production. The three dimensions of development which have always been considered in Saudi planning are economic, social and institutional. The year 1948 is very important in the history of Saudi develop- ment as it was the first time the government became involved in economic development. During the following four years as oil production in- creased the country increased its communication and educational facilities. During the next 18 years (1952-1970), the government sustained steady national development and economic growth in spite of the limited oil demand. Oil revenues came as a result of royalties from line international oil companies, and prices were not controlled by the government (Ministry of Planning, 1980:8-9). In 1970 time First Development Plan was written. The plans cover 5-year periods in which the direction of future development, long term and intermediate goals, priorities and action programs for national development are established. Saudi Arabia is currently 1J1 its Third Development Plan. Each plan builds on the progress of the previous plan. The largest success of the first plan was in the economic sector. The government increased its share of ownership of oil and in 1973 when OPEC changed the system of pricing, both of these together greatly increased the available revenues for’ development. The Second IPlan (1975-1980) dealt mainly with the infrastructure and manpower supply 35 since Saudi Arabia was enjoying favorable financial conditions. The Third Development Plan (1980-1985) began with more positive conditions than either of the previous plans. Saudi Arabia was playing a major role in world economics, an infrastructure had begun, inflation had been brought down and the standard of living had increased as a result of the Second Plan. The Third Plan has three fundamental objectives: to bring about a structural change ill the economy, increase participation and social welfare in development, and increase economic and administrative efficiency (Ministry of Planning, 1980:75). The major innovation of the Third Plan is the Second Strategy —— the increased participation of the people in the development of their own communities (Third Development Plan, 1980:79). The Government will actively encourage more private welfare through benevolent societies, and significantly expand community development techniques and advice, which are de- signed to help people to help themselves, especially in the rural areas. Particular importance will be attached to adult education and literacy campaigns with a view to the total- eradication of illiteracy within the shortest possible time. Successful completion CM? this goal will greatly hasten the pace of development and overcome one of the major constraints to development. Vocational rehabilitation of the disabled will also be increased, so as to enable as many people as possible to participate in the opportunities of development. The fundamental purpose of Community Development is also explained within the Third Development Plan (Ministry of Planning, 1980:352—353). The main objective of community development is to help people to help themselves. CD techniques are designed to encourage and enable members of local communities to utilize their own resources and skills to provide for their own needs and initiate local economic growth, rather than relying on the government for the provision (M3 services, infrastructure and investment. In the later years of the 36 Second Development Plan, it was intended for the community development activities to increasingly emphasize self-help. Thus the three plans have made progress in the continuing of com- munity development in Saudi Arabia. The 5-year plans have served to set definite goals and strategies for the process of community develop- ment in Saudi Arabia. A General Review of Community Development in Saudi Arabia As previously indicated, community development means different things to different people and there are several kinds of community development going (N1 in Saudi Arabia. The first part of this section will consist of a general review of community development in Saudi Arabia, in which three vital areas are considered; these areas are social development, human resource development and economic resource development. The second part of the section will be concerned with the specific community development and service centers which are the focus of this research project. Social Development According to the Third Development Plan of Saudi Arabia, the concept (Hf social development is aimed at three primary goals: (1) bringing about sustained improvement in the well-being of the indi- vidual; (2) bestowing economic benefits on all and (3) stimulating the participation and contribution of citizens to development (S.A. Ministry of Planning, 1980:343). In Saudi Arabia, social development focuses on health services, social and youth services, special programs for 37 nomads and information services. Health Services Free medical care services and health services are available to all citizens. The Ministry of Health bears the primary responsibility for providing nmdical care enui health services, along with 13 other public agencies. In addition, private-sector companies provide these services to their employees. In the past concentration was on curative medical services and on secondary care; however, the First and Second Development Plans greatly expanded preventative health care services by increasing the number of hospital beds, dispensaries, preventive medical practices, medical manpower, health centers, educational health facilities and educational and training institutes. Social and Youth Services The primary purposes of social and youth services are to improve the living standards and quality of life of the population and to motivate citizens to participate in the country's social affairs, social care, social security and social insurance programs. The Social Affairs Program encourages local growth and facilitates the process of social change through three main channels (Ministry of Planning, 1980:363): 1. Community Development Campaigns aimed at specific issues and projects 2. Cooperatives involved in resources community development, especially in low income communities. There were 111 cooperatives in 1980, 42 of them were multi-purpose, 39 were agricultural, 19 ‘were consumer' organizations, 10 were service and one was a professional cooperative, 38 3. Research and Training. 'The rapid changes taking place in Saudi Arabia are producing special problems requiring social research, in order to face and solve these problems of social change. The government carried out 16 social research projects during the Second [Evelopment Plan (1975—1980). Training programs were used as tools to prepare change agents and volunteers to become involved in community development. These individuals were sent to Diriyah, the first village where community development was tried, for training and applied research Social care programs are provided by several special governmental and private institutions for people suffering from physical disabilities or disabling social circumstances. There are eight residential nurseries for infant orphans, four of them run by private benevolent societies. Additionally, there are nine orphanages for boys and three orphanages for girls. There are also five reform schools for boys and one for girls. There are two residential centers for handicapped adults and one for children, in addition to 11 private institutions. Also, there are four government training centers that provide vocational rehabilitation for the disabled and 36 special schools for disabled children. Youth welfare includes the sports clubs, Boy Scouts, school clubs and youth groups that have been organized by the community development centers. All these institutions perform many public services and provide social activities and arts and cultural activities. Special Programs for Nomads The government provides summer camps, and special educational and medical programs designed specifically for nomads. These programs give 39 the nomads the opportunity to select the form of life they wish. There are many opportunities and facilities to encourage them to settle, such as agricultural land grants, loans from agricultural banks to persons who want to work in farming after being trained, and loans from real estate banks to persons who want to build houses in villages or cities. By way of these programs, a significant number of nomads are being assisted to settle in rural and urban areas and to become involved in the development of these areas. Information Services There are government information services, such as the radio and television broadcasting system which cover most parts of the country and there are private information services such as newspaper and maga- zines. Each of these information services plays a role in development by clarifying the objectives of development and the citizen's role in achieving these objectives. Human Resource Development According tx) the Third Development Plan (1980—1985), the develop- ment of Saudi human resources stands at the heart of the development process. These resources are education, training, labor affairs, other government training and cultural affairs. Education There are two types of education. First, the general education, consisting of the Ministry of Education, responsible for boys education from elementary through high school, and the Presidency for' Girls 40 Education, which is responsible for girls' education from elementary through university levels. The Ministry of Education has concentrated on major development projects such as multi-purpose classrooms, an educational technology center and educational television. Second, there is higher education, consisting of seven universities for men and one for women, under the Ministry of Higher Education. Training Training involves vocational training, supervised by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and the Institute of Public Administration. Vocational training consists of five types of labor and social affairs training, conducted in 16 vocational training centers distributed throughout several parts of the country for recent, young school leavers; and 51 skills training program, industrial induction offered for adults (who have another job) in evening courses. There are also pre-vocational training centers, established in 1974 in cooperation with UNICEF, for boys 14-17 years old, which provides a 40—week course of basic training in industrial or commercial trades. On-the-job training programs have been established within private businesses ix: which industrial and business firms train employees in specific skills needed by an employer. Finally, there are program evaluations to evaluate the training centers and establish uniform standards. ’ The Institute of Public Administration is considered one of the most important institutes for training government employees. It pro- vides five courses of training (Ministry of Planning, 1975:226): 41 1. High administrative level 2. Intermediate administrative level 3. Operational administrative level 4. English language program 5. Special program. The institute also provides pre-service training through two—year programs for government work in seven subjects (Ministry of Planning, 1975:226): 1. Law studies 2. Financial studies 3. Administrative studies 4. Statistical studies 5. Hospital administration 6. Materials administration 7. Typing. In the public sector, the Civil Service Bureau is responsible for civilian employment and 131 the private sector the Deputy Ministry for Labor Affairs supervises employment activities through four main offices and 33 branches distributed throughout the country. These offices and branches administer and enforce the labor and work laws and concentrate on upgrading the indigenous labor force and updating labor-market information. Other government training is provided through specific Ministries and agencies in which employees work. All government agencies provide their personnel with some types of in-service training to increase their qualifications and productivity and to alleviate manpower and training pressure on the government institutes. 42 Water and Agricultural Development In this section, only two areas of development are considered because they have a clear and direct impact on comprehensive development in general and on local community development in particular. The first is water development and the second is agriculture. Water Development Water 1J1 Saudi Arabia is scarce, therefore, water is considered the area with the smallest percentage of basic services in it. 4. Standard of distance from the big cities: the priority is given to the area with a larger distance from the city. 5. Standard of citizens' desires and willingness to participate, which includes two elements: First, the proportion of the number of the leaders by area who are supportive of establishing the center in the area to the total number of leaders in the area. .Also, the percentage of the leaders who are willing to participate in the center's activities to the total number of the population. Second, the proportion of the population who are supportive of establishing the. center and willing to participate in its activities to the total number of the population. Priority is given to the area which has the highest percentage of support and willingness to partici- pate among the areas considered. The Third Stage Complete determination of the center's location within the selected area is as follows (Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, 1980:5): 1. that the center's location should be in the middle of the area it services. 2. the center should be in the village which has most of the governmental services and interests. 3. the center should be in the village which has the larger population. 50 Basic Objectives of Community Development in Saudi CD Centers Local community development methods aim at mobilization of the efforts of individuals and groups to participate in work projects with government agencies to help people and improve available resources allowing the community to meet its needs. For these reasons, the basic objectives for community development are as follows (Ministry of Plan— ning, 1982: 3-4)- 1. to spread awareness, among the citizens in all (fields), of health, cultural, social and economic factors. 2. to work towards making the desired changes within the framework of Islamic values to achieve balanced growth of a citizen's physical and intellectual capabilities and to effectively utilize environmental resources. 3. to raise the living standard of citizens and to increase their income by encouraging them to follow inodern unethods th animal and agricultural production, by upgrading their work skills, by developing environmental industries and by showing them how to make family expendi- tures through household economic programs. 4. to emphasize and spread personal help in such a nmnner that individuals anui groups assume their responsibilities to their communi— ties by putting personal efforts into studying, planning and executing local projects and by supporting participation of government. 5. to organize 'voluntary efforts, to discover local, leadership and to train them in collective work for the benefit of the local community. 6. to bring about the social stability of the family in rural 51 communities especially through increases in the different services such as education, health, recreation and other services. 7. to better the local environment in local communities by in- creasing tflma fitness of dwellings, water sources and other utilities which make life easier. 8. to give women the chance to participate effectively and posi- tively in community life within the framework of Islamic values concern- ing motherhood and childhood and to increase social and health care for women and children. 9. to increase the fitness of youth and to benefit from their energy in developing the community and improving it. 10. to form indigenous committees which work with centers and by personal involvement to secure participation in developing local communities, through inmrovement if! knowledge euui administrative and arranged skills. 11. to cooperate in spreading literacy and spreading the functional teaching of reading and writing among the population. 12. 13) do social surveys and studies of centers' activities and services. 13. to guide the native population to practice healthy ways in their daily lives by making available curative and preventive health services. It is clear that these objectives may be taught by use of the indigenous participation principle in developing the local community, whether it: is through intellectual participation in planning and pro- grams and projects or by participation by effort in executing them, or by provision of money for investing in these projects. Realization 52 of these objectives comes fur coordinating time indigenous efforts of these communities with the efforts of participating agencies or mini- stries in community development operations. These ministries are: the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Agriculture and Water. Specific Activities of the Saudi Arabian Community Development and Service Centers a. Method of Work Methods of local community development basically’ depend (n1 co— ordinating local with government efforts to raise community social, cultural, education, health auul economic levels. The centers begin their work by forming local committees from people who are usually consulted and whose opinions in the community are respected. This committee is called ENI indigenous committee. Specialized committees and temporary committees exist for supervision of specific projects. At the beginning of a project, the centers work with existing indigenous committees; however, success 1J1 this respect differs from center to center, according to the area, the circumstances and the ability of the specialist cn: professional system. Success also depends (”1 whether or run: the committees think their role is just supervisory, or that they just ask and the demands are met. In 1970, it was decided to change the method of relating to the native population and the indigen- ous committees by making it clear to them that they have to have the principal role in carrying out the projects. However, taking corrective action 111 this connection started gradually, because the centers did not want to lose the leaders who were working with the centers. 53 Community projects are carried out with the aid of government subsidies. Concentrating on educating the indigenous communities to effective- ly carry out their role in realizing their own goals required intense efforts to enlighten the committees about their real role and about local development objectives. b. Services Provided by the Community Development and Service Centers As mentioned before, there are six urban community development centers and sixteen rural centers. The centers in urban areas consist of three sections: social, cultural and health; whereas the centers in rural areas have in addition to these an agricultural section. Social Section Indigenous committees in villages and local areas. —- Indigenous committees are considered essential to the achievement of development objectives because the committees act to coordinate local activity and efforts; they attempt, with government support, to bring about social change in the right direction at the right time (changes which are compatible with changes in other sections such as economic change). Indigenous committees attempt to (Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, 1981,27): 1. encourage the citizens to think about their community; 2. train them to think about and to face problems and to seek solutions by their own exertion and endeavors; 3. study these solutions logically, suggesting tools to achieve the solutions; 4. train the citizens to execute (or conduct) the projects which help to solve their problems; 54 5. develop trust among the members and the community and encourage community residents to participate in projects. In addition to the 96 indigenous committees there are special committees such as health, cultural and social committees under the supervision of specialists in the centers. The rural clubs. -- The rural club is concerned fundamentally with social, educational, cultural and physical education for youth, the goal being tn) work with the youth until they gain maturity and skills to be able to be involved in building and advancing their communities. The clubs' role is similar to that which the family and the schools play in preparing the young to be responsible citizens of their nation. The clubs work to equip the youth with the following basic knowledge and skills (Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, 1981:28): 1. necessary, basic knowledge and information to maintain efficient operation of projects for and in the community; 2. develop intellectual, artistic and physical skills by which they can conduct innovative work; 3. necessary emotional and mental life and attitudes to adapt these to the community. These clubs introduce the youth to the following programs (Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, 1981:28): a. Public service programs giving them the opportunity to be involved in serving the community to understand its problems and to work to solve them; b. diverse cultural and sport programs; c. farming programs; d. programs to provide outlets for hobbies they have already or to direct them toward new hobbies. 55 There were 49 clubs and their administrative boards had 283 members in 1981. Summer camps for yputh. -- To benefit from the energy and free time of youth, summer camps carry out projects in areas and villages in which the youth live. These projects, such as road improvement and road leveling, clean-up campaigns and other efforts are aimed at reducing the costs of these services as well as creating in youth personal responsibility and responsibility for good works for the community. Cultural competitions. -— The purpose of these contests is to provide good competition among youth and establish strong relationships; these competitions bring out their special abilities by encouraging them to continue their efforts to supply, through science and knowledge, inputs that will contribute significantly to the comprehensive develop— ment movement in Saudi Arabia and return benefits to all the citizens. Studying individual problems and cases. —- Despite the basic con- centration of community development centers on carrying out operations for time local community in general, CD staff devote some effort and energy to individual cases and problems of families in the area covered by the center. The individual is the foundation of the community and solving individual problems helps the progress of development operations in general. Extension visits to houses and institutions. -- Guidance visits are considered one of the most important tools used by CD centers in developing the community. Extension visits can convince area residents, by participation in various development activities, of the most important objectives of CD centers in improving the community. 56 Social lectures and debates. —- The centers use lectures and debates as tools of extension and awareness to discuss issues which concern the citizens in the community. Girl's dwellings or houses. —- The purpose of girls dwellings (or houses) is to facilitate educational experiences for women, to educate women to use their role to support the community and to take care of their families. The centers seek existing local insti— tutions to carry out this activity in exchange for' administrative and specialist help. There is a total of 60 local dwellings (or houses) serving 2,877 ladies and girls. Women's committees. -— These committees are established by working women in women's sections of the community. The committees train the women in social awareness in order to help the working women to conduct their tasks or study. There is a total of 70 working women's committees, their membership totals 484 members. These committees encourage the ladies and girls to enroll in girl's houses and to register their children in kindergarden, so as to benefit from motherhood and childrhood programs. Women's production cooperatives. —— These cooperatives bring together ladies and girls who are about to complete training in girls programs such as sewing and embroidery programs. The cooperatives serve to give them an opportunity to produce and sell their handwork in order to increase family income. Seventeen women's cooperatives in 11 centers include 1,204 members. Kindergartens. -- One of the most important responsibilities of 57 the centers is taking care of children and helping families to provide good education for their sons auui daughters, especially' in the stage before elementary school. The centers work to achieve this objective by cooperating in establishing kindergartens which work with 3- to 6-year olds, providing a facility that meets religious, social and health requirements. The social specialist enui health visitors supervise this kindergarten: usually, the centers give them ample materials -- sometimes also providing furniture or a location. The native population has a strong interest in the success of these kindergartens. Women's first—aid groups. -- These are a tool of health education meant for women to prepare them for helping community and family. Women's first aid groups in centers include 20 cooperatives, with 439 women and girls taking practical training and theoretical les- sons in first aid from the centers, health visitors, and social specialists. Cultural Section The cultural activities of development include establishing libraries, cooperating with school activities, and fostering adult literacy. These efforts to upgrade local citizens are led and assisted by the centers' cultural specialist. Libraries. -- An awareness of reading is considered one of the major objectives of the cultural section in development centers. Therefore, there is a cultural library in every center, which citizens can frequent at their leisure. Additionally, mobile library services 58 are moved among schools and other citizen groups, such as clubs. There were 66 libraries in the 22 centers in 1980, 34 permanent libraries and 32 mobile library units, used by 20,246 citizens to borrow 4,786 books. Illiteracyy obliteration classes. —- One of the. general objec- tives of the cultural sections in centers is an effort to put an end to illiteracy among the citizens in their service areas. The total students enrolled in literacy classes for men are 453 students, in 249 classes. The number of women involved in literacy classes are 2,436 students in 62 classes. The total of educational specialists' visits from the centers to those classes in 1980, was 519 visits, involving 144 awareness presentations. There were a total of 95 night school classes. Cultural committees. -- These committees are one of the tools for getting citizens tn) participate int development projects, by training them tx: research community problems IJI the cultural room and to pass or adopt fitting resolutions, am; well as to participate in planning programs and their implementation. There were 29 cultural committees, with 154 members in 1980. School activities. -- The cultural specialist is considered the link between school and community center for coordinating development programs and taking advantage of students' energy, in order to help their communities, as well as to recognize and provide practice tin: their hobbies. The specialist visits the day schools, located ill the center's service area, where he cooperates with school and parents to facilitate students' participation in existing 59 activities, such as debates and extension lectures. There are often attended by the students and their fathers. In 1980, 197 day schools cooperated with cultural specialists to serve 45,502 stu- dents. Other cultural activities. —- The cultural sections in the centers work with the youth and adults in the centers' service areas. In doing so, they publish awareness papers; organize public debates, lectures and celebrations; hold diverse cultural competi- tions and artistry expositions and promulgate various other acti- vities. Health Section This section oversees and administers diverse protective and therapeutic health services. The most important activities of this section throughout the year were as follows. Insecticide campaigns. -u- The. centers offer ea free insecticide program to the citizens. The health section does ongoing spray— ing or carries out the sprinkling of powder in dwelling places, public utilities and markets, particularly during the insect season. In 1980, the program involved spraying 9,746 houses and 3,138 other places, as well as mounting a public campaign to eliminate insects if! all quarters and markets in the centers' service areas. Health officials also sprayed pools and swamps to kill insect eggs. Health committees. —— These committees are tools for health 60 education for citizen groups, also providing training to members of these committees in first aid. Committee members receive beneficial health information to help them participate in and plan health conser- vation programs. Fifteen health committees were made up of 78 resident citizens in the centers' service areas. These committees met 118 times, discussing existing health problems in the service areas and studying projects for improving health conditions in these areas. Extension work and health education. -- This activity involves preparathm1 of publications, circulars, lectures, meetings and cinema showings, in addition to extension visits of health observers and other methods of encouraging health awareness among the citizens. The centers issued and distributed 568 publications and heaitii posters; health observers paid 620 visits to schools located in center service areas; they organized 335 meetings and lecturers; completed 524 exten— sion visits to 1,638 public places; and showed 37 extension health films. Protective and curative therapeutic activity in center clinics. —- Most of the community development and services centers have clinics for free treatment of area citizens. A large number of citizens fre- quent these clinics; in 1980 these clinics were visited by 58,785 citizens. Delivery situations, completed by midwives of health visitors in centers, reached 826 births. The clinics were also involved in public vaccination campaigns which were organized by health ministry at various times of the year. They vaccinated 791 citizens against smallpox; vaccinated 9,733 61 citizens against diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus; and vaccinated 12,887 citizens against infantile paralysis, most of whom were infants. The clinics also vaccinated 1,056 citizens against cholera enui vac— cinated 3,137 citizens against other diseases. From this it is clear that center clinics are heavily involved in ‘vaccination.«operations against infections or contagious diseases, the total vaccinated being 27,604 citizens. In addition the projects of the health sections in the centers, include other activities, such as: environment services,; public campaigns for cleanliness, cover-th-pool efforts and others. Agricultural Section Action in this section is confined to rural community development centers, as a matter of course. In addition, the community development centers located in offices of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water do not cooperate well with agricultural activity rooms, thus restricting the efforts of agricultural sections in community development centers. Research anui extension agricultural efforts. -— Numbers of visits relating tn) agricultural research ix: 1980 were 261. Extension visits to instruct farmers about modern tools numbered 1,846. There were also 615 visits to consult farmers about young standing crops. Model fields. -— Some centers prepare model fields to» enable farmers to observe modern methods in agriculture, to teach use of the correct fertilizers and show methods of planting new kinds of agricul— tural crops. They also distribute seedlings to the citizens. In 1980, the centers set up 21 model fields and distributed 48,911 agricultural seedlings for different crops. 62 Agricultural committees. -- Agriculture committees are important tools for the participation of farmers in researching their agricultural problems and working toward solutions to tjmmn The local committees cooperate with agricultural specialists in their work. A total of five committees met 73 times *with agricultural specialists ix: the rural CD centers. Summary of Community Development in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is a: large country with its population concentrated in 1 percent of the land that is habitable. The population is homo- geneous racially, linguistically and religiously. The economy has grown quickly as :1 result of increased oil production which brings in the bulk of revenue. The government is made up of Ministries and the King, who through consultations and consensus design policies. Although the people have no direct say in the government, their opinions and needs are taken into account. The government's policies regarding CD are made known through the 5—year development plans which set the gOals and objectives for every five year period. Community Development in Saudi Arabia is divided into three sections -- Social, Human Resource and Water and Agriculture. Social Development includes the programs of Health Services, Social and Youth Services, Youth Welfare, Special Programs for Nomads and Information Services. The major goal of these programs is to improve the well- being of the individual and to encourage him to participate more actively ix: the nation's development. mean Resource Development is carried out through education and training, which provides a cultural and educational' foundation that facilitate the individual's 63 partipation in Development. Water and Agricultural production have been obstacles to Development in Saudi Arabia and therefore must considered in any comprehensive development plan. Community Development Centers are the primary units responsible for carrying out Community Development plans in Saudi Arabia. The first center ‘opened in 1960 with the aid of the United Nations. Now in Saudi Arabia there are 22 centers (sixteen rural and six urban), in areas where no centers exist there are indigenous community development committees which both have as their goal helping people to help them- selves. Communipy development centers ix: Saudi Arabia have gone through the experimental stage and into the continuance stage. The role of the centers has developed from co-ordinating services to the integrating of them into the community, with more emphasis placed on the executing of methods than the quantity of projects. The centers should involve the community as a whole and work together to help bring about national development. Community Development Centers are established only in those loca- tions whidh can meet the priorities as set up in the three stages of standards. In the first stage the area must have good communications, water, and an adequate homogeneous population. In the second stage, studies are carried out and priorities are given to those locations with the highest population and stability that is the farthest away from a large city, deprived of basic services where the citizens are willing to participate. The third and final stage is the decision of where to place the center, which is decided by placing it either in the center of the area, in the village with the most existing government offices 64 or in the largest village. The basic objectives of the (kmmmnity Development Plan are: to spread awareness, to work towards desired change, to raise the standard of living, to increase individual participation, to organize volunteer's efforts, to increase social stability of the family, to improve local environment, to increase women's participation, to increase the involve- ment of youth, to form indigenous committees, to spread literacy, to carry out investigation, and to improve health. The methods of work depend upon finding opinion leaders and involv- ing them ix: the indigenous committees, who name special committees to carry out projects. The urban centers are divided into three sections —- social, cultural and health; the rural centers have an agricultural section as well. The social section directs the following programs; the indigenous committees, rural club, youth summer camps, cultural competitions, studying individual problems and cases, extension visits to houses and institutions, social lectures anui debates, girls' dwellings, women's committees, women's production cooperatives, kindergartens and women's first-aid groups. These encourage social participation and the better- ment of the individual's lifestyles. The increasing of the community's cultural level is carried out through the establishment of libraries, illiteracy obliteration classes, cultural committees, school activities and the encouragement of cultural activities. The Health section improves the community's health by insecticide campaigns, health committees, extension services, health education and clinics. These groups work together to reduce disease and increase 65 public sanitation. The Rural centers also contain an agricultural section whose prime responsibility is t1) carry (nu: research, provide extension services, prepare model fields and form agricultural committees. Working together in the Community DevelOpment Center these various sections try to bring about a balanced approach to development. CHAPTER FOUR THE APPLICATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS It must be remembered that concepts are theoretical interpretations of a: perceived reality.’ The concept may be understood differently by individual people, or countries, and as it represents a theory, the practice may differ somewhat, but still fit within the framework of the main ideas presented by the concept. In this chapter the three key concepts -— planned change, change agent, and target system -- that were defined in Chapter Two, will be applied to the Saudi Arabian community development data provided in Chapter Three. In order to understand how these concepts are applied to Saudi Arabia it is important to look at the definition of community develop— ment in Saudi Arabia and how it compares to the definitions presented in Chapter Two, to see how a different definition of community develop- ment will affect the application of the three key concepts. In reviewing the major components of the concept of community development it is important to have a general working definition of community development. The United Nations defines community development as a process involving members of the community who make and execute plans for the improvement of the community as a whole. The Saudi Arabian definition of community development ie; very similar to the general idea of this definition with .some minor 66 67 differences. Saudi Arabian definition sees community development as an instrument and method based on scientific investigation. Both definitions include the idea of a structural change in the community and active community development. The most significant difference is that the Saudi Arabian definition emphasizes that there must be a harmony between change and traditions. As a result of these slight differences in the perception of com- munity development as a whole, it is obvious that Saudi Arabia is going to interpret the roles of planned change, change agent and the target system slightly differently. The conceptual theories of course must always be adapted to fit local needs, but in general the application should be compatible with the concept. Assessing the Application of the Planned Change Concept In Chapter Two the concept of planned change was divided into eight separate components. To review, planned change is: 1) an organized well thought out effort, 2) to bring about change in an existing social system, 3) by closing existing performance gaps, 4) and allowing for the participation of the target system in the changing process. In addition, it must: 5) benefit the target system; 6) take into con- sideration the values and the culture of the people; 7) successfully establish a link between the government, the. change. agent and. the target system; and 8) lastly, have an appropriate time dimension, in terms of long and short range goals. In order to assess Saudi Arabian's use of these components one must apply each individual component to the data supplied in Chapter Three. 68 An organized well thought out effort. In Saudi Arabia planned change occurs at two levels; at the national and at the local level. Community Development Centers are the method chosen for instituting planned change and the national government decides the number and location of the centers (i.e. where planned change twill occur) while the locality decides what specific services the centers will provide (i.e. what the planned change actually will be). The national government has a list of criteria it uses to determine whether a location is eligible for a center. Its criteria is based on degree of deprivation, physical resources of the community and popula- tion. This system provides evidence of a great amount of organization at the national level. In addition, the national government requires each community development center to provide the government with an annual community development plan. The staff of these centers (change agents) and the indigenous working committees prepare an annual plan in) accomplish specifically stated objectives that are consistent with the national plan but arise out of the needs of the local community as expressed by the indigenous committee members. These annual plans cover all areas of economic, social, health, cultural and agricultural activity, with staff and committees in each area being responsible for specific plans for that area. They determined in the plan, the needs to be met, the number of projects and programs to be implemented throughout the year, methods of executing them and the funds that will be needed. Each center's plan is then routinely presented to the appropriate authorities 69 and each agency involved in the overall program reviews and approves the sections of the plan that are relevant to its jurisdiction. For example, the Ministry of Health would review a plan for the center nurse to provide first aid training to mothers of pre—school children. Pro— grams' funds to be provided through government subsidies are then allocated so that implementation of the plan may begin. Often the programs are not new to the specific area, but are an annual continua- tion or expansion of plans for an ongoing program. In an evaluation of community development and service. centers carried out by the bfixdstry of Labor and Social Affairs in December, 1974 staff members were asked about the existance of these plans. Survey respondents were classified by the service sections to which they belonged (social, cultural, health or agricultural). Staff members were asked about the extent to which the section prepares an annual plan and then a time schedule of its activities to execute the plan. All (100 percent) of the specialists, by section, said they prepared an annual plan; 82 percent of the social specialists; 87 percent of the cultural specialists, 76 percent of the medical staff and 75 percent of the agricultural specialists had a written schedule for executing the plan. As to whether actual services and activities coincided with these plans and schedules, 94 percent of the social and cultural staff said their sections did not execute everything detailed in their annual plans; 65 percent of the health section and 62 percent of the agricul- tural section supervisors said their plans were not completely carried out after being approved by authorities. Hence, one finds that every center prepares a plan but, in general, these plans are not completely successful at matching goals to realistic 7O objectives since the plans are not being fully implemented. To bring about change in an existing social system. To judge whether a plan has caused, or is causing, a change in a social system it is necessary to have a tangible way of measuring success; i.e. improved reading scores; prolonged life expentancy or an increase ix: volume (If agricultural products produced. Unfortunately one can not find such information available in Saudi Arabia development. Therefore, one must rely on subjective materials provided by center specialists and community residents. In the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs survey center, center managers, specialists and local residents were asked if the centers were effective in instituting desired changes. Fifty percent of the centers' managers, 707. of the field specialists, and 87°/. of local residents felt that center activities helped realize specified objec- tives. Despite the lack of concrete evidence, such as test scores, it is possible to conclude that a certain amount of change occurs, however the extent of that change cannot be readily measured. By closing existing performance gaps. Here again, the most logical way of measuring a closing gap is by comparing pre-planned change results to ‘post-planned change tresults. As stated above, these figures do not exist. Despite this lack of data one can get some sense of the areas in which the performance gap has lessened by getting a brief overview of the sponsored projects. This overview, coupled with the fact that people involved in the projects believe them to be at least somewhat successful, leads one to conclude 71 that the performance gap is narrowing. Some of the more important projects include: rural clubs for youth, women's first aid groups, illiteracy obliteration classes, health clinics' public vaccination campaigns and research and extension in agricultural efforts. Allowing the participation of the target system in the changing process. In general the target system does not participate in the changing process. In the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs survey local residents were asked if workers from the center encouraged them to participate. Only lli percent responded yes. The primary reason for this lack of participation is lack of skills. Until local residents acquire more skills the CD approach will be one of technical or direct assistance. A brief summary of the growth of local participation follows. The early experiences of community development center workers with government directed improvement efforts, was that local people would passively accept whatever the government offered without becoming involved in the ixmended development of their community. Since there must be local involvement if community development or change is to occur, it was clear that the direct government provision of goods and services such as seeds, insecticides, water facilities anui medical treatment could improve the quality of community life to only a limited extent, for only as long as the government inputs were continued. To involve local residents in the development of their own localities, it was necessary to obtain their active participation in sustainable 72 community development projects. Thus, while national development plans primarily concerned economic improvement, they also emphasized the importance of local participation. In the interests of encouraging such involvement and participation by community residents in. social development, (H) workers (u: change agents emphasized self-help type projects. Ali Mahjoub (1976:11), who is tflua U.N. Chief Adviser and Project Manager at the Diriyah Center for Training and Applied Research in CD near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, stated that activities of CD centers can be classified on their basis of: 1. Their impact on social, health, cultural. and. economic development of the country. 2. Their relation to regional and national development, and 3. Their ability to induce greater participation by the people. Community participation in centers is growing. One evidence of this is the rise of the importance and number of indigenous committees; presently there are QMi such committees. In addition the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs polled center managers on the immortance of indigneous committees. 81% of the managers said that it would be impossible to practice center activities with the same competence with- out the existing indigenous committees. However, when one reviews data on the level of indigenous committee participation one finds that indigenous committes have more of a role in executing plans (60.53% of indigenous committees) than determining what those plans will be (41% of indigenous committees). An effort was also made to determine the extent of participation 73 and input of local people in the annual plans prepared by each CD center. For the items in this area, staff members and members of indigenous local committees were surveyed separately. In collecting information for time plan, all of the social specialists, and only 37% of the cultural specialists gathered information through visits, personal contacts and meetings with local leaders and committee people. Of the health staff, 70 percent, and 62 percent of agricultural staff used this means. The input of local leaders and indigenous committees was used by 41 percent of social, 37 percent of cultural, 47 percent of health and 12 percent of the agricultural staff in diagnosing problems In: be included in the annual plan. In preparing actual sec- tional plans, 88 percent of social, 75 percent of cultural, 59 percent of health and 62 percent of agricultural section supervisors worked with local leaders and indigenous committees (Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, 1974:10). Summarizing, one finds that local. participation ix; increasing. However, the level of participation is not as high as it could be. The Saudi Arabian people still have a: great many skills to obtain before they can fully participate in planned change activities. Benefit the target system. In general, one may argue that any change that is effective in closing a performance gap is beneficial for the target system, as long gs the target system wants to change. Hence, this component must rely on the subjective feelings of the people. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs survey questioned local residents about community needs for offered services. 88 percent of 74 the research group believed. the community needed some services and projects. 43 percent of the residents questioned actually went to the centers and of those that went 93 percent were satisfied. In conclusion, one finds that most local residents perceive a need for offered services, but the target system would be more benefited if the services reached more (M5 the residents. However, the people who received help were very satisfied and therefore benefited by the program. Take into consideration the values and culture of the people. Center managers and specialists collect information through visits and personal contact with local leaders and indigenous committees, in an attempt to set realistic goals for their annual plans. As stated earlier, the plans are gradually shifting from a major emphasis on the role of the change agent to an increased emphasis on the role of in— digenous committees and the concept of self-help. This change takes into consideration the values and culture of the people because local leaders are given a chance to adapt to modern methods before they are asked to use them in a leadership role. Successfully establish a link between the government, the changg agent and the target system. Annual plans establish links between the government, the change agent and the target system. The government requires change agents to design programs that are both consistant with national policy and with local needs. 75 An additional link is government financial support of programs. Government ndnisters must approve all projects before the project is funded. In order to receive funding a project must be considered beneficial to the target system. Have an appropriate time dimension in terms of lopg and short range goals. The national government sets general goals for the country in five year increments and requires local regions to redesign their programs every year. This system seems most appropriate because the government's plans are general enough to encompass both the individual localities' differing needs and the annual progress of each locale. Since the local plans are more specific in nature, they need to be for as shorter duration. One year plans work well because they are long enought to give some continuity but short enough to allow for revisions and make allowances for changing needs. A Brief Summary Saudi Arabia has a: well developed concept of planned change that is similar to the definition previously stated. In general, its plans are well thought out, bring change to existing social systems, benefit the target system, take into consideration the values and the culture of the people, effectively link the government, the change agent and the target system and have an appropriate time dimension. Available information does not allow one to objectively measure the closing of performance gaps. The one crucial area where Saudi Arabian plans (k) not meet 76 definition expectations is in the area of local participation, and this is more a problem of the culture than it is a problem with the plan. Saudi Arabia has the economic resources that make changes occur at a faster rate tflun: people's cultures can adapt. Until the people learn modernization skills they will be unable to participate as fully as one might wish. However, local residents are developing the needed skills and are participating in change by joining indigenous committees. Assessing the Application of the Changed Agent Concept In Chapter Two the concept of change agent was divided into five different components. As a quick review, they consisted of personality traits. Generally, this person or group of persons must: 1) have the appropriate knowledge, credentials and planning skills; 2) be able to work with people, both as a leader and as a team member; 3) understand the values and the culture of the people; 4) have the patience to help the client system and the client system become more involved in the planned change; 5) and be a person the target system respects, prefer- ably a citizen of the country involved. Since human characteristics are subjective in nature, supporting evidence concerning change agents will be more difficult to obtain. Since it is not possible to review the qualifications of individual Saudi CD agents, because that kind of information is not available to the public, one must deduce their char- acteristics by reviewing job performances. 77 Have the eppropriate knowledge, credentials and planning skills. The national government requires community development centers to have a team of nine specialists. This team includes a physician, nurse, health visitor, male and female social workers, literacy specialist, audio-visual aid specialist and an agriculture extension worker (in rural areas). In addition 46 percent of the workers have taken training programs at the Diriyah Center for Training and Applied Research in Community Development. Courses dealt with specific issues concerning Saudi Arabian development. Despite this degree of competency, 94% of the centers' managers felt that some of their workers needed additional training. It must be remembered that most community development centers are still predominately interested in having team members be technical experts instead of self-help trainers. When local residents have suffi- cient skills to accept self—help policies either there will be a change in staff or current workers will need to improve their self-help train- ing skills. Be able to work withppeople, both as a leader and as a team member. Change agents have to work on a team if they are to work in Saudi Arabia. This was explained in the previous section. In addition, the most crucial aspect of a: change agent's job involves designing annual plans and implementing the plans once they are designed. It is neces- sary to understand the needs of local residents if one is to design a successful plan and have a knowledge of the residents strengths and 78 weaknesses if one is to assess the degree of change a culture can accept during each one year period. Since 87 percent of the local residents believed that the centers have a positive effect in their area it is reasonable to assume that a majority of the change agents worked well enough with residents to adequately reflect local needs in the annual plans. Understand the values and cultures of the people. Change agents are required to understand the values and culture of the people because without that knowledge successful plans could not be designed. In order to understand local residents, change agents must spend time ix: the community and participate in community affairs. In the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs survey local residents were asked if they had personal contact with service center representatives, 60 percent of the families said they were contacted. This fact, coupled with the fact that 87 percent of the local residents believed that centers had a: positive effect in the community, leads one to conclude that the change agents had a good understanding of the values and culture of the people. Have the patience to help the client system and the target eystem become involved in planned change. Patience is a difficult characteristic to measure; however, a growth in target system participation is a concept that is more tangi- ble and easier to prove. It is reasonable to assume that a growth in local participation may be positively associated with a change agent's effort. 79 As stated previously, in the summary of planned change section,. lack of local participation has been the most serious problem change agents face in Saudi Arabia. Historically, local residents have passively accepted governmental actions and programs. With the rise in the number of indigenous committees, one is beginning to see a change in this behavior, but the change is just beginning and it will take many more years for the people to become full participants in the annual plans. Be a person the target system respects, preferably a citizen of the country involved. Since time agent comes to the community with the backing of the central government, he may have more credibility in the eyes of his clients than he would have without such backing, and enjoy more respect from the community for his technical knowledge and qualifications. However, this government association may' hinder local participation because local residents are used to taking a passive role in govern- mental affairs. A brief summary Saudi Arabian change agents are unique in many respects. Their major role is one of a technical assistant rather than a self-help instigator. In addition, the change agent is a representative of the central government and is not directly accountable to the people. These two factors combine to set the agent a part from the people and makes him more of a leader than a community member. It seems that this unusual development is the result of Saudi Arabia's rather unique economic situation. The government has enough 8O economic resources :33 instigate massive reforms but the citizens are not technically equipped to handle these rapid advances. Therefore, technical assistants (change agents) are improved into deprived regions to fill the gap until local residents are able to replace them. Assessing the Application of the Target Syetem Concept The theoretical concept of target system was outlined in Chapter Two. The definition consisted of three major points. They included: 1) Community development will benefit local residents if the target system concept is used to identify the group of individuals who will benefit from planned changes; 2) People in a target system can be divided into several sub—groups, ranging from innovators (early adopters) to laggards (late adopters) that adopt the new proposals at varying speeds; 3) Community development will be more beneficial if the early adopters in the target system (client system) actively parti- cipate in the planning of the program. In order to compare Saudi Ara— bian's target system to the one outlined above, it is necessary to apply data from Chapter Three to the individual components listed above. CD will benefit target systems if target system concept is followed. The Saudi Arabian government has a list of guidelines that is used to establish the necessity' of community development centers. This establishment is based on perceived needs. Areas must have a certain degree of deprivation before they are considered potential locations for centers. Such areas of deprivation include: public cleanliness; electric current; governmental and indigenous social services; active cooperatives; treatmental and preventive health services; cultural 81 services and adult education; and agricultural services and veterinary services. In addition, as was mentioned in previous sections, target systems have benefited from existing planned change efforts. 88 percent of residents believed their communities needed some services and projects. Also, 87 percent of those polled felt that their areas had benefited from the centers. Hence, one may conclude that many Saudi Arabian localities are target systems or are potential target systems that can benefit from planned change. The target system can be divided into several sub—groupe that adopt new proposals at varying speeds. When investigating the composition of the target system one sub- group, the client system, is readily identifiable. It is composed of local leaders and this groups is the first to participate in planned change. Generally, this group is rather well organized and sometimes forms ant indigenous committee. These committees actively participate in projects at the service centers. Another easily identifiable group is the uneducated poor. This group is generally the most resistant of the groups to change. The uneducated poor are the nmst resistant to change for several reasons, including a lag in knowledge, a tendency to be socially isolated and a fear of innovations. Change is very risky for a person living at a subsistance level. If the change is not successful his living standard could suffer for a very long time. Any combination of the above reasons will leave him very skeptical. These people will eventually attempt the change only after the rest of the community has empirical evidence to show the benefits of the change. 82 further evidence of division in the target system is demonstrated in responses given to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs survey. 89 percent of those surveyed knew of the existance of community develop- ment and service centers in the area in which they lived; 73 percent knew why the center originated; 69 percent knew the specific activities and services that existed in their areas; and 43 percent actually went to the centers to benefit from the services. One can readily identify the differences in the level of participation of the local residents. From this, one can infer that residents more active or more knowledge- able are more accepting of the new proposals. Community development will be more beneficial if the early adopters in the target system actively participates in the planning the the program. The early adopters, or’ the client systems, are local citizens who participate in the community development process through indigenous committees. 81 percent of centers' managers say that it would not be possible to practice center activities with the same competence without the existing indigenous committees. 63.16 percent of the indigenous committees were able to increase the native population's participation in projects. However, not all indigenous committees were able to fully partici- pate to their expected capacity. Under half (41%) of these committees performed a primary role in determining CD activities in their local community. Only 12.5 percent (Hi the center managers said that ideas for projects came from the indigenous committee. Hence, one may con- clude that the client system plays a more active role than any other part (H? the target systmn, but they are capable of being even more 83 active if center managers were more responsive. A brief summary In general, the Saudi Arabian target system has developed in accordance to the conceptual framework developed in Chapter Two. It was shown that the Saudi Arabian target system benefited from planned change, that the the target system can be divided into several sub— groups who adopt to changes at varying speeds and that the uneducated poor are found to be a group most resistant to change. The role (H? the indigenous committee is becoming more controver— sial. In many ways, this group is ready to accept more responsibility for planned change but it is meeting with resistance from center managers. Summary of Chapter Four The theoretical concept is the ideal towards which any CD program should work, however, one should not be surprised if the program does not match the concept completely -- although it should be working in that direction. In Saudi Arabia one must adapt the country's unusual amount of economic resources to the formula for planned change. As a result of these resources, more change can occur in less time. This results 1J1 the selection of a different type of change agent and more stress on the target system. Summarizing the chapter, one finds that Saudi Arabian planned change generally follows the theoretical concept in that it is a well organized plan that incorporates CD methods. However, there are signi- ficant differences in the concepts of change agent and target system 84 due to the speed at which changes are to OCCur. The Saudi Arabian government wants to modernize as quickly as possible, therefore they use technical assistants as change agents instead of more traditional self-help initiators. As a result, the target system participates less than they otherwise would. It is the government's belief that the change agents will become self—help initi- ators and the target system more participatory when the peformance gap closes and the people are more modernized. CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSIONS CONCERNING THIS STUDY OF APPLICATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS Summary of Chapters One, Two and Three Chapter One showed how the large increase of revenue in Saudi Arabia has encouraged the government to accelerate development in general, with particular emphasis on community development. The overall objective of this study was to determine the application of CD concepts (planned change, change agents, and target system) in Saudi Arabian Community Development Centers. Chapter Two carefully examines and reviews current literature on the concepts of planned change, change agent and the target system. Briefly, planned change is an organized, well thought out effort to bring about change taking into consideration the target system‘s needs, values and culture. The change agent must have the skills which help him deal with the client and target system and develop appropriate planned change. The target system is the citizens that will directly benefit from the planned change. Chapter Three is 21 brief introduction to Saudi Arabia. It con- cluded that the population was homogeneous racially, linguistically and religiously which made the development process more effective. Community development was divided into three sections -— social, human 85 86 resourcees and‘water and agriculture. These sections are responsible for a variety of programs. Community development centers are respon- sible for carrying out CD plans and have gone through the experimental stage into the continuance stage, with an emphasize in method rather than quantity of projects. Community development centers are determined by locality's resources, population and degree of deprivation. The basic objectives of the community development plans are to increase citizen participation (target system) to form indigenous committees (client system) to improve local standards of living. Summary of Chapter Four Findings Through the assessment of the application of three key CD con- cepts -u- planned change, change agent and target system, in Chapter Four, it was evident that the concepts are being applied in Saudi Arabia with some success. These three concepts are all interrelated within the CD process and work together to increase the development of the community. So even though here they have been looked at inde- pendently they are part of the same process. The first concept considered is that of planned change. In the review of application it was found that the process of planned change in Saudi Arabia coincides with the definition of planned change as provided iJI Chapter Two. It appears that tflua people responsible for making CD plans in Saudi Arabia have a good grasp of the concept of planned change and have made plans accordingly. However, the fact that a program has a good theoretical base does not guarantee success, although success is unlikely to come about without a good theoretical base. 87 The change agent in Saudi Arabia follows the concept as a technical assistant or facilitator. This happens as a result of the CD centers being under the control of the central government which provides the funding, equipment and the five year plans. Even though the individual center may have some input, it is still carrying out its plans in accordance with the national plan; this may limit their freedom of plan— ning somewhat. Also it is assumed in the five year plan that the impetus for new programs will come from the indigenous committees and the guidelines for carrying them out are set by the central government, so the role of the change agent is set up as facilitator, distributor of technology, and coordinator of programs. The self-help approach is encouraged through the indigenous committees who now are only playing a limited role in comparison to that which was hoped they would play. The role of the change agent is somewhat limited by the lack of par— ticipation on the part of the target system. Although participation on the part of the target system has in- creased, it is still below the level at which it should be. Although the people know about the center, few know exactly what services it provides and less than half have actually utilized one of the center's services. The indigenous committees that make up the client system have not participated at the expected level either. Fewer than half of these committees felt that they were allowed a primary role in the development of new projects with little over half reporting main responsibility in the execution of their projects. These results, however, are based on limited research. The conceptual base (Hf CD in Saudi Arabia is sound, however, the two groups that are most directly responsible for the progress of the 88 program -— the change agent and the target system -— are not fulfilling their roles in accordance to the plan. Conclusion Based on the findings from Chapter Four it is possible to conclude that Saudi Arabia is implementing a relatively successful planned change program. However, greater emphasis must be placed on local residents' participation in the programs. In addition, one must remember that there is a scarcity of information on Saudi Arabian centers' progress and that the only information currently available was obtained from a ten year old survey sponsored by the government. Hence, these con- clusions must be viewed as generalizations rather than solid based facts. 1. Saudi Arabian planned change attempts are organized and well thought out efforts. This conclusion is supported by the amount of planning that occurs at the community development centers. 2. These plans attempt to bring about change in existing social systems. Evidence from the Ministry of Labor and. Social Affairs survey found that 50 percent of the centers' managers, approximately 70 percent of the field specialists and 87 percent of local residents felt that their activities helped realize specified objectives. 3. The major objective of these plans is to close performance gaps. One may infer that the gap is closing because both administrators and participants feel the programs are success— ful, but there is no concrete evidence such as changing literacy rates or life expectancy' information, that allows one to dray these conclusions objectively. 4. Local participation in community development plans is still below acceptable levels. The Saudi Arabian people have a great many skills to obtain before they can fully participate in planned change activities. 5. In general, the planned change benefits the target system (local population). 93 percent of the people who participated in the programs were well satisfied with the results. 89 6. Local values and cultures were taken into consideration by Saudi Arabian change agents. Center managers and field specialists were required to consult local residents-before preparing plans. 7. Planned change projects must successfully link national goals to local requirements in order to receive financial support for the projects. 8. A one year planned program works ‘well. as the proper time framework because it is long enough to give direction but short enough to allow revisions and make allowances for changing needs. 9. Saudi Arabian change agents have an appropriate knowledge, credentials and planning skills to successfully act as tech- nical experts, but ck) not employ the skills needed for im- proved target system participation. 10. These change agents must be able to work in a team situation since the government requires. community development centers to have nine specialists (a physician, social workers, nurse, etc.) to work as a single unit. In addition the change agents must work effectively with local residents. This is supported by the positive response local residents gave to their participation in programs sponsored by the community service centers. 11. Although residents enjoy the benefits of service centers they do not have the skills to fully participate in. self-help programs. Therefore change agents must both act as technical assistants and encourage local participation. An increase of participation is evidenced by the rise in the number of indigenous committees. 12. The change agents, as government representatives, enjoy community respect. However, this government association may hinder local participation because local residents are used to taking a passive role in governmental affairs. 13. The target system can be divided into different sub—groups that adopt proposals at varying speeds. Generally, those who need the services the most (i.e. the uneducated poor) are the last to adopt the changes and those who need the services the least (local leaders) are the first to adopt the proposals and actively participate in the programs as members of the indigenous committee. In summary, rapid economic growth has provided Saudi Arabia with the funds tn) implement many programs and to bring a lot of new technology ixux) the country. However, increased income, a lot of technology and 90 increased building give the appearance of development, but does not necessarily represent development. CD depends on a structural change within the community, a process of improvement of the quality of life, not the quantity of funds. The people in Saudi Arabia may become con- tent and complacent with. the outward. appearance of development and their increased income, but to ensure a better living standard for all they should follow the method of CD and effect real change and real development. Recommendations for Increased Effectiveness of Saudi Arabian Community Development Centers After undertaking this study, and synthesizing available material the author suggests the following plan of action for Saudi Arabian community development centers. 1. Annual plans should actively encourage self-help even at the expense of slowing down change. 2. Additional education centers are needed to train changed agents in both theory and practice. This will produce change agents more qualified at pursuading local residents to participate in programs. Outside specialists must be brought into Saudi Arabia since there already is a shortage of qualified personnel to staff centers. 3. An emphasis should be made to increase the general education of the local residents. When people are better educated they are able to accept changes faster, and increase participation. 4. More community development centers are needed for regions who are not currently exposes to these services. This will allow more people to benefit from technological advances. 5. People should be better informed about which CD programs are provided at their local centers. Public media should be used in educational campaigns. 6. Community development centers need to build a communications network so they can benefit from each others progress. 91 7. Additional methods of research need to be developed to ef— fectively measure the progress of change. One must develop a means of measuring literacy rates, life expectancy and agri- cultural production so that one can accurately access the bene- fits of planned changed programs. Also, one should employ an institution, such as a Saudi Arabian university, that is both relatively unbiased and reliable to ensure the facts are accurate. 8. Along with the objective data, mentioned in recommendation seven, one needs more currently subjective data. Another survey, similar to the one sponsored by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, is needed to measure local residents' attitudes toward the centers and their readiness to participate in the programs. This survey such be conducted by an unbiased party. Implications If the Saudi Arabian government was to accept all of the recom— mendations outlined above there would be both immediate and long term effects on planned change efforts. At first Saudi Arabian Community Development Centers would experience a period of relatively slow progress. More emphasis would be placed on building centers and train- ing change agents than on specific programs. Once the additional cen- ters were constructed and needed staff was trained, than new programs would begin. Local residents would be encouraged to learn new skills that would allow them to participate more fully in the programs; i.e. instead of standing in line to receive a small pox vaccination, village children would learn to read an) they could become doctors and nurses and help give those shots. Of course, vaccination programs and other beneficial programs wmuld continue, but the programs would have dual purposes. The programs would continue helping the people, but with more emphasis on having the people develop the necessary skills to help themselves. Eventually these recommendations will lead tx) a much more rapid 92 acceptance of and participation in community development programs. Once the population is better educated it will respond more readily to planned change proposals. Hence, the overall effect of these proposals is to increase the rate of progress and the level of local partici- pation. Limitations When one completes any research project there are several limita— tions that must be addressed. Limitations the author has experienced are listed below. 1. Saudi Arabia has an absence of valuable data concerning cogni- tive skills, life expectancy, etc. It is very difficult to judge the success of a pmogram without being able to effec— tively measure pre—planned change levels to post-planned change levels. 2. The only available information was an outdated (ten year old) survey taken by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs where most of the questions were answered by the directors of the CD centers and not by the people themselves. In addition, the central government both sponsored the CD centers and the sur- vey, so it has a vested interest in presenting the centers in a favorable light. 3. The author's primary language skills is Arabic and not English, therefore the research was more difficult to undertake. 4. This was the first major research project developed by the author. The results would have been much better if the author had all the research skills at the beginning that he had developed by the end. Even with these major limitations the author feels he learned much about the community development and about the application of community development concepts in Saudi Arabia. He hopes this study will help him and others improve living conditions in Saudi Arabia. BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY Al-Farsy, Fouad. Saudi Arabia: A Case Study in Development. Stacey International, London, 1980. Cary, Lee .1. Community Development As a Process. University of Mis— souri Press, Columbia, 1970. Christenson, J.A. and J.W. Robinson (eds.). Community Development in America. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press. Dar Al Shoroun, Ed. Saudi Arabia and Its Place in the World, Ministry of Information, Riyadh, 1979. Dodge, W. "The Ten Commandments of CD or one Middle-Aged Graduate's Advice for New Graduates." Journal of the CD Society II: pp. 29- 39, 1980. El-Mallakh. Saudi Arabia's Rush to Development, 1982. Havelock and Havelock. Training for Change Agents. Institute for Social Research, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1973. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Annual Report about Community Development and Service Centers Achivements, 1982 (Arabic language). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, A Brief Glance at the Deputies of Ministry for Social and Social Care, 1981 (Arabic language). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Evaulation of Community Development and Service Centers in Saudi Arabia, December 1974 (Arabic language). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Public Department for Development and Service. Foundations and Standards for Selection of Community Development Locations, 1980 (Arabic language). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Planning. Second Development Plan 1975—1980. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Planning. The Third Develop— ment Plan 1980-1985. 93 94 Kuran, George Thomas. Encylopedia of the Third World, Volume II, 1982. Mahgoub, Dr. Ali A. Community Development in Saudi Arabia. Center for Training and Applied Research in (3J3. Diriyah, Saudi ‘Arabia, February, 1976. Peppelenbasch, P.G.N. Reflection on Community Development in the Arab Countries. Community Development International Issue of "Centro Soclale” 17-18, 1967. Rogers, E.M. Diffusion of Innovations. New York: The Free Press. 1983. Zaltman, G. anui R. Duncan. Strategies for Planned Change. 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