The university and the effectiveness of community development: The promotion of community ownership in the Nicaraguan Autonomous Regions

Abstract

In little more than six decades of theory and practice, development has become one of the most controversial and elusive concepts in its achievement. At first, there was the steady belief that solely economic development would result in a trickle-down effect of benefits to the entire society, further leading to modernity, democracy and social wellbeing. The lack of a fast, significant, equitable and sustainable reduction of poverty has increasingly dragged attention to collectivity, affective ties and cultural identity for bringing about inclusive development. This is a doctoral research in the development studies field focused on community ownership as a key variable for assessing the effectiveness of community development accompaniment processes. It had its basis in a case study research methodology- carried out in three communities (Tuara, Españolina and El Carao), a main outcome of this PhD thesis is a community ownership accompaniment model. This conceptual and methodological model is derived from the collective agency, social capital and participation theories.