Community Mobilizing:

Mobilizing Communities to Improve Health and Education

COMPASS’ community mobilization strategy seeks to create an environment in which all Nigerians are involved in learning, planning, and taking action to improve health and education in their communities. The strategy’s main goal is to promote a sense of ownership whereby community members take responsibility for their own community’s development.

Approach to Implementation

To ensure active community participation, COMPASS uses two conceptual frameworks based on participatory problem solving approaches: the Community Action Cycle (CAC) and Partnership Defined Quality (PDQ). The CAC encourages community members to work together to identify priority problems in their communities, define and identify solutions, and take action to improve the situation. The process also includes reviewing progress made in order to adjust strategies and/or address new problems.  PDQ is a similar methodology that involves service providers and community members working on specific quality issues at the health facility or school level. 

Quality improvement teams are established at the facility level (hospital, clinic, or school) and consist of both service providers or teachers and community representatives working together to improve quality of services. 

Community coalitions are formed at the community level and consist of all interested community groups within a specific community. Representatives may include members of Parent-Teacher Associations, women groups, youth groups, community-based organizations, and quality improvement teams. Through the CAC process, community coalitions develop action plans to address health and education problems in their communities and promote the use of health and education services. COMPASS provides technical assistance and guides the community coalitions in identifying strategies for implementing their action plans.

Achieving Results >>