Youths in the Network of Community-Based Organizations: Brokers, Actors, Innovators

Background

Community-based organizations (CBOs) are increasingly important in social services. Networking is an essential strategy for CBOs to expand resource pool, acknowledge local needs, and build on community identity. Many American case studies have identified external experts as the critical persons facilitating collaboration across organizations. This study investigates the social network of Southern Wan-Hua, a once prosperous area with highest poverty rate in Taipei, Taiwan. Three cliques including traditional community development associations (CDAs), social services agencies, and new community building groups are loosely linked. Unlike the American cases, certain youths are found the intermediate hubs connecting across the cliques. They are young workers or leaders of CBOs. This study further examines why the youths are involved, how they connect CBOs together, and what changes they have made. Also discussed is the role differences between youths and experts in this network.

Methods

This is a mixed-method study. Implemented are a face-to-face structured survey of 28 CBOs in Southern Wan-Hua, two focus groups of the CBOs, and ten individual interviews of the youths involved. The CBOs are defined as non-profit and non-government organizations with mission about wellbeing of the community and people living in the area. Software packages used were UCINET 6 for social network analysis and IMB SPSS 22 for variable-based survey data. Qualitative data were digitally recorded and transcribed into text for analysis.

Results

(1) Motivation

The youths have strong commitment to vulnerable population and civil society values. Their CBOs locate in this area in service of the intensive social problems such as homeless and unprivileged family. Low housing cost is also an incentive for the CBOs, like their clients. Since the financial resources of a single organization and residents’ community capacity are limited, the youths and their CBOs work closely under the umbrella concept of community work encompassing a series of collaborative values and organization related methods.

(2) Strategy of networking

The youths organized several times of community market engaging over 20 CBOs and local stores. They also organized multiple coalitions of crowdfunding, grant application, social advocacy, and study circles. The formats, topics, and leadership of partnership vary from case to case. Resources shared across organizations are information, talents, space, and volunteers.

(3) Social impact

Roles of the youths include broker, actor, and innovator. They bridge the clusters of CBOs through personal and organizational relationships. Compared to external experts, the youths’ strengths lie in work-life flexibility, cross-discipline skills, and cyber communication that continuously carry out new social actions and events. Through interlock collaboration, trust accumulates and facilitate further joint action. The youths lead many people in many CBOs to look upon long-term benefits of this area over instant exchange and political favor.

Conclusions and Implications

The emergence of youths in the CBOs’ partnership at Southern Wan-Hwa makes a case of peer-to-peer network. The cost of discussion greatly decreases with internet. It is plausible to share leadership with mutual belief in the civic values. Implication to community work competencies, social work education, and youth community participation policy are discussed.