Community-Driven Development (CDD) within and beyond the KALAHI-CIDSS

Regletto Aldrich Imbong

Associate Professor of Philosophy
University of the Philippines Cebu

Project Leader, UPCIDS – Local Regional Studies Network Cebu

Discussion Paper Series 2025-19

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This paper traces occasions of the community-driven development (CDD) approach within and beyond the Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS).
While CDD is typically associated with KALAHI-CIDSS, a development program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) where CDD is consciously applied, the paper argues that a similar approach has been practiced in a local community in Cebu through a people’s organization which is outside the scope of the KALAHI-CIDSS. To elaborate this point, the paper first briefly reviews the history and concepts guiding CDD as a development model. It then discusses instances where CDD is consciously practiced in KALAHI-CIDSS community-partners within the provinces of Negros. This is followed by a discussion of how a people’s organization in the Municipality of Aloguinsan in the Province of Cebu practiced what I contend as a CDD approach, albeit outside the scope of DSWD’s program. While existing literature in the country concerning CDD talks about the need for such an approach to be institutionalized, all the interventions so far refer to CDD initiatives of the KALAHI-CIDSS. This paper further expands the discussion by not only broadening the meaning and scope of CDD but also allowing a better appreciation of organically initiated development programs of people’s and other civil society organizations (CSOs).

ISSN 2619-7448 (Print)
ISSN 2619-7456 (Online)

Link:
https://cids.up.edu.ph/download/community-driven-development-cdd-within-beyond-kalahi-cidss/