Introduction to CED

Introduction to
Community Economic Development
(CED)

A growing number of people feel that our world isn't working anymore. The story that we tell ourselves to explain how things are held together doesn't hold together itself. The economic numbers don't add up to a better life, governments admit to needing to be re-invented and the much touted "new world order" appears to be anything but. Many feel that things just don't make sense.

People all over the globe are ardently working to improve the quality of their lives. Some are acting strategically by following a well defined critique and analysis of the status quo. Others are just doing what they can, individually and in groups, to create a better world for themselves, their families and their communities.

It is said that if you want to understand something, try to change it. Our understanding of how things work (and don't work) is deepening as people work for change. Some call the work they do "Community Economic Development" or CED. We have much to learn from their stories of CED initiatives.

CED is both a new vision of community development and a new direction for the practise of development. The vision and direction of CED are combined and reflected in the work of those who are practicing a CED approach to change. CED may take different forms from one community to the next, but the CED approach does have some common principles, processes, strategies and tactics.

CED integrates ends and means in a principled way.

CED principles are grounded in a belief in the capability and responsibility of people to undertake community-based and community-directed economic initiatives for the good of all community members and for the planet.

CED is dynamic and responsive to new learning and the broader social, economic, cultural, ecological and political context. CED is therefore evolving. The CED approach will have a significant and growing impact on our personal lives and communities in the years ahead. The movement toward community life based upon CED principles is influenced by some key forces. CED is also exerting its own influence on these forces:

Changes in the roles of the public, private and voluntary sectors,
Demands for greater individual participation in community life,
Increasing cultural and social diversity,
The changing relationship between cities and rural communities,
The growing importance of information and communications technologies,
New approaches to education, and
A new paradigm of development based upon sustainability.

Copyright 1997, Simon Fraser University Community Economic Development Centre, unless prior copyright is indicated herein. You are welcome to make a copy for your own use, provided this copyright paragraph is included in full and credit is given. For any other duplication or distribution purpose (profit or non-profit), please contact the CED Centre, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC Canada, V5A 1S6, Phone (604) 291 5850, Fax (604) 291-5473