Social workAcademic discipline and professionSocial work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being.
Community organizationCommunity organization or community based organization refers to organization aimed at making desired improvements to a community's social health, well-being, and overall functioning. Community organization occurs in geographically, psychosocially, culturally, spiritually, and digitally bounded communities. Community organization includes community work, community projects, community development, community empowerment, community building, and community mobilization.
Community developmentThe United Nations defines community development as "a process in which community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems." It is a broad concept, applied to the practices of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens, and professionals to improve various aspects of communities, typically aiming to build stronger and more resilient local communities.
Community buildingCommunity building is a field of practices directed toward the creation or enhancement of community among individuals within a regional area (such as a neighborhood) or with a common need or interest. It is often encompassed under the fields of community organizing, community organization, community work, and community development.
Policy analysisPolicy analysis or public policy analysis is a technique used in the public administration sub-field of political science to enable civil servants, nonprofit organizations, and others to examine and evaluate the available options to implement the goals of laws and elected officials. People who regularly use policy analysis in their work, particularly those who use it as a major part of their job duties are generally known by the title policy analyst.
Social changeSocial change is the alteration of the social order of a society which may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations. Sustained at a larger scale, it may lead to social transformation or societal transformation. DefinitionSocial change may not refer to the notion of social progress or sociocultural evolution, the philosophical idea that society moves forward by evolutionary means.
Community organizingCommunity organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. Unlike those who promote consensus-based community building, community organizers generally assume that social change necessarily involves conflict and social struggle in order to generate collective power for the powerless.
Social scienceBranch of science that studies society and its relationshipsSocial science (or the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of society", established in the 18th century.
Health visitorHealth visitors are professional individuals engaged in public health work within the domestic setting, predominantly found in countries with state-funded health systems. They are distinct from district nurses, who provide clinical healthcare, domestically.
Internet activismUse of the internet to facilitate activismInternet activism involves the use of electronic-communication technologies such as social media, e-mail, and podcasts for various forms of activism to enable faster and more effective communication by citizenmovements, the delivery of particular information to large and specific audiences, as well as coordination. Internet technologies are used by activists for cause-related fundraising, community building, lobbying, and organizing.
MediationMediation is a form of dispute resolution that resolves disputes between two or more parties, facilitated by an independent neutral third party known as the mediator. It is a structured, interactive process where the mediator assists the parties to negotiate a resolution or settlement through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All participants in mediation are encouraged to participate actively in the process.
Social engineering (political science)Social engineering is influencing particular attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale. This is often undertaken by governments, or mass media, but may also be carried out by academia or private groups in order to produce desired characteristics in a target population. Origin of conceptThe Dutch industrialist (nl) used the term sociale ingenieurs ("social engineers") in an essay in 1894.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.