Helping to Build Capable Communities

The Solertia Approach to Integrated Development

Solertia has created a pragmatic strategy to help accelerate broad-based sustainable advancement of marginalized communities, regions and countries. The primary operational focus is on the community and micro-regional level.

A "Model Program for the Advancement of Capable Communities" serves as the paradigm for the creation and implementation of location specific programs. Each one of these programs embodies both demonstration and proliferation of the approach for integrated community development.

Organizational, technological, social and financial components of the Model Program are adapted as appropriate to the particular local conditions of each community or region. The Solertia approach also includes sector and other development support programs complementary to the localized programs.

The Model Program includes the following four partly overlapping phases:

1. Formation of base knowledge, action network and
    community objectives

2. Creation of integrated operative support structure
    and services

3. Development and implementation of new economic
    social and other activities

4. Proliferation of the approach

Local development support structure and services:
   

are inclusive, timely, and easy to access, understand and
    use in the community,
   

enable the active participation of most community members,
   

encourage and facilitate the focused, constructive, and
    coordinated involvement of civil society, the private sector,
    and all levels of the public sector in the development process,
   

integrate with development support structures outside
    the locality, and
   

promote the appropriate, coherent and cost-effective
    functioning of international aid.

The model is flexible and has substantial capacity for accommodating local uniqueness, variations in context over time, and spontaneous innovation. It can also be used as a framework in conjunction with other models and methodologies focusing primarily on more specialized aspects of development, such as disaster prevention and mitigation, environment, cooperative activities, or learning.

In order to promote well-informed choice and action, all members of the communities and all others concerned will have easy access to relevant and timely information, knowledge and training in a locally understood form and language. This is provided through a combination of social and technological facilities and services made available to everyone, including people of limited or no formal learning and of widely diverse cultures and languages. Each community will have their own local development (internet) website with both pragmatic and catalytic functions.

The new support structures and services facilitate and promote the start-up and implementation of a multitude of practical projects and other activities that drive socio-economic development and quality of life improvements in each community.

For more information on the Model Program please see:

Integrated Community Development

For information on the first demonstration and proliferation program please see:

The San Juan Mixtepec – Mixteca Region
Demonstration and Proliferation Program