Can the boundaries of community management be extended beyond rural areas? Lessons from Ghana

Community management, a central part of community development, has gained wide acceptance among service intermediaries such as governmental agencies, NGOs and donor organizations mainly as a result of the failure of the top-down approach to development. Policy instruments therefore aim at a bottom-up approach in basic service delivery such as water supply and sanitation. Operationally, the extent to which community management can be inserted into development strategies has remained elusive giving rise to instances where it has produced mixed results. Vast documentation exists, though, on the success of community management in rural settings. Can the boundaries of community management be extended from rural areas to larger communities? Case studies from the water sector in Ghana support a paradigm shift for community development in larger communities? The results and the implications for community development are discussed.