Community Learning Center or CLC is a Learning and Development hub of the community
Establishing the CLC may not be difficult
but to make it sustainable. It's an ultimate goal of those who runs the CLC as well as the community people themselves.
In reality many countries are still facing critical challenges in achieving this goal
to create a sustainable CLC you need to think about
three key questions
one how to make CLC sustainable?
two what are the roles of CLC manager or facilitator ?
and three what are the roles of CLC committee ?
the first question is how to make CLC sustainable ?
one of the most important factors is ownership
For community members ownership is built when a mere CLC participant
who might come from a grassroots group
could become a key player in decision making process
In Indonesia the study found that CLC
established by local community groups have the greatest advantage and
leveraging level of community participation and ownership
to enhance a sense of ownership promote community engagement at all stages of decision-making process
from management to activity levels
there are many occasions that you could involve community people in the process
engage them when you develop community database
conduct needs assessment to identify learning needs
make plans and implement CLC activities
they could support you to mobilize resources
take part in monitoring and evaluation process
or help you to disseminate CLC activities
it is important to remember that the greater degree of community
participation and CLC activities
the greater the possibility and reality of ownership
and more participation leading to more ownership
more ownership leading to more sustainability
after building ownership you might wonder
if your CLCs can be sustained without external support
community members may contribute to some
CLC functions they benefit from
but this will not be adequate
to sustain CLC activities
therefore external support is still needed
it may come from the government
or in some countries from NGOs
Many studies reveal that external funding sources are essential for CLCs movement
there is indeed an effort in most places to make CLCs become self-reliant over time
therefore external support should be decreased
as internal autonomy increases for sustainability of CLC in the long run
and local contribution to functioning of the CLC should not be ignored
lastly to make CLC sustainable
you also need a local network
think about defining the roles and responsibilities
of your network partners
try to mobilize their resources and expertise of your CLC
to maintain relationship with your partners
make sure that you have regular contact with them
create information sharing system on each partner's knowledge and expertise
strengths and weaknesses
explore opportunities to cooperate with public and private organizations and NGOs
provide capacity-building and learning opportunities for your network
ensure good Network atmosphere respect
and treat your network partners equally