These are the 4 factors needed for a new development model

Since 1945, developing nations have received more than $4.9 trillion in development aid, yet the impacts of this funding have sparked controversy. Africa alone has received more than $1 trillion in aid, yet the recipients are worse off with the poor becoming poorer. Large sums of money have been wasted on failed development efforts with disastrous consequences.

Strategies to improve development efficacy and efficiency are needed. As social development is the foundation of every rising nation, the best ways for nations to grow and prosper and for change to be sustainable and long-lasting, is for communities to be empowered as change agents.

There are four frequently disregarded factors when establishing a new model for development:

There are two basic forms of community development that complement one another: the development model and the charity model.

Development models must be preceded by charitable aid; both models are needed and complement each other. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, people’s needs include physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem and self-actualization. The five stages of need start with deficiency needs and progress to growth.

Most people, however, associate humanitarian work with a solely charity-based approach. Charity-based models have a power dynamic at their foundation with a powerful giver and a vulnerable receiver, glamorizing the hero-victim storyline. Development-based models take time to ensure that all parties are involved in the process from the ground up. In this concept, there is no hero-victim mindset.

Many people fall into the trap of assisting underprivileged communities through a charity-based model by providing them with immediate, tangible actions to address their problems but not genuinely enabling them to drive long-term and sustainable change.

These two models are vastly different but must work simultaneously for civilizations to rise. Development and government agencies and NGOs should not choose one over the other, but should be wary of becoming trapped in the cycle of charity models and instead strive for robust, far-reaching development models.

Many marginalized groups are not only deprived of resources, but also of the education required to ensure the long-term viability of any assistance provided.

I once worked on adding solar panel lighting to an unlit, marginalized neighbourhood. Months after the lighting was added, I checked in on it: one light was broken by a slingshot that children in the neighbourhood used to break the light. Even though this neighbourhood was completely unlit at night and posed a threat to the local community, the education around what it truly means to be civically engaged members of the community and leaders in sustaining positive change was lacking.

Education is critical to instil the sense in local communities that they deserve more and may work towards the life they desire. Education should be at the cornerstone of the empowerment cycle. Citizens should be made aware of what is being done, why it is being done and their critical role in the sustainability of development projects through shared ownership and thorough awareness of these important projects, and their role and civic duty in their continuation.

The future should be shaped by those who will live in it. Communities and agencies should develop deep partnerships and an understanding of shared values before any project is implemented. Each community has unique needs, and initiatives should be tailored to meet those needs without assumptions being made about the specific difficulties groups confront.

When global issues are being addressed, they should be localized and tailored to address specific community contexts. Solutions should stem from the community’s direct requests.

We once worked on making a park accessible for people with disabilities. Ramps were added to the park as well as accessible toys. We planted the park with aloe vera plants and added an accessible seesaw which a disabled and non-disabled child can enjoy together. A few months after completion, the toy was broken because children had jumped on the side of the seesaw intended for a disabled person until they broke it. The aloe vera plants were stolen too.

We kept fixing the toy until we realized the importance of building close ties to the community so they are involved in positive change and can lead it and protect it from harm.

Sustainability should be an effortless rather than a tedious task. Anything within a charity-based model will never be sustainable enough for the next step: proper development.

How can change be sustainable without a constant influx of money? It is through programmes designed to run with minimum effort and funding, and ones from which the local community benefit through their participation and support.

La Cité Fertile in Paris is an example of a sustainable city that brings together players committed to environmental, social and economic development to work towards entrepreneurial innovation and eco-friendly communities. It takes abandoned governmental or city-owned buildings, such as disused railroad tracks or military bases, and rents them to entrepreneurs in the city to refurbish and use.

Positioned in a marginalized community, it opens spaces for people in the area to work and operate in with minimal costs. It develops experimental spaces for a shared sustainable city with a vegetable garden, a greenhouse, compost, rainwater recovery basins, beehives, green roofs and 250 species of trees and plants. This is an example of true sustainable change where the community are both the leaders and direct beneficiaries in this project.

Forward-thinking governments in partnership with a progressive private sector can lead to true positive sustainability.

Pairing charity-based models with development-based models, educating recipients throughout the development process, developing close ties with local communities whereby they are leaders of the change and developing effortless, smart sustainability tactics can ensure proper lasting development that solves problems at their core.