Territorial Participative Diagnoses for Integral and Sustainable Human Development (ISHD)

Abstract

The main mission of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at La Salle University in Bogota proposes the participation in the development of local and regional communities through research with social-economic and political relevance. Within these research processes, the Social Work Program is leading a five-year project to identify a methodology for Participative Diagnoses within the framework of integral and sustainable human development. The article presents the progress made in the process undertaken during the first three years including the phases of document review, successful case studies, design of the proposal, methodology piloting and the offer of territories. The project aims to generate permanent and updated knowledge as basis for decisionmaking on planning or management of development for and from communities. It is based on: participation as a right and duty of the community; territory as habitat, diagnosis as a strategy for appropriation of contexts, fair, ethical and democratic communities, promotion of peace and community conflict resolution for social change and exercise of citizenship.