Definitions - D to G
D
Deciding - Deciding what we are going to do about the issue, based on what we know and the information we have been able to gather from other sources.
Demographic data - Statistical facts and figures that describe the community in terms of age, gender, ethnicity and religion.
Demonstrated need - What their actions show they need. Also called 'expressed need'.
Developmental work - Working in a way that supports personal, community and organisational growth.
Disempowered - Where the ability, confidence and resources to act have been removed or eroded.
E
Ethical - Morally correct or honourable.
Evaluating - A review to help us track the quality of our process.
Evaluation grant - Made to a project that has run successfully as a pilot project and requires a formal external evaluation before seeking major support or sponsorship. The grant effectively works as a leverage tool, enabling the recipient to seek further funding with accurate, extensive and impartial information on their project for potential grant-makers to consider.
Expressed need - What their actions show they need. Also called 'demonstrated need'.
F
Facilitating - Helping groups to reach their own conclusions without biasing them with your point of view.
Facilitator - A person who helps a group to reach its own conclusions, without biasing the groups' decisions with his/her point of view.
Felt need - What people say they need.
Fields of action - Issues or problems a community is working on. Also called 'action fields'.
G
Goals - The results you want to work towards. Also called 'aims'.
Group skills - The ability to facilitate group work. It includes an understanding of the things that characterise effective groups, the stages of group development, ways to keep the group safe for everyone, and effective communication.
Groupthink - A way of thinking. It often occurs when everyone has similar ideas and the group thinks in similar ways. When this happens, the group can consciously or unconsciously ignore different (and possibly better) ways of doing things. This often happens in very tightly knit groups.
Guidelines - The rules and standards under which a grant operates. The guidelines state what kind of activities and groups can be funded. The people assessing the grants use these guidelines to help them make their decision. Also called 'criteria'.
