Total Effort Approach: A Strategy to Alleviate Poverty in the Southern U.S. Tennessee State University Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Research 3500 John A. Merritt Blvd. Nashville, TN Fisseha Tegegne, Enefiok Ekanem, Safdar Muhammad and Surendra Singh Paper presented at a Regional Poverty Conference, organized by the Southern Rural Development Center, July 21-23, 2004, Memphis, Tennessee

1 Introduction Poverty involves a number of distinct but interrelated issues. They include economic, social, policy, and institutional dimensions. Data show that the magnitude of poverty in the U.S. varies regionally with the southern region characterized by significantly higher poverty level than the other regions. There is however variation in poverty level among southern states which have historically depended on agricultural activities involving such commodities as tobacco and cotton. The industrial sector is also dominated by low wage operations such as textiles and coal mining.

2 Introduction Cont’d Decline in government support for tobacco; regional and international trade agreements such as NAFTA, WTO and globalization can exacerbate the situation in the region. Many core issues pertaining to poverty involve areas such as education, health and transportation that require substantial investment and management capability Given the above, there is need to adopt a concerted approach to alleviate poverty.

3 Total Effort Approach The total effort approach specifically seeks to bring the effort of government agencies, the private sector and individuals in communities to bear on the poverty issue at the local level. This contrasts sharply with the traditional approach that primarily uses various types of transfer payments. The approach enhances stakeholders' participation in identifying and addressing key problems affecting their livelihood thereby empowering them

4 Total Effort Approach Cont’d. The approach helps in economizing use of scarce resources by focusing on correct priorities. It provides basis for developing communication networks among various stakeholders useful for effective planning; implementation, and impact evaluation. Looking at the total effort can ensure consistency of proposals by different stakeholders.

5 Theoretical Framework The total effort approach is supported by: Community Development theory, which underscores the importance of participation by individuals in community development activities Welfare Economics, which maintains that those who reap benefits arising from an activity should bear the costs. Economic Development theory which emphasizes the importance of resource mobilization and allocation for community economic development. The purpose of theory is to guide practice by making action possible in a given setting.

6 Measures of Effort In this paper total effort is defined as a combined effort by local and external groups made up of government agencies, private organizations (for profit and non­profit), and individuals participating in community activities Government effort Adoption of Policies to promote community development activities Share of tax revenue earmarked for various rural community economic development activities.

7 Measures of Effort Cont’d Private effort Extent of participation in community development activities in collaboration with government agencies and community based organizations –Selective/Strategic involvement –Broad/diverse involvement Amount of resources provided to support poverty alleviation

8 Measures of Effort Cont’d Individual effort Willingness to tolerate higher level of taxes Participation in poverty alleviation effort in collaboration with government agencies, the private sector and community based organizations in planning and implementing community development activities.

9 Some Illustrations Author(s) and SourceIssue (s)Finding G. P. Green. Journal of the Community Development Society, vol. 34, No.1, 2003 pp Civic Involvement, Organizational Ties, and Local Economic Development Found that Communities with extensive civic involvement and organizational networks have economic development programs that generate more jobs, in comparison to those with less civic involvement D. Parisi et al, Journal of the Community Development Society, vol. 33, No.2, 2002 pp Capacity of community efficacy for Economic development Found the capacity for community efficacy depends on : -Community social capital -Local civic physical infrastructure -Human and economic characteristics -Community spatial characteristics

10 Illustrations cont’d Author(s) and SourceIssue(s)Finding(s) M. R. Williams et al, Journal of the Community Development Society, vol. 33, No.2, 2002 pp Partnership/ collaboration for leadership development programs Institutions of higher education should work more closely with community-based organizers to plan and administer community development programs J. S. Sharp et. al., Journal of the Community Development Society, vol. 34, No.1, 2003 pp Involvement of corporate businesses and non-profit organizations in community development activities Using a case study and network analysis found links between the business sector and the non-profit sector were beneficial to various community development activities including facilitating flow of resources and developing local networks to optimize community capacity for local action

11 Summary and Implications Assess tradeoff between different objectives to establish priorities Policy plays an important role in promoting the total effort approach There is need for Land grant Universities to actively participate in poverty alleviation research and outreach It is necessary to have a system for monitoring and evaluating impacts/outcomes of community development activities

12 Challenges The performance of the macro-economy and policies and their impact on the local condition Difficulty of getting people involved in community activities and retaining those with leadership abilities. The issue of what the best organizational form is for effective use of the total effort approach Willingness of existing local power structure to be flexible and work with others from outside Methodology for evaluating impact of community development activities