Community Action Boards - Knowledge of their dignitaries regarding the
scope of their actions.
..........................................
Juntas de Acción Comunal Conocimiento de sus dignatarios frente al alcance de sus
acciones
Barrera Liévano, Jhony Alexander
Ibáñez Astaburuaga, Alejandro
ABSTRACT
This research approaches the community
action boards (JAC) of the locality of Suba
(Bogota-Colombia) as subjects of study to
determine the degree of knowledge that the
dignitaries of these boards have regarding the
scope that they hold given by Law 743 of 2002.
The knowledge of the aforementioned
representatives is a variable that, although it
does not ensure, is a determining factor for the
development of a good management of the
JAC, and, therefore, for the achievement of
community development in their territories.
These organizations become a platform for the
micro level to contribute to the achievement of
several sustainable development objectives,
given their conditions of coverage and
proximity to the communities. A quantitative
research is developed, with an exploratory and
descriptive, non-experimental and cross-
sectional scope. The primary data collection
instrument is a survey, which is applied to a
probabilistic sample. In order to reach the
stated objective, an assessment scale was
Received: October 11, 2021
Approved: December 01, 2021
...........................................
D. student in projects at the American
University of Europe - UNADE
(Quintana Roo - Mexico).
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2274-
2297
jhony.barrera.lievano@gmail.com
Professor Universidad Americana de
Europa - UNADE (Quintana Roo -
Mexico)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8316-
4005
Alejandro.ibanez@aulagrupo.es
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created to evaluate the knowledge of the
population under study. The main result is that
71% of the population has a "high degree" of
knowledge regarding the scope given by law to
the community action boards.
Keywords: community development;
management; community leader; social leader;
community organization.
RESUMEN
La presente investigación aborda las juntas de
acción comunal (JAC) de la localidad de Suba
(Bogotá-Colombia) como sujetos de estudio
para determinar el grado de conocimiento que
tienen los dignatarios de éstas respecto al
alcance que ostentan dado por la Ley 743 de
2002. El conocimiento por parte de los
mencionados representantes es una variable
que, aunque no asegura, es determinante para
el desarrollo de una buena gestión de la JAC, y,
por ende, del logro de desarrollo comunitario
en sus territorios. Estas organizaciones se
convierten en plataforma para que desde lo
micro se pueda aportar al logro de varios
objetivos de desarrollo sostenible, dadas sus
condiciones de cobertura y cercanía con las
comunidades. Se desarrolla una investigación
cuantitativa, con alcance exploratorio y
descriptivo, no experimental y transeccional.
Como instrumento de recolección de datos
primarios se trabaja con encuesta, la cual se
aplica a una muestra probabilística. Para dar
alcance al objetivo planteado, se crea una
escala valorativa en pro de evaluar el
conocimiento de la población objeto de
estudio. Como resultado principal se obtiene
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que el 71% de la población presenta
conocimientos en “grado alto” en cuanto al
alcance dado por la ley a las juntas de acción
comunal.
Palabras clave: desarrollo comunitario;
gestión; líder comunal; líder social;
organización comunal
Introduction
The Community Action Boards (JAC) in Colombia are private organizations,
institutionalized by Law 19 of 1958. In their more than sixty years of history, the CABs
have had a rich regulatory framework, including the Political Constitution, laws,
decrees and resolutions, with more than twenty issued, as shown in Figure 1, although
there are more than sixty provisions on them (Valencia, 2010a).
Figure 1. History of legislation affecting Community Action Boards
Note: Own creation
There has been extensive legislation on the JACs, which are characterized, according
to the law, as first level communal organizations (Ministry of the Interior, 2014), in a
total pyramid of four rungs, as presented in Figure 2, which is nourished, in part, by
the representation of the Community Action Boards, which by 2020, totaled around
70 thousand (Unidad para la Atención Integral a las Víctimas, sf).
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Figure 2. Community organizations by level
Note. Adapted from Ministry of the Interior (2014).
Their importance for the country's development is undeniable. In their beginnings
they were promoted (and constituted) in an attempt to promote community work for
the construction of infrastructure (Valencia, 2010b), especially in rural areas of the
national territory (Valencia, 2009).
However, today they can play a leading role in achieving the Sustainable Development
Goals, given that, as mentioned by the Ministry of the Interior (cited by Consejo
Nacional de Política Económica y Social, 2018) it is the organization with the largest
geographical coverage; and if we add to this the scope given by law, it makes them
potential platforms to combat poverty, hunger, bring education, fight for gender
equality, generate aqueducts, generate new energy systems of local impact, among
other activities, which result in community development. It should be kept in mind
that, as mentioned by Sánchez et al. (2018) the community action boards are
constituted to generate collective, organized efforts to seek the economic, social,
cultural, environmental, among others, development of the territories that compose
them.
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The dimensions of the problems associated with the management of the community
action boards, which ultimately fall on the people, their members, and mainly on their
dignitaries, transcend the economic, political and social spheres. Among them, and of
an internal nature, management capacity is identified, mainly associated with the lack
of knowledge of issues associated with communal regulations, the formulation,
implementation and monitoring of projects, knowledge in the administrative and
financial areas, and the lack of cohesion within these organizations (National Council
for Economic and Social Policy, 2018). Another, of an internal and external nature,
associated with the violence suffered by their dignitaries, who are characterized by
exercising functions as social and community leaders, and who by defending their
territories and their communities have become targets to be silenced in the country
(Ball et al., 2018).
Given the importance of the community action boards and their role in the
development of the communities, the question to be addressed in this research is: How
much knowledge do the dignitaries of the community action boards of the locality of
Suba (Bogotá DC - Colombia) have about the scope of these organizations given by the
law?
Currently, the Suba district in the city of Bogotá is characterized for being the fourth
largest district (Bayona, 2009), as of 2020 it had a total of 1,282,978 inhabitants
(Alcaldía Mayor de Bogotá, sf), which makes it one of the most populated in the city.
At the social and economic level, the locality of Suba, according to data from the
Veeduría Distrital (2018), in 2017 for this territory, fifteen violent deaths, seven
homicides, three suicides, 163 personal injuries, and 154 cases of domestic violence
were recorded per 100 thousand inhabitants. In a particular way this locality presents
all the socioeconomic strata established in the country, predominantly levels two and
three with a participation of more than 70% (National Administrative Department of
Statistics, 2018). Regarding the territory's own problems, the local mayor's office of
the locality of Suba, in its 2017-2020 development plan outlines the lack of sense of
belonging of the inhabitants, inequality and social exclusion, lack of civic culture,
coexistence (Alcaldía local de Suba, 2016), among others.
The main objective is to determine the degree of knowledge that the dignitaries of the
community action boards of the locality of Suba have regarding the scope of these
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organizations given by law. The knowledge on the part of the dignitaries is a variable
that, although it does not ensure, it does become a determining factor for the
development of a good management of the CAB, and, therefore, for the achievement
of community development in their territories, hence the relevance of the study.
Development is an eminently political concept that appeared in the social sciences at
the end of World War II (Criollo, et al., 2009). In principle, its meaning can be
associated with growth, and historically, at least until the last century, with economic
growth (World Bank, 2000). However, with the passage of time, the dimension of the
meaning of this word came to focus on more qualitative aspects associated with the
quality of life of human beings (Mujica & Rincón, 2010).
It is important to result the institutional development that is marked in how the
educational process is directed that generates the appropriate impact with an insertion
value that strengthens the regional development of work, for Mican, E. O. C., Delgado,
J. C. M., & López, J. R. (2021), there is a model focused on the systemic recognition to
consolidate the information with its communicational value.
Development can be defined as "the upward movement of a society along a continuum
whose extremes would be, on the one hand, the most advanced societies and, on the
other, the most backward" (Mallarino, 2004, p. 13). On the other hand, Lois and
Alonso (2005) define it as "a social and historical phenomenon, both because its
content is exclusively social, as a phenomenon, and because its forms, expressions and
perceptions are manifested in a given spatio-temporal dimension, which is reflected
by the social conscience" (p. 87). ECLAC, for its part, mentions that development is "a
deliberate process that pursues as its ultimate goal the equalization of social, political
and economic opportunities, both at the national level and in relation to societies with
higher standards of material well-being" (Paz & Rodriguez, 1968, p. 41).
There are multiple definitions of "development". In fact, as a noun, when searching for
it in the Thesaurus database (of UNESCO), more than thirty results appear composed
of this noun, with some adjective and/or preposition and adjective.
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Materials and Methods
Community development can be called by many names, such as community
development, community organization, community organization, among others,
which should be understood as synonyms or equivalents (Ander-Egg, 1980). The
United Nations (UN) understands community development as "the set of procedures
by which the inhabitants of a country join their efforts to those of the public authorities
in order to improve the economic, social and cultural situation of the communities, to
associate these communities to the life of the nation and enable them to contribute
unreservedly to the progress of the country" (Carvajal, 2011, p. 41).
Ander-Egg (1987) states that the UN defines community development as "a process
aimed at creating conditions of economic and social progress for the entire
community, with the active participation of the community and the greatest possible
confidence in its initiative" (p. 14). For Diaz (2016) community development is framed
in a process that involves the people, who "participate in the planning and
implementation of programs aimed at raising their standard of living, for which
cooperation between the government and the citizenry is necessary, allowing more
autonomous and effective expressions of social change" (p. 532).
Like the concept of "development", the concept of "community development" can also
be approached from different approaches (Riera et al., 2018), and enjoys multiple
meanings. In fact, by maintaining the same root, it also becomes an eminently political
concept, which given the particularity has been addressed by multilateral agencies
(case of the UN), but which has its origins in the social intervention that was generated
from the field of social work, seeking to address broad international problems (Diaz,
2016).
Law 743 of 2002 defines community development as "the set of economic, political,
cultural and social processes that integrate the efforts of the population, its
organizations and those of the State to improve the quality of life of the communities"
(Article 2), demonstrating the legislator's intention to focus on the actions of the
community and its different actors in pursuit of collective well-being.
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Based on what has been presented, it can be assured that community development is
aimed at the welfare of the community, from different dimensions, which actively
involves the actors of the territory, in order to improve the quality of life of its
members.
Colombia marked the beginning of the institutionalization of community action in
1958 with the enactment of Law 19 of 1958, due to the content of articles 22 and 24
(Barrera Liévano, 2019). By the time, the country in its context had high poverty rates,
widespread corruption and multiviolence (Valencia, 2009), especially unleashed by
the Liberal and Conservative political parties (Rehm, 2014).
We mention institutionalization and not creation since, as Valencia (2009) mentions,
this can be located in the past, for example with the communal movement of the
conquest period, or pre-colonial associated with collective work activities such as the
minga, the convite, the borrowed hand, the faena, the waki, the ayni and the pasanacu.
Inequality has been the main constant in the historical development of community
action boards in Colombia. This phenomenon has been a consequence of the country's
economic, political and social development. Problems such as the armed conflict
(Fundación Ideas Para la Paz, 2013) and the absence of the State (Sierra, 2003) have
limited the growth and strengthening of this type of organizations.
The community action boards were initially created with the purpose of bringing
public goods and services, which were not managed by the State, directly to their
territories. Because of this conjuncture phenomenon, politicians and political
candidates became sponsors or financiers of these goods and services, which led, at
least until before the 1991 Political Constitution, to clientelistic actions (Borrero, 1989;
Leal and Dávila, 1990; Sánchez et al., 2018).
Throughout the history of community action boards in the country, there is evidence
of manipulation of the autonomy and independence of these organizations (Valencia,
2009), which is given by individual interests over those that prevail for the community
(Moreno, 2014).
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In their beginnings, the community action boards were in charge of the Ministry of
Education, which, in 1960, with the decree 1634, article 2, changed and passed to the
Ministry of Government, today Ministry of the Interior, which meant a change from
the instance in charge of education to the one related to political affairs.
Since their institutionalization, community action boards have grown exponentially.
Figure 3 presents data on the number of this type of organizations registered in the
country, according to information gathered from different sources.
Figure 3. Registered CAB history
Note: Adapted from Valencia (2010a) and Unidad para Atención Integral de las Víctimas (sf).
Currently, as mentioned in Law 743 of 2002, community action "is an organized,
autonomous and solidary social expression of civil society, whose purpose is to
promote an integral, sustainable and sustainable development built from the exercise
of participatory democracy in the management of community development" (Article
6).
3
1.607
3.019
3.837
21.554
24.773
42.582
44.736
53.865
Around 70.000
-
10.000
20.000
30.000
40.000
50.000
60.000
70.000
80.000
Año 1960Año 1963Año 1964o 1965Año 1982Año 1985Año 1993o 1999Año 2008Año 2020
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The justification for the existence of community action boards in Colombia is given by
their role in contributing to generate solutions to the problems of the community
(Otero, 2012). A community action board, as mentioned in Law 743 of 2002, (when
referring to community organizations), is "a civic, social and community organization
for social management, non-profit, of a solidarity nature, with legal status and its own
assets, voluntarily integrated by the residents of a place who join efforts and resources
to procure an integral, sustainable and sustainable development based on the exercise
of participatory democracy" (Article 8).
In terms of their organizational structure, the communal action boards have a general
assembly of associates, with its board of directors, its fiscal, delegates to ASOJUNTAS
(second level communal organization), the work commissions, the housing and
conciliation commission, and the business commissions (Instituto Distrital de
Participación y Acción Comunal, 2014), with the board of directors being the
administrative body of the organization (Barrera Liévano, 2019).
In order to create a community action board in the city of Bogotá, as mentioned
in Decree 2350 of 2003, there must be a minimum of seventy-five members
(Article 1), which must comply with the indications specified in Article 5. Each
board must have its own bylaws, which must present at least "a) General: name,
territory, domicile, objectives, duration; b) Affiliates: qualifications for
affiliation, impediments, rights and duties of the affiliates; c) Organs: integration
of the organs, convocation regime, periodicity of the ordinary meetings,
functions of each one; d) Officers: Qualities, forms of election, period and
functions; e) Economic and fiscal regime: assets, budget, dissolution and
liquidation; f) Disciplinary regime; g) Composition, competence, grounds for
sanctions, penalties and procedures; h) Books: classes, contents, dignitaries in
charge of them; i) Challenges: grounds, procedures" (Ministry of the Interior,
2014, p. 11).
All positions in the community action boards are popularly elected by the members
registered in the membership book; they are elected for a period of four years, equal
to that of the national and territorial public corporations as stipulated in Law 743 of
2002 (Article 30).
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As for its scope, it can be assured that the scope given to them by Law 743 of 2002 is
broad, since it addresses the possibility of developing activities for the promotion and
strengthening of the individual and his sense of belonging to the community,
promoting the processes of training in democracy, community development, the
conclusion of contracts with public and private companies, of national and
international character, in favor of the development of their territories, requesting
credits with national and international entities, promoting cultural, recreational and
sports manifestations, respect for diversity, tolerance, disseminating and promoting
human rights, the creation of collective and solidary enterprises, among others.
Methodology
In order to address the question and the proposed objective, a quantitative research,
with an exploratory and descriptive scope, of a non-experimental and cross-sectional
type, was developed. For the collection of information, a survey was designed from
which ten questions were extracted that relate, on the one hand, demographic
information, and on the other hand, related to the knowledge of the respondents
regarding the scope that the law gives to the actions that can be executed by the
community action boards in Colombia.
The instrument presents only closed questions and does not request personal
information or information that compromises the security or personal integrity of the
respondents. The development of the survey is completely anonymous and voluntary.
This research considers what is established in the Helsinki declaration on ethical
principles, since the research will have as its main axis information to be provided by
human beings.
The population under study is the Juntas de Acción Comunal of the Suba locality,
having as inclusion criteria, in the study, to have elected dignitaries for the period
2017-2020 and that before the Instituto Distrital para la Participación y Acción
Comunal (IDPAC) have data such as address and/or telephone for location. These
criteria are validated based on the certificate of communal organization issued by the
IDPAC, complying with the space and time standards established by Hernández,
Fernández and Baptista (2016).
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Although the Suba locality has a total of 188 JACs, according to information registered
with the District Institute for Participation and Community Action, only 149 meet the
inclusion criteria.
We worked with a probability sample, with simple random sampling, under selection
of the sample by tombola. To determine the sample, we work with a heterogeneity,
50%; confidence level, 95%; margin of error of 5%. To calculate the sample, we start
from the knowledge of the total population. The formula for calculating the sample
presented below is applied, based on Aguilar-Barojas (2005, p. 336):
𝑛 = #
𝑁 # 𝑧
!
𝑝 𝑞
𝑒
!
(
𝑁 1
)
+# 𝑧
!
𝑝 𝑞
Where: N = population size; n = sample; z = normal distribution factor based on the
confidence level; p = probability that the event occurs; q = probability that the event
does not occur; and, e = sampling error considered. For this case, based on the
previously determined, the values for each variable are: N = 135; z = 1.96; p = 0.5; q =
0.5; e = 0.05. Therefore:
𝑛 = #
149 #1,96
!
0,5 0,5
0,05
!
(
148 1
)
+# 1,96
!
0,5 0,5
=
149 #3,8416 0,25
0.0025
(
148
)
+ #3,8416 0,25
𝑛 = #
143,0996
0,3725 + #0,9604
= #
143,0996
1,3329
= 107,36 107
It is proposed as a working hypothesis (H1) that according to the degree of knowledge
of the dignitaries representing a community action board of the locality of Suba
(Bogotá DC - Colombia) is "low" in more than 70%, according to the value scale
proposed in Table 1.
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Table 1. Scoring and weighting of responses to survey questions
Response
/ scoring
Weighting
factor
Weighting
Yes: 10
No: 0
1,6
Score multiplication
given to the answer, for
the weighting value
Yes: 10
No: 0
1,6
Score multiplication
given to the answer, for
the weighting value
Yes: 10
No: 0
1,6
Score multiplication
given to the answer, for
the weighting value
Yes: 10
No: 0
2,0
Score multiplication
given to the answer, for
the weighting value
Yes: 10
No: 0
1,6
Score multiplication
given to the answer, for
the weighting value
Yes: 10
No: 0
1,6
Score multiplication
given to the answer, for
the weighting value
Note: Source: Own creation
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Based on the related information, the following equation involving the responses and
the proposed score for each one is used to determine the result of the individual
weighting:
Ponderación individual (PI)=1,6P_1+1,6P_2+1,6P_3+2P_4+1,6P_5+1,6P_6
The result of the weighting is placed on the rating scale presented in Table 2, for the
total responses given by each respondent:
Table 2. Rating scale
Qualitative description
Weighting result range (R
P
)
G
a
= High degree of
knowledge
69 a 100
G
m
= Average degree of
knowledge
33 a 68
G
b
= Low level of
knowledge
0 a 32
To determine the degree of knowledge, by qualitative description (high, medium, low)
based on the results evidenced by the study subjects, it is estimated as follows:
𝐺
"
= #
𝑃
#
32
107
100; ####𝐺
$
= #
33 # 𝑃
#
68
107
# 100;####𝐺
%
= #
69 # 𝑃
#
100
107
# 100
𝐺
"
+ 𝐺
$
+ 𝐺
%
= #100%
The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences - SPSS version 23 and MS Excel 365
were used to organize and analyze the data collected.
Results
After applying the data collection instrument to the population under study, it was
found that of the total number of respondents, 57% were men and 43% were women;
none of them expressed a different gender. Regarding their age ranges, it was
identified that of the 100%, 0.93% were between eighteen and twenty-eight years old,
83.18% were between twenty-nine and fifty-nine years old, and 15.89% were over sixty
years old. Regarding the level of education completed, 3.74% only completed
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elementary school, 58.88% completed high school, and the remaining 37.38%
completed university studies.
The dignitaries surveyed were asked, before addressing the questions of knowledge
regarding the scope of the community action boards given by law, if "Before being
elected as a dignitary of the community action board, were you aware of the role of the
board with respect to society?" to which 86.9% stated that they were, and the
remaining 13.1% that they were not. Likewise, they were asked "When you were elected
as a representative of the community action board, did you have training on the
function of the board with respect to society?" to which 48.6% said yes, while 51.4%
said no.
Regarding the questions posed to determine the degree of knowledge that the
dignitaries of the community action boards of the locality of Suba have regarding the
scope of the community action boards given by the law, some topics included in Law
743 of 2002 were selected, which is the framework for the development of the actions
to be executed by this type of organizations. When the instrument was applied, it was
found that all respondents gave answers according to the options provided, so there
were no missing cases.
In response to the question "According to your knowledge, can a community action
board enter into contracts with public companies?" it was found that 96.3% of the
respondents said yes, while 3.7% said no. When asked "To the best of your knowledge,
can a community action board enter into contracts with national private companies?",
93.5% of the respondents said yes, while 6.5% said no. When asked if "According to
your knowledge, can a community action board enter into contracts with international
private companies?" 71% of the respondents said yes, while 29% said no. It is worth
noting that article 19 of Law 743 of 2002 explicitly states that it is possible for a
community action board to enter into contracts with public and/or private, national
and international companies.
Regarding the question "According to your knowledge, can a community action board
create a company?" it was found that 96.3% of respondents said yes, while 3.7% said
no. In this case, the law states that it is possible, according to Article 70 of Law 743 of
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2002. In this case, the law states that it is possible, according to Article 70 of Law 743
of 2002.
Finally, regarding sources of financing, respondents were asked if "To the best of your
knowledge, can a community action board request loans from national entities" and if
"To the best of your knowledge, can a community action board request loans from
international entities", to which 94.4% said yes in the first case and 5.6% said no; while
65.4% said yes in the second case and 34.6% said no in the second case. It should be
noted that article 19 of Law 743 of 2002 empowers the CABs to enter into loan
contracts with national and international entities.
Regarding the weighting per response to each question and the weighting factor
specified in the methodology, the results presented in Table 3 are shown individually.
Table 4. Summary of systematization of responses
Correct
answers
Number of
respondents
Percentage
None
2,8%
Only 1
1
0,9%
Only 2
1,9%
Only 3
0
0,0%
Only 4
23,4%
Only 5
7,5%
All
63,6%
Total
100,0%
Note: Own creation
Based on the data collected, after processing, we proceeded to classify the results
according to the proposed rating scale, in each qualitative description, according to the
quantitative results evidenced. The results are presented in Table 4.
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Table 5. Summary of results according to rating scale
Qualitative
description
Formula applied
Range result
weighting
High level of
knowledge
𝐺
%
= #
69 # 𝑃
#
100
107
# 100
71,0%
Average level of
knowledge
𝐺
$
= #
33 # 𝑃
#
68
107
# 100
25,3%
Low level of
knowledge
𝐺
"
= #
𝑃
#
32
107
100
3,7%
Total
𝐺
"
+ 𝐺
$
+ 𝐺
%
= #100%
100%
Note: Own creation
The results show that, with respect to the community action boards in the Suba
locality, more than 70% of the dignitaries surveyed have a high level of knowledge,
according to the value scale proposed, regarding the scope of the community action
boards given by the law.
Conclusions
Community development has become a platform for improving the quality of life of
different communities, not only in Colombia, but worldwide. The difference for the
country lies in the existence of grassroots organizations, called "community action
boards", which have legal status and legislation for their promotion and control.
The scope of these organizations is broad, as established in Law 743 of 2002, which
establishes, among other provisions, the possibility of creating companies, contracting
with the public and private sectors, nationally and internationally, and the possibility
of accessing resources, for example, via loans, with national and international entities.
The characteristics of the community action boards, such as self-management,
democracy and representation, make them a dynamizer of the communities that make
them up, which by their very nature are circumscribed to a specific territory.
However, factors intrinsic to the communities, such as academic training, knowledge
of the law, use of telecommunications tools, and access to them, among others, become
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limitations to the development and growth of both the community action boards and
the members of their territories.
In addition, the armed conflict, the existence of criminal structures and the pursuit of
particular interests of some members of the community have become latent threats to
the free exercise of actions by the CABs for the benefit of their communities and in
defense of their territories.
In the locality of Suba in the city of Bogota, problems were identified that could surely
be worked on or addressed by the actions of the community action boards in each
territory, to reduce violence in its different manifestations, and to generate a sense of
belonging to the public and community.
Regarding the objective set for this research, based on the score determined, the
weighting per question posed and the proposed value scale, it was identified that the
degree of knowledge that the dignitaries of the community action boards of the locality
of Suba (Bogotá - Colombia) have regarding the scope of these organizations given by
the law, is as follows:
Figure 4. Level of awareness of the scope of the CABs given by law
Note: Own creation
With regard to the research question posed, the primary data collection instrument
was applied and the information processed, it was identified that more than 70% of
the population under study has a "high degree" of knowledge regarding the scope given
by law to the community action boards. This denotes that, at least for the JACs of the
High;71,00%
Medium;25,30
%
Low;3,70%
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Suba locality, their leaders know what can be done from one of these organizations,
which surely becomes a variable that impacts the management they can develop, and
therefore the possibility of generating common welfare, thus improving the quality of
life.
The information evidenced leads to invalidate the research hypothesis, given that more
than 70% of the dignitaries surveyed showed a "high" degree of knowledge. It is
proposed as future research topics to address the management capacity of the
dignitaries of the community action boards, the management tools they use, the
capacity for community articulation, and the changes generated in the communities
through the management of the CABs, among others.
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