© Oxford University Press and Community Development Journal. 2018 All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com doi:10.1093/cdj/bsx058 Catalysing social change in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: evaluating the LIN model of participatory community development Chau Doan-Bao * , Evangelia Papoutsaki and Giles Dodson Abstract In communication for social change, a catalyst can play an important role in creating dialogue within the community, leading to collective actions and providing solutions for common problems. In urban communities of devel- oping countries, this role is more essential because of the complexities of urban social issues and often the absence of traditional community struc- tures. This research evaluated the LIN model of participatory community development in Ho Chi Minh City and demonstrates how urban NPOs have altered their self-perception from being ‘charity organizations’ to be a part of the community development process in HCMC as a result of LIN’s work. However, LIN’s catalyst model faces some challenges, particularly in applying Western concepts of community development and tenets of par- ticipatory social change in the Vietnamese context. As a result, a revised catalyst model of urban community development in Vietnam is suggested with three additional elements: leadership strategy for catalyst and NPOs, context understanding (local context and stakeholders’ characteristics) and impact evaluation framework based on the local context. *Address for correspondence: Chau Doan-Bao, Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand; email: chaudoan.jc@gmail.com Page 1 of 22 Community Development Journal Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/cdj/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/cdj/bsx058/4797077 by guest on 11 January 2018