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This article introduces guidelines and certain applications of a national plan and mechanism currently deployed in several regions of Quebec for advancing knowledge on community development. This scheme relies upon the collective intelligence of communities and supports the efforts of various stakeholders in order to improve population living conditions, health and welfare. It primarily distinguishes itself by granting equal importance to quantitative data collected from administrative files and to qualitative data acquired by acknowledging and processing perceptions and observations which arise from actors working in community development. These data are used to support the preparation and planning of interventions implemented according to the socio-economic and socio-health situation of the communities and their potential for development.