Communities are increasingly recognized as playing a fundamental role in addressing the challenges and opportunities involved in the reintegration of individuals and groups exiting armed forces and groups. They expect to play a leading role in the reintegration process and also wish to benefit from it. They also seek to harness opportunities for sustainable peace and stability.

The Guidance Note on Supporting Community-Based Reintegration was created as joint initiative of United Nations Development Programme, the Swedish governmental agency for peace, security, and development - Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA), the Somalian non-profit organization - Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre (Elman Peace) and the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF). The Guidance note is created to assist practitioners in designing and managing reintegration support, emphasizing community involvement.

The Guidance Note complements existing UN standards, in particular UN Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Standards (IDDRS) and provides ways to empower communities to absorb ex-combatants both socially and economically.