CHCCDE003

Work within a community development framework This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to work within a community development framework. A community development framework, may include a range of methods designed to strengthen and develop communities by enhancing individual and group capacity to confidently engage with community structures and to address problems and issues. The skills in this unit must be applied in accordance with Commonwealth and State/Territory legislation, Australian/New Zealand standards and industry codes of practice.

STUDENT RESOURCE ivet.edu.au

1300 00 IVET

IVET Institute: RTO ID: 40548

CONTENTS

Elements and performance criteria.........................................................................................................................................3 Introduction........................................................................................................................................................................................5 The importance of sustainability..............................................................................................................................................6 What is community based development?...........................................................................................................................8 Traditional development approaches.....................................................................................................................................................................10 Contemporary community development approaches..........................................................................................................................11 Principles of community development................................................................................................................................ 13 Structural disadvantage and inequality................................................................................................................................................................13 Social justice and human rights....................................................................................................................................................................................13 Empowerment..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................13 Recognition of personal and public political process.............................................................................................................................14 Commitment to peoples’ participation..................................................................................................................................................................14 Sustainability......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................14 Operate within a community development framework............................................................................................... 15 Achieving priorities .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................16 Interrelationships between priorities and rights............................................................................................................................................18 Distinguish between private and public issues arising in community development work ......................... 19 Public action or referral......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Duty of care........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................22 Work with groups to achieve community development outcomes....................................................................... 24 Research community priorities..................................................................................................................................................................................... 24 Analyse community priorities......................................................................................................................................................................................... 28 Plan appropriate strategies..................................................................................................................................................... 29 Create an action plan............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 33 Provide advice and information................................................................................................................................................................................... 36 Manage group dynamics, facilitate discussions and engagement processes............................................... 39 Group dynamics........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 39 Stages of group development....................................................................................................................................................................................... 39 Managing group dynamics................................................................................................................................................................................................41 Engagement strategies........................................................................................................................................................................................................46 Review your work practices .....................................................................................................................................................48 Modify your work practices................................................................................................................................................................................................ 49

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Elements and performance criteria

CHCCDE003 Work within a community development framework ELEMENT

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

Elements describe the essential outcomes.

Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element.

1. O  perate within a community development framework

2. D  istinguish between private and public issues arising in community development work

1.1 Work towards the vision and mission of the community development work plan 1.2 Work with communities to achieve their priorities through enhancing skills, accessing appropriate support and working with others in the community who share concerns and issues 1.3 Identify and document the interrelationships between the priorities and rights of the individual, the family, the community and society 2.1 Employ appropriate interpersonal skills to hear individual stories and distinguish between private and public issues 2.2 Identify the individual’s willingness to engage in a public process to bring about change and facilitate the move from private concern to public action 2.3 Provide appropriate referrals to support people to deal with personal issues 2.4 Ensure all work reflects and meets duty of care responsibilities 3.1 Research and analyse community priorities 3.2 Identify and document shared community priorities within the public group processes 3.3 Plan appropriate strategies in collaboration with the group to ensure community priorities are addressed

3. W  ork with groups to achieve community development outcomes

3.4 Document community structures and resources available to groups to maximise outcomes for groups 3.5 Provide advice and information to groups and individuals as required to ensure they are fully informed about relevant issues and opportunities 3.6 Advocate and lobby for community based outcomes 3.7 Manage group dynamics, facilitate discussions and engagements processes 3.8 Review and modify own work practice within a community development framework

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Performance evidence The candidate must show evidence of the ability to complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks and manage contingencies in the context of the job role. There must be demonstrated evidence that the candidate has: y

engaged with at least 1 community group in order to develop 1 action plan relevant to community priorities

Knowledge evidence The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the work role. This includes knowledge of: y

relevance of the community development work role and functions to maintaining sustainability of the workplace, including environmental, economic, workforce and social sustainability

y

traditional community development approaches:

y

y

needs-based

y

gap-based

principles and practices of contemporary community development approaches and techniques for mobilisation in relation to: y

asset-based (ABCD)

y

rights-based

y

impact of current and changing social, political and economic contexts

y

strategies for addressing individual differences

y

principles and practices of community development work, including: y

structural disadvantage and inequality

y

social justice and human rights

y

empowerment

y

recognition of personal and public political process

y

commitment to peoples’ participation

y

sustainability

For more information on this unit of competency visit: https://training.gov.au/training/details/CHCCDE003

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Introduction Community development is a way to improve the lives of people living in a community. A community is considered a neighbourhood, geographical location, group, network or place where people share the same obligations, goals and responsibilities. A community is important as it offers residents access to resources and facilities, a source of support, an opportunity for participation, and prevents social isolation. Community development can be achieved by establishing programs, facilities and resources to support people within a specific area. The development process allows a community to take charge and address their own needs with support from national, state and territory governments and nongovernment agencies including charities and/or the private sector. Community development allows people within the community to work together and be actively involved in assisting and supporting community members to address a common interest, tackle a major issue affecting their community and/or improve their community for the future. A community development framework works under the assumption that the community already has its strengths which can be used to find a solution to their issues and areas of concern. A community development framework may include a range of methods designed to strengthen and develop communities by enhancing individual and group capacity to engage with community structures confidently and to address problems and issues. The method or approach chosen for a community development framework will depend on its goals, vision and mission. Community workers will operate within a community development framework. Their objective is to connect with existing organisations and community members to create partnerships and networks to help communities make changes to benefit their community outcomes. A community worker liaises with communities, empowering them to make decisions for their community members and their future. Community workers may be volunteers, contractors hired by local councils or other government departments to work on a community development project. Community development provides the community with the knowledge, skills and confidence to take action to make changes. It is not about community workers coming into a community and making decisions or implementing changes without consultation. A community needs to support a change for it to be effective. Through this unit, you will develop the skills and knowledge required to work within a community development framework. This unit will prepare you to work in both the health and community sectors as part of a professional team and under a supervisor’s guidance.

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CHCCDE003 - Work within a community development framework

The importance of sustainability For a community development program to be successful, it needs to be sustainable and bring about a permanent change for the future. To be sustainable community members and organisations need to be involved from the beginning. They need to have a passion, willingness and ability to continue developing after the community workers and government support have moved on to their next community development project. Sustainability is all about preserving, conserving and managing the resources around us so that they will be available for future generations. The Commonwealth of Australia defined sustainable development in 1992 as:

“

...using, conserving and enhancing the community’s resources so that ecological processes, on which life depends, are maintained and the total quality of life, now and in the future, can be maintained.

“

Measures need to be carefully considered and implemented to ensure economic, social, workforce and environmental sustainability of the community development.

Environmental sustainability is about reducing energy consumed, reducing waste, recycling and reusing resources. Some examples of environmental sustainability are: y

Encouraging people to read reports online or email documents that would usually be printed. Request email bills from your resource providers such as electricity, water and gas bills. If paper must be used, make sure it is recycled paper.

y

The appropriate recycling of resources such as paper, cardboard, glass, food scraps and plastic.

y

Conserving energy consumption by turning off lights when they are not in use, setting up sensors in areas that do not need to be continuously lit and only putting the dishwasher on when full.

Economic sustainability is about the financial resources available to keep a community development program running. This includes the community’s ability to pay for resources, and any staff needed to keep the community development program running. Social sustainability is about creating structures and processes to address the community’s needs now and in the future so that any community development programs implemented are available to future generations to improve their health and wellbeing. Social sustainability also ensures that the community functions independently in a cohesive and collaborative environment. Workforce sustainability is about attracting and retaining the right people to be involved in the development. To enable workplace sustainability in community development, the staff and/or volunteers need to be engaged and passionate about the project. It is also crucial that these people are not overworked, underappreciated or feel as if they are wasting their time with a development that is not impacting or bringing about change for the better.

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Is it environmental, economic, workforce or social sustainability?

Categorise each of the following as environmental, economic, workforce or social sustainability. Purchasing paper that can be recycled

Hiring new employees to assist with the program

The community development is culturally sensitive

Purchasing of resources for the program Participation of people within the community in the development program Information about the program is emailed to residents instead of being mail dropped The needs of the community are being met Establishing trust within the community and a willingness of community members to be part of the development program

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CHCCDE003 - Work within a community development framework

What is community based development? Community development brings about change. It is about identifying the needs of a community; their shared concerns and issues. It is about making improvements to better the health and wellbeing of people living in the community. An individual or team of community workers collaborate with community members to establish a program, initiative, facility or resource suitable to the community’s needs. They assist with the planning and organising the development’s work plan, including establishing goals and timelines, engagement and participation of community members, and creating relationships with local community agencies. The process for creating a thriving community development initiative should involve:

1 Identify the community's needs through research and a needs analysis

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2

Evaluate and monitor

Choose a suitable work model

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3 Establish connections and partnerships with local organisations and community leaders

Design and implement the program/initiative

1

A community needs analysis should be conducted as well as relevant research to identify the community needs. Part of this research may be to (interview) a range of people living in the community, collate their opinions, access any recorded data from the local council or police, or conduct your research by collecting data and conducting observations.

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2

3 4

Choosing a working model that is most suitable and will work within the community development framework. y

The social action model of community development is about empowering specific groups within a community that may be disadvantaged or segmented in some way. It is about addressing the needs, issues and concerns of these people to bring about change. This model focuses on a specific topic, such as poverty.

y

The advocacy model of community development represents the best interests of people within the community and supports their need for change.

y

The locality development model of community development involves a wide variety of people from the community in planning, implementing, and evaluating any community development program. It consists of creating resources and infrastructure within the community that allows for change. This may include building facilities such as recreation centres, libraries and health facilities.

Establishing connections between communities and systems. This is an essential aspect of community development. It is vital to the success of any community program that the community is involved in the process, allowing them to be empowered and part of the decision-making process. Building relationships within the local community is imperative to the success of the program. Connections and partnerships should be formed with local non-government organisations (NGOs) and community leaders. If local organisations and leaders are involved in the program initially, they will have a vested interest and ownership over its success. This will help to ensure that the program is sustainable for the future. Designing and implementing a program. Using the collected research and a suitable work model collaborate with existing partnerships and connections within the local community to determine its best course of action. Agree on the specific goals of the initiative and the expected outcomes to create a work plan. This work plan should then be implemented in the community. A work plan should consist of: y

Purpose - What is the purpose of the community development, including the key objectives? The goal should be in line with the vision and mission of the program.

y

Priorities - What are the preferences of the program? What is the focus of the community development? For example, it might be to enhance the skills of community members.

y

Delivery and implementation (programs, engagement, collaboration) - How will the program be introduced and delivered on an ongoing basis to the community? How will you engage the community in the program and get them involved?

y

Governance - This area of a work plan should include any information regarding Government and non-government agencies’ legislation and funding.

y

Evaluation and review - How will you evaluate and review the community development program? How will you determine if the development has been successful and if changes should strengthen the program?

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Evaluating and monitoring. It is essential to regularly monitor the program and its progress towards achieving the goals and expected outcomes in the work plan. Depending on the program, you may collect informal or formal data to assist in this process. A formal evaluation may include a questionnaire or survey carefully written to determine how successful the community development program has been and the community’s response to it. A program could be evaluated informally by observing participants in the program, speaking to them, and looking at attendance and community participation rates in the program.

Traditional development approaches Previously community development was considered a process by which the Government identifies problems and issues in a community. This was often based on statistics interpreted by an individual or group who has not contacted the community or spoken to residents. The Government then implemented a program or initiative to “fix” the problem. This approach does not actively involve the community members; it fails to empower them and significantly reduces sustainable development potential in the long term. This view can marginalise a community and create a stigma where their issues define a community.

These traditional approaches were considered to either be needs-based or gap-based. A needsbased approach is where a government agency identifies a specific need within a community and then provides whatever is needed to address the problem, including physical resources and monetary grants. This needs-based approach disempowers a community, fails to bring about long term change because assistance is not sustainable and can leave a community feeling vulnerable and more susceptible to the same problem in the future. A gap-based approach to community development is very similar to a needs-based process, with the only difference being that it focuses on the perceived gaps in the community. These gaps may be a lack of resources or services in the community or issues with accessibility. This approach can also disempower people as it singles out the problems and negatives in the community rather than focusing on the positives, assets and strengths to build confidence and support within a community.

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Contemporary community development approaches Time has taught us that the traditional approaches to community development are not always sustainable or effective in bringing about change within a community. Contemporary (modern) strategies and techniques for mobilisation have been much more successful in building sustainable development. Mobilisation in a community context is about bringing together all available resources including people, agencies and physical resources such as facilities to achieve sustainable development. Approaches and mobilisation techniques within a community include asset-based community development (ABCD) and rights-based community development. Asset-based community development (ABCD) involves assessing and building on the assets and strengths of a community. It involves community members developing from the get-go by asking them to identify the needs and problems (i.e., the negatives) within their community. The ABCD technique identifies the needs and issues of the community into three main categories: y

People and practices

y

Local associations and institutions

y

Businesses and physical resources.

Using these same categories, the community participants then map the community’s assets and strengths under the same headings. This technique allows participants to discuss the community’s needs and then put them aside to focus on the positive aspects by identifying their community’s assets and strengths. It has been found that this technique allows community members to be more positive and focussed on solutions rather than just the negative aspects of their community. Rights-based community development is an approach that ensures that the human rights of all members of the community are upheld. This approach involves two stakeholders: the community members (rights holders) who do not have their rights maintained and the duty holders, i.e., the agency or institution responsible for supporting and/or fulfilling the rights. This approach focuses on the rights, responsibilities and obligations of duty holders. This approach empowers people to understand their rights and hold duty holders accountable instead of making them feel like they are continuously relying on charity and handouts to meet their needs. This approach also advocates for policy change and development to uphold the rights. It is built on the “PANEL” principle:

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P

Participation – everyone has the right to be involved and participate in any activity and/ or development that affects their rights. Participation should be accessible to anyone and everyone irrespective of their individual needs such as language, accessibility or disability.

A

Accountability – Duty holders are to be accountable for their role and to uphold human rights. They must have policies and procedures in place to redress any issues of human rights.

N

Non-discrimination and equality – Discrimination or marginalisation of any form is unacceptable and a violation of human rights. Rights must be protected.

E

Empowerment – everyone has the right to question and fight for their rights and freedom. Individuals must be free to make their own decisions and participate fully in any development which has the potential to influence them and their human rights.

L

Legality – The approach recognises that human rights and freedom are legal requirements and are enforceable by law.

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Traditional vs contemporary approaches to community development

List and compare the main points using the information you have just read on traditional (needs-based and gap-based) and contemporary (ABCD and right-based) approaches to community development. Traditional

Contemporary

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Principles of community development Community development should always focus on the community, its needs, and promote change to improve those living within it. To do this, it is the role of a community development worker to focus on upholding and implementing the principles and practices of community development work, including:

Structural disadvantage and inequality This is where individuals and/or groups within the community are disadvantaged, isolated or excluded from accessing services or facilities within their community. This inequality may exist because of their skin colour, disability, socioeconomic status, age and gender. The principles of community development are about embracing these individuals and/ or groups and finding a way to change the community’s structures, processes, or thinking to include them.

Social justice and human rights Social justice is about fairness in everyday life. It is about equality and human rights, comprising the fundamental rights and freedoms that every person is entitled to, i.e. access to running water, sanitation and education. Any community development should promote human rights and social justice through encouraging and valuing diversity and challenging injustices that may exist.

Empowerment Empowerment is the key to any successful community development. It is about giving people the skills and

confidence to make their own decisions and take control of their lives. A community development worker can help to empower community members through: y

providing them with information

y

involving them in discussions

y

consulting and involving them in all decision making

y

refraining from judgement

y

valuing their ideas, opinions and perspectives

y

actively listening to them at all times

y

being supportive

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Recognition of personal and public political process Bringing about change in community development may need to engage the use of personal and public processes. The individual approach is about adding a human element to a cause by sharing experiences such as writing an open letter to a newspaper or getting out in the community and spreading the word on the street by asking people to sign a petition or donate to the development. This personal process draws people’s attention to the issue and, depending on the problem; it may evoke emotions and motivate people to help the cause. This approach can be incredibly moving and engage people to become involved. The political process is about increasing awareness of a public scale by involving the media, holding public meetings and peaceful demonstrations such as walks and sit-ins.

Commitment to peoples’ participation Community participation is a vital element to the success of any community development. It is essential to find people within the community who are passionate and committed to spending the time needed to change their community. They need to be committed and dedicated to working hard even when challenged by obstacles. The community development worker’s role is to motivate and engage community members in developing and inspiring their commitment.

Sustainability Sustainability is a crucial element of any successful community development. Sustainability brings about permanent change for the future where community members have the passion, willingness and ability to continue developing after the community workers and government support have moved on to their next community development project. Sustainability should be a key focus and consideration for any community development project.

Learning Checkpoint 1 1.

Define community.

2. In your own words describe what a community development framework is? 3.

How can a community development project benefit a community?

4. What role do community workers play in community development? 5. Suggest two ways a community worker could work with a community to achieve their priorities.

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Operate within a community development framework When operating within a community development framework, you should work towards the community development work plan’s vision and mission. A vision is a statement/declaration of the objectives and goals of the community development work. It states what the community wants to achieve or accomplish through the development. This vision should be based on aspirations and realistically achievable goals based on finances, resources and staff availability. A vision is a way to motivate, inspire and excite a community. A vision should be a simple sentence or a concise paragraph. It should not outline a plan for achieving the community development; it should just highlight what is to be achieved. A mission is a formal summary of the purpose of the community development work, its target market (i.e., neighbourhood, geographical location), why it exists and what it does. A mission statement is most often a few short sentences or a paragraph in length. It should be straightforward and easy to understand.

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The community should be involved in creating the vision and mission for its community development program. This empowers them and makes them part of the process, allowing them to be more invested in the program and work harder to achieve their objectives.

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Visions and missions - investigation activity

TASK 1 A vision and mission can be easy confused and are often used interchangeably, however, they are distinctively different. Examine the following example from the Make-a-Wish Foundation and compare how their vision and mission differ. An example has been provided. Vision: Our vision is that people everywhere will share the power of a wish. Mission: We grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Vision

Mission

• The vision is shorter

• The mission is longer

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CONTINUED...

3 TASK 2 Read each of the following visions from well know organisations. Using their vision: 1. Highlight what you think their goal or objective is. 2. Say whether their vision gives a clear indication of their organisation’s objective and/or goal.

Achieving priorities As we briefly mentioned in the last section, a community development program should be designed and implemented according to the community’s priorities and what they want to achieve. A priority to something essential and should be dealt with and treated as more important than other aspects. Within a community, priorities will vary. Priorities are often formulated around improving the community’s residents’ health and wellbeing or may be developed as an opportunity to tackle a significant issue facing the community such as drug and/or alcohol abuse.

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Community workers operating within a community development framework should work with communities to achieve their priorities through: y

Enhancing skills Community residents must be involved in any community development project for it to be successful. Sometimes, residents do not have the skills required to assist; however, it is the role of a community worker to help them develop these skills and tackle their community priorities now and for the future. A community worker may assist residents involved in the community development project to: •

hold community meetings

•

network with local organisations and businesses to raise funds for the project

•

write submissions to local councils and other government agencies for funding

•

market the program to community residents to get them involved.

Enhancing people’s capabilities empowers them, builds their confidence, enables them to take the initiative, and generates new ideas to benefit the community. Improving people’s skills is also a step towards making the community development socially sustainable. If you teach people the skills to run the program, they will continue the program after the community worker/s have moved on to assist another community. y

Accessing appropriate support Community residents may need help to access appropriate support to assist with the community development project. They might not know who to contact and how to contact them. They will need a community worker’s assistance to help them network with local and state government departments, not-for-profit agencies, health professionals, educators, and the police. Accessing the right support is essential, as a community needs to develop the right relationships with the right people and organisations for their project to be successful and sustainable. The type of support required will depend on the community development project and may include: • resources

•

facility use

• funding

•

information and advice

• volunteers y

Working with others in the community who share concerns and issues As a community worker coming to assist with a community development project, it is crucial to research and take the time to identify people in the community who share the same concerns and have already been working on the same issue you have specified. You may find that some organisations or groups within the community have already been working on the problem. Then you can work with them to tackle the issue. They may also be able to provide you with some insight into what action they have already taken, what has worked, what hasn’t and how the community has received it. You might discuss options for working together, sharing resources and information. Working collaboratively with others in the community can be mutually beneficial, as more people working together brings a more generous array of skills and capabilities that will benefit the project. Money and time can be saved, and more people are spreading the word within the community.

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Interrelationships between priorities and rights Fundamental rights and freedom such as a right to life, the right to freely express your opinion, the right to feel safe, the right to rest and leisure and the right to education should be available to everyone. These rights must be upheld all over the world through the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Every individual also has the equal right to access facilities and resources within their communities and society. When operating within a community development framework, a caseworker must identify and document the interrelationships between the individual’s priorities and rights, the family, the community, and society. An interrelationship is how two or more things are related to one another. In this case, we need to look at how the community’s priorities (such as reducing drug use) may relate to people’s rights (such as the right to feel safe). When working with a community on a project the group leader needs to outline the rights and responsibilities of group members, how to be respectful and the importance of an inclusive environment that values all members’ opinions. This will protect and uphold the rights of all group members. For example, suppose the group listens to everyone’s views, and no one tries to dominate the group or force their ideas on others. In that case, the members’ rights are protected to freely express their opinions and have them heard without judgment in an inclusive and accepting environment. The priorities of community members can be easily documented by taking minutes at all community meetings. Minutes are a summary of the meeting; they should include information about who attended the meeting, the meeting’s time and date, the meeting venue, who spoke at the meeting, their opinions, ideas, and the key points made. After the meeting, these minutes should be formally written up and copies distributed to the people who attended. They should be encouraged to read the minutes and check that no essential information has been left out. The opinions of community members could also be documented by using surveys, questionnaires and interviews. It is the role of a community worker to help individuals voice their priorities and then assist them in collating and using them to formulate realistic goals. Sometimes, these priorities may be unrealistic or could interfere with individuals’ rights within the community and therefore need to be modified or changed somehow. You must explain why specific priorities may be difficult to achieve positive outcomes and offer an alternative. Some priorities may not be achievable for social, political and economic reasons. y

Economic – is achieving the priority too expensive? Is there funding available and is it accessible?

y

Political – is there a law or policy that stops the priority from being achieved? Is there a lack of support from government agencies to achieve the priority?

y

Social – does the community have the skills and capability to take action? Is their physical location going to be a challenge? Are they going to get people to care about the community development and become actively involved?

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Distinguish between private and public issues arising in community development work People may often be apprehensive about sharing their individual stories as they may feel that they are the only person experiencing them. They may not realise that others may be feeling or experiencing the same concerns or issues. Encouraging people to share their stories with others is valuable and can be very powerful. It allows a community to connect and individuals to be comforted because they are not alone, and others face the same challenges as they are. While sharing can be a positive experience, it is the role of a community worker when interacting and working with individuals within a community to employ appropriate interpersonal skills to hear individual stories and distinguish between private and public issues. Individual (private) issues affect one person and include mental illness, depression, anxiety, domestic violence, and addiction (alcohol, drugs and gambling). Public issues affect the whole community. These include a lack of facilities or services (e.g. childcare and maternal health), access to public transport, availability of resources such as fresh fruits and vegetables, and immunisations. Distinguishing whether an issue is personal or public is not always easy. For example, a person’s alcohol abuse may be made worse by the lack of employment opportunities available in the local community, which is a public concern. It is essential to ask as many questions as possible to get a clearer picture of the issue to determine if you believe it to be a private or public issue. A community worker’s interpersonal skills will enable them to communicate and interact with others effectively. These skills should be used when speaking to individuals within the community to determine if their issues are private or public, shared by many people within their community. These interpersonal skills include the ability to:

1. Actively listen

The ability to listen to someone and their issues and concerns. Focusing on what they are saying.

2. U  se appropriate questioning techniques

Asking questions to find out more about the issue to distinguish if it is a public or private issue. Use open questions to find out more details about a subject and closed questions to clarify a particular point or gain an answer to a direct question.

3. Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is about putting things into your own words and preventing misinterpretation or distortion of information. Re-word what the person has told you to clarify that you have understood and/or to draw their attention to a particular issue. Paraphrasing is an excellent skill that can be used to re-focus someone to the main problem. For example, you might say “so you have concerns about the number of childcare places available in the local community?”

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4. Summarise and clarify

Once the person has finished speaking, summarising the main points by repeating what they have said allows you to explain what they have told you to make sure you’ve understood.

5. Reflect on feelings

Sometimes when speaking with someone about an issue you might observe that they seem to be quite upset, for example, they might be choking on their words, having tears in their eyes, or shaking. It is essential to acknowledge this as it allows them to connect with their feelings, consider them and express them further. For example, you could say “you seem very upset about the issue”.

6. U  se appropriate verbal communication

When you speak, ask questions, paraphrase or summarise to ensure that your verbal communication is clear. Take your time and consider the words, tone and speed you use.

7. Use appropriate non-

This is just as important as what you say and includes your posture, eye contact, facial expressions and gestures. Ensure that your non-verbal communication is positive and encouraging and that it doesn’t contradict what you are saying verbally in any way. To appear actively involved and interested in a conversation, you should sit up straight, leaning slightly forward with your hands in your lap and ensure eye contact. Gestures such as fidgeting, looking around the room and yawning can demonstrate that you are bored and not involved or listening to what the speaker says.

verbal communication

Public action or referral Once you have listened to a person’s stories and distinguished whether their issue is private or public, you should either engage them in the public process (for a public issue) or refer them to another support service (for a private issue).

Public action Where a community worker has identified that the public shares an individual’s issues they should identify an individual’s willingness to engage in the public process, i.e., are they willing to share their story and experiences with others in the community? Part of this process is making them feel comfortable and not pressured into sharing their story. When starting this process, you must assure them that they are in a safe and supportive environment. Assure them that they are not alone and that by sharing they would be helping others in the community to bring about change and facilitate the move from private concern to public action.

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To identify if a person is willing to share their story with the community, you must speak directly. Determine their motivations for wanting to share and ensure that they are prepared for any potential impacts of sharing their story with the community. It is also essential to observe their body language. Do they seem nervous or apprehensive? Are they shaking and/or failing to make eye contact? This could indicate that they are uncomfortable and require additional support. As a community worker, you can help someone who wants to share their story by establishing a rapport built on trust and respect. Always be positive and sensitive to their needs and listen to any concerns they have without judgment or criticism. Help them to share their story and determine what they are willing and not willing to share. Just because they have decided to share their issue doesn’t mean that they have to share every little detail. It is crucial that they feel comfortable to share as little or as much as they like. Ready them to answer questions about their story. Be empathetic to their situation and try to put yourself in their position and think about how they must be feeling. Build them up, motivate and encourage them. Remind them how important their story and experience is and how it will help others in the community. As a community worker, you could facilitate a move from private concern to public action through: y

Assisting the individual to see how sharing their story could help others in a similar situation.

y

Providing them with all the resources and support they need to share their story. For example, you could offer to listen to what they intend to say to the community (i.e., their speech), provide them with positive feedback and praise, and ensure that they know how inspiring and valuable their story is.

y

Assisting them with any language and/or cultural needs they have.

y

Assist them with any technologies that they wish to use, such as a PowerPoint presentation.

y

Ensure they are prepared for any questions that they may be asked about their experience.

y

Making them aware of potential impacts and implications that sharing their story with community members may have.

y

Encouraging them to be a part of the bigger picture.

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CHCCDE003 - Work within a community development framework

Referral Often one person’s concerns and issues are theirs alone and not shared by the whole community. It is important to hear these individual stories in a supportive way and then provide an appropriate referral to support people to deal with the personal issue/s that the person is experiencing. A referral is a process of directing a client to another service suitable to their needs. The most appropriate referral will depend on the person’s issue. For example, a woman experiencing domestic violence at home could be referred to Safe Steps, Family Violence Response Service. You should provide them with information about the service and discuss why you believe it would suit their needs. Several considerations should be taken into account when referring a client to a service, including: y

The suitability of the service. Will it meet their needs?

y

Its location

y

Any budgeting limitations or restrictions

y

Any eligibility requirements

y

The client’s wishes and preferences

y

The wishes and preferences of the client’s friends, family and any health professionals involved in treating them.

y

Any special needs that the client has. (eg. do they have any specific medical conditions, cultural, language or religious preferences?)

y

The referral’s urgency as this may impact which services you have access to due to waiting times.

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Duty of care

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Whether you determine that an individual’s story is public or private, you will need to ensure that anything you do reflects and meets your duty of care responsibilities. Duty of care is your legal obligation to take reasonable care and responsibility to foresee any possible dangers that may harm or injure a person in your care. These harms are physical and include any social and emotional harm that a person could incur from sharing their story with the public, such as bullying, social isolation, people looking at them differently, or talking about them behind their back. As a community worker engaging community members to share their stories with you and potentially the public, you have a duty of care to prepare them for any potential repercussions, impacts or adverse outcomes.

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Public or private - distinguish and categorise

Categorise each of the following issues as public or private by putting a PUB (Public) or PRI (Private) in the circles. High unemployment rates

Drug addiction

A lack of public transport

Social isolation

Depression

Anxiety

Financial abuse

A lack of recreation facilities

A lack of childcare options

A lack of parks

A lack of maternal health services

Domestic violence

Poor dental health

Unable to make mortgage repayments

Learning Checkpoint 2 1.

How do private and public issues differ? Give an example of each.

2. Describe three interpersonal skills that a community worker might use to distinguish between private and public issues. 3. Define ‘duty of care’ 4. What should be analysed when creating a community profile and ‘needs analysis’? 5. List three pieces of documentation that may be used in a community development.

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CHCCDE003 - Work within a community development framework

Work with groups to achieve community development outcomes Research community priorities The key to an effective and successful community development project is research. A community worker cannot enter a community and expect to change without knowing anything about the community. They need to know about the community’s demographics, average age, cultural make-up, languages that are spoken, socioeconomic status and major issues and concerns.

Community workers need to connect with community members, local non-government organisations (NGOs) and community leaders, to conduct a needs analysis and create a community profile to research and analyse the community’s priorities. A community profile is a snapshot of the community; its residents, and the resources and facilities available, such as parks, bike tracks, maternal and child health services, hospitals and aged care services. A needs analysis is about finding out what the community needs, identifying possible barriers and challenges, developing a program or initiative to intervene, overcoming the obstacles, and solving community issues. A needs analysis should also consider the costs of implementing a program/initiative, its potential effectiveness and long term sustainability.

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To develop a community profile and a needs analysis, a community development worker will need to:

Collect data Data can tell you a lot about a community and their issues and can include: y

any recorded media stories and articles in local newspapers

y

information is given to you by local people, community leaders, NGOs and the local police

y

any formal recorded data such as Census data obtained by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

y

recorded data from the local council such as data on the use of local facilities and resources, parking fines, rates and memberships (i.e., library, leisure centre)

y

available hospitalisation and crime statistics.

y

The website profile.id.com.au has several suburb-based community profiles that have been created for councils. Using this website, you can find out a lot about a specific community, including: x age structure

x income

x ancestry

x mortgage and rental payments

x childcare

x occupations

x disability

x population size

x disadvantage

x qualifications

x employment

x religion

x ethnicity

x size and type of the dwellings people live in.

x family structure

x unemployment

x household structure

x volunteering

x housing tenure

Conduct interviews with influential local people, create a focus group or host an open community forum You can often learn the most about a community by talking to its residents. This can be achieved in many different ways depending on the time available and what you want to achieve. y

Interview – generally a one-on-one discussion with a community leader, official, the police or council worker who can provide insight into the community and its issues and needs. They will most likely have experienced the problem first hand. They can provide you with some practical experience about how the issue is directly affecting residents in the community and how the issue could be tackled to bring about change.

y

Focus group – gathers a range of people from the local community to be a part of a discussion group, giving their opinions and feedback on a range of issues within the community.

y

Open community forum – is to invite residents to a meeting to discuss the community and its issues and concerns. This is open to anyone to attend and voice their opinions and ideas. When advertising an open community forum, it can help provide the points for discussion during the meeting so that residents can think about and pre-plan their thoughts, opinions, and key issues. This will also allow them to understand the focus of the forum, decide whether or not they have something to contribute and if they should attend. 25

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A community development worker would need to adapt the questions they ask and points for discussion depending on whether they choose to conduct interviews, a focus group or open community forum. Some examples of questions and topics for discussion include: y

Issues that they believe are major concerns for their community.

y

How they believe the issue could be addressed.

y

If anything has been done in the past to address the issue. What was it and had it worked and if not, why that might be.

The positives of using an interview, focus group or open community forum are: y

There is an opportunity to ask follow-up or additional questions as you think of them.

y

You can ask for clarification or additional information on any points or comments made.

The negatives of an interview, focus group or open community forum are: y

You may not be accessing a complete snapshot of the community and their opinions.

y

Only people who have the time or hold a real concern about the community are likely to volunteer to participate.

Running a successful focus group or open community forum requires community workers to facilitate the sessions effectively. Participants in focus groups and open forums can become distracted and explore other issues causing the group to lose focus on the main priority. It is the role of a community worker to control the situation, prevent distraction, keep the group focused on the main priority, and when they start to lose focus to re-focus them to the main issue in a polite, professional, sensitive and inclusive manner.

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Create and administer a needs assessment survey To find out what people within the community feel are the major issues and concerns, you could ask a sample of residents to complete a short survey. Surveys can be quite useful because the feedback is anonymous, which means that people may feel more comfortable being honest than they would if they were in an interview or focus group situation. By using a survey, you are also able to involve a larger number of community residents in the development and allow them an opportunity to voice their opinions about what they feel are the community’s issues and concerns.

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However, you decide to engage the community in the development project; you must consider and make allowances for the community’s variety of language and literacy needs. For example, if your community profile tells you that a large proportion of the community speaks Italian, you might consider creating your needs assessment survey in English and Italian. If conducting a focus group and/or open community forum, you might hire an interpreter to assist you.

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Work up a community profile

Use the website profile.id.com.au and the internet for research. Search for your suburb or local council. Read through the information provided to create a community profile. Ensure that your profile gives the reader a good snapshot of the community, who lives there and the facilities and services available. As part of your profile include information about: y

suburbs that make up the council

y

age structure

y

land use in the area

y

ethnicity and languages spoken

y

major features of the area and a list of facilities available, e.g. parks, community centres, childcare services

y

income

y

employment status

y

household and family structures

y

transport

y

population size

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Analyse community priorities Once you have conducted your research, you must review and analyse it to identify the community’s needs and, therefore, the community development project’s priorities. This can be a time-consuming task depending on the amount of data you have collected. When collating the data to identify the needs of the community, you should: 1. List all of the needs identified and keep a tally of how often each need was mentioned. This will allow you to determine which needs are the highest priority. 2. Consider the prevalence of the need, i.e., the number of cases of the issue. Examine the data collected to determine if the issue is widespread throughout the community. 3. Consider the level of severity of the issue. Is the community’s need severe and needs to be addressed immediately, or is it a minor inconvenience that residents can live with? 4. Consider if the needs identified are confined to a select group within the community or affect a large segment of the community. 5. Brainstorm potential interventions and solutions to the issues identified. You may have to narrow the community’s needs down and choose only one to be addressed through your community development project. You would need to consider what is most important, the severity of the issue, how prevalent it is, whether the problem is widespread and if the issue can be realistically addressed to bring about lasting change in the community. At this stage, you are just documenting potential interventions and strategies to be looked at and discussed in collaboration with community members. Once all research has been conducted and analysed, a community worker should identify and document shared community priorities within the public group processes. Documentation is an essential priority in any community development. Documentation ensures that any discussions, ideas and the progress of the development are collected. These documents should be accurate, up-to-date and accessible to community members and stakeholders to review at any time. Documentation is also an essential aspect of communication and ensures that everyone involved in the development is aware of the priorities and what is being done to address them. Documents like timelines, schedules, and action plans also outline who is responsible for specific tasks and who they need to be completed by. Appropriate documentation for a community development project may include: y

meeting agendas and minutes

y

results from any surveys conducted

y

applications or requests for funding

y

formal reports and action plans

y

timelines and schedules.

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Plan appropriate strategies Once you have identified and documented the shared community priorities, it is time to plan appropriate strategies in collaboration with the group to ensure these community priorities are addressed. Part of this process will be identifying a vision and mission of the strategy and goals for addressing the community priorities. This is an important first step, as progress and goals will motivate those involved in the community development project to continue their participation. When creating goals, it is essential to develop short-term goals (to be achieved within the next 3–6 months) and long-term goals (to be completed in the next 12–18 months). This will allow you to measure how achieving these goals contributes to the achievement of the community priorities. The goals should be set through collaborative brainstorming where the group examines their current situation (e.g., data, survey results and needs analysis) to inform the goals they create. Everyone involved must understand the goals; therefore, they need to be clear and precise. All goals should be realistic and measurable and should use the S.M.A.R.T goal setting technique. y

Specific – Make sure the goal is precise. For example, instead of setting a goal “to improve access to community facilities for the disabled,” be specific “to ensure access for disabled people to at least 60% of community facilities by the end of June 2021.”

y

Measurable – Ensure that the goal is measurable; this will keep community members focused and on track. If targets can be set and improvement is easily seen, people are more likely to remain motivated and continue their project involvement..

y

Attainable – The goal must be achievable; this is why it is often beneficial to have short and long term goals.

y

Realistic – All goals should be realistic. Goals are

y

Timely – Goals should always have a timeframe assigned to them in which they should be achieved, and this should be documented and shared with the group. Without a designated timeframe, there is no motivation to accomplish the goal/s in the near future.

practical when the group believes that they can achieve them.

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Based on these goals, the group should now identify which strategy should be adopted to tackle the priorities and change the community. The approach chosen will depend on: y

the issue they are addressing and the goals set

y

how large and widespread the problem is in the community

y

the number of willing participants and volunteers that want to be a part of the program and contribute

y

the connections and partnerships with local NGOs and community leaders and their willingness to be a part of the community development project

y

the time available to complete the project..

These strategies may include:

Conducting a specific project or the development of a program This strategy is about designing and implementing a program or project to address the needs of the community. This program may have been implemented and used by other communities with similar issues or maybe explicitly designed for a community. The development of a program is often a longterm project requiring plenty of consultation with the community, discussion, community workers, and volunteers’ commitment to keeping it running. Examples of projects and programs that may be developed for a community are recreation programs for the disabled, healthy food programs for low socioeconomic status, youth and school holiday programs and social activities for the aged. Conducting a project or developing a program often requires support from non-government organisations and/or the Government in funding for resources and infrastructure. Every year the Australian Government makes more than $300 million available under its Community Development Grants Programme for single-year or multiple-year projects. Funding for projects ranges in value from $2,000 to $13 million. However, accessing this funding involves writing a proposal that includes project management plans, financial statements and cash flow estimates, risk management plans and results of any market research and community consultation. Putting together a proposal can be time-consuming and may require special skills that community members might need assistance with.

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A public response/meeting This is where a community worker assists the community in achieving their goals and addressing their needs by organising a public response forum/meeting to voice their concerns to key stakeholders such as the police, the local council and VicRoads. They have the power to address their concerns and bring about change. For example, the community might voice their opinion about a certain intersection being dangerous. Within the forum/meeting, community members may take turns to describe their near misses and hazardous encounters at the intersection. A nominated person may also present data and any statistical findings of the intersection, such as the number of accidents and speeding fines issued. In this type of situation, the forum/meeting can achieve the community’s priorities through the right stakeholders and authorities being involved in the meeting. They may respond to the problem immediately and make the necessary changes to make the intersection safer. This could include redesigning the intersection, changing road rules such as the speed limit and installing a red light camera.

Group action Group action is where community members work together to achieve something and/or bring about change in their community. It requires community members to be actively involved and participate in various activities to create the change. For example, they may involve themselves in fundraising activities such as sausage sizzles and bake sales or create advocacy groups such as a neighbourhood watch. They may lobby their local council by writing letters and emails, meeting with council members, attending open council meetings, liaising with the local media and conducting community meetings, sit-ins, protests and walks to create awareness of the issue. Group action may occur when: y

Residents are unhappy with a change in the community, such as the installation of paid parking meters in an area highly frequented by residents.

y

A new or replacement facility or piece of equipment is wanted/needed by the community such as park equipment, a library, bike tracks and recreational facilities.

y

There are safety concerns such as an unsafe intersection, frequent speeding in a particular street or the need for a pedestrian crossing, speed humps or traffic lights in an area of the community.

y

Residents feel that their community is unsafe due to frequent attacks, burglaries, graffiti and property damage. Something needs to be done about it, such as routine security patrols, neighbourhood watch programs, and brighter lighting in areas of the community.

y

The community wants to sustain and protect its local resources such as parklands.

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CHCCDE003 - Work within a community development framework

The establishment of organisational arrangements Where a community feels that an issue is ongoing, they might decide to start an organisation such as a charity or not-for-profit organisation. This will ensure that the issue is a constant focus for the community and that something is always being done to improve the issue. The establishment of organisational arrangements ensures sustainability and is being consistently dealt with for the long term. This is often a concern with the development of programs or projects. Once the objective has been achieved, the group usually disbands. Resulting support such as funding and volunteers also disappear, which can cause the issue to re-occur within the community. The establishment of an organisational arrangement has many benefits for a community, including: y

It is a constant and reliable source of assistance in the community.

y

It advocates for the community by giving a voice to the local people and the issue.

y

They challenge the community to get involved in the issue through attending community-run events, fundraising, donations and participation.

y

The organisation is tailor-made for the community, its people and their specific needs. They often recognise the community’s cultural and linguistic needs to engage them in their activities.

y

It assists the community in raising awareness of the issue through promotional strategies and media contact.

y

Provides an opportunity for the community to lobby and make contact with their local council to make changes within the community.

Many councils support the establishment of not-for-profit and charitable organisations within their communities. Many of them provide financial grant programs for organisations that deliver services or activities that support and improve health, wellbeing and life-long learning within their community. Many community centres are not-for-profit and offer a range of services to community residents such as childcare, children’s activities and adult education, including short cooking, computer skills and job seeking. They engage residents in their local community by providing them with opportunities to be active, socialise and communicate with others and develop their skills and knowledge for employment and life-long learning.

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Create an action plan Once a strategy for action has been planned, the group will need to create and document an action plan. An action plan is a document that outlines the steps that need to be taken to achieve a goal. An action plan should document the community structures and resources available to the group/s to maximise outcomes, the specific tasks that need to be completed, when (timeframe), and list any resources or support required. Creating an action plan in collaboration with a group also means that it can be discussed as you go, and people have an opportunity to voice their opinions and ideas. It is also an opportunity to bring up any challenges or threats that the group might face, which could interfere with their ability to meet their desired outcomes or stick to an allocated timeframe. It is vital to seek the involvement of all community members in attendance actively. Suppose people feel that they are being listened to and that their ideas and opinions are valued. In that case, they are more likely to contribute and continue their participation in the community development. Once an action plan has been developed, it should be distributed to all those involved in the community development to be aware and accountable for their role and allocated responsibilities. There is no specific layout for an action plan; however, the information that it outlines should be reasonably consistent. It might include the goal/s, specific tasks, timelines, resources available and needed, and how it will be evaluated. It can be specifically designed to be suitable for the community and the linguistic backgrounds of the participants. It could follow this format:

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Action Plan – Community Development Community

issue/concern

Outline the issue/concern that the community is facing, for example: y

A lack of recreational activities for the aged

y

A lack of access to facilities for the disabled within the community

y

The need for speed humps to slow down the speed of motorists on Pine Drive, Melton.

Goal/s

What the community wants to achieve through the community development.

Resources

What the community has available to them to assist with the community

available

Community structures

development, including people, their skills (e.g., writing skills and public speaking skills) and expertise, funding and equipment.

A list of the organisations, services and/or agencies, i.e., Government, not-for-profit and businesses already active in the community could assist in the community

development and how they could assist. For example, funding, donations, sharing

resources, networking, media and promotion and facility hire such as meeting rooms. Specific tasks, timeframes and

participant roles

Step by step the specific tasks that need to be completed to achieve the goal/s. For example: 1.

Contact and speak to the local media about the community development program.

2. Create and post flyers about the program to attract participants. 3. Arrange a meeting with the local council to discuss how they could support the program through an allocation of funding.

4. Create a Facebook page for the community development project and encourage residents to join.

A timeframe for completing each step or series of steps should be outlined, i.e., one month, six months etc.

Each task should be allocated to a participant or group of participants to complete. Designating the specific duties is essential to ensure accountability and that everyone is aware of their responsibilities and roles. Evaluation

Part of an action plan is considering how you will evaluate the success of the community development. You must measure its success level and obtain feedback that could be used to make changes and improvements.

Community development could be evaluated in some ways, including: y

A survey or questionnaire distributed to residents

y

Data such as a reduced number of hospitalisations, accidents and facility use and access.

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As part of documenting the community structures and resources available, a group might also conduct a SWOT analysis of the community development they are undertaking. A SWOT analysis is a simple and effective tool for conducting an analysis of a situation. SWOT is about identifying the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of the community development you are about to embark on. This allows you to be prepared and well planned. It also allows you to focus on your strengths and opportunities and to minimise weaknesses and threats. The strengths and weaknesses of the community are internal factors that can be changed. The opportunities and threats are external and not always controllable. However, they can be planned for, and contingencies developed. A SWOT should be completed collaboratively with members of the community. Questions can be used to prompt the group to brainstorm as many aspects of their community as possible. For example: Strengths

Weaknesses

y What does the community do well?

y What does the community need to improve on?

y What would other communities say your strengths

y What doesn’t the community do well?

are?

y What are other communities likely to see as your

y What can your community do better than any

community’s weaknesses?

other?

y What are the negatives of living in your community?

y What are the advantages?

y What negative feedback has the community had

y What actions does the community do well?

in the past? E.g. cleanliness, services and available facilities.

y What are the positives of living in your community?

y Does the community lack funding support?

y What sets your community apart from others?

y Is there a lack of passion, commitment and

y Is there funding and financial support available?

involvement from community members? Does the

y Are community members highly motivated and

community care about the issue?

passionate about the issue?

y Do community members have the skills needed?

Opportunities

Threats

y What opportunities are open/available to the

y Is there opposition to the project from government,

y Is there an opportunity for an organisation or

y What threats could stop the community from

y How could the community turn their strengths into

y Who/what could cause problems for the

y What opportunities are there today?

y What obstacles will the community face?

y Who can support/assist the community?

y Are there new people, technologies, resources etc.

community?

non-government and/or local businesses?

agency to fund the program?

reaching their goals?

an opportunity?

community?

that could affect the success of the project?

y Are there any laws that could further enhance or support the community development project?

y Are there any obligations or circumstances that may affect the project’s success?

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CHCCDE003 - Work within a community development framework

Provide advice and information When working with groups to achieve community development outcomes, it is essential to provide advice and information to groups and individuals as required to ensure they are fully informed about relevant issues and opportunities. Time and care should be taken to ensure that all community members feel included, part of the group and informed of all aspects of the project. Community workers need to explain in detail all processes of the community development project. This allows participants to be aware of what is going on and will enable them to develop knowledge about community development projects and how they take place. Knowledge empowers people and gives them the confidence to be an active member of their community in this project and other future projects. When working with community groups, a community worker may provide advice and information about: y

legislation that may influence the community development project and potential outcomes

y

council and government processes

y

strategies for bringing about change in the community

y

tackling a particular issue and the steps that should be taken

y

putting together documents and proposals for grants and funding

y

approaching organisations within the community for assistance and support

y

planning public events

y

how to gain media interest and support for the community development project

y

developing an action plan

y

creating a community profile and/or needs analysis

y

evaluating the program

Community outcomes A community can achieve so much from a community development project. Not only will they meet the needs of the community and their intended goal/s, but there is also a range of other outcomes, such as: y

being able to address problems in the community and to strengthen community structures

y

community facilities

y

community planning

y

community projects

y

consultative and planning committees

y

enhanced community capacity, i.e. empowering community members through education, abilities and interest

y

enhanced community skills

y

enhanced social capital, i.e. networks and relationships among people within the community which enable the community to function more effectively

y

increased capacity of groups and individuals to engage with political and community structures

y

increased community self-confidence in public activity

y

inter-community collaboration.

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As a community development worker, it is your role to advocate and lobby for community-based outcomes. Advocating is about supporting the community, assisting them to have a voice and making recommendations to achieve their goals and desired results. Depending on the community and the types of participants involved advocating may involve a community worker as the spokesperson for the group or assisting and supporting a community member to be the spokesperson. A community worker will also need to lobby for creating community-based outcomes. Lobbying is two-fold. It is about petitioning and persuading the authorities, councils, and agencies to make and/or support the changes and influence local people and others to notice the issue and become involved and support the community development project. A community worker might advocate and lobby for the community through: talking to the media and making them aware of the issue and the need for change.

y

getting out in the community and speaking with people on the street about the issue and the community’s goals and engaging their support and/or participation in the development.

y

meeting with the community’s relevant decision makers and persuading them to get involved and support the change.

y

publicising any community events and fundraising activities in various ways such as speaking to the local newspaper, radio station, and social media. NG ACT NI

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6

Creating a successful community development initiative

TASK A Outline the process for creating a successful community development initiative. 1

5

2

4

3

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CONTINUED...

6 TASK B In partners, read each of the following community development priorities and determine the type of support that would be needed and from whom it could come from. Community 1: A community wants to increase access for people with disability to a variety of community recreation facilities such as the local YMCA, recreation centre and aquatic leisure centre. Community 2: A community wants to tackle the ice epidemic sweeping their rural town. Ice addiction has increased by 25% in the last 6 months and has been responsible for the deaths of 14 local residents. Community 3: A community has a large obesity problem with 78% of residents being overweight. The socio-economic status of the community is quite low with only 10% of residents making it past a Year 10 level education. The community wants to tackle the issue starting with the parents of children at the local primary school.

Learning Checkpoint 3 1.

Why is it important for the community to set goals?

2. Describe the S.M.A.R.T technique for goal setting. 3. What is an action plan? 4. Why it is important to have an action plan for a community development project? 5. As a community worker why is it important that you provide advice and information to groups and individuals within the community? 6. List four potential community outcomes that could result from a community development initiative. 7. In your own words describe what it means to ‘advocate’ and ‘lobby’ on behalf of a community.

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Manage group dynamics, facilitate discussions and engagement processes When working with groups, it is essential to acknowledge the wide variety of different personalities you will be working with. As a community development worker, your role is to facilitate the group and help them address their priorities most effectively and successfully. To do this, you will need to manage group dynamics, facilitate discussions and engagement processes.

Group dynamics Groups are active and have the power to affect positively or negatively on individuals, therefore it is important to pay attention to how the group interacts and works together, this is called group dynamics. There are many factors, internal and external which affect the group dynamics. 1.

Group development - In the past groups were thought to be formed based on ‘group spirit’, however it is now viewed as a change in an individual’s behaviour due to others being present. In the digital age, it not uncommon to have groups formed entirely online with a shared goal.

2. Group norms - Group norms are the rules of expected and unwanted behaviour from group members which has been accepted by all members involved. 3. Roles in the group - The Role refers to the attitude and behaviour of individual members in agreement with the expectations from each other. Some roles are specifically instated to meet the demand of the group, for example leader, note taker, moderator, researcher etc. 4. Intergroup conflict - Groups competing for resources may have conflict with each other and may bind members of a particular stronger due to loyalty to their group. Groups are more likely to resolve conflicts with other groups compared to individuals resolving their conflicts. This shows group and collective working can be beneficial.

Stages of group development Stage 1

Forming

The initial forming stage is the process of putting the structure of the team together. Team needs: y

Team mission and vision

y

Team member expectations

y

Establish specific objectives and tasks

y

Operational guidelines for team

y

Identify roles and responsibilities of team members

y

Effective in class meetings

Establish team ground rules

y

Effective Chat meetings

y

1st set of feedback from project guides

y

To move forward from this stage to the next stage, each member must give up the comfort zone of non-threatening topics and risk the possibility of conflict.

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Stage 2

Storming

This stage begins to take place as the process of organising tasks and processes uncover interpersonal conflicts. Leadership, power, and structural issues take over this stage. Team needs: y

Inter & intrapersonal relationships

y

Clarify and understand the team’s purpose

y

Identify personal differences

y

Re-establish roles and ground rules

y

Effective listening

y

y

Giving and receiving feedback

How to deal with ‘some’ team members violating team codes of conduct

y

Conflict resolution

y

Receiving Feedback from project guide

In order to move forward to the next stage, group members must move from a “testing and proving” mentality to a problem-solving mentality.

Stage 3

Norming

In this stage, team members are creating new ways of doing and being together. Team needs: y

Develop a decision-making process

y

Using all resources to support the team effort

y

Be prepared to offer ideas and suggestions

y

Team members take charge in shared leadership skills

y

Problem solving is shared

y

Receiving feedback from project guides

The major problem in the norming stage is that group members may start to fear the unavoidable future breakup of the team; they may oppose change of any sort.

Stage 4

Performing

The team is flexible as individuals adjust to meet the needs of other team members. This is a highly useful stage both personally and professionally. Team needs: y

Project guides assure team is moving in cooperative direction

y

Give information

y

Maintain team flexibility

y

Giving and Receiving

y

Measure knowledge performance – post test

y

Feedback and discussion with project guides

If the group reaches Stage 4, people can work independently, in subgroups, or as a collective with equal capabilities.

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Stage 5

Adjourning

In this stage typically team members are ready to leave. Team Needs: y

Evaluate the efforts of the team

y

Tie up loose ends and tasks

y

Recognize and reward team hard work

Closing a group can create some uneasiness and the leaders must be ready for this. Reference: Gençer, H. (2019). Group Dynamics and Behaviour. Universal Journal of Educational Research 7(1): 223-229. DOI: 10.13189/ ujer.2019.070128 Westchester University (n.d.). Tuckman’s stages of group development. https://www.wcupa.edu/coral/ tuckmanStagesGroupDelvelopment.aspx#:~:text=These%20stages%20are%20commonly%20known,more%20collaborative%20 or%20shared%20leadership.

Managing group dynamics Managing group dynamics is an essential aspect of group facilitation as the group’s effectiveness and success begin with the group’s ability to work cohesively. The group needs to share information, have open communication, give constructive feedback, work cooperatively and be committed to achieving the community’s priorities. To manage group dynamics consider:

The needs of participants When working with community groups, you will need to consider and develop strategies for addressing individual differences. These individual differences are what makes people unique, and this diversity should be embraced. Diversity brings new and different ideas and perspectives which can add value to a community development project. Individual differences may include culture, language, age, religion, beliefs, disability, family structures and relationships. The strategies adopted to address these individual differences will vary depending on the individual and their difference/s. However, it is essential that each person feel part of the group and that their ideas and opinions are valued and important to the group. Create an environment that promotes diversity through shared experiences and promoting inclusiveness and acceptance.

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For example, suppose you encounter a person with specific cultural and language needs. In that case, you may need to organise an interpreter to attend group meetings and/or provide written materials to participants in their native language. The use of visuals, such as pictures and diagrams, can also assist people who have English as their second language. You may also need to accommodate people with disabilities and impairments and the aged who may require ramps or special assistance to access the meetings so they may contribute. If you have not met the community members before you may ask them to register their interest and have them highlight any specific needs they have, such as wheelchair access, you can be prepared.

Communication Communication needs to be clear, direct and respectful at all times, considering the use of verbal, and non-verbal communication. As a facilitator of community development, you must establish rules for communication. Be clear about the importance of one person speaking at a time and listening to each other’s ideas and opinions even if you disagree with them. When managing group dynamics, it is important not to allow people to be disrespectful to the speaker by having their side conversations, making negative comments or putting them down.

Respect Respect is vital to the ability of a group to work collaboratively together. Respect is about showing admiration for someone, their abilities, qualities and/or achievements. Having respect for someone does not mean that you have to agree with their ideas and opinions necessarily. It is more about listening to them and being polite. All members of the group should show respect for one another and in all communications. As a facilitator, you should take the time to discuss the importance of respect when beginning discussions with community members in a group situation. Respect in all communication allows people to feel included and valued, is about making people feel part of a group and providing a sense of acceptance and belonging. As a facilitator, you must model respect in all your interactions and ask community members to do the same. As a facilitator, you can role model respect through your verbal and non-verbal communication by: y

treating people professionally, always being polite, courteous and kind

y

being supportive and encouraging of others

y

listening to others’ opinions and suggestions

y

always providing feedback in a constructive and respectful manner

y

thanking and praising others for their excellent work and/or assistance, even if it is part of their job

y

never insulting them, being mean or nasty

y

using positive body language and posture and ensuring eye contact.

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Trust Trust is important in a community development environment, especially where community members share their personal stories and issues. A facilitator should do their best to build trust within the group by asking them not to discuss any sensitive information in public. A group needs trust to work effectively as a team. Trust can be established and maintained through: y

open and honest communication

y

members showing a commitment to the community’s priorities and dedicating themselves to working hard to achieve them

y

being competent and completing any designated tasks within the allocated timeframe

y

collaborating with others and sharing ideas; people need to feel that they can share their thoughts and opinions where they will not be judged or ridiculed or have to worry about someone else taking credit for their ideas.

y

follow-through; when you say that you will do something, it is important that you do it.

Decision-making When decision-making in a group, it is important to listen to all group members’ ideas, suggestions, and views. Each member will have something unique to offer to the decision making process. When making a decision, the group should list all relevant choices, identify the possible consequences and the likelihood of these consequences. By combining all relevant information, the group should decide the best interests of the organisation, team or group. Involving all group members in the decisionmaking process is invaluable to a group’s ability to work successfully together. When people are involved in making a decision, they take ownership of it. This makes them more likely to follow through, back the decision and do their best to see that it is successful. This makes individuals more committed to the community’s priorities.

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Conflict resolution Conflict can destroy the dynamics of a group, hindering the group from making any decisions or progress. As a facilitator modelling and enforcing expectations and rules around listening, communication and respect can prevent conflict. Wherever possible conflict should be dealt with swiftly and tactfully to avoid any further escalation. Two people in the group argue it is often best to ask them politely to stop and say that their opinions can be discussed privately after the meeting. It allows the group to move on and process towards their objective without getting bogged down in the conflict. It also allows for the conflict to be dealt with discreetly to minimise others’ impact in the group. A variety of communication strategies and techniques can be used to resolve conflict. It is vital to use the most effective conflict resolution techniques and communication skills to manage conflict and develop solutions. An effective conflict resolution technique should encourage everyone to express their perspective, acknowledge and treat everyone with respect. Resolving conflict will result in one of three outcomes; a win-win, win-lose or lose-lose situation. The results of the resolution will depend on how the conflict was handled. In a win-win situation, both parties will come away from the conflict situation satisfied with the resolution. In a win-lose situation, only one party will go away satisfied. In a lose-lose situation, the conflict will likely be ignored, or the parties will be unable or unwilling to compromise on an outcome. A win-win outcome is always best for maintaining a positive environment. It will help keep the relationship between the parties involved in the conflict and preserve morale in the group. In order to work towards achieving a win-win resolution, effective conflict resolution techniques must be used.

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Facilitate discussions Facilitation is the process of assisting a group to learn something new, do a task or make something more comfortable. The ideal outcome for any facilitation is to achieve both individual and collective empowerment whilst maintaining group cohesion. A facilitator is often used to start a discussion and enable a group to work effectively and collaboratively. An effective facilitator should engage all group members to work effectively to achieve the best outcomes for all involved, without taking on a particular position. To facilitate a group successfully, a group leader should always allow the group to evolve at its own pace. As a community worker, you will need to lead and facilitate community meetings. These meetings will enable community members to become involved and actively participate in the development project. This is important to the success and sustainability of any community development program. As mentioned in the previous section, part of facilitating discussions is managing the dynamics of the group. Part of this is establishing group expectations to ensure that the group works cohesively and respects one another’s views and ideas. When facilitating discussions, it is essential to get everyone actively involved. Often in group situations, there are one or two people with dominant personalities who speak up and voice their opinion; dominating many of the conversations. It can stop others from contributing to the discussion. It is crucial to managing this type of situation and includes all group members in the conversation. You could handle this type of problem by asking those dominating the discussion to allow others to speak. You could also actively involve others who have sat quietly by asking them individually for their opinion, for example, you might say “Alison, what do you think about the issue?”. It would be best if you documented all group discussions. You could do this by taking a video, audio recording or through taking minutes of the meeting. If you take minutes of the meeting, you should provide a copy to the participants after the meeting. These minutes should summarise what was discussed during the meeting and any decisions, outcomes or action areas identified.

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Engagement strategies It is essential to consider how to best engage community members in a group meeting. Engagement will promote participation and make community members more enthusiastic about being part of the community development project. If people are not engaged during the first meeting, they are unlikely to give up their time and continue to attend meetings. To engage people, ensure that group meetings will be: y

Meaningful People like to know that they are doing something for a reason and that what they are doing is valuable. People need to feel that their time is being well spent on something that will make a difference to their community. When people think that they are wasting their time, they will disengage and stop participating.

y

Inclusive Allow everyone to contribute. People need to feel that their ideas and opinions are valued and an essential part of the group. Include all group members in discussions and any decisions that need to be made. If a particular group member is quiet, ask them directly by name for their input. When people give an idea or opinion, be supportive and thank them for their input. Even if you feel that their opinion or idea is unrealistic or not in line with the community’s priorities it is still important to make the person feel that their contribution was valuable and worthwhile; if you don’t, they will stop contributing. To be respectful and polite you could simply say “thank you for that idea it’s a unique way at looking at the issue”.

y

Organised As a facilitator, it is essential to prepare for a community development meeting. If you are disorganised and fail to have a clear plan for the meeting, people will disengage. Suppose they feel that the meeting is not a priority for you as the community development worker. In that case, they may consider it a waste of their time attending, or participating in something that even the facilitator does not view as a priority. To be organised, create an agenda for the meeting outlining each item to be discussed and the approximate time to be spent on each item. An agenda allows group members to see what is up for discussion and enable them to think about their contributions to each agenda item.

It is also important that you take note of any actions and complete them before the next meeting.

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Build relationships When forming a community development group, take the time to get to know everyone in the group. Allowing people to interact and communicate informally is the first step to building rapport and social relationships. When people feel connected to others in the group, they are likely to engage more, participate and work hard to achieve the group’s priorities. You could facilitate this by leading an icebreaker activity. Using icebreakers at the beginning of the first community meeting can help strangers get to know one another and you as their facilitator. It allows people to begin to feel comfortable in their environment and become engaged in the meeting.

Make it enjoyable Community meetings do not need to be all business. There should be an opportunity for people to mingle and chat either halfway through during a break or after the meeting. You should organise and provide refreshments such as tea and coffee and snacks such as muffins, biscuits or fruit. This allows a social aspect and an opportunity to discuss some of the issues raised during the meeting. Sometimes the best ideas come from informal conversations. As the facilitator, this also allows you to know individual community members, their interests, and priorities informally in a casual setting. The rapport that is developed during this time can be beneficial to working relationships and therefore, the community development project as a whole.

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Review your work practices As a community worker, your sole purpose is to help communities address their shared concerns and issues. This is done in various ways, including the development of initiatives, programs, support and counselling. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are committed to community development principles. Part of this is taking the time to critically and honestly review and modify your work practices within a community development framework. You could review your work practices through:

Formal and informal feedback methods Formal feedback is where a survey or questionnaire is constructed and given to community members involved in the framework to complete. They would need to respond to a series of questions about a community development worker’s work practices. As a community development worker, you could informally review your work practices by looking at the number of participants involved in the program. Suppose people stop attending meetings or show a lack of interest or enthusiasm for the project. In that case, it is likely that your work practice has not been overly successful and that there is room for modification and improvement.

Self-reflection methods Community workers can use a diary or journal to jot down information about the community development and self-evaluate their performance based on a range of self-made criteria. These may include communication, explanation and delivery, the successfulness of the project, rapport, and community responsiveness. A community worker may then use this information to develop three goals or changes to their work practice for their next community development project and work towards achieving these. A diary or journal can also be a useful self-reflection tool as past entries can be used to develop future frameworks by reflecting on what worked and what didn’t work. Mentoring is also an excellent self-reflection method. Mentoring is about transferring knowledge from one individual to another, through explanation and demonstration, offering the individual an opportunity to learn as they are supported and assisted by a more experienced colleague. A mentor could assist a community development worker in evaluating their performance by reflecting on strengths and weaknesses. Using constructive feedback, a mentor can help and support the community worker to improve future frameworks.

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Modify your work practices Once you have reviewed your work practices and identified areas for improvement, you will need to find a way to modify your work practices. This is about finding new ways to connect with the community and be more effective in your role. A community worker may need to modify their work practices for a range of reasons, including: y

difficulty engaging and connecting with community members and/or alienating community members by being too inflexible

y

a lack of participation from community members

y

difficulty brokering and establishing connections and partnerships with local NGOs and community leaders

y

struggling with the ability to be flexible and tailoring the framework to an individual’s specific needs

y

they felt that they didn’t have the skills or knowledge to assist with certain aspects of the community development framework, such as working with people suffering from a mental illness

y

difficulty meeting the cultural and language needs of community members

y

difficulty managing the group dynamics during group meetings

y

difficulty facilitating discussions and asking the right questions

A community worker could modify their work practices by seeking opportunities to improve. They could do this by:

Seeking professional development Professional development is about learning new skills or knowledge that can help you learn something new or further develop your abilities. This can help community workers improve their work practices giving them the capability to assist communities and individuals within those communities more effectively. Professional development can include training, coaching, and personal study.

Training This is where a community development worker organises to attend a short course, workshop, conference or session with a specific focus to further develop their knowledge, skills and abilities in this area. The Australian Community Workers Association (ACWA) provides several professional development opportunities, specifically for community workers. They offer E-learning, conferences, forums and workshops on a range of topics. Some examples of professional development opportunities for community workers are: y

strategies for working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders

y

understanding mental illness in the community

y

asking identifying questions

y

working effectively with rural and remote communities

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Personal study is also a great way to learn more skills and knowledge. Personal study can include completing a certificate, short course, or degree to develop skills, knowledge, and qualifications further. It can also involve researching information through the internet or books. Personal study can help a community worker be more effective and successful in their current role and better support community members.

Coaching and mentoring The use of coaches and mentors can foster teamwork and a cohesive and collaborative working environment. Coaching and mentoring involves using the skills of one community worker to teach or educate another community worker. It is about transferring knowledge from one individual to another through explanation and demonstration. Coaching and mentoring benefits not only the person being coached or mentored but also the coach/mentor and the organisation they work for.

Mentees/Coaches benefit through:

Developing their coaching and instructing skills Improving their leadership skills Gaining a sense of satisfaction

Organisations benefit through: Saving money - it’s a cost effective way of training new staff Developing potential leaders Increasing skills amongst staff Increasing productivity

NG ACT NI

ITY IV

LEAR

Learning new skills Learning new knowledge Developing confidence Enhancing opportunities for their careers

Mentors/Coaches benefit through:

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Stages of group development

Throughout this unit you have worked with your class peers. Give examples of how your group came together to work together towards a shared goal. Use the group development stages and for each stage explain what happened in your group and how issues were identified and solved.. Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning

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Learning Checkpoint 4 1.

Why do you think it is important to manage group dynamics?

2. Outline three things that should be considered to manage group dynamics effectively. 3. What are the stages of group development? 4. Why is it important to engage people? 5. Outline three ways a community worker could review their work practices. 6. Why do you think it is important for a community worker to review their work practices? 7. Identify and describe two ways a community worker could seek opportunities to improve their work practices.

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