Working with Communities

Working with Communities Oz Osborne Sustainable Living

What ………..is a community. • Why ………..you should work with one. • How ………..you could do it. Working with Communities

What is a community? • What communities are you a member of? Working with Communities • What role does a social worker have in their community?

What is a community? Communities of place village, university, borough etc Communities of interest profession, religion, green etc Working with Communities Community of identity caring, gay, alternative etc

Traditionally a "community" has been defined as a group of interacting people living in a common location. Working with Communities

The role of the social worker in a community. In the west, a social worker does not work with a whole society, or even with a community or a group in a social context. The social worker, is a government civil servant who usually handles "cases," and a case is usually about an individual or a family. Working with Communities A social worker is trained in sociology rather than community development departments of schools and universities.

Sociology. The study of the relationships between people living in groups, especially in industrial societies. Sociology as a scientific discipline emerged in the early 19th century as an academic response to the challenge of modernity: as the world became smaller and more integrated, people's experience of the world became increasingly atomized and dispersed. Sociologists hoped not only to understand what held social groups together, but also to develop an "antidote" to social disintegration. Working with Communities

The role of the social worker in a community. In other countries and cultures, older people, family members or religious leaders undertake what we call ‘social work’. In these countries, a ‘social worker’ could also be an untrained individual volunteering with a community organisation to campaign for rights or tackle health issues. Working with Communities

The role of the social worker in a community. In the UK, a Social Worker is someone who is qualified to work, usually with a particular ‘client’ group, in a geographical area for government employers. Working with Communities

The role of the social worker in a community. The people who are targeted for support are the same: people who are in a position of weakness or vulnerability. Although described as ‘Clients’ or ‘Beneficiaries, they will be members of a community of place or interest or identity . Working with Communities

Communities and Government. Social work and communities are subject to political reform and affected by market forces. What happens in a community is heavily influenced by government. Working with Communities Wherever the community is.

Communities and Government. • Influence could be through reform, legislation or other initiatives covering issues such as: • Health • Education • Community facilities • Jobs • Housing • Transport • Subsidies, funding and grants • Social work etcetc Working with Communities

Communities and Government. Communities can be subject to ‘Community Development’ by the Government or its agents. They can also need ‘Capacity Building’ or ‘Empowerment’ or their ‘Social Capital’ increased. Working with Communities They usually do not know what this means or have a say in how or why it should happen.

Community Development. • Community Development is a long-term value based process which aims to address imbalances in power and bring about change founded on social justice, equality and inclusion. • The process enables people to organise and work together to: • identify their own needs and aspirations; • take action to exert influence on the decisions which affect their lives; • improve the quality of their own lives, the communities in which they live, and societies of which they are a part. Working with Communities

Community Empowerment. Community empowerment is the process of enabling people to shape and choose the services they use on a personal basis, so that they can influence the way those services are delivered. It is often used in the same context as community engagement, which refers to the practical techniques of involving local people in local decisions and especially reaching out to those who feel distanced from public decisions. Communities and Local Government Website 2008 Working with Communities

Community Empowerment. “Community Empowerment is about people and government, working together to make life better. It involves more people being able to influence decisions about their communities, and more people taking responsibility for tackling local problems, rather than expecting others to. The idea is that government can’t solve everything by itself, and nor can the community: it’s better when we work together.” David Blunkett former Home Secretary 2004 Working with Communities

Social Capital. Social relations such as trust, friendship and networking that have productive benefits. The value of social capital can not be measured in financial terms. “..….the institutions, relationships, and norms that shape the quality and quantity of a society’s social interactions." World Bank definition Working with Communities

Community capacity building. “Developing the capacity and skills of members of a community in such a way that they are better able to identify and help meet their needs and to participate more fully in society.” Charity Commission Working with Communities

Community development. • For example, a book group might set up a campaign to keep their town’s library open. • This is Community empowerment because they are taking it upon themselves to tackle a local problem and influence a decision made by government. • They are building social capital by using a network of friends to improve community facilities. Working with Communities

Community development. • They have built their capacity to meet the needs of their community. • All this could be assisted by community engagement techniques • Collectively, this is community development. Working with Communities

Government and communities. • New Labour’s Third Way was launched in 2005: • creates and advances moderate policy and political ideas; • advocates for private-sector economic growth; • a tough and smart security strategy; • a clean energy revolution; • bold education and anti-poverty reforms; • progress on divisive culture issues. • “The moderate voice of the progressive movement’ or ‘democratic socialism’. Working with Communities

Government and communities. • Delivered through a host of initiatives such as: • New Deal for Communities • Local Strategic Partnerships • Best Value • Employment, Health and Education Action Zones • Better Government for Older People • Community Safety Partnerships Working with Communities

Government and communities. There was no evaluation to test how successful these initiatives were in meeting the objectives of the Third Way, their impact on communities or if they ultimately improved quality of life . Working with Communities

Government and communities. The Coalition’s Big Society 2011 “About decentralising power, about empowering communities, about all the work you do to help build the big strong society you want to see in the United Kingdom. I want a shift away from politicians sitting around the table telling us all what to do, issuing orders and instructions and passing laws and regulations. ” David Cameron 2010 Working with Communities

Government and communities. ‘It is this government’s ambition that we build a stronger society – a Big Society. This is about creating a country in which people are in more control, supported to pursue their collective and individual goals, and are less reliant upon the state. We believe that there are three key elements to the government’s role in building the Big Society………………… Giving Green Paper Feb 2011 Working with Communities

Government and communities. ‘……..Empowering communities, giving local councils and neighbourhoods more power to take decisions and shape their area. Opening uppublic services, enabling charities, social enterprises, private companies and employee-owned cooperatives to compete to offer people high quality services. And encouraging social action, people giving what they have, be that their time, their money, or their assets, knowledge and skills, to support good causes and help make life better for all.’ Giving Green Paper Feb 2011 Working with Communities

Government and communities. BE READY FOR THE BIG SOCIETY 10th & 21st March. East Cornwall CVS. Lanivet. Bodmin. PL30 5HS There is no charge to attend this two day workshop which is being funded through Take Part Pathfinder. Accredited at level two, this two day course will explore aspects of citizenship in addition to looking at rights and responsibilities. · What is the difference between rights and responsibilities? · What is 'Equal Opportunities? · How do local and national governments work? · What services are available in your area? During the course we will be covering the electoral process and the responsibilities of people involved; why society needs rules and the relationship between personal choice and community responsibility. Working with Communities

Government and communities. The Coalition’s Big Society An initiative based upon the principles of empowering communities, redistributing power and fostering a culture of volunteerism. Only 8% of Coalition MPs actively volunteer. thebigsociety.co.uk Feb 11 Working with Communities

Local regeneration initiatives and capacity building: Whose ‘capacity’ and ‘building’ for what? John Diamond Changing structures does not, of itself, alter the power differences inherent in local neighbourhoods where community groups are cast as ‘dependent’ by regeneration managers seeking to meet performance targets. • Local people are defined as ‘dependent’ • ‘Capacity building’ can be a ‘politicising’ experience • Local agencies seek to marginalise alternative views • Outside facilitators are likely to ‘accentuate’ this marginalisation • Inside facilitators are likely to achieve marginalisation more covertly • Local partnerships seek to co-opt local activists Working with Communities

Local regeneration initiatives and capacity building: Whose ‘capacity’ and ‘building’ for what? John Diamond Creating new localised forms of delivering social and welfare services under the label of the ‘local partnership’ does not, of itself, ensure that the services provided or the resources allocated will meet the needs and aspiration of the local community. Rather, they can represent the needs and agendas of the professionalised welfare services as they have defined them. Working with Communities

Community capacity-building: Something old, something new . . .? Gary Craig “Partnership working has in fact increasingly been criticised for building the capacity of the powerful (and their organisations) and not the weak, or for building the capacity of the weak only insofar as it accords with the interests of the powerful”. Banks and Shenton, 2001 Working with Communities

Community capacity-building: Something old, something new . . .? Gary Craig Community capacity-building is essentially not a neutral technical process: it is about power and ideology and how these are mediated through structures and processes. As with the terms community and community development, the term CCB is used to hide a false consensus about goals and interests. In reality they are all arenas for political contestation. And, as with these earlier terms, CCB has been manipulated by governments to give a false sense of community ownership and control. Working with Communities

Community capacity-building: Something old, something new . . .? Gary Craig . . . the experience of many communities is that ‘community capacity building’ programmes (with a myriad of titles), have been imposed on them; with perceived needs, desired outcomes and preferred methods part of the package which they have not had the opportunity to identify, develop or agree . . . the ‘community’ (often not self-defined) is exhorted to play its part in an environment where inequalities of resources, power, information and status are not even acknowledged, never mind addressed. The Federation for Community Development Learning Working with Communities

The Localism Act has now received royal assent. It gives additional rights and powers to communities including • Making it easier for people to take over local assets like shops and pubs (through the community right to bid) • Giving local groups the right to express an interest in taking over the running of a local/district authority service (the community right to challenge) January 2012 Working with Communities

The role of the social worker in a community. • Reclaiming Information and Communication Technologies for Empowering Social Work Practice • Lester Parrott, IoloMadoc-Jones • Clients of social services are more likely to come from marginalised and impoverished backgrounds. • The social work profession has a strong tradition of ‘radical’ practice, a practice that seeks to change social relations so as to address poverty, oppression and exploitation. Working with Communities

The role of the social worker in a community. • Reclaiming Information and Communication Technologies for Empowering Social Work Practice • Lester Parrott, IoloMadoc-Jones • Empowerment is a theory concerned with how people may gain collective control over their lives, so as to achieve their interests as a group, and a method by which social workers seek to enhance the power of people who lack it. Working with Communities

The role of the social worker in a community. • Reclaiming Information and Communication Technologies for Empowering Social Work Practice • Lester Parrott, IoloMadoc-Jones • Empowering practice is concerned with extending a person’s ability to take effective decisions, and assisting individuals, groups and/or communities to take control of their circumstances and achieving their own goals to maximise the quality of their lives. Working with Communities

The role of the social worker in a community. “……there has been a growing realisation that users of social-care services can no-longer be engineered or manipulated into solutions, they have to be involved in the problem solving themselves. Achieving sustainable user involvement in social care requires a vision that replaces notions of privatisation, individualism and short-termism with notions of co-operation, social cohesion and longtermism.” Social Work in a Changing Europe Lorenz Working with Communities

The role of the social worker in a community. • Should social work be about empowering individuals or communities? • Is empowering radical? Working with Communities • In what way can social work contribute to the Big Society?

The role of the social worker in a community. Working with Communities

How can community development work in practice? A new government takes power. Working with Communities

How can community development work in practice? A political think tank has a ‘new’ idea. Working with Communities

How can community development work in practice? Our communities will be better. Working with Communities

How can community development work in practice? The Cabinet approves it. Working with Communities

How can community development work in practice? The Prime Minister launches it. Working with Communities

How can community development work in practice? The Spin Doctors promote it. Working with Communities

How can community development work in practice? Consultants write strategies. Working with Communities

How can community development work in practice? Councils are told to deliver them. Working with Communities

How can community development work in practice? Regeneration professionals get contracts for delivery. Working with Communities

How can community development work in practice? The professional Community Development Workers arrive. Working with Communities

Working with Communities