The Power Of Local Community Relations
- 1. The Power of Community Relationships - a Participatory Training Exercise Paul Cutler www.stronger-and-more-effective.co.uk
- 2. The Mapping Exercise A 2 hour workshop session (with breaks) for 25 local stakeholders from the community Participants have a mix of backgrounds including service users, family members, professionals, journalists, business and voluntary sector Representativeness - gender, ethnicity, age, disability and other issues Uses tools and techniques from mapping theories and action research Part of a wider participatory programme and a two day workshop
- 3. Purpose of the exercise To answer the question what stakeholder groups exist in the local community? To answer the question who might be represented on a local participatory forum? To explore the potential and possibilities of mapping skills and tools To demonstrate the power and diversity of local networks To demonstrate the proximity of powerful actors in the community - ‘2 degrees of separation’ To identify excluded stakeholder groups and explore ways of reaching out To map the assets of local knowledge shared by stakeholders and consider the potential of deploying these assets in new ways
- 4. Strengths of the exercise Creative and holistic Practical - learning by doing Mingling - on hands and knees Breaking down barriers between multi-agency groups Visual and colourful Unlocks hidden or unconscious knowledge and local expertise Illustrates patterns, assumptions and dynamics that stakeholders are not always aware of Surprises people about themselves Contrasts with other sessions in the programme Fun
- 5. Position in the Participation and Policy programme Development of a local participatory forum Public action for community level learning and change Policy skills workshop Open forum Participatory forum Local action
- 6. Exercise principles The exercise (like the workshop) is a shared journey and this is clearly communicated Facilitators are participants too and do their own maps Participants own their maps Diversity issues - gender, ethnicity, age, disability, sexuality and literacy
- 7. Running the exercise - part one Introducing the purpose of the session Introduction to mapping skills Providing the tools - paper, pens, collage material Identifying mapping groups or individuals - stakeholder choice Supporting the participants as they map Managing the time Bringing the participants back to the main group Maps put on the walls and participants have 10 minutes to look at the different maps
- 8. Running the exercise - part two Group discussion / feedback about the experience of the exercise and the process of mapping Participants (usually three) are asked to volunteer to explain their map to the wider group Facilitators make observational comments and invite reflection from the other participants Map makers supported to annotate their maps where appropriate Group exercise to look at links between stakeholders, access to sources of power and influence Diversity considered and barriers to stakeholder participation - who is missing, who is marginalised? Group summary of original aims of exercise - involvement in participatory forum Facilitators conclude and link outcomes to previous and future sessions of the workshop
- 9. Outputs from the exercise Maps Annotations and participant analysis Proto-list of forum members Proto-list of stakeholder diversity in the local community Records of discussions, flip charts and other material
- 10. Outcomes from the exercise Greater awareness of stakeholder relationships Strengthened networks that can be deployed by local people Energy and enthusiasm Trust Confidence - sharing something personal that is recognised as valuable Forum design and development moved forward Mapping skills that can be used in other areas and in the work of the forum
- 11. Adult learning Learning by doing Unlocking local knowledge and experience in the group Learning as a group Creating a learning environment Using tools, techniques and principles Transferable skills to the real world Space to explore real world case studies and examples - concepts in action Taking responsibility and control of personal and organisational learning Identifying barriers and using community level opportunities to side step them Ground rules, comfort breaks and respect The learning process is the equal of the learning content - sustainable learning and development
- 12. Capturing the learning The actual maps - on the wall Photos of the maps Flipcharts and records Evaluation forms and feedback Participatory Action Research Life stories Reflective diaries
- 13. Examples of the mapping
- 14. Learning from the learning The unexpected networks Hidden capacities and strengths Iterative feedback to improve the quality and effectiveness of professional systems and build new creative stakeholder relationships The service user as expert Taking risks From maps to models….