I’ve been spending a lot of time lately thinking about the practice that sits at the core of our work – our ‘approach’ if you like. This is where I’ve got to.
- We approach every programme with an attitude of respect, humility, care and sensitivity
- We develop our understanding of the context, consulting with partners to be aware of political and social drivers, local histories, demographics and dynamics.
- We map existing assets, researching the area in which we are working, to better understand the physical and social infrastructure, aiming to identify and value those assets.
- We identify and recruit local champions and leaders aiming to develop the capacity of existing leaders, grow local assets and empower community members
- We establish a meaningful presence by being creative, interested and interesting. We develop relationships, focus on listening and demonstrate the ability to connect, engage and involve.
- We work with partners to identify gaps and barriers to progress and find ways for the community to overcome these themselves
- We co-create needs based programmes of activity tailored specifically to the context
- We work in a purposeful manner which leads to tangible outcomes that everyone can understand
- We constantly broaden the range of partners involved, the types of activity on offer and the breadth of experience available.
- We carefully evaluate impact, learning, change and distance travelled. Ensuring objectives are shared and fully owned. We encourage everyone to see everything as an opportunity for learning and build quality by reflecting on success and failure, constantly adapting and changing in response to changing needs and informed feedback
- We celebrate progress, welcome visitors, share learning in networks and publicise successes widely
- We ensure developments and changes are sustained and sustainable
I wonder what others think of this 12 stage model. Where does it resonate with your own practice? For now I’m referring to it as an ‘asset valuing model’ and I think it sits in contrast to models of cultural development that to me seem paternalistic and outmoded. There are parallels of course with a range of community capacity building initiatives here in the UK and possibly more commonly in the developing world. I’d greatly value comments or criticisms either in the comment section here of directly to chris.may@curiousminds.org.uk. If you know of similar or comparable models, I’d love to hear about them.
Happy Easter!
Chris May
