Promote and support effective relationships between communities and public bodies and other agencies LEGACY
Overview
This standard sets out how community development practitioners support communities to better understand:
• how public bodies and other agencies work and make decisions
• how to influence decision-making processes
• how to determine whether they should work with public bodies and other organisations
• how to develop effective relationships
There are many benefits to be gained from effective relationships between communities, public bodies and other organisations. However, to fully benefit communities need to understand the remits, powers and duties that public bodies and other organisations hold and, how they can influence decision-making processes. Public bodies and other organisations want to work with communities for a variety of reasons. It is important that communities are clear about how it will also benefit them.
This standard is relevant to all community development practitioners who support communities in this process.
The community development standards are arranged in six key areas:
• One - Understand and practise community development
• Two - Understand and engage with communities
• Three - Group work and collective action
• Four - Collaboration and cross-sectoral working
• Five - Community learning for social change
• Six - Governance and organisational development
This standard is within Key Area Four.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
1 assist communities to understand local, national and global democratic and political processes and where power and influence lie
2 gather information about the roles and responsibilities of public bodies and other organisations whose work impacts on communities which is up to date and relevant to current community action
3 assist communities to understand the legal powers, statutory responsibilities and resources held by public bodies and other organisations and how this may impact on joint decision-making
4 promote relationships between communities, public bodies and other organisations for the benefit of communities
5 support communities to understand the tensions that can arise between organisations with different structures and decision making processes in order to improve relationships
6 provide information to communities about how to engage and work collaboratively with public bodies and other organisations to achieve agreed aims
7 assist communities to examine government initiatives and the opportunities they present for communities to influence decision-makers
8 assist communities to access information about existing multi-agency working arrangements to inform community action
9 support communities to identify the skills needed to engage with public bodies and other organisations
10 support communities to identify and establish relevant contacts within public bodies and other organisations to achieve agreed aims
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
The rationale and context
1 how representative and participatory democracy work in practice
2 concepts of political literacy, citizenship rights and responsibilities in relation to governance
3 relevant local, national and international government policies
4 the contribution that diverse communities and autonomous groups can make to decisions affecting communities
5 how injustice, discrimination and social exclusion impact on the lives of individuals and communities
6 how power relationships affect collaborative working
7 the social, political, cultural and economic context of own community
8 the potential links and disparities between concepts of community development and key ideas presented in government policies and initiatives
Powers of public bodies and the duties and obligations they have to communities
9 how public bodies and other organisations are regulated and managed
10 the duties and responsibilities public bodies and other organisations have to communities
11 how to support public bodies and other organisations to improve how they engage with communities
Techniques and methods
12 how to support communities and individuals to influence decision-making
13 how to develop the skills needed to influence decision-making
14 inclusive and participatory techniques for relationship building
15 how to negotiate, plan, agree, review and evaluate relationships between communities and other organisations
16 techniques and approaches to increase accountability to communities
17 communication systems which promote understanding and open dialogue
18 methods which facilitate collective learning opportunities to ensure effective collaborative working
Scope/range
Scope Performance
Scope Knowledge
Values
Community development is underpinned by a set of values which distinguish it from other, sometimes related, activities in the community. These values are at the core of community development and underpin each of the standards. The values are;
1 Social justice and equality
2 Anti-discrimination
3 Community empowerment
4 Collective action
5 Working and learning together
The following examples illustrate how each of the community development values might inform practice in this standard. These statements are not part of assessment requirements.
1 power imbalances between communities, public bodies and other agencies are recognised and addressed
2 opportunities to influence and challenge discriminatory practice is critically examined
3 the rights of communities to define themselves, their priorities and agendas for action are made explicit
4 actions are taken to build confidence within communities to engage in dialogue with public bodies
5 knowledge of how public bodies and other agencies work is shared with communities