Better connected...It's all about relationships

Sweet Lana. Shuttershock

There is probably a reason why 'The Networked Practitioner' is my final Open University module. For me the title in itself suggests something that those of us who work in the charity sector live out on a daily basis, as without each other would not grow and develop. When I think about my day to day practices I couldn't do without my network. Whether it's colleagues at work, twitter pro's doing similar work, or the individuals I meet face to face through events and forums like colleagues through National Council of Volunteer Youth Services (NCVYS)

At the NCVYS agm this Wednesday we were privileged to be joined by Michael Little from Dartington. I kind of knew about the Social Research Unit, but they do some really interesting work and development that seeks to improve the services for young people. For me, annual general meetings are mostly about the speakers - and this one certainly inspired me, and I left with my head buzzing with lots of ideas.Here's some of the key messages or questions that I took home to ponder.... 

Future trends - austerity, inequality, technology and relationships
Firstly, we are in a period of austerity, by choice, and that is unlikely to change in the next ten years. This means that there will be a smaller state but a bigger community. Or at least a bigger reliance on community. Therefore for us as citizens we need to consider what that means, as much as we do as charities. The refocus on civil society is a disruption, and we need to find our voice and our place in it - probably why there are growing tensions and factions. For public services this is about thinking about the opportunities they can create as well as the services they provide.

As well as austerity we need to think about generational inequality. I had not though about this before, but it is worth pondering. This isn't about traits of the generations but more about the environments that generations are growing up in. The contexts are different. I am a 37 year old who lives in London who is only just buying a house. I was lucky enough to be one of the last to get a full grant to go to University (leaving with only a £3,000 debt for living allowances). I wonder if young people growing up will ever get these opportunities? Or whether they even want these opportunities? The generational differences are created by the contexts that people grow up in. The opportunities and dreams are different. The end goals are different. We need to unpick that as we work across generations. Technology continues to be influencial, not just for impact, but also for service and we will see emerging trends in wearables for health and ratings for services. 

But the key thing we need to think about, in our networked age is relationships (and I am a sucker for a relationship). As a society, service users, charities, individuals....we need to think about who we connect with and how. We need to invest time in connecting with the right people in the right way. From the stance of those working with young people who are more vulnerable and disadvantaged, this is about being able to 'relate without pity' so that both sides can express their vulnerabilities, and so that we can see the person and not the context. I also loved the idea of the effect of relationships not being about the impact on their lives, but the cognitive change within. The right relationships can make you feel empowered, change the way you think. We have all been there right? Getting together with people who challenge you, but ultimately leave you with a feeling of positivity and that something has changed within. 

What young people say
The young people that Dartington have worked with talk about positive relationships as being about Heart, Head and Hands.
The heart is that they feel the person cares in the first instance. The head is needed so that they can think things through together. But the hands are what consolidates that relationship as it's about practically doing something. It's a pretty basic idea, but one that maybe we should think about in all of our relationships. Feeling together, thinking together, doing together.(for those who work in the youth sector, this will not be a new concept)

Can we train it?
As we move forward as services and as a young people's workforce we will need to ask ourselves therefore - can this be trained? or do we need to consider changing the paradigms of our workforce? Will service users be better at service designing and what does that means for the agility of being able to translate and respond? And if it's about creating relationships, do we need to think about our 'networked infrastructure'? As charities do we need to split our activities into the charity stuff we do for the common good and the services we provide to meet a need?

What can the voluntary sector do?
We were issued with a few thoughts from Michael...
1 - Stop being a victim. Funding is changing and times are tough, but that means we need to take responsibility, rather than apportioning blame. 
2 - Reflect openly and honestly on what we do and what we could do better
3 - Stop relying on government funding. yes. there is less of it. but it also ties you to services, which may not be where the heart lies.
4 - That means that we need to work together to manage risk. Can we help each other out with fund or services, and find creative ways to make stuff happen
5 - which leads to...more creativity around fundraising. In particular Michael acknowledged that we need to be more positive in the language that we use to talk about what we do. We need to find the language which shows that we are helping others not because of pity, which is the language of many fundraising campaigns. 

Language and relationships
Language brings us back to relationships.
For Michael, the evidence for change would be a change in the language we use about what we do. How do we talk about what we do, listen and participate? Do we see a change in terms like commissioning and contracts? Do we see promotion of the positive benefits for the individual?

And this is a good end and a beginning, as I believe that role-modelling isn't just about what we do, but about what we say and the way we approach it. A positive heart leads to a positive head which leads to positive actions - together. We all have vulnerabilities. But we must connect. This may lead to disruption, but it also leads to a more real experience and potentially more life-long outcomes.


(Were you there? Feel free to add your thoughts? Actually....add them if you weren't there too!)