This tool might help you with Step 2: Create a plan of action with your community
The idea of “Doing it with us, not for us” is a critical part of community development. In practice, with adult literacy, this means making sure that people whose lives are directly affected by low literacy are actively involved. They may be on working groups or committees, they may be offering their ideas and suggestions through surveys or interviews or community forums, or they may be spreading the word about literacy and the support available to their friends and families.
There are many processes and tools available. One in particular is offered here because of its focus on building positive relationships between people seeking support and service providers offering support. The Family Partnership Model was developed in the United Kingdom at the Centre for Parent and Child Support. It is based on sound evidence, and has been shown to create authentic partnerships. Like the asset based community development model (see Tool 6), it has a strengths-based approach. Some of the features of the model are summarised here.
Characteristics of partnership
- Working together with active participation and involvement
- Developing and maintaining genuine connectedness
- Sharing decision making power
- Recognising complementary expertise and roles
- Sharing and agreeing on aims and process of helping
- Negotiating disagreement
- Showing mutual trust and respect
- Developing and maintaining openness and honesty
- Communicating clearly
Intended outcomes of a partnership approach to helping someone
- Do no harm
- Help people identify and build on their strengths
- Foster resilience
- Facilitate social support and community development
- Improve the service system
The model also sets out the qualities and skills helpers need to have to properly work in partnership with people.
Essential qualities of the helper
- Respect
- Genuineness
- Empathy
- Humility
- Quiet enthusiasm
- Personal strength and integrity
Skills of the helper
- Concentrating and active listening
- Prompting, exploration and summarising
- Empathic responding
- Enthusing and encouraging
- Enabling change in feelings, ideas and actions
- Negotiating with others
- Communicating and making use of technical knowledge, expertise and experience
- Problem management
For more detailed information about this tool, including interesting ideas about the problems that can happen when service providers are seen as “experts” who are superior to those receiving services, visit to CPCS website www.cpcs.org.uk