It’s increasingly clear that ending the cycle of disadvantage in Australia needs genuine engagement from communities. But there’s no doubt really listening to aspirations and challenges through the community’s eyes, and building and maintaining the momentum to leverage community skills and solutions, can be deeply challenging in postcodes with complex social needs.
Here we share five key learnings and reasons why community conversations can help the NFP sector, governments and others to empower community-led social change:
It’s true – sometimes communities say things we don’t want to hear; it can be uncomfortable news that particular services and programs may not align with community needs. But this shouldn’t mean managing community interactions to discourage this type of feedback. Community Conservations invite 100 per cent openness and honesty by handing the conversation to the community to see what they have to say. It might be confronting, but it’s the first step for ensuring strategies, programs, services and support are truly aligned with the community they’re for.
Our experience has revealed communities often have their own solutions, at low or no cost, but need firepower to get going. Community Conversations can provide the spark – the crucial first step in really mobilising community action towards particular goals. They also help to better understand our role in empowering and enabling the community to drive the positive change they want to see.
Eleanor Loudon leads United Way Australia’s collaborative community impact work, with a focus on early childhood development and youth unemployment.