Everyday Community Practice: Principles and practice

Increasingly students and practitioners in human services are asked or seek to include community engagement, participation and capacity building in their work with groups. In this book expert authors Amanda Howard and Margot Rawsthorne provide guidance on the theory and practice of working with communities, from preliminary planning and scoping before direct work with the community begins, through to evaluation. They explore key issues including developing an understanding of community life, facilitating and supporting community action, understanding and acting on structural inequity, managing negotiation and conflict, and building productive networks. They draw extensively on their own work with communities and research to create a dialogue with the reader on the interaction of task and process in everyday community practice. Written in a friendly and accessible style and featuring the voices of community workers throughout, this is a vital guide for anyone seeking to encourage positive change in an important field of practice. 'This is a splendid addition to the community work literature, offering wise and judicious guidance for those engaged knee-deep in community practice … it acknowledges that the increasing emphasis on individualised service options has too often led to the neglect of understanding the benefits of collective action within diverse and dynamic communities.' - Dr Winsome Roberts, Honorary Senior Fellow, Department of Social Work, University of Melbourne

Table of Contents:
Foreword: Anti-oppressive community development Chapter 1 Introduction Some thoughts for the beginning Individual and collective ideas in practice Ideas and concepts What is in the book and how was it assembled? How to use the book Chapter 2 Moving beyond 'anything goes' What does everyday practice add to professional practice? Critical thinking as everyday community practice Getting runs on the board-doing something Systems knowledge and navigation Letting things go . . . holding your breath Chapter 3 Listening, loitering and learning Listening for . . . Listening to . . . Loitering Learning Chapter 4 Being visible and invisible Enabling participation Bringing people together across difference Organising Chapter 5 Putting projects/work on the ground Taking care of the internals Taking care of the externals Chapter 6 What change are we trying to achieve? Modelling democratic practices Education, particularly in relation to political systems Skills development, particularly project management Leadership Conflict resolution Chapter 7 Risk-taking and safety Risk and innovation Risk is decision-making Mobilising community capacities and risk = Making sense of risk in everyday community practice A proviso: the role of trust and confidence Chapter 8 Networking, partnerships and collaboration Understand your own collaborative skill set Cultivate a collaborative professional peer network Support development of networks among residents and groups Chapter 9 Taking stock, endings and renewal What might reflection look and feel like? Collective reflection Reflective conversations are planned Taking care of ourselves Public reflection Taking stock in other ways Chapter 10 Research on whether we make a difference and research to make a difference Are we making a difference? Connecting with research Community-based research and politics Measuring what, for whom and why Understanding changing measurement narratives Reflecting on evidence and evidence-based practice Research alliances and networks Project evaluations University-led research Collaborative research projects Collaborative research on collaboration Picking a research strategy and method Outsider and insider research How will we resource the research? Chapter 11 Why does everyday community practice matter? Chapter 12 Exemplar projects People experiencing mental distress and their carers The Past & Present: A town's story Community inclusion playgroups The lawnmower bank: an example from Tracie A final word Acknowledgements Useful resources References Index

About the Author :
Amanda Howard is Associate Professor and Program Director, Bachelor of Social Work at the University of Sydney. Margot Rawsthorne is Associate Professor at the University of Sydney and lead researcher at the Glebe Community Development Project. Amanda and Margot both teach, research and publish on community development.