improving government service delivery to minority ethnic ... - NCCRI

Chapter 5: Conference Discussions 138_139
Chapter 5:
Conference
Discussions
Discussions from the conference are used throughout this
report; however it is important to report specifically on
the feedback from the roundtable discussion groups. All
conference participants attended one of eight roundtable
discussion groups on the service provision framework
used in this research, namely: mainstreaming, targeting,
benchmarking and engagement. Facilitators were asked to
report three key points and pose two questions to the panel
for discussion. Responses to the questions from the panel
are referred to throughout this report. This section records the
three key points provided from all groups. Also provided at the
end of this section is a short summary of key points from the
conference.
A. Mainstreaming
Facilitator: Ashok Ohri
- Mainstreaming has to be driven from a policy level, from the top. There was
recognition in our group that the leadership has to drive it, has to create
the conditions for it and the mainstreaming idea is not just about the grand
overall policy, but has to be very specific in relation to particular areas like
language, like positive action, like targeting and so on without some of the
other mechanisms, other policy areas, the mainstreaming policy will just not
stand up.
- There is a real concern about the generic nature of the notion of
mainstreaming and the generic nature of staff that tend to be appointed
equality officers and so on and so forth. There is a lot of discussion in our
group about can you really treat everybody the same? What we concluded
was that actually if we treat everybody the same we are discriminating, and
so if you are actually trying to mainstream you need to be very conscious of
diversity; the organisation must have the skills, the capacity, the knowledge
and the confidence to deal with diversity; the enormous diversity of people
and their backgrounds and their experiences of inequality.
- We need to create the conditions through capacity building, education and
skill. We need to make sure there is sufficient education and training within
organisations so staff are confident and understand what mainstreaming
means, what it is they need to be doing and how to be able to respond to the
particular needs of the diverse community.