EVOCA

Caroline
Bouten Pinto
Sandra Bennett
- 14 -
Partners in Cultural Competence
from Caroline Bouten Pinto and Sandra Bennett
Community Engagement: bridging cultures
Community engagement and consultation are high on the agendas of many government
departments and large corporations. These agencies realise that to serve their clients and
communities, best practice requires frequent and effective community consultation.
Before you embark on any type of community engagement process, it is important to be very clear
why you are engaging with the community. Is it because you want to provide information? Is it
because you want to gather information and share ideas? Is it because you want to include
community perspectives in decision-making? Are you seeking community participation? Or is it a
combination of all of the above.
Being clear about this is incredibly important, as it will influence the overall strategy and success of
the community engagement process.
Any engagement is influenced by a number of assumptions we inherently tend to make as we take
on such processes. For example:
◊ the community wants to engage
◊ the community conceptually understands what we want to engage them around
◊ the community understands us and the context in which we operate
◊ and we understand the community and the context in which they operate.
For example, knowing the cultural context of your own organisation is as important as knowing the
cultural context of each community. Take the time to explore, articulate and communicate the
underlying values, beliefs and practices of all parties. In Western society and developed countries,
organisations operate with a major emphasis on compliance, documentation, task completion, timing
and quantitative outcomes.
Yet ‘grass roots communities’, whether ethnic, indigenous or mainstream, will be valuing connection, relationships and
qualitative outcomes. The polarisation of these perspectives can often lead to confusion, frustration and the breakdown of
relationships in the engagement process.
As communities are diverse in make-up, perspectives and opinions, making these assumptions without checking them out
can have real consequences for the quality of engagement with any community. Thus the biggest challenges in community
engagement lie in being inclusive and being able to recognise, acknowledge and draw on community diversity as a
resource.
Being able to do this effectively requires us to prepare and reflect on these assumptions before we even begin to engage.
But we cannot do this preparation and reflection in isolation. For example, how can we really understand a community and
the context in which they operate if we have never paid attention or interacted with members of this community? Also, how
do we go about ensuring that a community understands us and the context in which we operate. True community engagement
starts long before issues need to be consulted on or strategies need to be approved. It starts with the development of
relationships and trust.
So how do we go about that?
This is where Culturewise Practice® may help. This community engagement strategy enables you to embark on a process
that connects you and the community in more meaningful ways. The Culturewise Practice approach is action-research
based and engages individuals and groups to consider each other’s perspectives and world views, focus on possibilities
and, through engaging in creative processes, the development of shared outcomes. Rather than focus on contentious
issues this process is about inclusion and possibilities. As building relationships with communities begins with being
interested and showing a sense of respectful curiosity, it continues with engaging in Culturewise Practice and developing
knowledge, attitudes, skills and behaviours in the following three domains:
◊ Awareness: seeing beyond your own cultural interpretations
◊ Communication: using creative ways to reflect, explore and ask questions
◊ Leadership: taking personal responsibility, to guide people and processes into inclusive engagements.
Through this process, everyone has the opportunity to:
• understand they are a key player in what is created during interactions
• develop the skills and knowledge to explore theirs and others’ perspectives
• take responsibility for moving beyond the limitations of their own perspectives
• explore with others, possibilities for meaningful outcomes.
It is a process that has application beyond the intercultural field. It has been successfully trialed in professional and personal
conflict resolution; organizational culture change; customer service; team building; diversity leadership and community
consultation.
For more information on this contact Caroline Pinto or Sandra Bennett at ECCQ’s training unit, Partners in Cultural
Competence (PiCC) on 3844 9166 or email: training@eccq.com.au.
Caroline Bouten Pinto is Consulting Manager of Partners in Cultural Competence
Sandra Bennett is the PiCC Client Liaison Manager
Evoca: Issue 157 - February/March 2011