Networking in social work
Salman Wahid
SWK301Seminar92019.pptxNetworking, organisation and groups Seminar 10, SWK301
In this seminar we will look at:
What is a network?
What is networking?
Why are networks important in communities and community work?
Networking as a key tool for community work
Examples of networking approaches to community
What is a social network?
‘Social networks are social arrangements of people, groups, organizations, or other social units that interact and engage in exchanges to achieve their purposes’
(Hardcastle & Powers, 2004: 294)
Communities and networks
‘social fabric’
‘social circles’
‘webs’
‘online networks’
We can think about communities as layers of networks
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Examples of networks
Darwin Asylum Seeker Support and Advocacy Network (DASSAN) http://dassan.weebly.com/
Darwin Youth Affairs Network (NTYAN) http://www.ntyan.com.au/new/ntyan/
First Peoples Disability Network. http://fpdn.org.au/
Humanitarian Practice Network. http://www.odihpn.org/
Australian Student Environment Network. http://asen.org.au/
The Central Coast Community Environment Network . http://www.cen.org.au/
You may know of other networks.
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Networks can be harmful and oppressive
They may alienate and harm others.
They can choose to include or exclude others.
What is exchanged can be harmful, illegal and oppressive.
Loose, ‘flat’ highly dispersed networks can be used in criminal or illegal activity, as they have no formal, detectable structure, it is hard to locate the players.
Some examples of what might be a harmful network;
The ‘old boys’ club
Bikie gang networks
Paedophile rings
Terrorist networks
Racist networks
Networks and social capital
Different types of linkages between people
Bonding (enduring long term close relationships between people)
Bridging (connections between neighbours, colleagues, groups within a community)
Linking (links between people and organisations beyond peer boundaries, outside normal social circles)
Primary, secondary and tertiary networks
Primary - many interests in common, includes close friends and family
Secondary – narrower set of interests, includes social clubs, church group, sports teams
Tertiary – more formal, interested a specific part of your life than your whole life, such as support group, political interest group
Community work links the secondary & tertiary networks
Self help groups and volunteer networks can value add to service provision agencies and vice versa;
enables agencies to serve a greater number of clients
increases visibility in the client community
agencies can provide meeting places and office resources
Linking can reduce the isolation of the clients from various networks
and link agencies to the communities they serve.
Community development workers identify existing networks, and find ways to create connections that benefit others.
This can also involve dealing with tensions, histories and competition that may exist.
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Network approaches to thinking about communities
‘Differences are marked by terrain, fashion, jargon and other cultural signifiers. They become embedded in notions of collective identity or community belonging.’ (Gilchrist 2009, p. 7)
What we generally end up with in most large communities, is a ‘community of communities.’ (Gichrist 2009, p.8).
Or networks and sub-networks, parts of a ‘web’.
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Again community workers role is to join up the web
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Community development and networking
Community development aims to empower disadvantaged people through collective self organisation. Identifying allies and building coalitions around a common vision involves working across a range of different experiences and perspectives to find (or create) consensus. (Gilchrist 2007 p71)
How does networking connect with empowerment?
Empowerment is the ability to take control of our lives and improve them.
It is the ability to act.
It needs collective and individual actions
It requires social networks and social support networks.
(Hardcastle et al 2004, p. 306)
Consider
What do you think networking is? Explain it in your own words.
How do you do it?
Why do we do it?
Networks are important in community development
Provide robust and dispersed communication channels
Facilitate collective action
Underpin multi-agency partnerships
Support citizen engagement
Promote community cohesion
Create opportunities for reflection and learning
(Glichrist, 2009, p. 61)
Community development primarily concerned with bridging and linking
What is networking?
Joining up!
Creating supportive connections
Linking up people with resources
Finding out information
Sharing information
Creating new structures
Creating social ‘bridges’ between isolated networks
Networking exercise
Speak to someone you don’t know-
Tell them what you’re working on (or interested in ) at the moment.
Ask if they have any ideas or now someone who could assist you
Networking is deliberate, intentional and effective conversations about sharing ideas, skills, needs and resources.
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A day in the life of a community development worker
Jude attends a school staff meeting in the morning about a youth program she is organising. She bumps into the school counsellor who invites her to meet parents next week.
She meets with the mayor to talk about ongoing funding for the arts project.
At a meeting with the tourism group she learns they are in conflict with the council, she is asked to assist them to set up a joint meeting with the council
The neighbourhood house are having a morning tea for newcomers in town, she attends this
After the womens’ support group, the facilitator talks to her privately about her own problems with family violence and asks, ‘ What can I do?”
She calls into the new business in town to talk about the offer of space to be used as a community notice board
A lot of networking occurs in an unstructured way !
Talk about Jude’s day. What skills does she use in her work? How will she use her networking skills?
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Principles and processes of networking
Principles
Networking is a neutral tool.
Networking for CD is influenced by key values of equality, empowerment and participation.
Processes
Establishing and forming relationships
Maintaining and using connections
Building trust and taking risks
Understanding the strengths and limitations
Networking as a community development practice
Is deliberate and planned
It sustains cooperation
Builds connections between others
Core part of the work, even central to it
The context always influences how it is approached
What makes a good networker?
‘Personality traits seem to have a significant impact on networking ability’ (Glichrist, 2009, p. 87)
Affability (warmth, humanity, attentiveness)
Integrity (self-aware, trustworthy, reliable)
Audacity (takes risks, challenges)
Adaptability (enjoys diversity, flexible)
Tenacity (patient, persistent, not stressed)
What is a good networker?
Able to listen.
Good interpersonal ‘micro’ skills.
Plans and makes decisions about what to attend.
Commitment to ‘staying in touch’ to maintain connections.
Adaptable
examples of networking;
Distributing a program newsletter that shares information about what your organisation is doing in the community
Attending local community meetings and talking to people
Forming a coalition between organisations
Organising or attending a service sector meeting
Can you think of others?
Complexities in community work
Communities are complex!
Many aspects of Community Development work are unplanned and unpredictable.
Serendipity.
‘Networking prepares the ground for community-led projects to emerge that match perceived needs and actual circumstances’ (Gilchrist, 2009, p.123)
Meta-networking
Key components:
Mapping the social and organisational landscape;
Initiating and maintaining interpersonal connections through referrals and introductions;
Creating spaces and opportunities for interaction and conversations;
Managing and monitoring relevant networks.
Anticipating an dealing with tensions within and between networks
Encouraging and supporting participation in networks where there are obstacles or resistance;
Assisting in the development of structures and procedures that will ensure that networks are inclusive and sustainable.
(Gilchrist, 2009, 105-106)
Networking as an intentional tool in community work
It uses and develops skills of the worker
See that networking is central to the work
Recognise that networking should be recorded, and reported on
Be flexible in the way that networking occurs
Acknowledge there may be areas that are not ‘strengths’ and work on these
Use of informal and formal networking
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