Three questions we’re asking about nurturing an inclusive community of practice
When we say inclusive - what do we mean? Roseanna Dias, our new Inclusion Research Producer, shares some thinking around the community of practice, launching in May.
It's my second week as the new freelance Inclusion Research Producer at Promising Trouble. As I sit down to write this blog post I am filled with excitement and a sense of purpose. My new role feels like an opportunity to build on my work with organisations like Rising Arts Agency, where I've been collaborating with the people we serve to make plans, communicate and take action in ways that support as many people’s needs and wellbeing as possible.
This type of work is often referred to as inclusion research producing. Through dialogue, active listening, testing things out and iterating, we generate new information about what people actually want and need, and in doing so, we often challenge more established ways of doing things. My approach to this is rooted in social justice and a desire to dismantle systems of oppression (for example racism, ableism, class discrimination) in whichever way we can. So the work I do aims to both create a sense of belonging for people who experience marginalisation in our society, and develop spaces and processes in which people may flourish on their terms, and have ownership and agency over what happens.
I’m delighted that over the next five months, I will be leading on designing inclusion strategies for the Community Tech programme, with a focus on nurturing an inclusive community of practice. In this blog post, I’ll share some of the questions we’re asking ourselves as we embark on this journey.
When we say inclusive - what do we mean?
As we prepare to launch the community of practice, one of our top priorities is to make it as inclusive as possible. We are not going into this with a fully formed plan, but a sense of openness and willingness to learn and shift our practices in line with what people want and need. We imagine the community of practice to be for anyone who is interested in exploring how technology can benefit their community. Members might be an individual, a not for profit business, a community group or a potential partner organisation, a researcher or freelance practitioner. People's communities might be place based or be built around a shared experience, interest or need. Some people might be very experienced in community tech or not experienced at all, the main thing is people are curious and want to find out more about community tech and connect with others.
Sitting down with the Promising Trouble and Power To Change teams this week to map who is currently in the community tech network and who is missing, it became apparent that there are deep connections with organisations who are already involved in technology and community tech, and supporting its infrastructure, but we lack connections with:
Individuals and groups who are using community tech
Those who would be open to community tech but are not necessarily involved yet
Individuals doing community work
Community tech practitioners who are not associated with a community business or group
People of colour, working-class, queer and disabled led businesses and community groups
Those outside of the South West and North West regions in England
People in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
This is a first pass at identifying gaps and my work over the coming weeks will involve connecting with our many partners, researching the current landscape of businesses and individuals in the field, and identifying communities to connect with, in order to create a more focused plan. As we begin to get to know potential community members, we will be able to identify and advise on any barriers to participation in the programme as it currently stands. This means trusting that the community knows what it needs and wants from our offer, and adjusting what we do to suit. It means not being too prescriptive about how the community of practice might work: how it might function, what topics people might be interested in, how it should be governed and facilitated. It involves being responsive and allowing our inclusion strategies (stretching across engagement and all our communications) to emerge as our community grows and our relationships with them deepen.
What is the potential of the community of practice?
The full potential of the community of practice is yet to be understood, as it will emerge and be realised by those who become a part of it. The Community Tech report research has shown that numerous community businesses find great value in conversing with their peers about their ongoing work. Learning about other community tech projects often leads to inspiration and new ideas. What we also know is that community tech's small-scale approach to innovation, which focuses on the needs of specific communities, has several advantages for more positive social impact. By joining this up in a community of practice, we hope to further resource alternative narratives, practices and ownership around technologies in our society.
What is more, we see that there is a diverse range of people and organisations already supporting different aspects of community tech, for example for open source, platform cooperatives, or third sector businesses. However, there is little joining up happening between them, leaving gaps. It is our hope that we might act as the connective tissue and a convening place between the many entities that already exist in community tech, and also provide entry points for those who are community tech curious, or perhaps don't fit into a specific niche within the sector. Through the community of practice we hope to profile and contribute to the abundance that already exists within the sector and to encourage learning and knowledge sharing, relationship building and collaboration, and the finding of new opportunities.
All of this is an experiment, and one that we are just starting. We know we need to take a collaborative approach to the development of the community of practice, involving the community in the process to ensure that it truly serves their needs. For now, Lynne Davis and Kate Swade's research suggests we try out a mixed offer of action learning sets, deep dives on specific topics, peer drop-ins, and one-on-one sessions with experts. These are things we will be trailing and testing, starting later in the year.
What does governance look like for the community of practice?
It is our intention to nurture a community of practice that others can participate in, guide, and hopefully lead on where it goes and how it develops. At this early stage, that means building something that is of use and is flexible enough for many different people to engage in it in many different ways. We want to be stewards of this community of practice and support the community to develop governance processes collectively as we get to know one another and what it is people want from the space.
To achieve effective community support, we will need to hand over control and resources, and proactively develop a legacy and support system that ensures the community of practice can continue, if desired by its members. Letting go can be tricky to do when we are so invested in something - but authentic and effective co-creation and inclusive leadership (that is, knowing when to and how to get out of the way) means we must learn to celebrate disruption, change and endings.
What's next?
I'll be updating the blog with more questions, thoughts and learnings as we develop the community of practice. We officially launch on Fri 19 May 2023 with an online Lunchtime Talk and for those based in Bristol and the South West, we have an in person Launch Event. At the event, we will be sharing news of a new fund for community tech businesses to explore an idea they have over six months. On Sat 20 May, Rachel Coldicutt and I will also be in Manchester at Stir To Action giving a talk about the community of practice to festival go-ers.
To stay in the loop or get involved, you can sign up to our mailing list, and if you'd like to have a chat email me on roseanna@promisingtrouble.net. I'm really looking forward to meeting those of you who might want to get involved.
Roseanna Dias, Inclusion Research Producer at Promising Trouble