Labs of Contextualized Urban Social Work
How to do community meetings; a social work perspective
Residents are the experts
Because we work on the principle that doing research in a community does not work unless you can include and activate its residents, it is crucial that you collaborate with the existing community.
Building community
As social workers, we try to connect with and integrate into local communities. LOCUS is a tool that could contribute to that by working closely with residents, students and social workers. To make community meetings relevant for your practice means in a broader way that you try to make community meetings relevant for the community in which you operate.
We advise that you work on contextualizing your project in colalboration with the residents during the first community meeting. Ask them to join and position them in the way that you want to approach them; as experts of their own neighborhood.
Building relevance
To make the community meetings relevant for the community, invest time in your community. Make sure they have an active part in the project and give them the opportunity to bring in their own topics and let them co-decide what will be researched and where.
Tips!
- By matching students and residents, the curiosity of residents about their own neighborhood increases. Make residents decide what the research should be focussing on, and return the data to them. Enlarge their view/knowledge of their own environment.
- Be a bridge between residents and policy makers by standing next to the residents and supporting them with data
- Research that's being done in neighborhoods evolves; each year builds on previous experiences.
- Make sure the community meetings are also a nice place to informally meet others and help them to network (with each other, but also with professionals).
Partners
