This resource is a provocative and vibrant account of the ‘doing it differently together,’ that is social innovation. It charts the relational journey made by a group of social innovators comprising staff from the Families Commission, and four exemplary social service organisations, who came together to undertake an ‘action inquiry,’ to learn more about what we have come to call a family whānau centred approach.
We wanted to document the effects of this approach in situ, and in the process, learn about how it differs from more established thinking and practice. In doing so, we recognised that a family whānau centred approach has different, more inclusive, more robust, values, measures and accountabilities. It’s professional, it’s personal and it’s inclusive –it’s about all of us, in it together. Most importantly, it’s effective.
In this action inquiry, we used authentic collaboration, a way of working together premised on respectful, more equal relationships and intentional conversations. We found this way of working in itself is a breakthrough; one that creates and sustains the conditions for real, ongoing, and lasting change.
This resource begins with the rationale for our collaborative inquiry, we then discuss the importance of relationships, trust, korero and cups of tea; and set out the key principles of family whānau centred practice. You are then invited to read the stories of three young parents. These stories aim to provide a taste of some of the characteristics and practices of authentic collaboration. We conclude with reflections on our journey and an important challenge to policy, process, practice, and accountability… made by one of the young parents we worked with.
We began this learning journey with curiosity, seeking opportunities to be in relationship and learn together, about the differences that make a difference. Along the way we reflected on our practice and on our learning; we asked challenging questions of each other –questions that were often ambiguous, personal and stressful.
As you engage with this text, we invite you to pause awhile, and do the same.
What part will you play in creating different, more inclusive conversations, commitments, and pathways of possibility for all of us?
Purpose
For some time now, and in various ways, the Families Commission has been engaged in a collaborative action inquiry with a small group of exemplary ‘next practice’ organisations who ‘start with families’ priorities and motivations,’ and put families whanau at the centre of their practice. From previous work we’d learned there were links between this way of working and effective outcomes for families. We’d also learned that good relationships are fundamental to this approach, with the quality of relationships being inseparable from the work to be done.
With this important factor in mind, we set out to build relationships with key staff in next practice organisations and family service delivery initiatives (this process is detailed below), in order to learn more about, what in the course of this work we have come to call, an innovative family whanau centred approach. Understanding that good relationships are premised on trust (Parker et al. 2008), characterised by give-and-take, and fostered through thoughtful constructive discussion among equals, we aimed to be active participants in a conversational and collaborative process.
These expressions –conversation and collaboration - are ubiquitous, particularly within the social services arena. Taken-for-granted, they are used everyday and everywhere, often with little thought given either to their meanings, or to the practices, relationships and commitments they refer to, at any given time.
Not so in this work. We began intentionally, as we meant to go on, by proposing a collaborative action inquiry. That is, researching and learning with people, working together as peers, and using conversation as our core action learning process (Bray et al. 2000; Brown & Isaacs 2005; Hurley & Brown 2009). Complex relationship and trust building formed the mainstay of the research process. Active participation was fostered via ‘relational engagement,’ a process that frames research as intentional conversation, occurring, “within a context that respects the coherence of multiple communities and facilitates dialogue rather than debate” (McNamee 2000, p.23).
Research and practice were interwoven. Engaging with, and working alongside, people in different organisational roles and areas (from managers and clinical leaders, to community development practitioners, frontline staff and members of the families with whom they worked), we experienced and explored what a family whanau centred approach looked like, felt like, worked like, and for whom in various contexts. Together, in conversation, we reflected on our experiences; the stories and evidencegathered, the ideas, and insights generated, and we considered the implications of this emerging learning for what to do next.