Publications from ODSW Social Insights: Letters by DSW (Vol 2) | Page 177

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necessary to engage communities, partner agencies and agents to support
the solution.
Mobilizing people is far easier than organizing for engagements and
partnerships. The former is often institution-led while the latter is about
ensuring involvement and negotiating a relationship to bring about change.
Working with communities may entail cultivating leaders, identifying their
interests, and enabling them to lead change. It also involves them making
decisions and being champions of initiatives that they have a part in creating.

People as co-producers of outcomes
There is an increasing recognition that people and communities should not
be viewed as beneficiaries or recipients of outcomes but as co-producers of
outcomes and active participants of creation.
Occasionally, some may adopt the “plug and play” mentally in the process
of pursuing social change. “Plug and play” is a term used to describe
devices that work with a computer system as soon as they are connected.
The user does not have to manually install drivers for the device because the
computer automatically recognizes the device and begins to work with the
newly connected device 3. “Plug and play” may be a solution which works in
technology but it does not apply for matters involving human relationships.
Practitioners and leaders should therefore be cautious in embracing such a
concept and must consider the cultural context for embracing any change.
They should instead develop a deep connection with the communities they
serve and a deep understanding of its people.
One useful perspective that community organisers have adopted is to
support what communities can do for themselves and each other, and to
work alongside them on what they can do better. Organisations, funders and
institutions do best for a community when they do what the people can’t
do for themselves. By adopting such a perspective, we can better recognise
and respect the assets that a community can bring to an initiative. Take
for an example a reading programme or support for very young children.
If the goal is to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds to read or
to help mothers to have healthy birth outcomes, community organizers or
institutions should consider the roles that family members, volunteers and
neighbours can play in such efforts.
3

Christensson, P. (2006). Plug and Play Definition. Retrieved 2016, May 16, from http://
techterms.com.
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