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Making the links - social networks, ethnicity and poverty
JRF/EDF Research Network11th November 2013
Local-Level.org.uk
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Purpose of research projectTo investigate the links between social networks,
ethnicity and poverty• How are networks established and maintained?• How do they affect people’s experience of poverty? • How do people use networks to move out of poverty ?• What other factors come into play? – education, affordable credit, housing, cultures and racial
discrimination?
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Definitions• Poverty: having insufficient income and assets to
fully participate in the norms of social and economic life
• Ethnicity: broadly defined – race, culture, faith, origin/nationality, heritage….
• Social networks: the connections and interactions with others that support participation, cooperation, trust, social identity and community action
• Social capital: ‘Networks together with shared norms, values that facilitate co-operation within and between groups’ (OECD)
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Research methods• Birmingham, Liverpool and Cumbria• Recruitment and training of 8
community researchers• 91 interviews with community
members • 28 agency interviews• 4 scoping meetings with communities• 3 social media workshops• Observation sessions and visits• Literature review• 3 community feedback workshops and
1 policy seminar
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How people benefit from networks
• Emergency help• Finding jobs, recruiting staff• Getting accommodation• Sharing children’s clothes,
toys• Access to affordable food • Short-term loans• Skills exchange – brokering
and bartering • Emotional support/comfort
• Business promotion• Supply chains and potential
markets• Access to expert advice and
trades people (cheap or free)
• Savings and loans for investment
• Role models and mentoring• Help with interpretation of
official documents
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Barriers and limitations• Social and institutional biases• Racism; access to influential networks• Xenophobia – feeling rebuffed or uncomfortable• Language – vitality of English – and legal status• Community, individual disadvantages• Cost of networking (travel, gifts, socialising)• Lack of time and energy – shifts, childcare, etc.• Lack of confidence, self esteem• Tendency to stay within own community – lack of
access to well-paid jobs and good opportunities • Peer and family pressures, family responsibilities• Family ties cost money – dowries, remittances, visits
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Motivation and methods for networking
• Strategies for finding the ‘right’ (useful) people
• Being pro-active in keeping networks open and growing
• Maintaining profile and credibility• Getting and checking reliable information • Providing a comfort zone, a ‘safe place’• Enjoyment and affection
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Different values and expectations• Individualist
o Entrepreneurial approach
o Not waiting for things to happen
o Self-helpo Self-sufficiency o Keep other community
members at a distanceo Localised reciprocity
• Collectivisto Orientation towards
family and communityo Expectation of automatic
help in times of hardshipo Informal systems for
lending and borrowing money
o Religious dutieso Strategy for survival in
harsh conditions
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Gender and generational differences
• Impact of having children (but children as ‘assets to invest in’)
• Cost of childcare/other care responsibilities• Cultural restrictions on women• Expectations change across generations and
waves of ‘settlement’• Access to (and familiarity with) information
technology
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Rural context• Scattered BME populations: isolation, stress• Lack of ‘critical mass’ for organising ethnic
specific community activities• Predominance of (small) multi-ethnic groups• Costs of travel to networking events• Poor access to broadband• Low pay, low aspirations for some• People tend to stay close to families
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Social media and the internet• Increasing use of online information and applications• Dedicated information and advice websites• Facebook with pages for private and ‘ethnic’ community
networking • Twitter, email lists, Skype, QQ , Nasra Klasa, Facetime,
YouTube• E-bay and online trading – Made in Cumbria, R&J store –
Filipino goods • Age, class and network awareness• Digital disadvantage (rather than a clear ‘digital divide’) • Language barriers
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Agency perspectives• Importance of
o One to one advice (benefits, business etc)o Trust, reliability and ‘reach’o Access to affordable financial productso Financial literacy education (money management/debt
and savings)o Education (but NB parental attitudes)o Pre-network ‘mentoring’o Access to ‘vertical’ networkso ‘Outwith’ immediate community networkso The cuts as ‘network disruption’
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Main findings• Importance of voluntary, community and faith groups• The complexity of negotiating systems and the culture of
those systems• Links between networks and informal employment
processes: ‘like with like’ networks can mean access to (low paid) employment
• Inclusive and exclusive aspects of networks• Networks mitigate poverty but are not the only (or most
important?) factor in moving out of poverty • Other factors – access to funds and assets, education,
language skills, discrimination, fiscal policy, impact of welfare reform
• Agencies/service providers do not systematically ‘use’ peoples networks in the advice/support process
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Key issues• Stereotypes of communities: independent and successful…
dependent and unsuccessful• Cultural characteristics of networks: ethnic, class or
personality differences and family histories• Networks in context: structure of labour market, fiscal and
related policies• Deep versus broad networks (bonding and bridging capital)• Impact of ‘network disruption’: divorce, loss of long term
employment/workplace; moving home• Utility and/or trust? Reliability and emotion/commitment in
network• Transaction costs and benefits of network membership• In work poverty
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Recommendations • Access to face to face advice• ESOL: addressing language barriers and space for cross-
cultural networking• Promoting digital fluency: social media use that is ‘not only
social’• Volunteer opportunities as a way into employment• Mentoring and peer support• Role of community based organisations: commissioning for
‘social value’• Opportunities for developing ‘bridging’ networks
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Questions• What role can social networks play in
helping people move out of poverty? • How can people be supported to
make more use of their networks to improve their situations?
• Who needs to act to help this to happen, and what do they need to do? Community and voluntary sector groups Employment services: Jobcentre Plus,
Work Programme providers, local authority services, private and voluntary sector services
Others?
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Thank you!Thank you!For further information or
discussion please contact Angus McCabe
• [email protected] • 0121 415 8561
Research Team• Angus McCabe
Third Sector Research Centre
• Alison GilchristIndependent Consultant
• Asif AfridiBRAP
• Paul KyprianouPraxis CIC
• Kevin HarrisLocal Level