final report developing effective engagement for consultation with black and ethnic minorities in...

Building Inclusive Rural Communities

DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE ENGAGEMENT FOR CONSULTATION WITH BLACK AND ETHNIC MINORITIES IN RURAL AREAS.

An action research project for the

Carnegie UK Trust RURAL ACTION RESEARCH PROGRAMME

Theme: ‘Building Inclusive Rural Communities’

January 2009

Charlotte Williams and Tue Hong Baker

Lead Agency:

North Wales Race Equality Network (NWREN)

Partner Agency:

Keele University, Staffordshire.


Contents

Page No.

Acknowledgements

Executive Summary i-iv

1. Background and Aims 8

2. Policy Context and Existing Research 9

3. Methodology 13

4. Action Research with Service Providers 18

Key Messages 34

5. Living and Working in Rural Communities: Ethnic Minority Views 35

Key Messages 52

6. Conclusions 53

Bibliography 56

Appendices 61


Acknowledgements

The research team would like to thank the participants who took part in this research from both the Local Authority partners and individuals and groups from the black and ethnic minority population of North Wales. Their trust and confidence in the process were remarkable. We are also grateful to the board and staff group at the North Wales Race Equality Network who provided the base from which this research was undertaken and opened access to many of the participants. Thanks go to the Director, Mary Holmes for her comment on this report and to the Steering Group who guided the project. We would also like to acknowledge the support of the Wales Equality and Diversity in Health and Social Care Research and Support Service (WEDHS) who developed the scoping study that led to the research question underpinning this project. Finally thanks go to our partners on the Carnegie UK Trust Rural Action Research Programme (RARP) for the critical exchange of ideas and to Philomena de Lima, the Consultant Facilitator on the RARP programme.

Research Team

Ms. Tue Hong Baker (Research and Development Officer)

North Wales Race Equality Network (NWREN)

Professor Charlotte Williams OBE (Project Manager and Academic Lead)

Keele University, Staffordshire

Steering Committee

Ms. Pam Luckock, North Wales NHS Trust

Dr. Ahmed Valijan, Lay Member, NWREN

Ms. Anne Westmorland, Voluntary Sector

Ms. Mary Holmes, Director, NWREN


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Executive Summary

Background

This research project is funded by the Carnegie UK Trust under the Rural Research Action Programme (RARP). It has been designed through a partnership between the North Wales Race Equality Network (NWREN) and Professor Charlotte Williams OBE of Keele University, Staffordshire. It arises from a scoping exercise undertaken by project workers on the Wales Equality and Diversity in Health and Social Care Research and Support Service (WEDHS) which sought to determine priorities for research as voiced by minority individuals and groups in rural areas of North Wales and those working with them. A key concern was the level and nature of consultation and engagement between mainstream agencies and ethnic minority individuals/households. This was perceived as poor both by service provider stakeholders and by members of the ethnic minority population. The overall aim of this action research project was to explore the nature of the engagement between ethnic minority groups and public service bodies and to seek to enhance consultation strategies between public bodies. The project also sought to investigate the 'quality of life' factors that encourage the attraction and retention of ethnic minority groups in rural areas and to explore aspects of their civic association. Methods The research was conducted between May 2006 and September 2008. The research included a literature review, a survey of selected public authorities in the area to assess their consultation strategies in use and the facilitation of consultation processes with three public bodies. In addition a questionnaire survey of ethnic minority individuals resident in the region and a series of focus group interviews were undertaken to assess four key aspects of rural living: Belonging: Family, Friends and Community Association; Getting Involved and Influencing Decisions.

Policy Context and messages from the Literature In recent years the relationship between public bodies and communities they serve has been transformed by a range of policy initiatives. In Wales, Making Connections (WAG 2004) places a citizen focus at the heart of public policy and commits to the development of strong inclusive communities. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 places clear duties on public bodies to both know the extent and nature of their ethnic minority populations and to consult with them on the range of policy issues. The value of good consultation cannot be overstated. It not only ensures the incorporation of the valuable insights and experiences of marginal groups and individuals but provides legitimacy and buy-in for decisions and policy implementation. Nevertheless, it is acknowledged that establishing good practices and capturing the views of minority groups in rural areas presents particular challenges. A major barrier to consultation is the low density and geographical dispersal and diversity of ethnic minorities in the area and their lack of visibility – a so called ‘hard to reach group’. Other common barriers to effective consultation identified in the literature are:


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• Time and capacity • Funding and other resource issues • Track record in building relationships • Lack of transparency of the process • Being tied to traditional or mainstream methodologies • Relying on a single methodology • Lack of good demographic data • Lack of awareness of cultural issues/engagement ‘literacy’ • Being over ambitious – quantity not quality • Varying levels of commitment from the top

There is an emerging grey literature on Good Practice Guidance for effective engagement with ethnic minorities and other hard to reach groups but few ‘worked examples’ of how these techniques might be deployed in rural areas. Typically ethnic minorities in rural areas lack the political clout to exercise voice and participate fully in local affairs. They are poorly represented on local boards, committees and other decision making fora or in positions of public office. It is well documented that their service needs are often overlooked or maginalised and there are considerable barriers for them in accessing services and gaining advice and information. In addition they face racism and discrimination in their communities. Ethnic minority organisations, groups and individuals report a sense of ‘over consultation’ and ‘consultation fatigue’ as the policy mandate pushes public bodies to engage with them. Little is yet known about the level and nature of their civic association in rural areas.

Action Research with Service Providers

Over a period of 18 months a number of service providers in the area were selected for developmental work on consultation with varying levels of intervention from the project worker. They were surveyed to identify the major constraints on consultation in practice. A workshop was held to discuss messages from the literature and to introduce the range and variety of consultation mechanisms available to them. Of the original 18 participants, 3 authorities were selected for in-depth work. The case studies selected included consultation work on an authority’s Race Equality Policy, on the development of an authority’s Spirituality, Religious and Cultural Care strategy, on an authority’s work with minority women on housing need and a cross-authority collaborative event ‘Joint Race Equality Consultation Event’.

Key messages

� There exists a good amount of enthusiasm and commitment by front line workers towards engagement with ethnic minority individuals and households

� There is a lack of leadership from the top in terms of commitment to initiatives,

the allocation of appropriate resources and capitalising on gains made by front line workers.


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� Participants lacked learning from available resources or from tacit knowledge within the organisation. Many participants are daunted by the challenges of engagement in rural areas and considerable support is needed

� Organisations are not being creative or utilising sufficiently innovative

techniques to meet the evident challenges and there are insufficient use of mixed methodologies

� Cross authority working and the development of partnerships in equality

practice is a positive step, although organisational cycles produce their own constraints on the development of good practices.

� Staff turnover means there is a loss of expertise, capital and established

networks conducive to sustained and good practice in this area. Institutional memory is poor.

� Third Sector organisations are vital to supporting effective consultation and

engagement

� There can be no quick fix in solving the issues of engagement with ethnic minorities in the area. It requires building of trust, the commitment of time and resources and sustained capacity building

� There are still concerns about the production of a genuine and open dialogue

in the consultation process in which outcomes are followed through and appropriate feedback given to participants.

� Efforts will need to be made to increase the representation of ethnic minority

individuals on decision making bodies and fora.

Living and Working in Rural Areas – Ethnic Minority Views The responses of over 90 individuals and three focus groups produced a rich account of minority views of living and working in the North Wales area. By far the greater number of participants had been resident in the area for over 5 years and a third for over 20 years. Respondents valued many of the traditional features of rural living, including the beauty, peace, quiet and environmental benefits. People are contributing to a variety of activities in their community motivated by a sense of ‘duty’ and ‘putting back into society’. Key barriers include lack of time, carer responsibilities but also language and culture barriers and concern about discrimination and racism. In confirmation of the literature on rural racism it is clear that the noted constellation of factors of isolation, conspicuousness, fear of racism and discrimination overlay an individual’s ability to participate meaningfully at local level. It is apparent that people do not expect or necessarily seek co-ethnic association at local level, beyond family and religious association, but sustain positive ‘ethnic’ association nationally and internationally through actual or virtual networks. The findings of this study suggest a picture of individuals with a high investment in their locality and good levels of integration against a broad range of non-political indicators. Where the locus of control lies with the individual in terms of mobilising services, for example within the private sector, the preference appears to be to go


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local for services. There is apparent, however, a low sense of attachment or engagement with the local state and an apparent weak sense of being able to influence and shape decisions. Representation on local (public services) bodies is low. In terms of engagement and consultation with public sector agencies although there were positive signs of growing awareness and competency by organisations, experiences suggest the ‘consultation literacy’ of organisations remains poor. Key messages

� Ethnic minority individuals hold positive views of living in rural community

� High levels of attachment and belonging are expressed by ethnic minorities to their local neighbourhoods

� Respondents seemed well integrated in terms of use of a range of local

services, neighbourliness and associational life

� People were regularly involved in voluntary activities, contributing in terms of care and support of others

� Overall formal political involvement at local level is low but people are not non-

political

� People’s motivation for involvement reflects the known prompts and the known constraints to voluntary activity.

� Volunteering and contributing locally is also constrained for some by fear of

discrimination, racism and fear of outsiderism.

� Ethnic minority individuals welcome consultation that results in outcomes

� Public bodies still lack ‘consultation literacy’ with regard to minority communities

Conclusion

The gains accrued to good consultation and engagement are many. Not only does it enhance and legitimate policy decisions through incorporating the valuable insights and experiences of marginal groups but it also fosters investment and good integration for people from traditionally excluded sections of the community. For appropriate engagement and consultation exercises to take place and for fruitful partnership working to develop there needs to be good leadership, careful preparation, training, support and appropriate funding to facilitate efforts. Without this, consultation will only ever be tokenistic and exploitative. Ethnic minority and migrant households are making a vital contribution (economic, social and civic) to rural communities. Their contribution needs to be valued and recognised.


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1. Background and Aims

This research project is funded by the Carnegie UK Trust under the Rural Research Action Programme (RARP). It has been designed through a partnership between the North Wales Race Equality Network (NWREN) and Professor Charlotte Williams OBE of Keele University, Staffordshire. It arises from a scoping exercise undertaken by project workers on the Wales Equality and Diversity in Health and Social Care Service (www.wedhs.org.uk) which sought to determine priorities for research as voiced by minority individuals and groups in rural areas of North Wales and those working with them (Saltus et. al 2004). A key concern placed on the research agenda was the level and nature of engagement between mainstream agencies and ethnic minority individuals/households. This was perceived as poor both by service provider stakeholders and by members of the ethnic minority population, and particularly so for those in more isolated areas of the region. A major barrier to consultation was seen by the provider group as the geographical dispersal of ethnic minorities in the area and their lack of visibility – a so called ‘hard to reach group’.By contrast ethnic minority organisations, groups and individuals had reported a sense of ‘over consultation’ and ‘consultation fatigue’ on the one hand or demonstrably displayed a lack of interest in membership of ethnic minority organisations in the area which were the main focus on consultative activity (BEST Report 2004). The overall aim of this action research project was to explore the nature of the engagement between ethnic minority groups and public service bodies and to enhance consultation strategies between public bodies, such as health trusts, local authorities and the police and ethnic minority households. Through an understanding of practices in use by public bodies and through developing an understanding of the preparedness and capacity of ethnic minorities to associate in dialogue over their service provision needs, this research aimed to build inclusiveness in rural communities. The research had four main objectives, namely:

• To investigate and evaluate techniques of engagement with ethnic minority1

households in rural areas who are 'hard to reach' or marginal.

• To develop an understanding of 'quality of life' factors that encourage the attraction and retention of minority ethnic groups in rural areas and to explore their association with public bodies.

• To assess their perceived ability to influence policy, planning and service

delivery at local level. • To develop, pilot and evaluate appropriate models of consultation with

selected agencies.

1 For the purpose of this study ethnic minorities were defined as those individuals categorised under the census categories ‘Black’, ‘Asian’, ‘Chinese’, ‘Mixed’ and ‘White other’. The study focus was on those ethnic minority individuals who formed part of the settled community of North Wales.


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2. Policy Context and Existing Research

The relationship between public bodies and their communities has been considerably transformed in the contemporary era. The policy terminology of consultation, participation and representation signal an unprecedented emphasis on civic engagement in the affairs of public services. Traditional roles have become blurred and partnership working is being established as the norm. Consultation is but one aspect of these new found relationships but is nevertheless a critical one. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 places clear duties on public bodies to both know the extent and nature of their ethnic minority populations and to consult with them on the range of policy issues.

The value of good consultation cannot be overstated. It not only ensures the incorporation of the valuable insights and experiences of marginal groups and individuals but provides legitimacy and buy-in for decisions and policy implementation (Cabinet Office 2008). Nevertheless, it is acknowledged that establishing good practices and capturing the views of minority groups in rural areas presents particular challenges (Craig and Lachman 2008). The diversity and dispersal of minority individuals and households in such areas means that they are too often considered ‘hard to reach’ (Brackertz 2007) and many of the traditional methods of consultation prove ineffective. Public bodies are obliged to deal with a moving rather than a static picture of ethnic diversity in their areas as communities are rapidly changing and they need to develop strategies of engagement that capture this dynamic. Whilst a comprehensive literature exists on models and approaches to community engagement and specifically with ‘hard to reach’ groups (see for example: Cabinet Office 2008, Community Action Hampshire 2006, Dunlop 2004, Scottish Executive Involving People Team 2002, Russell et al 2001, UK Community Participation Network 1999) there has been relatively little work aimed at tapping in on models in use with ethnic minorities in rural areas (Cynwys 2007, BEN 2006, Devon REC 2003). Public bodies in too many cases have fallen back on frameworks that are too rigid to engage with diverse populations or have had to rely on approaches developed where there are concentrations of minority individuals and/or organisations.

A review of the grey literature (Caust et al 2006, Devon REC 2003, NWREN 2003, Scottish Executive 2002) on the common issues identified by public bodies suggested key barriers to effective consultation to be:

• Time and capacity • Funding and other resource issues • Track record in building relationships • Lack of transparency of the process • Being tied to traditional methodologies • Being tied to mainstream methodologies • Relying on a single methodology • The geographical dispersal of ethnic minority households and individuals


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• Low ethnic minority population density • Lack of demographic knowledge • Lack of awareness of cultural issues/ engagement ‘literacy’ • Being over ambitious – quantity not quality • Varying levels of commitment from the top

The literature identified a variety of approaches. More traditional models include the use of:

• Consultation documents • Public consultation events • Focus groups • Questionnaires • Face to face interviews • Telephone interviews • Case studies

Where there were more innovative models identified in the literature, useful case studies exist if not specifically applied to ethnic minorities in the rural context. For example peer/community led research focusing in on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual peoples’ experiences of accessing health services (Stonewall Cymru 2007), using film making (Taylor 2005), e-forums (Northern Ireland Forum 2008) or mobile phone technology to promote the voices of young people (LifeSwap 2007). As an alternative to methods that relied on literacy and articulation skills, visual and creative techniques such as “Planning for Real” (Browne et al 2005), participatory diagramming and mapping (Ahmad & Pinnock 2007) were cited as effective tools for ‘showing’ opinions and ideas, while recruitment methods such as snowballing, utilising gatekeepers and piggy-backing on other events (Holder & Lanao 2002, Groundwork 2005) were helpful for gaining access to ‘hard to reach’ groups and individuals.

Much of the literature focuses on identifying the barriers to engagement but stops short at looking at solution focussed work (Blakely et al, 2006, Scottish Executive 2001, NWREN, 2003, MEWN 2006). The literature indicates a number of challenges that arise in the process of engagement related to motivation, incentives, appropriate planning for involvement, dissemination, feedback and following through on promises. There is clearly no ‘quick fix’ to be had and most guidance points to long term investment in capacity building, partnership working, innovation and increasing the representation of ethnic minority individuals on boards, committees and other decision making fora (Cabinet Office 2008, COSLA 2008, Andrews et al 2006, Council for Europe 2007, Fountain et al 2007, Hashagen 2002). The literature clearly signals the need for strong leadership from the top in public sector bodies to guide, support and sustain developments within the organisation (Craig and Lachman 2008, CRE 2007, WEDHS 2008).

In relation to this study, the context of Wales, and indeed rural Wales, also provides an important reference to perceived and actual barriers to engagement. Previous studies carried out in North Wales illustrate a longstanding lethargy towards issues


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of ‘race’ and ethnicity and public bodies slow in responding to their duties under the Race Relations legislation (BEST 2004, WEDHS 2008, CRE Annual report 2007, Williams 2007). The low numbers of ethnic minority people in such areas has meant authorities operating with a ‘low numbers = low need’ assumption giving rise to a plethora of access difficulties and unmet needs amongst ethnic minority residents (Cynwys 2007). This reflects the characteristic issues identified by De Lima (2004) in her review of the literature on rural racism. There has also been a tendency to over consult with a few ‘known’ individuals or groups, which ethnic minorities in the area complaining of consultation fatigue (NWREN 2003). Public bodies in the area have lacked what has been called ‘consultation literacy’ (Cabinet Office 2008).

The other side of the coin that this study addresses is the civic participation of ethnic minorities in rural areas. Civic participation has become a major strand of the Government’s modernisation agenda. Strong well integrated communities are the cornerstone of for public service delivery as detailed in policy guidance for England (HMSO 2008 Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities) and in Wales (WAG 2004 Making Connections). They are also an important barometer of social cohesion and integration vital to the promotion of social justice aspirations and to well being and avoiding social unrest. Whilst a number of studies highlight rates or levels of civic participation amongst ethnic minority groups, for example Home Office Citizenship surveys 2001, 2003, 2005, or barriers to civic participation (Department of Communities and Local Government 2006) the focus on broader non-political community based participation of ethnic minorities is only more recently coming to attention (Campbell and McLean 2002). Aspects of volunteering, neighbourhood activities and engagement in social networks amongst different ethnic minority groups is the focus of Ahmad and Pinnock’s study (2007). This study pursued the diversity amongst ethnic groups to tap in on differences in participation activity. They found the major motivations for participation were: making friends, helping, being part of the community, interest and personal development. The major barriers revealed were lack of time, family commitments, work commitments, crime and victimisation and racism and religious hatred. They conclude that a common theme raised by people of all ethnic groups was the lack of opportunities to participate for people living in deprived areas because of the lack of community facilities, coupled with concerns for safety. Whilst these studies are beginning to uncover aspects of civic association, there is little to tell us about the experiences of ethnic minorities in rural communities. The academic literature and research on the issues of rural/race and ‘racism’ that has developed steadily over the last 10 years has had as its focus issues of rural victimisation and discrimination and lack of access to services (Jay 1992, Derbyshire 1994, Nizhar 1996, Kenny 1997, Dahlech 1999, Henderson and Kaur 1999, De Lima 2004, Williams 2007). Such studies have been instrumental in bringing to public policy concern the high levels of harassment, violence and discrimination faced by ethnic minority rural dwellers and attempts have been made to extrapolate some of the universal characteristics of this experience (De Lima 2004). Perhaps an unwitting spin-off of the focus of these studies has been the attention given to minority communities as victims rather than active participants of rural communities and a subsequent loss of focus on the quality of life factors that enhance settlement and investment by ethnic minorities in rural areas. Less attention in the literature has


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been given to issues of community relations and the ways in which ethnic minorities associate and engage within rural communities and indeed their interface with public bodies (Campbell and McClean 2002). Where there are such studies, the focus has been on the conspicuous lack of ‘traditional markers’ of the ethnic community organisation (Ray and Reed 2005:230) in such areas which it is argued hampers community association and integration. That is to say, their focus has been ethnic minority association within ethnic organisations rather than any consideration of the ways in which ethnic minorities achieve integration on a number of levels and across civil society generally. This study builds on the existing literature by tentatively exploring aspects of the inclusive citizenship agenda of Government as played out in rural areas. Attention is given to illustrating the nature of attempts made by public bodies to ‘reach out’ to minority individuals and groups for the purpose of consultation and to the difficulties they experience in practice. In order to build this strategic development the action research project engages with them in this endeavour. At the same time this study seeks to capture and interpret aspects of the experience of ethnic minorities living and working in rural communities and aspects of their civic participation.


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3. Methodology

This report relates to data collected between May 2006 and September 2008. The ‘life’ of the project covers the period 2006 to 2008, in effect over an 18 month period with specific feedback points reorienting the focus of the research based on a cycle of piloting, evaluating and implementation. The partnership work with the agencies remains ongoing. The research includes, a literature review, a survey of selected public authorities in the area to assess their consultation strategies in use, the facilitation of consultation processes with three public bodies, the survey of ethnic minority individuals and a series of focus group interviews.

3.1 Literature review

A desk based literature review of academic and grey literature was conducted to ground the research with a focus on three main areas:

• The literature of rural race issues

• The literature on consultation mechanisms with ‘hard to reach’ or marginal groups

• The literature on civic participation and ethnic minority groups

Key messages from the available evidence was shared with service providers in stage one of the project.

3.2 Action research with service providers

The action research project aimed to produce experimentation with dynamic consultation practices in rural areas, in order to enhance the engagement between public bodies and ethnic minority individuals/groups. For the purpose of this project the prime focus for the selection of activity was on issues such as health and wellbeing, community cohesion and community participation. Seven public bodies that are members of the North Wales Race Equality Network (NWREN) partnership were initially selected for attention and invited to participate. For the purpose of this report they have been anonymised. From an initial survey of their policies in practice, three partners were selected for detailed development work. The remaining authorities were engaged in the development cycle for discussion and debate on the effectiveness of chosen strategies. The selection of the three partners for developmental work was determined on the basis of the nature of their project and the extent to which they serviced more ‘remote’ geographical areas. The bedrock assumptions of this project (based on a review of the evidence) are firstly that there is a distinction to be made between ‘rural’ and ‘remote’; secondly that the demographics of this region indicate no significant geographical clusters of


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ethnic minority groups/communities and thirdly that ethnic minorities form weak associational links with the few established ethnic minority organisations operative in the area. Service providers were introduced to key findings from the literature review in the preparation stage of the project. The developmental work with service providers was structured around three overlapping phases:

(a) Phase One A survey of major providers in the area was undertaken to assess what consultative mechanisms were in use with ethnic minority individuals and groups in the area and their views as to their effectiveness. Key individuals from these authorities were interviewed to assess what practices the authority has deployed in the preceding 12 months and their account of what barriers/opportunities existed. Questions such as: What do you consider to be effective consultation? What partnership arrangements have you made in order to engage in effective consultation? What types of co-operative arrangements would be feasible for you to enter to provide more streamlined consultation? What do you see as the major obstacles and barriers? In what ways could you improve your dialogue with minority communities? were explored with potential participants. Participants were also invited to identify a piece of work that would be undertaken in the following 12 months that involved consultation with ethnic minority groups. A workshop with 18 authority representatives in attendance was undertaken

to set out the aims of the research and outline the findings of the literature review. Innovative models of consultation were explored with the participants. From the identified pieces of work three authorities were selected for close working and eleven for ‘second tier’ working which involved keeping in touch emails and invitations to further workshops (see Appendix 1).

(b) Phase Two:

In phase two individual developmental discussions were held with the three key partners responsible for consultation work with minority communities. Partners were assisted to develop and pilot a framework for consultation based on a piece of work they had identified. They were then involved in piloting trails and experimental work with continued follow up discussion and feedback conducted both on e mail and in face to face meetings. In this phase there was continued tracking, monitoring and review activities

(c) Phase Three: Is still in progress and involves conducting a final workshop to discuss the findings of this report.

3.3 Survey with Ethnic Minority Individuals

A number of existing questionnaires and surveys, including Citizen Survey for Wales, Home Office Citizenship Survey, CIVICUS Civil Society Index were examined. The rationale was to extract pertinent questions which would allow us to compare our results with those produced in other surveys. Existing surveys focussed rather


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narrowly on aspects of civic activism, civic participation and consultation (taking on roles such as magistrate, school governor, councillor) or undertaking specific activities (contacting officials, signing petitions, attending public meetings etc). It was a contention of this study that understanding the broader associational life of ethnic minorities in a rural area was crucial to evaluating and developing their capacity and preparedness to work with public bodies. A questionnaire was designed (Appendix two) which elicited both quantitative and qualitative responses structured around the following themes: Belonging Family, friends and community Getting involved Influencing decisions

Initial drafts of the questionnaire were piloted with NWREN board members and amendments made. A total of 93 questionnaires were completed. The research assistants were recruited from the staff of NWREN. One ethnic minority researcher did the bulk of the data gathering (n=73), with an additional researcher recruited to support a particularly intensive period of data collection (n=20). Both researchers had considerable experience of data gathering. Participants were identified from within the three targeted local authority areas participating in the study through a snowballing method. Where contacts became involved who lived outside of the county boundaries (n=23) they were included provided they were resident in the North Wales area. The snowball recruitment began with key contacts on NWREN’s mailing list which included board members, NWREN staff, colleagues from other ethnic minority organisations, English language tutors, equality officers in NHS Trusts, Heads of ethnic minority community groups, religious leaders and other members of the lay public with whom the researchers came into contact in the course of their work. From an initial ‘known’ sample of 10 participants and 9 gatekeepers combined with a sample of opportunistically recruited participants (n=19) a total of 64 participants were successfully recruited through the snowball sampling. 48 different ethnicities were identified amongst the participants. Whilst the initial intention had been for the questionnaires to be self administered the process of application became that of structured interviews. The shortest interview was 15 minutes and the longest 2 hours. More than a third of the interviews (n=34) were over 30 minutes long. Of the total 93 questionnaires completed 92 were facilitated and 1 was self completed. The interviews were conducted either in person (n=58) or by telephone (n= 32) and two were conducted by Skype. The majority of telephone interviews were conducted out of office hours, telephoning the participant at a pre-arranged time at home or on their mobile. Interviews in person took place mainly in neutral places such as cafes and drop in centres. Two community events were attended (an informal dinner with Muslim ladies at a mosque & the closing end of year ceremony of the Chinese School). Researcher’s attendance was facilitated


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through key contacts but co-operation of individuals were enlisted in the course of the event. No attempt was made to structure the sample by ethnicity. All interviews were conducted in English.

3.4 Focus groups

The research design included the intention to conduct 20 in-depth follow up interviews to draw out rich, qualitative data from the first stage survey. Since the first stage data gathering had evolved to undertaking structured interviews and had already provided much detailed qualitative data, it was decided to utilise this second stage to consider questions specifically on consultation experience and the willingness and capacity of individuals to engage in the future. To this end participants were targeted from respondents in the first stage who had been involved in consultations in the last 12 months and a combination of individual in-depth interviews (n=2) and small focus groups (n=3) were undertaken. The focus groups were achieved by ‘piggy backing’ on other events such as a training session at an ethnic minority community organisation and an ethnic minority social group meeting. Participants were invited to share a meal and discussions took place either before or during the meal.

3.5 Ethical issues and methodological considerations and constraints The research proposal was reviewed for ethical considerations under the guidelines of the WEHDS framework (www.wehds.org.uk). The respondents were contacted through the snowball method via key community gatekeepers with the starting point at the NWREN. Their agreement was sought by gatekeepers prior to the approach by the research assistants. Feedback from key contacts indicated two notable groups declined participation: some high level ethnic minority professionals working in the area and younger ethnic minority members working shift patterns. Time constraints were cited as the factor for non-participation. The snowball method suggests certain limitations on the sample. Typically people introduce participants who are from their own networks, reflecting similar age and status. This cohort effect was tempered by having at least nineteen starting points. Nevertheless the sample may reflect the fact that these nineteen people had some association with NWREN. The high concentration of respondents within one authority reflects the location of NWREN. Sparsity and geographical dispersal of minorities in this area throws up challenges for confidentiality. All respondents were given reassurance about anonymity in this report. The public authority participants were also given assurance of anonymity in the report writing. Given the limitations of funding and time constraints no attempt was made to translate the questionnaire into minority languages or into Welsh, nor was there any


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facility to utilise interpreters in the interviewing process. This represents an obvious constraint on the findings. Research with ethnic minority groups takes considerable time and resources. Working with ethnic minority groups requires the building of trust and good relationships. Budget allocations for this kind of research are typically small and often don’t take into account the difficulties of locating participants, the time that has to be spent on building relationships, the trust and sensitivity involved in the work and concomitant casework that often arises through such contacts. The scope and scale of this study within the funding limitations attests to the commitment of the staff at NWREN. The action research approach allows for amendment and development of the research design as an emergent part of the process. The switch from self administered questionnaires to structured interviews was one such development pushed by the respondents’ preference. The time and resources to undertake this aspect of the study increased considerably but it had the effect of both producing rich data and did provide an opportunity to raise people’s awareness of the services NWREN provides.

3.6 Data handling and Analysis Service Providers Detailed minutes of all meetings and workshops with service providers were taken and a record kept of email correspondence. The research officer made contemporaneous notes of her interventions, observations and reflections of the work undertaken with the partner organisations. Official documentation surrounding consultations was provided by the partner organisations for examination. The researcher then wrote up detailed case study profiles of the work of each of the organisations. Survey Qualitative responses were handled manually, identifying the frequency of key themes. Purely qualitative data, ie neither numerical nor categorical, was entered as string data using the social science software package SPSS. This string data was reduced by post-categorising into contextual headings providing some detail of experiences behind the statistics (Bourque, 2004). These categories were developed inductively after data collection and during data analysis. Category headings and the contextualisation of the data were compared by three independent reviewers to insure validity. Focus groups Detailed contemporaneous notes were made during the focus group discussions. These were handled manually and thematic analysis was made to analyse the responses. The coding and categorisation of the data was conducted by the researcher in collaboration with the project leader.


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4. Action Research with Service Providers 4.1 Phase One: The survey of major providers

An initial survey was undertaken with service providers to establish the extent and nature of the consultations they had undertaken with ethnic minority individuals and groups and their perceptions of the key difficulties encountered.

Method

Seven public bodies operating within the three North West Wales local authority boundaries of Ynys Mon, Gwynedd and Conwy were initially selected for attention. Contact was made through key individuals to identify potential stakeholders. Preliminary meetings, either in person or by phone were held to communicate the project vision, discuss their policies in practice and plans for forthcoming consultations. Participants were then invited to one of two repeated seminars to share experiences and ideas as well as look at the barriers to consultation for the ethnic minority communities and the innovations that were identified in the literature review. Public bodies are traditionally seen as notoriously reluctant to engage with outside agencies particularly as participants on research projects. One of the striking aspects of the project was the scale of the response from public agencies. From the starting point of seven, over thirty expressions of interest were received, including several requests to extend the invitation to other interested parties. The high levels of interest are indicative of the extent to which organisations feel they need additional support to meet their statutory duty to consult effectively with minority groups. Many clearly came forward on the assumption that the project would provide them with simple answers, a magic tool kit or even do the consultation for them. A key asset for this particular strand of the work was seen as NWREN’s status as an independent, non-regulatory agency. It enabled the creation of a neutral, non-threatening environment for the project in which participants are able to be open and candid about the barriers that they face and the support offered via the project was seen as a ‘critical friend’ rather than in any enforcement capacity.

Emergent themes

The Experience of Engagement Taking aside those working in equalities or diversity departments, the majority of providers had not undertaken any consultations specifically targeted at ethnic minority groups in the last 12 months. Engaging effectively with the public for consultation in general is seen as challenging and the additional demographic factors of small ethnic minority numbers, in households scattered over a wide geographic area were frequently cited as major obstacles. Ignorance about how to access participants and lack of know how were also in evidence. Inevitably, the triple jeopardy of time, budget and resources was established as a reoccurring theme. The feeling of frustration voiced by one respondent that the statutory duty to


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consult is simply “parachuted down from on high without additional funding or support” to facilitate the process was echoed by others.

Institutional and Political Barriers ‘Political influences' at corporate level, in terms of lethargy, lack of interest and inadequate protocols which are highlighted in the CRE’s Monitoring and Enforcement Report 2005-7, were also apparent (CRE 2007). Consultation with the ethnic minority community was, in places seen as the sole responsibility of one person or department rather than as a strategic issue or one that was embedded across the organisation as a whole. Concerns were also raised internally about being seen as singling out particular groups, and some felt that they needed to justify, to both internal and external challenges, expending time and funds on consulting with, what is still statistically a very small percentage of the population. A number talked about reluctance of institutions to change, of resistance to letting go of models of consultation which don’t work and of “some people who have remained in post for years...(who) don’t want to move away from... the same thinking, same way of working and with the same people”. Some participants felt that institutions were still very reluctant to acknowledge and learn from poor practice or strategies that did not work well.

Motivation Despite these issues respondents were in general very positive and felt that overall there was “sense of willingness to move forward and problem solve” and that “many staff were honest about problems and aware of the issues”. Certainly, from a project perspective it was impressive to note the individual participants’ awareness of the need for change and their willingness to take on board new ideas. Comprehension of the obstacles for both individuals and from a community perspective seemed to be evolving. There was general consensus in understanding that people were “bored of public sector issues” and that consultation needed to be made interesting and relevant if people were going to engage. While there were comments about the difficulty of moving beyond “the same groupies with the same issues” there was also an awareness that “people needed to vent their spleen before they could listen... and focus on the issues”.

Experiential learning There were indications that there was a shift in emphasis occurring. One respondent talked about the need for “public authorities’ expectations and perceptions to change”, that continually expecting people to carry on “putting themselves out”, going out to venues specified by the public bodies and on times and dates not of their choosing was unrealistic and ineffective. “Small focus groups of various members of the community are the way forward” was one view. The success of this was evidenced in some consultation work that had centred on disability groups. Invitees were requested to attend different group meetings and trust was built up as part of an on going process rather than a one off visit. The agenda was negotiated between group interests and public body concerns. Overall it was very much a personal rather than an organisational approach. As a transferable model for engaging with ethnic minorities, however, the key difficulty lies in the difference in


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associational patterns between these groups. While there are a number of disability groups/forums in North Wales there are very few ethnic minority community groups. As one respondent commented; “disability groups (here) are more organised and political whereas ethnic minorities seem more frequently individual ...and just want to get on with their own lives”.

Where minority ethnic organisations exist, this approach of meeting people on their terms and collaborating together rather than imposing a service lead, public sector agenda can be very effective and one of the local authorities is beginning to work on similar lines with an ethnic minority community group. However, in the North Wales context, methodologies that target individuals and households must be the strategic focus. Building trust and personal relationships that do not require organised groups are key transferable skills. Some public bodies are starting to overcome some of the long-established barriers of “where to find people” and how to make first contact by tapping into the diversity within their own organisation. Already, albeit at times unconsciously, techniques such as snowballing and establishing access through gatekeepers were being employed.

Partnerships Networks on local and national levels are slowly being established in the area but at this stage the evidence suggests it is only embryonic and efforts were not being made to formalise arrangements or to share or store learning in practice. It is interesting to note that while there were a number of good working practises being utilised, organisations frequently didn’t have the time or the protocols in place to reflect and evaluate work that had been done let alone share and disseminate it. For many, this study provided a positive and useful mechanism that enabled these processes to take place.

Rurality In relation to overcoming rurality issues generally there was evidence of growing partnership working, although it was acknowledged that this could have drawbacks. Issues such as distribution of workloads were identified and the suggestion that collaborations could actually increase certain barriers as the result of a “guilt by association” effect where the collaboration produced poor practice. Tapping into community access points (such as local schools, shops, places of worship), piggy backing on rural community events, exploiting local knowledge as well as utilising mobile units to bring consultation into the community were other features noted by service providers as having potential . Most importantly a number of respondents talked about the need to be flexible and adaptable to situations on the ground and of being “willing to abandon plans that were laid if they were not working and to take the initiative.”

Recognition There was acknowledgment that people’s time and input needed to be valued and recognised. Several of the respondents had used honorariums, food or vouchers in their consultations.


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4.2 Phase Two: Development work with stakeholders Following on from the initial survey and the two seminars that were held in phase one of the project, participants were divided into the following three levels for developmental work:-

1. At this level the project worker worked closely with a small number of participants on a particular consultation issue or process. Participants were encouraged to trial or pilot a new technique(s) or methodology(ies). The project worker assisted at planning and evaluation stage as well as attended any planned events, as appropriate.

2. Involvement at this level was be less onerous for participants. Scheduling, budget or other constraints meant that it was not possible for participants to be more closely involved or that mechanisms were already in place with which they were happy to proceed. The project worker ‘looked over their shoulder’ occasionally in the course of the 12 months and participants were requested to feedback and evaluate their methodologies and outcomes.

3. This was intended to be an informed but more peripheral level, involving a simple summary of any consultation that had been completed or planned for in the research period. Participants would also be involved in the loop for feedback and dissemination of findings from the project report.

From the initial list of thirty plus, eighteen participants attended either a seminar or an alternative forum. Appendix 1 shows the shortlist of participants that were categorised into the first two levels. The original target of seven stakeholders was considerably extended given the level of interest shown in the project. This not only reflected the vast potential and interest in the proposed pieces of work but also the difficulty NWREN faced in withholding support in light of the high levels of interest and expectation that the project generated. In addition to the fore-mentioned criteria, level one participants were selected on the basis of distinctive factors:-

� Building capacity at lone working level (singleton) and supporting

implementation of seed change through the organisation

� Building capacity and innovation on the foundation of learned experience and

good practice

� A piece of work that would have high impact on emotive or personal issues

The Action research element of this study was designed to take participants through four overlapping phases as described in the methodology. Three case study projects have been selected here for discussion plus a collaborative multi-agency Joint Race Equality Consultation event held in the research period.


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The Case Studies

Case Study 1 A North Wales NHS Trust initiative: Consultation on the Authority’s Race Equality Policy This was an opportunity to support capacity building and innovation on the foundation of learned experience and good practice. The case study was carried out over a period of 12 months from June 2007 to June 2008. The key contact holds immediate responsibilities for equalities and equality policy development and in addition the team includes a development officer and a part time administrator. The department seems to be well supported from upper management level.

Inputs from RARP

An introductory, pre- seminar meeting was arranged with two of the key players to discuss preliminary ideas. This was followed by the seminar with other statutory agency representatives to share experience and good practice and an extended discrete planning and development meeting. On going support was also provided by email and culminated in a detailed feedback session.

Main Barriers to Innovation

A number of barriers emerged. Some of these barriers (I) appeared to be constant over time, while others (II) appeared more circumstantial but not less prevalent

I) Constant barriers Limited resources and limited capacity were fundamental elements that effected and reflected on all of the processes. For example a key member of staff was unavailable for some time due to an extended sick leave and in addition there was no PPI co-ordinator in post during the whole of this period to support or contribute to the consultation work.

II) Circumstantial barriers Infrastructure changes impact on staffing levels and responsibilities. For instance there had been some major upheavals over this period and with the promise of more to come. There was a merger earlier in the year, which meant there were uncertainties about leadership, staff roles etc. Further changes are due in April 2009 across the whole of the NHS. Quite aside from the actual work that changes of this type engender, the psychologically impact should perhaps not be overlooked. Even assuming that there is job security for these roles there is no certainty that the work undertaken will continue to be regarded as relevant or a priority.

Lateral Solutions and Successes

Despite these barriers innovative and lateral solutions had been implemented using both a synergistic and multi-strand approach. A number of different ideas and techniques were utilised targeting different groups; general staff, specific staff groups, and community. Tapping into ethnic minority staff resources enabled the development of the Religion & Belief Policy. The relationships and level of trust that this built is reflected in the staff responses to later work, such as the staff languages database.


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Case Study 1 cont. Utilising the assistance of key ethnic minority staff to encourage greater ethnic minority participation demonstrates the beginning of a positive networking strategy. Faith groups were also contacted at local and national level and these links have been retained for future consultation work.

Where feasible areas of synergy were developed tapping into and / or supporting work that was going on within the Trust. For example, the Patient Information Officer was the lead in developing the "Tell us what you think" webpage, an online questionnaire which asks service users to provide their opinion on specific areas of the trust and on issues that may affect them. Working with other organisations to share resources and expertise for the North Wales Joint Race Equality Consultation Event is an achievement, given that there is little history of co-operation modalities between statutory services in North Wales. (See Case Study 4)

Good Practice to Better Practice

The work with minority ethnic staff is exemplary and this is a position that few other statutory organisations can compare to favourably. The targeting of specific staff groups such as overseas nurses demonstrates an awareness that there are differences in views, perception, needs etc within minority ethnic Trust staff. The success of tapping into internal staff resources depends heavily on building relationships and trust as well as the relevance of the task in hand. The Religion & Belief Policy and the language database were issues which were of evident significance to staff. This will not always be the case in consultation matters and other organisations wishing to replicate this approach should be cautious not to unduly burden staff with expectations when time, knowledge or interest may all be constraints.

In addition, it must be recognised that minority ethnic medical staff are not necessarily representative of minority ethnic ‘communities’. Techniques such as piggy backing on the event for UN Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and snowballing from known contacts were excellent methods of reaching out to individuals in the wider community. This kind of work needs to be expanded in order to ensure inclusivity and that consultations are sufficiently community focused.


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Case Study 2 A North Wales NHS Trust initiative: The development of a Spirituality, Religious and Cultural Care Strategy This case study covers the period from July 2007 to September 2008. The consultation revolved around issues that were potentially high impact and emotive. It was hoped that this consultation would form a platform for a communication network for continuous consultation, acting as an incentive for participation and engagement.

Inputs from RARP

A preliminary one-to-one meeting was held with the key contact and followed by a detailed phone conference for planning purposes. Two further formal planning and progress meetings were held with new staff as they joined the project, in addition to various informal telephone and face to face support meetings. A extensive final phone conference was held for support and to update on progress.


I) Constant barriers Limited resources were again a fundamental element. It is seemingly rare that consultation comes with ring-fenced budget and although there were plans to utilise budgets across departments to maximise resources, resources remained a key constraint throughout the process.

II) Circumstantial barriers The team working on this project comprised of individuals drawn from three departments. A number of infrastructure changes at departmental, organisational and regional levels resulted in fluctuating staffing numbers and redistribution of responsibilities. Policy amendments at national level regarding the framework also contributed to significant delays to progress.


Circumstantial barriers have not allowed for the full consultation process to be completed within the timeframe of this case study. However, there is evidence, at a number of different levels, of much thought and careful planning.

The original religious and spirituality care strategy was expanded to include cultural care. The concept of cultural care has been developed from an enhanced understanding and appreciation that culture is often interwoven with and can impact on spirituality and religious needs.

The intention is for consultation to occur in stages - keeping the initial draft as clear as possible. Participants would then hopefully see and feel how they can truly influence the development of the strategy. Preliminary consultations would then be followed by further consultation on the final draft.

The recognition that incentives are necessary has prompted considerations of more innovative strategies for engagement; food as a key element of social interaction and cultural exchange has initiated plans such as consultation meetings centred around a meal or multi cultural cookery workshops.


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Case Study 2 cont.


Preliminary activities in the form of piggy backing on existing networks through voluntary and community organisations, utilising existing groups within or connected to the hospital, such as patient support groups and hospital volunteers has enabled officers to form and develop contacts with the key actors and gatekeepers through whom there will be opportunities for snowballing. Synergistic working through links into other on-going projects or programs such as a local ethnic minority community arts project and a regional ethnic minority disability research project have offered networking opportunities and assisted in raising the profile of individual key staff and their work. Where working partnerships are formed with individuals or groups it is important that issues of capacity, be it time, funding or expertise are carefully considered and that building trust and equity between partners underpins all collaborations.

The Chaplaincy Centre at the hospital has a multi-faith worship area which holds Sunday Service, Catholic Mass, Friday Muslim Prayers, Weekday Services and Daily Muslim Prayers. It is well utilised by hospital staff of all faiths and by the family and friends of patients. There are currently colourful display boards and some notices on general matters of interest. Developing further sensitive and appropriate methods for dissemination and exchange of information could prove valuable and promote inclusivity.

Bringing ambitious and innovative plans to fruition within a framework that is constrained by time and budgetary considerations requires careful management and it would be interesting to re-visit this project to evaluate the transition from planning to implementation.


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Case Study 3 A North Wales Local Authority Housing Department initiative: Engaging with young minority women on housing and tenancy issues. This case study aimed to examine the issues of capacity and lone working, at officer level. The circumstances of a single worker is often more representative of those undertaking work with ethnic minority engagement than the situation of key players in the two previous case studies. It has not been possible to obtain feedback from this project. However, learning from action research occurs through examining not only successful outputs but also the barriers and processes that result in less inspirational outcomes. Inputs from RARP

The seminar meeting with other statutory organisational representatives to share experiences and ideas was followed by a one-to-one planning meeting. A second in-depth planning and support meeting was held halfway through the project and on-going support was also made available informally by telephone and at event meetings.

Potential Barriers to Innovation

There were a variety of contentious issues in operation here. They can be categorised as institutional (I), external/geographical (II) and project specific (III).

I) Institutional barriers Structural and hierarchical mechanisms within an organisation can impact on day to day working as well as delivery of outputs over time. For example, lone workers may struggle when difficult projects necessitate expertise outside of their experience and good management support is required to pre-empt isolation and aid progression.

Institutional attitudes and priorities inevitably influence the working environment for all personnel within an organisation. In matters that are potentially controversial or politically sensitive, strong leadership is essential in creating a positive ethos for pioneering innovative solutions for non mainstream work.

II) External barriers Rurality and sparsity of ethnic minority households have been issues for all of the projects involved, but were markedly more acute here. The consequences of the paucity of previous work around engaging ethnic minorities resulted in limited experienced personnel, few networks or contacts which could be utilised or developed.

III) Project specific barriers The target group of young ethnic minority women tenants constitutes a minority within an already hard to reach minority group. This increases exponentially the difficulties of identification and engagement.


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A practical and detailed plan of action was suggested with multi strand approaches for identifying and engaging with ethnic minority tenants. It focused on connecting with individuals and groups utilising techniques such as piggybacking on other ethnic minority projects, linking into existing tenant forums and information channels, snowballing from known contacts and liaising at community level through local businesses, community classes and other potential contact points such as libraries. The emphasis was on developing relationships and building trust as a foundation for meaningful and on-going consultation.


The barriers that may have impacted on this project were potentially substantial. However, without feedback it is not possible to evaluate whether the process itself was ineffectual or whether the variety of barriers impeded progress.


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Case Study 4 Collaborative multi-agency initiative : Joint Race Equality Consultation Event A group of North Wales’s public sector agencies including local authorities and various health service organisations collaborated in a joint public involvement consultation event on race equality in public sector service delivery.

Inputs from RARP

The initial key contact attended a seminar meeting and a one-to-one preliminary planning meeting. A management member of NWREN contributed to a cross partnership planning meeting and support was informally given by telephone and email in the run up to the event. Although this initiative was not directly part of our level one partnerships, a number of our partners were involved as key players. Feedback and evaluation was conducted through meetings with key players, facilitators and attendees.


The majority of barriers were associated with either the general logistics of collaborative working or issues specific to the partnership.

I) Logistical barriers Given the limited history of co-operation in and between public sector bodies in North Wales, one might be able to assume, a corresponding lack of experience in pulling this group together as a functioning entity. Challenging areas included: trust, sharing agendas, equitable distribution of responsibilities, balance of power between agencies and then balancing the focus of work to incorporate different agendas.

II) Partnership specific barriers Between them, the partners provided services across the whole of North Wales. This is a huge geographical area (2,400 square miles) from which participants needed to be recruited. This factor in itself posed important questions on how cross region representation and inclusivity could be ensured.


Although public meetings at designated venues and times is a model we would encourage statutory organisations to move away from due to high costs and high potential risk of poor participation, the successes of this particular venture should be recognised and applauded. For many of the statutory organisations, this will be by far their most successful attempt to engage with ethnic minority individuals.

There was promising evidence of the beginnings of a multi strand approach to recruitment for consultation. For example, a variety of information channels were utilised to promote the event from local and regional print, broadcast and on-line media, through public and community spaces as well as business and community networks. Allowing their audience the option to participate through a free post questionnaire or in person at a choice of two workshops also broadened the sample and mitigated some of the issues inherent in utilising only one venue.


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A proactive approach to minority languages encouraged inclusivity and fostered a sense of confidence and trust. Community translators were recruited to help facilitate small discussion groups and workshop materials and the feedback report were translated into key community languages.

Careful planning and attention to details, for example: visiting local businesses for an introductory chat and a personal invitation; offering a fee to community facilitators so that their contribution is shown to be valued and supporting good facilitation by providing a detailed facilitator’s pack all contributed to a positive sense that effort had been expended and that the process was therefore important and meaningful rather than tokenistic.


The collaborative nature of this project was undoubtedly advantageous in terms of sharing of resources, expertise and contacts. However, partnerships of this kind need framework structures that are formalised in order to clearly delineate roles and areas of responsibility if there is to be long term sustainability.

Sustainability in consultation is also about managing expectations. A commendable feature of the feedback report was a ‘What Happens Next’ section, which detailed individual organisations’ responses to the issues raised. Although organisations spoke mainly in terms of “issues identified for consideration and / or action” rather than providing a scheduled action plan, it is vital that there is follow through. In the words of one of the attendees: “Show us what you are doing about the information we have given you to avoid us not bothering again!”

The investment of time and resources has been considerable and potential opportunities for the future should be exploited, not wasted. This event should be seen both as a learning experience and a foundation on which to build future consultation work. A number of participants, both those who attended the event and those who sent in questionnaires expressed willingness to participate in further consultations, questionnaires, and discussions. Building these relationships and working in a more focused way at grassroots level by taking consultation into the community is a more viable model for on going effective consultation. Development and progression out from the event, rather than replication should be the

theme.


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Case Studies and beyond: Overarching themes

Phase Two of the action research identified eleven partners for second tier working in addition to the three case studies above. Seven of these continued to input into the progress and tracking cycle post seminar and we were able to evaluate methodologies with five partners. Looking at the experience of the partners as a whole, a number of overarching themes emerge.

● Enthusiasm and commitment by front-line workers to engagement with ethnic minority individuals and households There were initially very high levels of involvement and expectation among the partners which demonstrates considerable commitment to inclusive engagement but this was often undermined by organisational or institutional constraints.

● A lack of leadership from the top in terms of commitment to initiatives and the allocation of appropriate resources

Good leadership at strategic and policy level sends out important messages, not only to personnel within an organisation but cascades through to service users and the wider community. This is particularly significant in regards to work with minority or marginalised groups. Without a proactive stance, and drive from above, project staff can feel isolated and demoralised. Lack of funding and time, recurring constraints for the majority of partners, become overwhelming obstacles and there is a danger that passive resistance or a tokenistic approach of ‘jumping through the hoops’ then appears to be the only solutions. Capacity issues cannot be allowed to undermine the implementation of an authority’s statutory duty to consult inclusively. However the responsibility for tackling this should not rest on individual staff or single departments alone. Institutional attitudes and priorities must actively encourage experimentation and innovation in order to look for solutions that meet the needs of their diverse and changing demographic.

● A need for more creative, innovative techniques to meet the challenges Barriers of rurality and the sparsity of ethnic minority individuals and households are persisting challenges that require lateral solutions. Networking, identifying key players, building relationships and trust are all vital tools for effective engagement. Techniques such as snowballing from staff and other known contacts will identify individuals beyond ‘the usual suspects’. Organisations need to move beyond models where they set the prescriptive agenda of date, time, venue and process. Piggybacking on other events was a popular technique and can be an effective practice, but one that needs to be utilised with caution. Piggy backing should not be regarded as a quick, simple option, particularly if the event is an ethnic minority focused consultation with a specific agenda. The danger being that the number of potential consulters can become hugely


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disproportionate to the number of consultees and participating individuals find themselves targeted on issues beyond the agreed programme. More constructive piggybacking taps into non-consultation events at community, local or regional level. Less formalised events such as village and county shows, food, culture or sporting festivals all offer opportunities for engagement. For example, one partner created a highly visually stand at a popular regional food festival outlining the strategy under consultation. Stickers were used to encourage and enable people to identify their key priorities and additional input could be given ‘graffiti wall’ style on post-it notes. Some community events will require specific invitation through gatekeepers. These ‘closed’ events are particularly important as they may allow access to individuals that may be impossible to engage with in any other way. Sensitivity, trust and respect are standard codes and engagement opportunities at ‘closed’ community events must not be abused. Exploring alternative and innovative participatory models (informal meetings revolving around food, participatory diagramming, multi media techniques, activity based incentives etc) while working co-operatively on individual and community need and levels will generate more sustainable and meaningful dialogue.

● Greater use of mixed methodologies needed

Utilising a single mainstream methodology excludes and marginalises many ethnic minority individuals. A flexible approach that employs a variety of techniques will increase the likelihood of engagement, while synergistic working or partnerships with third sector organisations or other statutory agencies can also broaden the potential audience by ensuring that a variety of channels are being deployed.

● Cross-authority working and the development of partnerships in equality practice is a positive step

Partnership working has much to recommend it; sharing expertise and ideas as well as resources can result in more ambitious and innovative solutions. Collaborative working that crosses departmental, organisational or sector boundaries also capitalises on the limited availability of the target audience and lessens the likelihood of ‘consultation fatigue’. For partnerships that aim to function as a sustainable entity, it is essential that structures and protocols are formalised. One of the project partners recounted that setting up strong frameworks helped delineate responsibilities and encouraged stakeholders to take ownership of the work, for example members of the project group were organising meetings internally across departments within their own local authority to disseminate progress on the project and gain feedback on current & on-going issues within their county.


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● Community key players and Third Sector organisations are vital to supporting effective consultation and engagement Working with community key players or third sector organisations can allow access to individuals and networks that are impossible to engage with in any other way but partnerships of this type raise some particular issues. There is an inherent imbalance of power here which can result, albeit inadvertently, in unequal outcomes. Partnerships must benefit all parties otherwise there is no incentive for co-operation. A reliance on key players, whether for access to closed events, as facilitators or as major participants necessitates careful handling. Any contribution and input from individuals or groups must be negotiated clearly, sensitively and equitably. There may be multiple issues of capacity; time, financial, knowledge etc which need to be taken into consideration and assumptions and expectations on both sides need to be carefully managed. Funding can also be a key issue here. Lack of time and budget often dictates the necessity of co-coordinators/project staff relying on the voluntary contribution and good will of individuals and community groups. Project staff may “appreciate the difficulties” of capacity for individuals and community organisations but without the authority to access funds (for remuneration, additional resources or incentives etc) the result is simply frustration on both sides. Without leadership from the top to ensure that realistic budgets are allocated staff who are tasked with engagement and consultation inevitably decide that their only option is to move on and try to find individuals who are willing to voluntarily contribute on their terms. This can presents substantial limitations;

i.) Whether they know where to locate or how to engage these potential participants

ii.) How representative the individuals they find are (usually retired, professional etc)

iii.) It also leaves untapped the knowledge base of a group of people who quite often have contributed voluntarily for years and have simply become disillusioned with the process.

iv.) Ultimately it does not address some of the fundamental problems about consultation and engagement and is no more than a sticking plaster as a short term solution

● Institutional cycles and staff turnover impact on institutional memory through the loss of expertise, capital and established networks Effective engagement with minority groups and individuals requires specific expertise and is heavily dependent on good networking. These are often lost with infrastructural changes and staff turnover resulting in poor ‘institutional memory’. Leadership and strategic protocols are needed to capture and disseminate expertise and good practice, capitalising on the successes made by frontline staff.


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● Innovation is relative to experience

Innovation and perceived creativity is a continuum, and organisational change can only be measured from their unique starting points. In areas where there is little apparent history of ethnic minority engagement, organisations do not have a repository of tacit or explicit knowledge to draw on. Expectations and evaluations of process and outcomes should be assessed within this context. Given that there is a deficit of experiential learning and tacit knowledge in regards to effective and inclusive engagement with minority individuals and groups it could be argued that much of the success and progress lies not in big ideas but in attention to detail. Examples include:

• Including a member of the target audience on a steering or advisory group at planning stage

• Presenting a range of options so individuals can choose their mode of participation

• Providing ready translated material in appropriate key languages • Extending personal invitations through a short visit, phone call or by

personalising print and email invitations • Offering honorariums or other incentives to demonstrate that people’s

contribution is valuable • Ensuring that evaluation and the opportunity for anonymous input is integral to

the timetable rather than a final pre-departure tag-on etc • Acknowledging people’s time and effort by providing feedback on

consultation. • Demonstrate that input is meaningful by disseminating resultant actions or

explaining why action is not possible.

Much of the above may seem commonsensical. However, such points are too frequently sidelined and perceived as tangential rather than pivotal to success.

● Long term strategies rather than a ‘quick fix’ are required to solve the issues of engagement with ethnic minorities in the area. There is no quick fix solution, nor a single idea or model that will meet the needs of our diverse community. Meeting and talking to people on their terms empowers individuals and builds confidence and trust. Capacity building, particularly in under represented areas such as on decision making bodies, is vital. This is time and resource intensive but will ultimately pay dividends in terms of building meaningful and sustained channels for inclusive engagement. 4.3 Phase Three: Dissemination This phase is still in progress and involves conducting a final workshop with stakeholders to discuss the findings of this report. This is planned for the summer of 2009.


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4.4 Key Messages

� There exists a good amount of enthusiasm and commitment by front line workers towards engagement with ethnic minority individuals and households

� There is a lack of leadership from the top in terms of commitment to initiatives, the allocation of appropriate resources and capitalising on gains made by front line workers.

� Participants lacked learning from available resources or from tacit

knowledge within the organisation. Many participants are daunted by the challenges of engagement in rural areas and considerable support is needed

� Organisations are not being creative or utilising sufficiently innovative

techniques to meet the evident challenges and there are insufficient use of mixed methodologies

� Cross authority working and the development of partnerships in equality

practice is a positive step, although organisational cycles produce their own constraints on the development of good practices.

� Staff turnover means there is a loss of expertise, capital and established

networks conducive to sustained and good practice in this area. Institutional memory is poor.

� Third Sector organisations are vital to supporting effective consultation

and engagement

� There can be no quick fix in solving the issues of engagement with ethnic minorities in the area. It requires building of trust, the commitment of time and resources and sustained capacity building

� There are still concerns about the production of a genuine and open

dialogue in the consultation process in which outcomes are followed through and appropriate feedback given to participants

� Efforts will need to be made to increase the representation of ethnic

minority individuals on decision making bodies and fora


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5. Living and Working in Rural Areas: ethnic minority views. North Wales comprises six local authority areas, Ynys Mon, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham. Large expanses of the region can be described as rural with population concentrations in small towns along the coastal strip. All six authorities have an ethnic minority presence of under 2%, ranging in numbers from as little as 481 ‘non white’ people in Ynys Mon to 1400 people in Gwynedd as at the last census. These figures do not include all ethnic groups, transient populations such as students or workers and do not allow for the changes to the area brought on by the influx of new economic migrants from the Accession countries of the European Union. The ethnic minority population of North Wales is extremely diverse and geographically scattered and in a state of flux and change. As at the last census (2001) no concentrated pockets of ethnic minorities of more than 200 people could be found in any one ward across the region. There are no geographically based ethnic minority communities in the area, the more usual profile being isolated individual households. The largest minority groups by ethnic category are the Chinese and Mixed groupings. The typical profile is of a relatively young economically active minority population with a strong emphasis on public sector organisations, catering and small businesses as occupations (BEST 2004). Previous surveys have characterised the nature of needs amongst these households and the experience of racism and discriminations (NWREP 2004, Cynwys 2007, Crew et al 2007) and other studies in the area have illustrated the changing profile of rural communities with the influx of economic migrants from the accession countries (NWREN 2005, Hold et al 2007). The ethnic minority population is highly differentiated and rapidly changing but as this study illustrates there is a core of ‘settled’ households that have been in the area over a large period of time.

The Home Office (2004) utilises a number of indicators as a measure of integration including, civic participation, social participation, informal volunteering, formal volunteering, employer supported learning, neighbourhood activities and engagement in social networks. This research captures aspects of several of these indicators of integration to characterise the participation of ethnic minorities in rural areas. A detailed profile of the respondents is given and the findings are then discussed in relation to four key themes: Belonging Family, friends and community Getting involved Influencing decisions


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5.1 The survey respondents A total of 93 individuals participated in the study. The participants were recruited from right across the six authorities of North Wales but the majority were based in Conwy (n=36). The age of participants ranged from 20 – 81 with a mean age of 44. Sixty one of the participants were female and the remaining 32 male. The majority of the participants were born outside the UK (n = 63) which may be a reflection of the age profile. Only 5 participants were actually born in Wales. However a total of thirty participants related that they had lived in the UK for virtually all of their lives. 18 participants had lived in the UK between three to five years the remaining participants had been in the UK between five and 68 years. Thus almost 70% of the sample were residents of the area for over 5 years. 60% of the sample identified themselves as British (n=56). Over 53% of the participants spoke some Welsh, with 13 individuals rating themselves as intermediate to fluent Welsh speakers. 90% of the participants reported themselves as fluent in English and the majority (n= 84) were bilingual (languages other than Welsh). Some 50 languages were identified as spoken amongst the sample. 70% of the participants were in employment and of those almost half in full time employment. Those who were not were looking after a home/family, retired or students. None of the respondents were on benefits or unemployed. The respondents covered a broad range of ethnic groupings including, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Kenyan, Iraqi, Filipina, Thai, Korean, Mixed ethnicities amongst others. The typical respondent was therefore female, resident, employed, multi-lingual and in middle years.

Table 1: Birthplace

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Frequency

Wales

Elsewhere in UK

Outside UK

Focus group respondents The focus group respondents straddled eight ethnic groups with the largest grouping being Chinese. 14 were female and 6 male.


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5.2 Belonging The majority of respondents were long time residents of the area. Over two thirds (70%) had lived in the area over five years or more and almost a third of the sample had lived in the area over 20 years. Whilst participants had moved to the area for a variety of reasons, work or moving with a spouse for work was the highest incentive cited. Many participants reported having joined family already living in the area (n=20). When asked an open question about what they liked about the area there was a strong emphasis on the environmental benefits including the beauty of the area, its peaceful, quiet and rural nature, friendships and neighbourliness scored highly and a ‘good place to bring up kids’ featured in several responses. In many respects this reflects the attractions cited by majority group respondents in rural studies. Dislikes included, lack of access to services in particular related to transport difficulties, and lack of facilities for young people, job opportunities and social, cultural and entertainment facilities. A large number of responses clustered around issues of perceived racism, isolation and the lack of an ethnic minority presence. For example: ‘Racism, prejudice and ignorant attitudes by some people’. ‘Racism. Locals and in the Council’. and ‘In the street someone will always notice colour of skin as not many ethnic minorities here’. ‘Not many people like me. I suppose accept that goes with the territory’. ‘Sometimes fed up with standing out in the village’. ‘Far from friends and sometimes feel isolated’. In this respect this study confirms the constellation of factors identified in the literature on rural racism (De Lima 2004). Feelings of conspicuousness, isolation and encounters with day to day racisms and discriminations are part of the norm for ethnic minority rural dwellers. In addition, concerns with the operation of local government featured strongly in responses with unfair business restrictions, planning decisions being the most notable complaint. There were a small amount of references to tensions between the Welsh and the English which reflect broader political issues of this part of Wales. Overall however, by far the greatest number of respondents expressed strong levels of belonging to the local area 53% as opposed to 36% who said they were not strongly or not at all attached to the locality. This strength of attachment was extrapolated to North Wales (57%) and to UK (59%) but less so to the local County


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level, with only 40% expressing strong attachment by comparison with 48% who felt not strongly or not at all attached to the County. It is worthy of note, that almost a third of the sample expressed little or no attachment to the local area. Attachment to local neighbourhood and feeling part of the neighbourhood was however, strongly expressed by the majority of respondents (n=60) despite the fact that most respondents observed that their neighbourhoods were not close knit (n=69) and almost half disagreed with the statement: people in this neighbourhood are willing to help their neighbours (n=42). In stark contrast to the latter response however, most respondents felt able to ask a neighbour to lend a tool, keep an eye on their home when away, water their plants when away or loan some food item if they ran out. The evidence suggests that people generally felt happy in their immediate neighbourhoods but did not extend the strength of attachment to their local area or local authority area. When these responses are considered in the light of responses to involvement in local politics (see below) it appears that investment in the local state or identification with the local authority/council is relatively low amongst these respondents. Beyond this however wider feelings of attachment to Britishness and belonging as UK citizens is however underscored in responses to these questions and to questions on ethnic identity asked within the study.

5.3 Family, friends and community The respondents were in regular contact with relatives living out of the area. In terms of socialising within the locality, most respondents frequently socialised with ‘white British’ outside of their working time (n=55) or with members of their own family (n=47). Only a quarter of respondents reported socialising frequently out of work time with friends of the same ethnic origin (n=25) which may be a reflection of the lack of opportunity to do so. However when asked about ethnic collective association feelings of belonging to an ‘ethnic community’ at local level the responses indicated these were low. Again the lack of opportunity for ethnic group association generally is reflected in these responses but these responses are possibly more revealing of the lack of association within the same ethnic group. Religious and cultural association on a national or international level was however notable amongst this sample. Association on a national or international level was expressed strongly by almost a third of respondents reflecting perhaps co-ethnic group association. The concerns of ‘ethnic segregation’ that arise in areas where there are concentrations of ethnic minorities are not a feature of rural areas. The evidence of this study indicates people socialising and interacting in the local community outwith ethnically driven relationships and association. At the same time the evidence suggest national and international co-ethnic association at work.

Finally, respondents were asked about mobilising a range of services locally, nationally or internationally.


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Table 2: Using private services

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Shop for culturalfoods

Arrange a wedding

Consult a solicitor

International contacts businesses National contacts Businesses Local Contacts Businesses

International contacts businesses 17 30 5

National contacts Businesses 65 27 20

Local Contacts Businesses 42 43 69

Shop for cultural foods Arrange a wedding Consult a solicitor

The diagram illustrates quite starkly that mobilising the services for a wedding or funeral would be undertaken locally, as would consulting with a solicitor. Qualitative responses within the interviews indicated that availability of appropriate services such as funeral care for Muslims in recent years meant it was now possible to utilise local providers. Participants indicated a preference for shopping for ‘cultural’ foodstuffs outside of the area. 60% of respondents said they would use national networks to buy ‘cultural’ foodstuffs. In terms of gaining information about cultural events and current issues relating to their ethnic background or country of origin, the internet ranked highly with over 50% citing it as a source of such information; family and friends also being an important source (family n=41, friends=32). For some (23%) language specific programmes and publications were also considered important. Whilst over 80% of the sample indicated fluency in English, this may not be indicative of their language preference in terms of the receipt of general advice and information.


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Table 3: sources of information on ethnic ‘cultural events and issues’

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Family Friends Language specific programs Language specific publications Internet Not interested

Family 41

Friends 32

Language specific programs 25

Language specific publications 18

Internet 55

Not interested 6

1

Overall the response to questions about integration at local level illustrated a picture of ethnic minority people socialising within the local community, part of an easy flow of neighbourliness and utilising local private businesses. Investment in local life is apparently high and vibrant. There is some evidence to suggest however that attachment to or identification with the local state is not strong. At the same time ethnic minority residents retain strong links with family and friends elsewhere and being part of national and international networks that run along ethnic lines. Arguably residents have no expectation of high ethnic association within the area and seek this type of association through religious or cultural networks that extend well beyond the local community.


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5.4 Getting Involved Table 4: involvement by organisational type

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Children’s school Education

Education for adults

Environment Animals

Ethnic Organisation

Health / Disability / Social Welfare

Hobbies / Recreation/ Arts/Social Clubs

Justice and Human Rights

Local Community or Neighbourhood groups

Politics

Religion

Safety First Aid

Sport/Exercise

The Elderly

Trade Unions

Youth Organisations

Unpaid Work Donated Money Group Activities Member

Civic participation as measured by involvement in volunteering and participation in local groups and organisations is an indicator of integration. Participants were asked to indicate groups, clubs and organisations they had taken part in or supported over the last 12 months. No attempt was made to restrict the range or number they had been involved in. About a third of participants indicated association with an ethnic minority organisation. This finding could of course be skewed given the snowball effect from the original sample of NWREN board members or could be a reflection of religious association. Religious association was mentioned by almost a third of the sample and some degree of community association was indicated by almost all (95%) respondents indicating a high level of participation. Involvement in political organisations was relatively low in this sample.

The most frequent ‘Group Activities’ mentioned were Sport and Exercise, Hobbies/ Recreation/Arts/Social Clubs, closely followed by time spent with ethnic and religious organisation. Group activities associated with ‘Children’s School Education’ and ‘Education for adults’ and Local Community or Neighbourhood groups featured fairly highly. By contrast the frequency of time spent with youth organisations was low perhaps reflecting the age profile of the sample. In addition to the categories offered


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in the questionnaire some respondents indicated involvement in other types of voluntary work such as volunteer work with Citizen’s Advice or involvement in overseas charities or appeals. A third of the participants were involved in international organisations or networks outside of the UK. Overall, the activities identified by participants were wide-ranging and included examples of social participation, both formal and informal volunteering as well as evidence of engagement in social networks and neighbourhood activities. What is of note is the evident lack of involvement on Boards, committees or local decision making forum or public bodies or representation in some of the traditional positions of standing in the community such as magistrate, local councillor, member of local health board or social services committee. In terms of responses to the contributions made in monetary donations to organisations, ethnic organisations and religious organisations were predominant. However, all 15 of the suggested categories elicited some response, indicating contributions across a wide range of organisations. On an individual level, acts of neighbourliness or good deeds for another who is not a family member in the last twelve months elicited strong responses in a number of categories, including advice giving, help with transport and running errands. It is reasonable to assume this extended beyond good deeds for the ethnic minority population.


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Table 5: Volunteer work by type: examples of volunteer work that is not officially associated to a group, club or organisation

4227

237

1811

3653

4235

43

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Yes

Transporting or escorting someone (eg to a hospital, or on an outing)Representing someone (e.g. talking to a council department, or to a doctor)Writing letters or filling in formsGiving adviceLooking after a property or pet for someone who is awaySitting with or providing personal care (eg washing, dressing) for someone who is sick or frailBaby sitting or caring for childrenDecorating, or doing any kind of home or car repairsCooking, cleaning, laundry, gardening or other routine household jobsDoing shopping, collecting pension or paying billsKeeping in touch with someone who has difficulty getting out and about (visiting/phoning/email)

Motivations:

Motivations for involvement reflected those identified in the research literature with altruistic concerns taking priority over more individualistic or instrumental concerns. Of the benefits cited for being involved in community association ‘Being able to make a difference’ and ‘a sense of involvement in the community’ were the most frequently cited (over 50% of respondents) and factors such as ‘learning a skill’ or ‘building self esteem’ attracted far lower responses. Respondents indicate a high intrinsic motivation to participate and which suggests that extrinsic reward is an added bonus. In the free category people added comments that strongly indicated a sense of wanting to be helpful, duty and responsibility as citizens as well as a sense of involvement in the community as motivating factors: ‘...Nice to help people and to contribute back to community’.

‘...Sense of duty, give something back’.

‘...Putting back into society and helping people less fortunate’.

‘...Sense of belonging, support, shared values and beliefs’.

‘...Being a good citizen, don’t cause any trouble. Being positive member of society, helping others’.


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Barriers:

Work commitments were rated as the biggest constraint on involvement with over half of the respondents citing this barrier. This confirms the finding of other studies with lack of time regardless of ethnicity being a major reason for not engaging in civic activities. It is clear from the literature that the nature of people’s work is a major inhibitor. In this sample it is reasonable to assume that occupations such as retail and business sectors could act as a barrier to greater civic involvement. Carer responsibilities also featured strongly with a large number of respondents being responsible for some caring activity other than child care. However work itself was linked to the expression of civic duty and was frequently cited as a medium through which people could contribute.

‘...Work mostly. Mainly through my work, committed to improve (hospital)/surgery services. Giving talks to various groups on health issues’.

‘...Work – chose to engage with community rather than work in industry’.

Perhaps more illuminating in this context were a cluster of comments which related to actual or perceived barriers relating to non acceptance, fear or racial discrimination:

‘...Disillusioned.. Filled in form at voluntary fair but didn't hear back. Incompetence or discrimination?’

‘...They don't want me. Have offered business experience but they have not come back to me.’

‘...I contribute greatly but very selectively. Restrict contact with people for fear of being too known and a target for racism’

‘...Do lots but don’t quite feel I belong’.

Fear of crime and racism were also evidenced in the responses.

In addition, respondents evidently felt that their ethnicity or cultural and linguistic factors inhibited involvement:

‘...Used to a lot back in Hong Kong but here language barrier but help if I can’.

‘...Lots of ideas but bit shy, not sure accepted because from different ethnic background’.

Others referred to volunteering as being different from the norms ‘at home’. ‘Not so common back home’ or ‘not used to do more outside of work’ were typical of this type of response.


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Ignorance or lack of knowledge of opportunities available were also cited as factors inhibiting involvement. One such response was: ‘Would like to be involved but don’t know what is happening. Lack of information’.

In some instances lack of opportunities to volunteer were cited, such as ‘nothing here’ or ‘far away from anywhere’ or ‘not so many charity shops or groups here’. However, over 20% of the respondents participated in voluntary activity on a weekly basis and almost a third had undertaken some form of voluntary activity at least once a month. Only 15% (n=14) did not participate at all.

When asked a free response question about how they contributed, activities related to providing support to other ethnic minority individuals and through religious and community events were frequently reported and as stated above work also shaped the nature of people’s contributions, with the workplace being seen as an extension of good citizenship. Interestingly a number of responses cited work itself as part of their contribution to the community suggesting they would not be a drain on community resources but were contributing.

‘...Working for a living rather than on benefits’.

‘...Working not claiming benefits’.

‘...Run a local business which contributes to the local economy’.

Translation services, advice giving, advocacy work, helping people to integrate and settle and community events around the mosque are some examples of activities undertaken.

‘...Eighty percent of my free time is helping people, makes people’s life easier especially if they don’t know (how things work here)’.

‘...Through paid work and through own time. Explaining how local services work, translating letter (official) and help writing letters. Expertise, local knowledge and language to help new arrivals’.

‘...Organise community events around mosque, open days for general public so ‘they understand us’…’.

Again it was notable that holding positions of public office were largely absent amongst this sample with few exceptions.

In summary, in addition to practical barriers to involvement such as time constraints, carer responsibilities and working hours, social barriers such as fear of discrimination and acceptance and personal barriers such as language, shyness or lack of knowledge featured in the accounts. Participants were well motivated by a sense of civic duty and contributions were multiple and varied.


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5.5 Influencing political decisions and local affairs This section of the questionnaire relates to the involvement of participants in local politics. It also reports on the issues that were pursued with follow up interviews and focus groups in relation to the specific issues of consultation. The survey respondents were asked a series of questions relating to participation in local politics in the last 12 months. Voting was notably high amongst this sample. However participation on all levels beyond voting is apparently low. Very few people had contacted a councillor, MP, AM or government official in the last 12 months (below n=14). Few had attended a public meeting (<15) or been involved in any form of public protest (<10). Where they had been involved it was in less ‘active’ activities such as voting and signing a petition (> a quarter of respondents) and participated in consultation about local services (> a quarter of respondents). There was also some evidence that people read and used the local newspapers. Taken together with the low expression of attachment with the local state/council, this relatively low level of interaction is worthy of note and central to the concerns of this study.

5.6 Consultation

The issue of consultation was pursued for further exploration in the focus group interviews. All participants had had some involvement in consultation processes in the previous 12 months. Themes of consultation overload identified in previous research (BEST 2004) characterised several of the responses:

‘...Sometimes I try to deflect a consultation...I feel as if I’m in danger of becoming a usual suspect’.

‘…Just too many. Different agencies asking the same thing over and over again’.

The difficulty of engagement often resulted in individuals being targeted repeatedly once they became known to organisations. They sometimes bore the brunt of unrealistically excessive expectations:

‘…Sent questionnaire in English and asked to get it out to my friends…asked to organise meetings and collect information and people’s views to bring to the event. I had no time…felt guilty for not doing these things…feel obligation not just to (organisation who asked me) but to community’.

‘…Again and again we’re expected to give up our time, go to a place they pick, at a time they choose just so they can fulfil their targets, tick their box…not because they want to do anything…it’s abusive’.


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‘....I’m not a representative of the … community, there are no …community leaders...it’s just my viewpoint, I can’t speak for the others’.

There was also caution about involvement related to whether it would make a difference to outcomes. Lack of feedback, action or meaningful change was cited by all respondents.

‘…Until now I went to all of them. No more. It’s just tick box.. it goes nowhere’.

‘...I don’t refuse. I feel that there is a responsibility to participate, but whether what I am saying is actually heard is another matter’.

‘...I ask them for what purpose they are consulting. I will refuse if don’t see it as relevant or as tokenistic’.

‘...If I bring people to a consultation I feel responsible. If it doesn’t go well or (the organisation) don’t do what they’ve promised it reflects on me’.

‘...Nothing changes, no action is taken. Sometimes find myself repeating what I said many years ago. The issues are still the same, nothing has changed. There is a lack of effectiveness in the whole process’.

Participants also identified a number of negatives or things they felt might have improved the consultation experience. Language issues featured large with lack of translation facilities seen as a drawback by some participants. Consultation documents that were not available in languages other than English and Welsh could inevitably limit participation. One respondent recounted how they had been told there was no money for translation when requesting alternate language, despite consultation papers claiming to have other languages and formats on request.

‘…Because of language issues there were people there who didn’t really know 100% what the consultation was about’.

‘...When I need to translate as well [because there are no official translators/interpreters] it’s hard to participate myself. It’s very tiring…bit frustrating’.

Poor facilitation and inadequate methodologies was also identified by the participants, including particularly long speeches or presentations that were too dry or too technical in language:


48

‘…A lot of people talked about their private … issues’ (instead of answering the questions)

‘…One or two people took over…needs more balance’.

‘…Told that we would be recorded…not really asked for permission…no mention of confidentiality or how recording was going to be used’.

‘...Whilst some organisations go out of their way to do all the right things in a general consultation, when a crisis occurs, all the lessons they had apparently learnt goes out the window. They’re apologetic afterwards but they don’t seem to learn from the experience’.

‘...There is nothing in the statutory obligations about the quality of the data collected. The methods used can be extremely poor’.

‘...Ask us how we feel? We do not know how we feel because we do not know enough about the subject. This lack of communication is bad’.

Lack of preparation or thought to planning events was noted by participants with issues such as poor or inappropriate food, lack of labelling facilitators, unsuitable times or venues. Many of the issues resonate with the findings of other studies and reflect the poor ‘consultation literacy’ of public bodies. However some of the comments also revealed some of difficulties posed by the consultation process for individuals living in rural and remote locations, which relate to their sense of conspicuousness and the risks consultation may have for their standing in their own community:

‘…Sometimes we talk about quite difficult …controversial problems…I feel that how I behave at consultations may have an impact on my private life; how I’m perceived by others in the community’.

‘…There are conflicts…issues within the community. Sometimes (people) lack courage to express their views…they want to avoid conflict or (they’re) trying to be diplomatic… not many of us…everyone knows everyone else…can be difficult’.

‘...Some organisations also have a way of selecting people. Sometimes they just want people who will not oppose or challenge their ideas’.

These comments illustrate the heavy emotional investment the consultation process may demand of minorities in such areas, not only in terms of the risks to their status and community standing and the confidentiality of their views, but also in terms of compromising their views.


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Participants made a number of constructive recommendations for improving consultation:

Utilising expertise at NGO/grassroots level was a recurring theme:

‘...Statutory sector should pay for consultation on an organisational basis. Engaging with individuals and community representatives – may be more efficient and cost effective if carried out by an ethnic minority focused organisation’.

‘...They need to work with voluntary organisations and to farm out (consultation) to those that have the expertise’.

‘...They have to go out into the community…truth only comes out when birds of the same flock ask the questions…people feel better about replying and answering questions’.

‘...Need to know about communities and their capacity…ask individuals about their skills and where they are willing to help’.

Indicating outcomes and giving feedback on the ways in which consultation influences policy development:

‘...Develop trust and create a genuine environment to let people talk and let them know that what they say can change things. It’s important for community safety, social harmony, so negative feelings don’t accumulate’.

‘...Show how we have made things happen (from past consultations)’.

‘...Saying our feedback will help produce strategies is not enough. There needs to be action plans…funding in place…real change’.

Making consultation issues and events relevant, of interest and meaningful:

‘...Bring in culture and activity, shows, a day out something that people enjoy’.

‘...Something to see, be entertained or to learn from’.

‘...Lots of interaction and doing things’.

‘...I’m not interested in art, dance … learning about recycling. There are big problems (organisations) should be looking at…racism, exploitation’.

‘...Issues need to be worthwhile…things that make a difference’.

‘...Informal chat model is better’.


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‘...One good event, where you can see that people have spent money on the event’.

Providing appropriate venues, food and professional translation facilities. Food was seen as very important by many as an incentive, as was factors like payment of travel expenses and even free gifts.

‘...(Give us) food that we can eat, not sandwiches, cold salad or cake and coffee’.

‘...Some organisations make the effort to get the food right, more culturally aware now compared to the past’.

Acquiring new skills, knowledge or experience (aside from a better knowledge of services) was also seen as an intrinsic benefit of involvement. Added extra benefits such as exercises, outdoor activities, wildlife & dance were mentioned. This research focussed on the settled ethnic minority community. The majority of participants in this study had residence of five years or more. The experiences recounted suggest that there is a clear divide between the interests of relatively new migrants to the area, such as economic migrants and those of settled ethnic minority individuals and households. For example, incentives focusing on leisure or social activities appear to be less attractive to individuals whose prime motive for being in Wales is work. This type of incentive is more attractive to those who have time and financial stability as opposed to concerns about accessing basic services or exploitation in the work place which are high on the agenda of new migrants. A number of positives were identified from involvement in consultations:

‘...Very occasionally one can effect a dramatic policy change … but comprehensive knowledge of the subject is needed in order to foster impact’.

‘...Progress is slow through consultation but sometimes have been able to bring pressure to bear and brought about change… the council now produce some leaflets … and (the) library now has books and tapes in (our language)’.

‘...Able to learn more about what is available, so we are part of the community’.

‘...At a Healthy Living event they had nurses and doctors who talked to us in our own language and we could ask questions. They were able to do practical things like taking blood pressure’.

‘...We were involved and doing things, not just being talked at’.

‘...Coming back with confidence and knowledge’.

‘...Positive energy created by different groups meeting; local communities meeting migrant workers, meeting settled ethnic minority communities’.


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Summary

On the whole the data here reflects many of the motivations and barriers associated with civic association identified in previous research. In confirmation of the literature on rural racism it is clear that the noted constellation of factors of isolation, conspicuousness, fear of racism and discrimination overlay individual’s ability to participate meaningfully at local level. In addition a mix of ‘cultural’ and linguistic factors act as inhibitors. It is apparent that people do not expect or necessarily seek co-ethnic association at local level, beyond family and religious association but sustain positive ‘ethnic’ association nationally and internationally through actual or virtual networks. The findings of this study suggest a picture of individuals with a high investment in their locality and good levels of integration against a broad range of non-political indicators. Where the locus of control lies with the individual in terms of mobilising services, for example within the private sector, the preference appears to be to go local. There is apparent however a low sense of attachment or engagement with the local state and an apparent weak sense of being able to influence and shape decisions. Representation on local (public services) bodies is low. In terms of engagement and consultation with public sector agencies although there were positive signs of growing awareness and competency by organisations, the negativity of some of the experiences recounted was still surprising. The ‘consultation literacy’ of organisations remains poor. Encouraging participation is largely dependent on word of mouth and if the event is rewarding rather than frustrating participation will increase. Language support, food, venue and added extras have all been identified as important but beyond these things involvement seems to be based on the feel good factor. Being made to feel good (whether by providing excellent food, an interesting activity, fostering positive relationships etc) is perceived as a gesture of respect and appreciation. This is part of cultural etiquette and perhaps should be given a higher priority by public service providers. Evidently different techniques are required dependent on the nature of the consultation to be undertaken and its target group. There are however broad basic baseline requirements for good consultation that are available to organisations as a starting point. The qualitative data in this study suggests organisations failing to adhere to even the rudiments of good practice.


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Key messages

� Ethnic minority individuals hold positive views of living in rural community

� High levels of attachment and belonging are expressed by

ethnic minorities to their local neighbourhoods

� Respondents seemed well integrated in terms of use of a range of local services, neighbourliness and associational life

� People were regularly involved in voluntary activities,

contributing in terms of care and support of others

� Overall formal political involvement at local level is low but people are not non-political

� People’s motivation for involvement reflects the known

prompts and the known constraints to voluntary activity.

� Volunteering and contributing locally is also constrained for some by fear of discrimination, racism and fear of outsiderism.

� Ethnic minority individuals welcome consultation that results

in outcomes

� Public bodies still lack ‘consultation literacy’ with regard to minority communities


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6. Conclusions The concern to build strong and responsive communities that have a voice in the design and delivery of public services is a core policy mandate. This extends to building the capacity of the most marginal voices in order that they can be heard in the policy process. Local authorities and other public bodies are increasingly acknowledging the issues involved in effective engagement with minority individuals and households in their area. Whilst the population of ethnic minority communities in rural and remote areas is relatively small compared to their presence in the UK population as a whole, there is no local authority area without a minority presence, including those considered the most remote. These communities are subject to considerable transformation in recent years with the both the settled ethnic minority population of rural areas growing and the substantial growth of migrant worker populations in rural areas. Diversity is now the norm. At the same time ethnic minority individuals and groups within rural areas have struggled to be visible in terms of public policy and service delivery. Their lack of concentration and the fragmented and diverse nature of this population means they lack political clout, effective representation and a collective voice, such that they continue to be overlooked and marginalised. It is well established that the impact of racism and discrimination in these communities is no less substantive than in areas where they are more populace; indeed these issues form a complex interplay with service delivery that continues to ensure the denial of access to key services for many. The low numbers of minorities living in rural areas typically means that networks, minority organisations and other forms of social support that may be available in areas of more dense populations have not developed in the locality. Accordingly many of the assumptions of partnership working, community engagement and community consultation at the heart of contemporary policy have to be rethought. This study is unique in that it sought to explore two sides of the engagement conundrum – the perspective and activities of public service providers and the perspective and activities of ethnic minority people in the local community, acknowledging the difficulties and challenges faced by both partners. From the perspective of providers there are clearly a number of expressed challenges that arise in seeking to develop effective engagement with ethnic minorities in the area. In this study major constraints were identified as a result of the diversity, dispersal and low aggregate numbers of ethnic minority individuals and households and the paucity and vulnerability of ethnic minority organisations and networks in the area. From the perspective of individuals in the community, their willingness to participate is conditioned by fears of being overburdened with consultations processes that are ill planned and have demonstrably little results.


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Public sector organisations in rural areas often lack the infrastructure, skills, commitment, leadership and resources required to respond appropriately to diverse communities. This study found goodwill and commitment on the part of front line workers falling into attrition in the face of inadequate support from the top. Organisational constraints such as lack of appropriate funding, time and resources deployed to consultation activities and failure to give scope for innovation and creativity at the front line hamper progress. The effect of competing priorities easily shifts attention away from the equalities agenda and accordingly inhibits the accumulation of expertise and sustainable practices. This lack of leadership and support must be addressed. At the same time the study identified glimmers of positive practice, most notably the emergence of partnership working across authorities, drawing sensitively on expertise and guidance from local voluntary organisations and building positive relationships with individuals and households in the community. The key messages outlined on page 52 are instructive. We have stopped short of producing formulas and toolkits as considerable information exists on techniques, methodologies and good practice guidelines for engagement with minority groups (see Bibliography). What is clearly needed is support to build capacity and to promote sensitive experimentation and innovation. Third Sector partners are crucial to the building of capacity both amongst public service staff and amongst ethnic minority individuals, groups and households in the community to promote meaningful and effective engagement. Development work of the kind outlined in this study is important to enhancing skills and competencies and in laying down and storing expertise for sustainable practice. The voluntary sector is not only filling gaps in service provision but actively involved in this work of building capacity in communities and skill development in agencies. Investment in this sector by local authorities, the Welsh Assembly Government and GB government bodies is vital if governments are to achieve on their ambition of building inclusive rural communities. This study has also contributed to our understanding of the experiences of ethnic minority individuals in rural communities. It adds a significant dimension to existing knowledge on unmet needs and the known experiences of racism and discrimination by illustrating the day to day contributions people from minority communities make to the social economy of rural communities and associational life. The diversity of North Wales’ minority population has significantly increased since the last census and not singly as a result of the movement of economic migrants from the A8 countries. Ethnic minority individuals can now be found working across almost all sectors of the local economy as public service workers, in the private care sector, in the leisure, retailing, in restaurants, hotels and other tourist industries as well as in manufacturing and agriculture and as self-employed entrepreneurs. Their contributions to the economy are vital and growing. Their sense of attachment to place is evidenced in this study as is their commitment to contributing to the civic and associational life. Clearly greater steps need to be taken to capture their involvement in the local state, including their representation in decision making roles and on decision making bodies.


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The gains accrued to good consultation and engagement are many. Not only does it enhance and legitimate policy decisions through incorporating the valuable insights and experiences of marginal groups but it also fosters investment and good integration for people from traditionally excluded sections of the community. For appropriate engagement and consultation exercises to take place and for fruitful partnership working to develop there needs to be careful preparation, training, support and appropriate funding to facilitate efforts. Without this consultation will only ever be tokenistic and exploitative. Ethnic minority and migrant households are making a vital contribution (economic, social and civic) to rural communities. Their contribution needs to be recognised, valued and appropriately engaged in the policy process.


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Bibliography Ahmad, N and Pinnock, K (2007) Civic Participation: potential differences between ethnic groups. Policy Research Institute Agyeman, J and Spooner R (1997) ‘Ethnicity and the Rural Environment’ in Cloke, P. and Little J. (eds) Contested Countryside Cultures. London: Routledge

Andrews, R, Cowell, R, Downe, J & Martin, S (2006) Promoting Effective Citizenship and Community Empowerment. A guide for local authorities on enhancing capacity for public participation. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

BEST (Black and Ethnic Minority Support Team) Partnership (2004). North Wales BME Communities Mapping. Prepared by North Wales Race Equality Network. www.nwren.org.uk

Black Environment Network (BEN) (2006). Health and Care Consultation with the Chinese Women's Society Report. Gwynedd County Council.

Blakey, H, Pearce, J & Chesters, G (2006). Minorities within minorities: Beneath the surface of South Asian participation. http://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/details.asp?pubID=845 . Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Bourque, Linda B (2004) "Coding." In The Sage Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods, Edited by Michael S Lewis-Beck, Alan Bryman, and Timothy Futing Liao, v. 1, 132-136. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage, 2004

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Appendix 1: Statutory Organisation Partners No.

Participation Level

Organisation Department Key Contact Consultation

1 1 NHS Trust Equalities Equalities Manager Race Equality Scheme

2 1 NHS Trust Chaplaincy Centre/PPI

Partnership Manager Spiritual & Religious Care Strategy

3 1 County Council Housing & Social Services

Tenant Participation Liaison Officer

Engaging with young ethnic women tenants

4 2 County Council Housing Strategy

Strategy Manager Regional Housing Market Needs Assessment

5 2 County Council Education Service

Business, Policy and Performance Manager

Single Children & Young People's Plan

6 2 County Council Equalities Equalities Officer Race Equality Scheme

7 2 County Council Health & Well Being Team

Partnership Participation Coordinator

Health & Well Being Strategy


9 2 County Council Older People's Strategy

Strategy Officer Health & Well Being Strategy

10 2 County Council Social Services Executive Officer Social care & housing consultation


12 2Criminal Justice Agency

Community Engagement

Community Engagement Coordinator

Race Equality Scheme

13 2Criminal Justice Agency

Diversity Diversity & Projects Coordinator

Race Equality Scheme

14 2Criminal Justice Agency Diversity Diversity Manager Race Equality Scheme


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Appendix 2: Background Compared to parts of the UK, the overall population of ethnic minority individuals in Wales is small. The rural nature of North Wales means that this small population is hidden. Minority ethnic individuals and families are often dispersed over a large area living in isolated households. The following three charts show data about the minority ethnic population according to the National Census in 2001. The definition of minority ethnic throughout this document follows the Commission for Racial Equality guidelines below:

“Someone who is said to belong to an 'ethnic minority' is … anyone who would tick any box other than 'White British' box in response to an ethnicity question on a census form.” 2

Fig 1 Minority ethnic population as percentage of total county population, Wales (Census 2001)

2 Source: The Commission for Racial Equality Legacy. http://83.137.212.42/sitearchive/cre/diversity/ethnicity/index.html


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Fig. 2: Minority ethnic population as percentage of total county population, North Wales

Table 1: Minority ethnic population as percentage of total county population, North Wales

Office for National Statistics – Census 2001

All Population Visible Minority Ethnic

Population

% Minority Ethnic Pop.

(incl. ‘Other White’)

% Minority Ethnic Pop. (incl. ‘Other

White’ &

‘White Irish’)

%

Anglesey (Ynys Môn)

66,829 481 0.7 1,274 1.91 1,864 2.79

Gwynedd 116,843 1,389 1.19 3,218 2.75 4,083 3.49

Conwy 109,596 1,157 1.06 2,437 2.22 3,547 3.24

Denbighshire 93,065 1,073 1.15 2,018 2.17 2,633 2.83

Flintshire 148,594 1,194 0.80 2,552 1.72 3,436 2.31

Wrexham 128,476 1,403 1.09 2,721 2.12 3,347 2.61

Totals 663,403 6,697 1.01 14,220 2.14 18,910 2.85


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As the map (and the table) shows, the density of the minority ethnic population in North Wales at the time of the 2001 census is low. The population is largely made up of scattered individuals or families, rather than communities. There is a risk of social isolation and danger of rural racism. Low numbers does not mean a lack of diversity. The ethnic minority population is not all the same. There are many differences in ethnicity, language, country of origin and culture. The chart below shows the breakdown by ethnic groups:

Fig 3: Comparative mapping of the ethnic minority population of North Wales

These statistics come from 2001 census and the demographic make-up of the ethnic minority population has changed dramatically since then. Movement and settlement patterns within the UK, as well as changes in birth and death rates will have affected figures. There are also a large number of workers from, not only Eastern Europe but other countries throughout the world, currently employed throughout North Wales e.g. reputedly up to 10,000 in the Wrexham Local Authority area. This is not a fixed population and it is not yet clear what percentage of people within this group intend to settle or stay long term. Their service needs should be monitored and provisions made accordingly. Overall there are no clear, up to date figures but is possible that the minority ethnic population in North Wales has risen by between 30% – 50% since 2001.


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Appendix 3: Interview Schedule.

We work for North Wales Race Equality Network and we are carrying out some research about people from minority ethnic backgrounds in North Wales. We would like to ask you some fairly simple questions about you and your experiences of North Wales. We do not need your name, address or personal details. This work is funded by Carnegie Trust UK and The Big Lottery.

About where you live ◊ How long have you lived in the immediate neighbourhood? in North Wales?

◊ Did you move here due to family in the area work to study like the area

affordable housing other reasons (Please specify)

Strongly Not strongly Not at Don’t know all

◊ How strongly do you feel you belong to the local neighbourhood?

The local county?

North Wales?

United Kingdom?

◊ What do you like about where you live? ◊ Is there anything that you dislike about where you live?

◊ Do you…… Agree Disagree Don’t know

People in this NH are willing to help their neighbours.

This neighbourhood is not close knit.

Feel a part of this neighbourhood.

◊ Do you feel safe in your neighbourhood? Yes No. If no, could you explain why?

◊ Would you ask your neighbour(s)…. Yes No Not applicable

For a cup of sugar, some milk or other food item that you had ran out of?

To lend you a lawn mower or other tools?

To baby-sit your children?

To keep an eye on your home while you were away?

ID No.Interviewer/Key contact:


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To water your plants/feed your pets while you were away?

Family, friends & the community

◊ What is the total number of people living in your household (including yourself)? ◊ Which of the following people live in your household (incl. in laws, foster, step and partner’s relatives)?

Live alone Spouse/partner Children Parents Siblings Friends Other relative ◊ Which of the following relatives (incl. in laws, foster, step and partner’s relatives), who don’t live with you, are you in regular contact with? (At least once a month; by phone, e-mailing, letters or visiting)

Children Grandchildren Parents Grandparents Siblings Other relative None ◊ How would you describe the people you socialise with out of work time? (Tick as many as applicable)

Frequently Sometimes Occasionally Rarely/Never socialise with socialise with socialise with socialise with

Family Friends of the family Work colleagues Friends of the same ethnic origin Friends from different ethnic minorities Friends who are white British

◊ How strongly do you feel you belong to Strongly Not strongly Not at all Don’t know an ethnic network/community locally?

nationally? internationally?

◊ For the following, would you use… local national international Not contacts/businesses contacts/businesses contacts/businesses applic.

Shop for cultural food stuffs Arrange a wedding Arrange a funeral Consult a solicitor

◊ How do you get information about cultural events and current issues relating to your ethnic background or country of origin?

From family From friends Language specific programmes (radio, satellite etc)

Language specific publications (newspapers, magazines, newsletters etc) Internet

Not interested None Other (please specify)

Influencing political decisions and local affairs ◊ In the last 12 months have you contacted any of the following (exclude for personal issues such as housing

repairs and contact through work):

Local councillor Public official working for local council MP Government official


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Elected member of National Assembly for Wales Public official working for the National None of the above Assembly for Wales

◊ In the last 12 months have you:

Attended a public meeting or rally? Taken part in a public demonstration/protest? Voted in the Local/Assembly elections Signed a petition None of the above

◊ In the last 12 months have you taken part in a consultation about local services or problems in any of the following ways?

completing a questionnaire (about local services or problems in the local area) attending a public meeting (about local services or problems in the local area) being involved in a group set up to discuss local services or problems in the local area none of the above

◊ About how often have you done this kind of thing/all the things you have mentioned?

at least once a week less than once a week but at least once a month Less often (please specify many times in the last 12 months) Other

Getting involved ◊ Please select the ones which best describes any groups, clubs or organisations you’ve taken part in, supported or helped, over the last 12 months. Please tick as many across the line as needed.

I am a I have participated I have donated I have carried None Member in group’s activities money out unpaid work of these Children’s school/education

Education for adults

Environment, animals

Ethnic organisation

Health,/Disability/Social welfare

Hobbies/ Recreation/ Arts /Social Clubs

Justice & human rights

Local community or neighbourhood groups

Politics

Religion

Safety, First Aid

Sport/exercise (taking part, coaching, going to watch)

The elderly

Trade union

Youth organisation


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Other

◊ Are any of the groups you are involved in based/support networks outside of the UK?

No Yes. If ‘yes’ please provide more details

What do you feel are the benefits of being involved with these groups, clubs or organisations?

A sense of involvement in the community Getting to know people in the community

Being able to make a difference Enjoyment of, or interest in the activity

Learning a new skill/helping to develop my career Building self esteem/confidence

Something else None ◊ Which, if any of these, are the reasons why you don’t give (have not given) unpaid help to groups, clubs or organisations (in the last 12 months/more regularly).

I have work commitments I have to study

I have to look after children/the home I have to look after someone who is elderly or ill

I do other things with my spare time I’m too old/ young

I don’t know any groups that need help I haven’t heard about opportunities to give help

I’ve never thought about it Other reason ◊ Apart from any help given through a group, club or organisation, in the last 12 months have you done any of these things, unpaid, for someone - friend, neighbour or someone else but not a relative? (Include payment in kind/expenses)

Keeping in touch with someone who has difficulty getting out and about (visiting/phoning/email)

Doing shopping, collecting pension or paying bills

Cooking, cleaning, laundry, gardening or other routine household jobs

Decorating, or doing any kind of home or car repairs

Baby sitting or caring for children

Sitting with or providing personal care (eg washing, dressing) for someone who is sick or frail

Looking after a property or pet for someone who is away

Giving advice

Writing letters or filling in forms

Representing someone (e.g. talking to a council department, or to a doctor)

Transporting or escorting someone (eg to a hospital, or on an outing)

Anything else

No help given in the last 12 months ◊ About how often have you done this kind of thing/all the things you have mentioned?

at least once a week

less than once a week but at least once a month

less often (please specify many times in the last 12 months)

Other ◊ In general, how would you say you contribute to your local community?


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About you ◊ Age (in full years) ◊ Gender Postcode (First four digits i.e. LL30) ◊ How would you describe your ethnicity? ◊ What faith or religion do you follow? ◊ How would you describe your nationality? ◊ Were you born in Wales Somewhere else in the UK Outside the UK

◊ How long have you lived in the UK? ◊ How would you rate your level of English? Fluent Intermediate Basic None

◊ How would you rate your level of Welsh? Fluent Intermediate Basic None

◊ What other languages do you speak fluently? ◊ Which of the following best describes your situation?

Working part time Working full time Unemployed Student Retired

Self employed Looking after family/home Long term sick or disabled Other

Thank you for your co-operation!

final report developing effective engagement for consultation with black and ethnic minorities in...

Government & Nonprofit

action research project

research team

existing research

research question

wales equality

rural areas of north

social care research

hong baker research