Overview

This document provides information regarding the role and commitment of Community Anchors within the Decolonised Transformations Project. The inclusion of this role is to reflect the project’s commitment to community engagement and knowledge exchange. Thank you for your consideration.

Purposes of Engagement

Engagement is an ongoing process which follows an equal approach that allows institutions and communities to decide what to discuss and how. Engagement follows a two-way approach where communities speak to the institution and each other, the aim being to build community capabilities and create a collaborative culture of shared ownership. By improving the relationships between an institution and its communities, engagement is an investment in building capability for the future.

A ‘community’ can be defined as a group of individuals who have a common location (people in a geographical area), a common interest (people who share a specific interest or experience), or a common identity (demographic features, such as age). It is vital to note that people frequently belong to more than one group.[1]

It is essential that we engage with communities of reparative justice interests (CoRJI) over the course of the project to increase their ownership of any initiatives facilitated by higher education institutions (HEI’s), as well as improving dialogue, communication and the relationship between CoRJI and HEIs over time.[2]

Planning Community Engagement: Community Anchors

Community engagement works best as an ongoing process which allows relationships and trust to build and strengthen over time. Engagement activities should, therefore, be planned with this in mind. Communities, groups, or individuals may want to participate at a range of levels: from providing advice to co-designing the process; or from undertaking some aspects of the engagement to delivering projects themselves.

The implementation of a planning committee of ‘Community Anchors’ would provide an opportunity for the project to initiate a closer relationship with CoRJIs. The term Community Anchors refers to individuals who will be enlisted to join the REWG, specifically the ‘community engagement sub-group’, as advisors to ensure that a range of views are considered in the formulation of engagement sessions, resource distribution and final recommendations. The Community Anchors will be invited into the group due to their record of accomplishment in community work, expertise and knowledge in relation to the material that the REWG will be focusing on during the project, as well as their position in their communities as key individuals with an understanding of the primary concerns of those within their communities.[3]

The community engagement sub-group should consist of ten Community Anchors:

• 4 individuals to reflect the external community population.
• 3 individuals to reflect the staff population.
• 3 individuals to reflect the student population.

The Anchors may decide to also co-facilitate sessions, suggest representatives for sessions or choose to participate within the sessions. The following collaboration with the selected Anchors should be value-led and grounded in the Principles of Participation as a guidance tool for our interactions. Community Anchors may also be involved in further adapting the Principles of Participation for the workshop and engagement sessions.

This initiative looks to recognise the knowledge and expertise of the Anchors and reflect a serious commitment to knowledge exchange. This will be exhibited through the implantation of co-designed and co-produced materials from the Anchors into the project and sessions. The initiative also looks to ensure capacity building for both the Anchors and the University of Edinburgh. Participation will be transparent and regular to avoid misunderstandings and mistrust.

The REWG looks to embark on an engagement process that includes participants from the outset. Approaches to consultation and engagement aim to be open and transparent to take account of people’s needs and priorities, as opposed to the decide-announce-defend model, which follows a fixed plan without outside influence and lacks any opportunity to divert from pre-designed processes.[4] By following an approach that includes participants from the beginning, it allows the project to be co-created by communities, which works to restore dignity in engagement and consultation practices.

Commitments within the Role

Community Anchors are asked to commit 4-10 hours of their time over the course of the project. This will be from September 2023 to June 2024. The total time will be split between 4 workshop planning sessions and involvement in engagement sessions, either as participants or co-facilitators. Community Anchors will be paid a rate of £15 per hour for their participation in this initiative.

[1] West Lothian Community Planning Partnership, ‘Engaging Communities Toolkit: A Practical Guide to Community Engagement’, April 2015, Engaging Communities Toolkit.

[2] See, for example, International Network of Scholars and Activists for Afrikan Reparations (INOSAAR), ‘Global Report’, September 2019, Global Report.

[3] Jean M. Lynch, ‘Community Participation in Community Needs Assessments’, Journal of Applied Sociology 10 (1993), 125–36.

[4] John Forester, The Deliberative Practitioner: Encouraging Participatory Planning Processes (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999).

Community Anchor Invitation / Decolonised Transformations by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0