Mutual Ways
Mutual Ways
Mutual Ways is the policy for operating throughout the Walk Together Design. The policy is clear that there is no dominant or controlling entity determining what will occur. The pictorial version of Mutual Ways shown in Tools demonstrates a change from past practices, where government policies dictated how Aboriginal people lived their lives; where things were done to or for Aboriginal peoples, but never with them. In this new way, decisions are negotiated by those engaged in the process, whether it is to establish mutually agreed ways of working, a vision, values, desired outcomes or the strategies to achieve them. The full explanation of Mutual Ways can be found in Tools under the heading of Mutual Way. Click here for the link.
Strategic Action Framework
The Strategic Action Framework
The second tool is the SAF: a pathway that guides people along a pathway of change. As well as guide, it is a risk-management and a planning tool. Each numbered box which can be seen in the link to Tools is a station through which the train must pass or, said another way, an objective that must be achieved.
The four key strategies of the Walk Together Design are Relationships, Facilitation, Objectives and Monitoring. Without any one of these, the process fails.
There are also five phases: pre-readiness or yarning, readiness or talking-it-up, planning or getting-ready, implementation or doing-it and embedment or keep-doing-it.
For more details, follow the link to Tools:
Defining and Assessing Risk
Seven Ways of Defining and Assessing Risk
CSCPL calls these the Seven Ss. Unless each is followed, the potential to derail a project is considerable. Constant reference to these through the design will give considerable feedback as potential causes of conflict or failure.
- Small: Start small and grow
- Strengths: Work with interested, committed people
- Success: Start with things that are working
- Speed: Work at a pace that keeps everyone involved
- Sustainable: Have resources and commitment before you start
- Simultaneous: Work with all people all the time
- Scrutinize: Monitor and review from the outset
Partnerships
The Value of Partnerships
Partnerships and their development and maintenance are a key element in ensuring Walk Together can achieve its vision and mission with differing groups. The five phases of the SAF suggest it is imperative that different cultures begin as separate entities and decide if and why they want to work together. So the first partnership has to be internal to each group: to agree why they are engaging, if they want to engage with other partners, and why. If that can’t be achieved, forget the goal. But if there is commonality within difference racial groups, they must meet to determine a common goal. And if they can’t, let’s all go home!!! It’s a waste of time and effort.
That’s why Walk Together is a powerful tool and CSCPL has such credibility the area of decision making between different cultural groups. CSCPL works in a “between world”, where power and control are shared: not where one group’s power and control controls the interaction.
The “between world” demonstrates the difference between partnerships and hierarchies in the way power works. Where power and control by one group dominates, we speak of an hierarchy In that system, people higher in the hierarchy have more power than those who are lower, while in partnerships, the power is (theoretically) relatively evenly distributed. That latter can only be achieved in a partnership.
