SOCIAL WORK - METHODS AND PRINCIPLES

LEARNER GUIDE

Module # 341203000-KM-02
NQF Level L05
Notional hours 90
Credit(s) Cr9
Development Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority
Quality Partner
Occupation or 341203000: Social Auxiliary Worker
Specialisation
Associated 341203: Social Auxiliary Worker
Occupation

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Name
Contact Address
Telephone (H)
Telephone (W)
Facsimile
Cellular
E-mail

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Note to the learner
This Learner Guide provides a comprehensive overview of the module. It is designed to
improve the skills and knowledge of learners, and thus enabling them to effectively and
efficiently complete specific tasks.
Purpose:
The focus of the learning in this module is on providing the learner an opportunity to
practice the skills of conducting investigations into various social situations and collect
information/evidence that will support the voluntary and compulsory referral processes.
Entry Requirements:
• Grade 12 certificate (NQF 4)
Topic elements to be covered include:

1. KM-02-KT01: Concepts and principles of community development within developing

societies (Intermediate) (20%)
2. KM-02-KT02: Principles of effective administration applicable to conducting social
work. (Advanced) (20%)
3. KM-02-KT03: Concepts and principles of social research (Intermediate) (20%)
4. KM-02-KT04: Principles and techniques of facilitating group processes (Advanced)
(20%)
5. KM-02-KT05: Principles, processes and techniques related to basic counselling and
support of individuals (Advanced) (20%)

Provider Accreditation Requirements for the Knowledge Module

Physical Requirements:
 Facilitator – Registered Social Worker with appropriate qualification (with SACSSP)

 Facilitator / Learner ratio - not to exceed a ratio of 1:30;

 Assessors and moderators must be registered Social Workers with 3 years’

experience

Human Resource Requirements:

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  Access to appropriate facilities (conducive environment): (Large room – Table and
chairs, space for group activities, good light, good ventilation);

Legal Requirements:
 Legally compliant venue, (i.e. fire protection devices, OHS and other legislation);

 Learning material aligned to the qualification and approved by the SACSSP;

 Appropriate learning aids such as videos, case studies, forms, checklists, etc.;

 Quality Management System which includes all relevant policies and procedures;

 Code of Conduct

Exemptions
• None:

Equipment needed:
Learning material, Learner workbook, Pen, Ruler
PLEASE NOTE: THE USE OF PENCILS OR TIPPEX IS NOT ALLOWED.
IF YOU USE A PENCIL THE VALIDITY OF YOUR WORK COULD BE QUESTIONABLE, AND THIS
COULD LEAD TO FRAUD.
Venue, Date and Time:
Consult your facilitator should there be any changes to the venue, date and/or time.
Refer to your timetable.

Assessments:
The only way to establish whether you are competent and have accomplished the learning
outcomes is through continuous assessments. This assessment process involves interpreting
evidence about your ability to perform certain tasks. You will be required to perform certain
procedures and tasks during the training programme and will be assessed on them to certify
your competence.

This module includes assessments in the form of self-evaluations/activities and exercises.

The exercises, activities and self-assessments will be done in pairs, groups or on your own.

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These exercises/activities or self-assessments (Learner workbook) must be handed to the
facilitator. It will be added to your portfolio of evidence, which will be proof signed by your
facilitator that you have successfully performed these tasks.

Listen carefully to the instructions of the facilitator and do the given activities in the time
given to you.

2.2.1. KM-02-KT01:
Concepts and principles of community development within developing societies

KT0101 Describe what community development means and what its

objectives are. a. Definitions; description; c. Positives and
negative aspects of community development.
KT0102 Explain the different approaches to community development
and how they are applied in Southern Africa;
KT0103 Give a brief overview of the history and evolution of the
concept of community development
KT0104 Identify and explain the key principles associated with
community development;
KT0105 Identify the interfaces between the various community
involvement disciplines: a.Community care; b. Community
Work; c. Community Development.
KT0106 Explain the concept of integrated socio-economic planning
and give global examples of the impact of this kind of
planning approach on social conditions: a. The need for
national planning processes; b. Broad political models and
how they relate to development and developmental planning;
c. Examples of integrated socio-economic planning in
developing countries; d. Advantages and disadvantages of

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 centralised development planning models.
KT0107 Explain the developmental approach that is being applied in
South Africa: a. Overview of the history of development in
South Africa; b. The evolution of the progressive approach to
development; c. Globalisation and how it impacts on socio-
economic issues; d. The social implications of a
developmental planning approach
KT0108 Identify and explain the key processes for the development
and execution of the national development plan: a. State
structures and political responsibilities; b. The participative
element of the planning model; c. National, regional and local
structures that are accountable for planning and delivery; d.
the role of the community and civil society.
KT0109 Describe the key elements of the development plan; a. The
core elements of a decent standard of living; b. Long term
objectives with specific emphasis on the issues that will
impact on social justice; c. Implementation strategies and
priorities

Describe what community development means and what its objectives are. a. Definitions;
description; c. Positives and negative aspects of community development.

What is Community Development?

Community development is a process where community members come together to take

collective action and generate solutions to common problems. Community wellbeing
(economic, social, environmental and cultural) often evolves from this type of collective
action being taken at a grassroots level. Community development ranges from small
initiatives within a small group to large initiatives that involve the broader community.

The United Nations defines community development as "a process where community
members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common

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problems." It is a broad term given to the practices of civic leaders, activists, involved
citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of communities, typically aiming to
build stronger and more resilient local communities.

Effective community development should be:

 a long-term endeavour
 well-planned
 inclusive and equitable
 holistic and integrated into the bigger picture
 initiated and supported by community members
 of benefit to the community
 grounded in experience that leads to best practices
Community development is a grassroots process by which communities:
 become more responsible
 organize and plan together
 develop healthy lifestyle options
 empower themselves
 reduce poverty and suffering
 create employment and economic opportunities
 achieve social, economic, cultural and environmental goals
Community development seeks to improve quality of life. Effective community development
results in mutual benefit and shared responsibility among community members. Such
development recognizes:
 the connection between social, cultural, environmental and economic matters
 the diversity of interests within a community
 its relationship to building capacity
Community development helps to build community capacity in order to address issues and
take advantage of opportunities, find common ground and balance competing interests. It
doesn’t just happen – capacity building requires both a conscious and a conscientious effort
to do something (or many things) to improve the community.
Community

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Often when we think of community, we think in geographic terms. Our community is the
city, town or village where we live. When community is defined through physical location, it
has precise boundaries that are readily understood and accepted by others. Defining
communities in terms of geography, however, is only one way of looking at them.
Communities can also be defined by common cultural heritage, language, and beliefs or
shared interests. These are sometimes called communities of interest. Even when
community does refer to a geographic location, it doesn’t always include everyone within
the area. For example, many Aboriginal communities are part of a larger non-Aboriginal
geography. In larger urban centres, communities are often defined in terms of particular
neighbourhoods.
Most of us belong to more than one community, whether we’re aware of it or not. For
example, an individual can be part of a neighbourhood community, a religious community
and a community of shared interests all at the same time. Relationships, whether with
people or the land, define a community for each individual.
Development
The term “development” often carries an assumption of growth and expansion. During the
industrial era, development was strongly connected to increased speed, volume and size.
However, many people are currently questioning the concept of growth for numerous
reasons – a realization that more isn’t always better, or an increasing respect for reducing
outside dependencies and lowering levels of consumerism. So while the term
“development” may not always mean growth, it always imply change.
The community development process takes charge of the conditions and factors that
influence a community and changes the quality of life of its members. Community
development is a tool for managing change but it is not:
 a quick fix or a short-term response to a specific issue within a community;
 a process that seeks to exclude community members from participating; or
 an initiative that occurs in isolation from other related community activities.
Community development is about community building as such, where the process is as
important as the results. One of the primary challenges of community development is to
balance the need for long-term solutions with the day-to-day realities that require
immediate decision-making and short-term action.

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Explain the different approaches to community development and how they are applied in
Southern Africa;

There are numerous overlapping approaches to community development. Some focus on

the processes, some on the outcomes/ objectives. They include:
 Women Self-help Group; focusing on the contribution of women in settlement
groups.
 Community capacity building; focusing on helping communities obtain, strengthen,
and maintain the ability to set and achieve their own development objectives.
 Large Group Capacitation; an adult education and social psychology approach
grounded in the activity of the individual and the social psychology of the large group
focusing on large groups of unemployed or semi-employed participants, many of
whom with Lower Levels of Literacy (LLLs).
 Social capital formation; focusing on benefits derived from the cooperation between
individuals and groups.
 Nonviolent direct action; when a group of people take action to reveal an existing
problem, highlight an alternative, or demonstrate a possible solution to a social issue
which is not being addressed through traditional societal institutions (governments,
religious organizations or established trade unions) are not addressing to the
satisfaction of the direct action participants.
 Economic development, focusing on the "development" of developing countries as
measured by their economies, although it includes the processes and policies by
which a nation improves the economic, political, and social well-being of its people.
 Community economic development (CED); an alternative to conventional economic
development which encourages using local resources in a way that enhances
economic outcomes while improving social conditions.
 Sustainable development; which seeks to achieve, in a balanced manner, economic
development, social development and environmental protection outcomes.
 Community-driven development (CDD), an economic development model which
shifts overreliance on central governments to local communities.

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  Asset-based community development (ABCD); is a methodology that seeks to
uncover and use the strengths within communities as a means for sustainable
development.
 Faith-based community development; which utilizes faith-based organizations to
bring about community development outcomes.
 Community-based participatory research (CBPR); a partnership approach
to researchthat equitably involves, for example, community members, organizational
representatives, and researchers in all aspects of the research process and in which
all partners contribute expertise and share decision making and ownership, which
aims to integrate this knowledge with community development outcomes.
 Community organizing; a term used to describe an approach that generally assumes
that social change necessarily involves conflict and social struggle in order to
generate collective power for the powerless.
 Participatory planning including community-based planning (CBP); involving the
entire community in the strategic and management processes of urban planning; or,
community-level planning processes, urban or rural.
 Language-based development; or Language revitalization focuses on the use of a
language so that it serves the needs of a community. This may involve the creation of
books, films and other media in the language. These actions help a small language
community to preserve their language and culture.
 Methodologies focusing on the educational component of community development,
including the community-wide empowerment that increased educational
opportunity creates.
 Methodologies addressing the issues and challenges of the Digital divide, making
affordable training and access to computers and the Internet, addressing the
marginalisation of local communities that cannot connect and participate in the
global Online community. In the United States, nonprofit organizations such
as Per Scholas seek to “break the cycle of poverty by providing education, technology
and economic opportunities to individuals, families and communities” as a path to
development for the communities they serve.
There are a myriad of job titles for community development workers and their employers
include public authorities and voluntary or non-governmental organisations, funded by the

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state and by independent grant making bodies. Since the nineteen seventies the prefix word
‘community’ has also been adopted by several other occupations from the police and health
workers to planners and architects, who have been influenced by community development
approaches.

Community development is a way of strengthening civil society by prioritising the actions of

communities, and their perspectives in the development of social, economic and
environmental policy. It seeks the empowerment of local communities, taken to mean both
geographical communities, communities of interest or identity and communities organising
around specific themes or policy initiatives. It strengthens the capacity of people as active
citizens through their community groups, organisations and networks; and the capacity of
institutions and agencies (public, private and non-governmental) to work in dialogue with
citizens to shape and determine change in their communities. It plays a crucial role in
supporting active democratic life by promoting the autonomous voice of disadvantaged and
vulnerable communities. It has a set of core values/social principles covering human rights,
social inclusion, equality and respect for diversity; and a specific skills and knowledge base.

Good community development is action that helps people to recognise and develop their
ability and potential and organise themselves to respond to problems and needs which they
share. It supports the establishment of strong communities that control and use assets to
promote social justice and help improve the quality of community life. It also enables
community and public agencies to work together to improve the quality of government.

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Give a brief overview of the history and evolution of the concept of community
development;

Amongst the earliest community development approaches were those developed in Kenya
and British East Africa during the 1930s. Community development practitioners have over
many years developed a range of approaches for working within local communities and in
particular with disadvantaged people. Since the nineteen sixties and seventies through the
various anti poverty programmes in both developed and developing countries, community
development practitioners have been influenced by structural analyses as to the causes of
disadvantage and poverty i.e. inequalities in the distribution of wealth, income, land, etc.
and especially political power and the need to mobilise people power to affect social
change. Thus the influence of such educators as Paulo Freire and his focus upon this work.
Other key people who have influenced this field are Saul Alinsky (Rules for Radicals) and E.F.
Schumacher (Small is Beautiful). There are a number of international organisations that
support community development, for example, Oxfam, UNICEF, The Hunger Project and
Freedom from Hunger, run community development programs based upon community

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development initiatives for relief and prevention of malnutrition. Since 2006 the Dragon
Dreaming Project Management techniques have spread to 37 different countries and are
engaged in an estimated 3,250 projects worldwide.

Theories of Development
 1940-50s- Keynesian growth theory -process of capital of formation is
determined by savings and investment
 Domestic savings are chanelled to productive investments such as
manufacturing which result –usually-in high productivity
 Growth is market driven as income levels rise, savings rises and frees capital for
alternative investment
 Modernization Theory -as noted previously this theory suggests that economic
dimension alone is insufficient and adds theories on institutional and social
change
 Incorporates non-economic elements such as social practices, beliefs, values and
customs (McClelland, Achieving Society)
 Diffusion and speed of change is critical as is removal of various cultural and
social barriers
 Backward internal structures-rather than external factors-cause
underdevelopment
 NeoLiberal Development Theory- grew in the 1970s and designed to counteract
impact of Keynesianism
 New emphasis on supply side factors in development- private initiatives and
market led growth
 Move away from demand stimulation (interest rate manipulation), import
substitution, state intervention and centralized planning
 Gradual industrialization with ‘trickle down’ of benefits to all social classes
 Popular Development- what is it?
 Avoids ‘grand theories’ and emphasizes solutions viewed in context of
development which is part of historical process
 Context of development is constantly changing in scale and time

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  Accommodates geographical and historical diversity
 Theory of little use to practitioners of development
 Stresses local diversity, human creativity, process of social change through
pragmatism, flexibility and context
 Not extent of state intervention but comparative advantages of public and
private sectors and their complementarity

Identify and explain the key principles associated with community development
Community development activities should be based on a commitment to the following
principles:
 Empowerment – increasing the ability of individuals and groups to influence issues
that affect them and their communities
 Participation – supporting people to take part in decision making
 Inclusion, equality of opportunity and anti-discrimination – recognising that some
people may need additional support to overcome barriers they face
 Self determination – supporting the right of people to make their own choices
 Partnership – recognising that many agencies can contribute to community
development.

Community development workers support individuals, groups and organisations in this

process on the basis of certain values and practice principles.
The values at the core of community development are:
 social justice
 self-determination
 working and learning together
 sustainable communities
 participation
 reflective practice
The practice principles that underpin these values are:

Social justice

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  respecting and valuing diversity and difference
 challenging oppressive and discriminatory actions and attitudes
 addressing power imbalances between individuals, within groups and society
 committing to pursue civil and human rights for all
 seeking and promoting policy and practices that are just and enhance equality whilst
challenging those that are not

Self-determination
 valuing the concerns or issues that communities identify as their starting points
 raising people’s awareness of the range of choices open to them, providing
opportunities for discussion of implications of options
 promoting the view that communities do not have the right to oppress other
communities
 working with conflict within communities

Working and learning together

 demonstrating that collective working is effective
 supporting and developing individuals to contribute effectively to communities
 developing a culture of informed and accountable decision making
 ensuring all perspectives within the community are considered
 sharing good practice in order to learn from each other

Sustainable communities
 promoting the empowerment of individuals and communities
 supporting communities to develop their skills to take action
 promoting the development of autonomous and accountable structures
 learning from experiences as a basis for change
 promoting effective collective and collaborative working
 using resources with respect for the environment

Participation

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  promoting the participation of individuals and communities, particularly those
traditionally marginalised / excluded
 recognising and challenging barriers to full and effective participation
 supporting communities to gain skills to engage in participation
 developing structures that enable communities to participate effectively
 sharing good practice in order to learn from each other

Reflective practice
 promoting and supporting individual and collective learning through reflection on
practice
 changing practice in response to outcomes of reflection
 recognising the constraints and contexts within which community development
takes place
 recognising the importance of keeping others informed and updated about the wider
context

Core Principles of Community Engagement

A number of organizations and scholars have identified core principles of community
engagement. The Co-Intelligence Institute has developed the following seven core principles
that effectively reflect the common beliefs and understandings of those working in the field
of community engagement – conflict, conflict resolution, and collaboration. In practice,
these principles and others, are applied in many different ways.

‘’Our most enduring finding is that communities are never perfect, but they count. They and
their citizenry are key to improving everything from education and economic development
to health care and race relations.
1. Careful planning and Preparation. Through adequate and inclusive planning, ensure
that the design, organization, and convening of the process serve both a clearly
defined purpose and the needs of the participants.
2. Inclusion and Demographic Diversity. Equitably incorporate diverse people, voices,
ideas, and information to lay the groundwork for quality outcomes and democratic
legitimacy.

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 3. Collaboration and Shared Purpose. Support and encourage participants, government
and community institutions, and others to work together to advance the common
good.
4. Openness and Learning. Help all involved listen to each other, explore new ideas
unconstrained by predetermined outcomes, learn and apply information in ways
that generate new options, and rigorously evaluate community engagement
activities for effectiveness.
5. Transparency and Trust. Be clear and open about the process, and provide a public
record of the organizers, sponsors, outcomes, and range of views and ideas
expressed.
6. Impact and Action. Ensure each participatory effort has real potential to make a
difference, and that participants are aware of that potential.
7. Sustained Engagement and Participatory Culture. Promote a culture of participation
with programs and institutions that support ongoing quality community
engagement.

What is Community Work?

Community work can mean a range of things:

• being involved in local or neighbourhood groups or associations
• being a volunteer or unpaid worker
• being involved in a non-profit, not-for-profit, or charitable organisation or
association
• doing public interest or public benefit work
• doing work for a “cause” or a “calling”.

For the purposes of this web site, community work involves work done by community
based, non-profit or not-for-profit associations, whether they are incorporated or
unincorporated.

It is important to note that both employed staff and unpaid volunteers do community work.

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Community work occurs across a range of services including information and advice,
counselling, advocacy and support — targeting an equally diverse range of people and areas
of interest.

What are Community Organisations?

Community organisations are formal or informal groups of people based in or around a
“community” and are organised in some way, usually having some...

Non-profit organisation
Non-profit refers to an organisation that does not distribute any money or income it has (or
receives) to its members. In this way it differs from a...

Not-for-profit organisation, corporation

Not-for-profit refers to an organisation that is established to provide public services, which
may charge fees but still does not take the extra step...

Non Government Organisations (NGOs)

Wikipedia: "A non-governmental organisation (NGO) is a non-profit group or association
that acts outside of institutionalized political structures...

Unincorporated association
An unincorporated association is a group of persons. The association has no separate
identity from its members. The association is no more than...

Incorporated association
An incorporated association is where an association of persons, such as a group, become a
separate body under law by following certain processes and...

Companies, corporations
Some community organisations actually decide to incorporate as a company rather than an
incorporated association. The most common example is the...

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Aboriginal corporations
Aboriginal corporations are created under Commonwealth law under the Corporations
(Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (CATSI Act),...

Community-based
Community based refers to a range of factors, including:

What is the 'Legal Entity'

Something very important to bear in mind is that the community organisation is the legal
entity that provides community work. This means the XYZ...

Unfunded or Funded
Well of course funding matters, particularly if you don't have any, or enough. For the
purposes of this website, community organisations include...
Types of community engagement

Community engagement takes a variety of forms.

The four types are:

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 1. Community engagement with a focus on community development or community
building
2. Community participation in consultation and decision-making
3. Community engagement that helps organisations, businesses etc. to improve their
service delivery or to achieve their goals
4. Community engagement as part of social change movements or as part of the work
of voluntary community organisations

Focus on community development or community building

A lot of community engagement is focuses on community development and community
building. Community engagement is this context covers to aspects. First, involving
community members is an important underpinning of many bottom up approaches (such as
ABCD). Second, a feature of strong communities is high levels of social capital and so an
community building often focuses on encouraging people to be actively involved in their
community generally.
Consultation and decision-making
Many organisations including schools, health services, government departments and
planners need to consult communities about a range of issues. By involving the community
in meaningful ways, this consultation can be more than tokenism. A tool that many
practitioners find useful is the Spectrum Public Participation by the International Association
of Public Participation (IAP2).

The Spectrum provides a useful tool in thinking about the level of community involvement
in consultation and decision making. It is important to think carefully about the level of
participation that is appropriate for the context and not to promise more than will be
delivered. It is important to note that the first level – inform – is not really a level of public
participation, as it is only a one-way process. It has a place in the spectrum, however,
because it is an essential foundation for the other levels.
Atlee et al (2009) have identified seven principles of public engagement which are useful
when thinking about engaging the community in consultation and decision making.

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1. Careful planning and preparation
Through adequate and inclusive planning, ensure that the design, organization, and
convening of the process serve both a clearly defined purpose and the needs of the
participants.

2. Inclusion and demographic diversity

Equitably incorporate diverse people, voices, ideas, and information to lay the groundwork
for quality outcomes and democratic legitimacy.

3. Collaboration and shared purpose

Support and encourage participants, government and community institutions, and others to
work together to advance the common good.

4. Openness and learning

Help all involved listen to each other, explore new ideas unconstrained by predetermined
outcomes, learn and apply information in ways that generate new options, and rigorously
evaluate public engagement activities for effectiveness.

5. Transparency and trust

Be clear and open about the process, and provide a public record of the organizers,
sponsors, outcomes, and range of views and ideas expressed

6. Impact and action

Ensure each participatory effort has real potential to make a difference, and that
participants are aware of that potential.

7. Sustained engagement and participatory culture

Promote a culture of participation with programs and institutions that support ongoing
quality public engagement.
Improving service delivery and achieving organisational goals

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There are many cases where community engagement is essential for organisations or
businesses to achieve their goals. Many of the events held by charities (e.g., Girls Night
In, Red Nose Day) and other not-for-profits (e.g., Clean Up Australia) rely on community
engagement. There are many other examples where community engagement is important
to the success of organisations or businesses. Take for example the battle between the
various football codes to involve children from a young age.
The Chamber of Commerce & Industry of WA (2012) identified some benefits for businesses
of community engagement (by building a relationship with a community organisation)
including:
 Morale building
 Professional development
 Brand or status recognition
 Recognised as a valued member of the community
 Aligning activities with the organisation’s value.

The mining industry relies on a social license to mine and so is increasingly focusing on
community engagement to demonstrate that it is a good corporate citizen and to convince
people that the benefits of mining outweigh the negative consequences.
Social change and voluntary community groups
Community engagement by social change movements and community groups can have
similarities with the other types, but there are also differences. Often the focus of the first
three types is where an organisation that is not part of the community (e.g., a government
department) is wanting to engage a community. Quite often these organisation are power
holders and are able to implement decisions. Social movements and voluntary community
groups are often part of the community and need to rely on others for funding or to
implement decisions. It seems to me this creates a different dynamic.
Bill Moyer identifies four roles of social activism:

The Citizen The Reformer

 Upholds a widely held vision of  Transmits movement analyses
the democratic, good society and goals to authorities
 Demonstrates ordinary people  Performs parliamentary and legal

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 efforts –lobbying, referenda,
lawsuits
support social change  Works to create and expand new
 Gives the movement legitimacy laws and policies
 Makes it harder for authorities to  Acts as a watchdog to ensure the
discredit the movement new laws and policies are actually
 Reduces the potential for violent funded and carried out
attitudes and actions within the  Mobilises movement opposition
movement to conservative backlash efforts

The Change Agent

 Supports the involvement of large
numbers of people in the process
The Rebel of addressing social problems
 Puts issues on the social and  Promotes a new social and
political agenda through political majority consensus
dramatic, nonviolent actions favouring positive solutions
 Dramatically illustrates social  Promotes democratic principles
issues and human values
 Shows how institutions and  Supports the development of
official authorities violate public coalitions
trust by causing and perpetuating  Counters the actions of the
critical social problems authorities
 Forces society to face its  Moves society from reform to
problems social change by promoting a
 Promotes democracy paradigm shift

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Identify the interfaces between the various community involvement disciplines: a.
Community care; b. Community Work; c. Community Development.

Community care;
What are community care services?
Community care services are intended to help people who need care and support to live
with dignity and independence in the community and to avoid social isolation. The services
are aimed at the elderly and those who have mental illness, learning disability and physical
disability.
Community care services are intended to help people who need care and support to live
with dignity and independence in the community and to avoid social isolation. The services
are aimed at the elderly and those who have mental illness, learning disability and physical
disability. The main aim in providing community care services is to enable people to remain
living in their own homes and to retain as much independence as possible, avoiding social
isolation. Local authority social services provide community care services or arrange for
them to be provided. Care needs can be difficult to gauge and provision also involves
matching client expectation, finances available and people willing to do the job.

The rules about which community care services must be paid for and how much can be
charged, are complicated. It may be advisable to see an experienced adviser - eg, at the
local Citizens Advice Bureau.

There is a wide range of services that may be available, including:

 Home care services: help with personal tasks - eg, bathing, washing, getting up and
going to bed, shopping, and managing finances.
 Home helps: can provide assistance with general domestic tasks, including cleaning
and cooking, and may be particularly important in maintaining hygiene in the home.
 Adaptations to the home: major adaptations (eg, installation of a stair lift or
downstairs lavatory, or lowering work tops in the kitchen); minor adaptations (eg,
handrails in the bathroom).

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  Meals: daily delivery of a meal, delivery of a weekly or monthly supply of frozen food
or providing meals at a day centre or lunch club.
 Recreational, occupational, educational and cultural activities: day centres, lectures,
games, outings and help with living skills and budgeting. This usually also involves
providing transport to attend facilities.
Community Work
Community social workers help communities function. Some work directly with individuals,
conducting needs assessments and making referrals to resources in the community. Others
assess needs on a larger scale. They may plan and administer programs. One type of
community social work practice is community organization.

Community Social Workers

Community social workers help communities function. Some work directly with individuals,
conducting needs assessments and making referrals to resources in the community. Others
assess needs on a larger scale. They may plan and administer programs.
One type of community social work practice is community organization. Social workers may
be community builders or community organizers. They may be employed by various
nonprofits and grassroots organizations to raise funds, write grants, drum up support, plan
infrastructure. Dr. Mizrahi of the Hunter College School of Social Work (CUNY) has written
that many people don’t realize they can work on these sorts of projects as a living (not just
in their spare time). A social work degree is not a requirement for community organizing,
but does provide a direct path into the field. Jane Addams, Mirzahi notes, could be
considered a community organizer.

Service transcends borders. Social workers may work for international organizations and
even travel to distant lands. There is a particular need for social workers when traditional
support structures fail in the wake of war or natural disaster. Social workers not only help
people with immediate needs, but set up systems that will endure after they leave. The
situations they encounter can be heartbreaking: children who have become mute or
otherwise regressed because of atrocities they have witnessed, adults who think they are
seeing the results of witchcraft… or that there is simply no help to be offered.

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Community Development.
Community development is a planned approach to improving the standard of living and
well-being of disadvantaged populations in the United States and internationally. ... The
entry examines linkages between community development and macro practice, including an
increase in employment opportunities for social workers.

What are the characteristics of community development?

Several characteristics of the community can give clues to the degree of its social cohesion
and anticipate problems that may arise. These characteristics include the history of the
community and its relations with others, its present social structure, its cultural values and
the way it governs itself.

The Role of a Social Worker in Community Development

The idea behind community development is simple: residents take collective action to
generate solutions to common problems. In working together to improve the quality of their
lives, residents also address the socioeconomic barriers that often lead to poverty, crime,
poor health, low property values, underperforming schools, and so on.

As part of their profession, social workers often generate community improvement

programs and development projects that also allow for local citizens to contribute to their
community’s development plans. Some social workers create possibilities directly with
individuals; others assess community needs on a larger scale. They may plan and administer
programs designed to help people with their immediate needs as well as those with more
enduring benefits to the larger community.

The Many Titles of a Community Social Worker

The role of the social worker in community development is not permanently fixed — rather,
they have varying roles depending on the needs of the communities they serve. They work
for social services agencies, nonprofits, and grassroots organizations. Some of the titles held
by those dedicated to social work and community development are:

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  Caseworker. Because a community is only as healthy, vibrant, and successful as the
individuals and families that live within it, social workers in this field often assume
the role of caseworker. In this role, social workers assess and address the needs of
those individuals and families who make up the larger community they serve.
 Community Organizer. As community organizers, social workers rally the community
around various social issues and help align the community’s resources and energies
to address their most pressing needs. Organizers empower individual community
members to take on a larger role in the development and continued improvement of
their community.
 Project Manager. Community social workers take on the role of project manager to
ensure programs are implemented correctly and within their original scope. As they
understand the pulse of individuals and groups within the community, and how to
motivate them, they’re uniquely positioned to prepare and administer projects.
 Researcher. In order to drive community transformation and development, social
workers need to research the root causes of a community’s challenges. They use this
research to help develop community programs and advocate for policy changes to
better the individuals and families they serve.
How Social Workers Impact the Community
The development of strong, vibrant, and healthy communities has long been a tenet of the
social work profession. As facilitators, organizers, counselors, and advocates, social workers
have an important voice in helping communities overcome the barriers to necessary change.
They also provide the energy for transformation — empowering residents with the
knowledge, resources, and capacity to self-direct and self-govern their lives and
circumstances.

The Measure of Success in Community Development

Social workers gauge the success of their efforts to develop community health by looking at
the statistics in the following categories:
 Health Issues: Birthweight, immunizations, prenatal care, senior care, etc.
 Economic Concerns: Poverty, unemployment, job availability, cost of living, etc.
 School Success: Dropout/graduation rates, student mobility, academic standings, etc.
 Family Concerns: Preschool participation, percentages of adolescent parents, etc.

27
Explain the concept of integrated socio-economic planning and give global examples of
the impact of this kind of planning approach on social conditions: a. The need for national
planning processes; b. Broad political models and how they relate to development and
developmental planning; c. Examples of integrated socio-economic planning in developing
countries; d. Advantages and disadvantages of centralised development planning models.
What is integrated development planning?
The Integrated Development Plan (IDP) is a five-year plan which local government is
required to compile to determine the development needs of the municipality. The projects
within the IDP is also linked to the municipality's budget. The most recent IDP for Knysna
covers the planning period

General Objectives
Any national economy is built up of several sectors broadly categorized as, for example,
heavy industry, manufacture of goods, production of food, supply of services, tourism, etc.
All generate wealth in some form and compete for resources in order to do so.
A National Economic Development Plan will analyse the country's objectives and priorities in
relation to all these sectors in response to well-identified national needs. It will propose and
justify an overall plan in which the role of individual sectors, including aquaculture as a
source of food, can be seen in context.
A well-researched and reasoned policy document is of immense value to a country in the
allocation of its scarce resources. It relates the scope and timetable of projects to the
resources available and the benefits which will accrue. It enables realistic and achievable
decisions to be taken.

The private sector looks for a stable and sympathetic environment in which to invest
securely and profitably. A national plan provides the evidence to make positive decisions.

In developing countries, a national plan also meets the need of the international
development banks and donor organizations to make loans or to provide technical

28
assistance to selected national projects with a clear understanding of the benefits, and
assured of the government's own wholehearted commitment. Without them, a project has
little meaning or purpose. The national plan also enables these different organizations to
avoid wasteful overlap and competition by coordinating their respective programmes.

Finally, the government which sees fundamentally what must be done to secure its
country's prosperity can act purposefully to bring it about. It can take strategic decisions
which determine the course of events long into the future.

Aquaculture Sector Objectives

As a component of a National Economic Development Plan, a sector plan for aquaculture
development will ensure that the legitimate claim of aquaculture to a share of resources is
known and understood.

The priorities which dictate selection of sector targets are best described by the framework
of needs which an effective industry helps to satisfy. In aquaculture the principal needs are
considered to be four.

Domestic production of food, and nutritional health

All countries give highest priority to national food security to supply basic nutrition and to
improve diet. As food is not usually distributed evenly, identification of national needs are
often by region or possibly a smaller demographic unit.
The importance of cultured aquatic foods as development targets for domestic consumption
is determined to some degree by government policy, but there is always evidence of
consumer trends and import statistics to interpret. For example, the high-protein content of
fisheries products and medical support for their wide use in health programmes are
undeniable benefits repeatedly in evidence.
Low production and distribution costs are prime advantages of nationally produced
commodities. These are especially important for cultured aquatic products which are trying
to establish a share of an existing and often long-established market. Even if production is
not viewed primarily as a source of profit, as is the case in some assistance or social
projects, those for whom it is intended must be able to pay.

29
There may be persuasive strategic arguments for some high-cost indigenous aquaculture
production to replace cheap imported products. However, the long-term viability of even
this investment depends on the reduction of local costs. The potential to achieve reduced
costs must exist and be provided for.

Foreign trade
The existing and forecast balance of trade figures are often used to identify a national need
for products which can be exported to earn foreign currency. Typically, for aquaculture,
these include the high-value marine products, namely fish and shellfish, and raw or
processed marine algae.
As with investments for domestic food production or nutritional improvement, the common
denominator in every export-based proposal is that investments not adequately rewarded
by conventional profit will struggle to survive.

Commercial profit
The incentive to exploit any accessible resources is to generate corporate profit or, at a
lower level, to create income and thereby contribute to an improved standard of living for
the producer. This is the most fruitful basis for aquaculture development, even when the
resources may be little more than a natural water body or point of water source.
Among the rural poor in developing countries, aquaculture projects which have the profit
incentive are a priority. The prospect of profit is self-motivating and attracts ongoing
investment for a viable progressive industry.

Job creation
In countries where high levels of long-term unemployment exist, the social implications of
sector development may dictate priorities in favour of targets which are labour intensive. At
times, some forms of subsidy or investment incentive are necessary, and economic and
more appealing targets may have to be sacrificed or postponed as part of the national
strategy or plan.
Wherever employment opportunities are limited, the major deprived group is often the less
educated and unskilled. These untrained resources impose obvious constraints on the types
of aquaculture development which will meet this need. The aquaculture industry,

30
particularly at the level of production, is not labour intensive, although large farms employ
significant numbers seasonally for harvest. The post-harvest industries, such as processing
and packaging, require higher manning levels.

Explain the developmental approach that is being applied in South Africa: a. Overview of
the history of development in South Africa; b. The evolution of the progressive approach
to development; c. Globalisation and how it impacts on socio-economic issues; d. The
social implications of a developmental planning approach.

The Negative Effects of Globalization on South Africa

Globalisation refers to the process of the integration of economic, political, social and
cultural relations among people, companies and governments of different nations and
countries. It is a process aimed improving international movement of goods, services, labour
and capital. This process also has a direct impact on the environment, culture, political
systems, economic development and prosperity, and a human physical wellbeing of
societies in the world.
Globalisation also indirectly suggests internationalism and mutual agreement and support
between countries, as opposed to nationalism and protectionism

Firstly, the government’s liberalisation of macro-economic policies coupled with the

advancement of telecommunications and technology has made it possible for exorbitant
amounts of capital to move freely around the world by just a push of a button in search of
the highest interest rate possible. Over the past decade South Africa has experienced
extensive disinvestment and capital outflow to overseas which meant lost output, trade,
and employment here at home. Moreover, the volatility on investment flows has also had a
relatively weak impact on the GDP. At present investment represents only about 17 per cent
of GDP in South Africa.
Robin Kibuka, an adviser in the Africa Department of the International Monetary Fund, said,
"Globalization is a force for development, but clearly it is a force for development that will
have to be managed because it does create instability." For example, investors can move

31
money more quickly than ever from one country to another, potentially leaving a
developing country reeling from the

Identify and explain the key processes for the development and execution of the national
development plan: a. State structures and political responsibilities; b. The participative
element of the planning model; c. National, regional and local structures that are
accountable for planning and delivery; d. the role of the community and civil society
The National Development Plan aims to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030.
South Africa can realise these goals by drawing on the energies of its people, growing an
inclusive economy, building capabilities, enhancing the capacity of the state, and promoting
leadership and partnerships throughout society.
The National Development Plan (NDP) offers a long-term perspective. It defines a desired
destination and identifies the role different sectors of society need to play in reaching that
goal, Minister in The Presidency: National Planning Commission, Trevor Manuel, said at a
media briefing on the implementation of the plan on 19 February 2013.

The NDP aims to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030. According to the plan,
South Africa can realise these goals by drawing on the energies of its people, growing an
inclusive economy, building capabilities, enhancing the capacity of the state, and promoting
leadership and partnerships throughout society.

The processes should be followed in the implementation of the plan:

The NDP and its proposals will need to be implemented in the right order over the next 17
years until 2030. Three phases have been identified.
 The long term plans of departments are aligned with the NDP and areas areidentified
where policy change is required to ensure consistency and coherence.
 The NDP is a plan for the whole country. Government will engage with all sectors to
understand how they are contributing to implementation, and particularly to identify
any obstacles to them fulfilling their role effectively.
 The Plan will shape budget allocation over the years until 2030.

32
  The Plan identifies the improvement of the quality of public services as critical to
achieving transformation. This requires provinces to focus on identifying and
overcoming the obstacles to achieving improved outcomes, including the need to
strengthen the ability of local government to fulfil its developmental role.
 Planning and implementation should be informed by evidence-based monitoring and
evaluation.
 The President and Deputy President will be the lead champions of the Plan within
Cabinet, in government and throughout the country. Premiers and Mayors must be
visible and active champions of the Plan, with their offices being the catalytic
agencies to drive implementation at provincial and municipal levels.

he National Development Plan (NDP) is a long term South African development plan,
developed by the National Planning Commission in collaboration and consultation with
South Africans from all walks of life. Minister Trevor Manuel stated in his speech at the
launch of the NDP: “The plan is the product of thousands of inputs and perspectives of
South Africans”. “It is a plan for a better future; a future in which no person lives in poverty,
where no one goes hungry, where there is work for all, a nation united in the vision of our
Constitution”. The NDP envisions a South Africa where “everyone feels free yet bounded to
others”; where everyone embraces their full potential, a country where “opportunity is
determined not by birth, but by ability, education and hard work”. A South Africa where “we
participate fully in efforts to liberate ourselves from the conditions that hinder the flowering
of our talents” (Vision 2030). To realise such a society we need transform the domestic
economy and focus efforts to build the capabilities of both the country and the people. To
eliminate poverty and reduce inequality, there should be accelerated growth in the
economy, growth that benefits all South Africans. The NDP serves as an action plan for
securing the future of South Africans as charted in the Constitution. The Constitution
requires that “we must build a united and democratic South Africa, able to take its rightful
place as a sovereign state in the family of nations”. The NDP is founded on 6 pillars that
represent the broad objectives of the plan to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality.

Uniting South Africans of all races and classes around a common programme to eliminate
poverty and reduce inequality

33
  Encourage citizens to be active in their own development, in strengthening
democracy and in holding their government accountable
 Raising economic growth, promoting exports and making the economy more labour
absorbing
 Focusing on key capabilities of both people and the country
 Capabilities include skills, infrastructure, social security, strong institutions and
partnerships both within the country and with key international partners
 Building a capable and developmental state
 Strong leadership throughout society that work together to solve our problems
According to the NDP by 2030 there should be:
A reduction in the number of people who live in households with a monthly income below
R419 per person from 39 percent to zero.
A reduction in inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient, from 0.69 to 0.6.
This can be done by addressing the underlying causes of poverty and inequality by
redirecting the focus of policy making from short- term symptom- based policies to longer-
term policies based on sound evidence and reason. At the core of the NDP, the NDP aims to
ensure the achievement of a “decent standard of living” for all South Africans by 2030. A
decent standard of living consists of the following core elements:
 Housing, water, electricity and sanitation
 Safe and reliable public transport
 Quality education and skills development
 Safety and security
 Quality health care
 Social protection
 Employment
 Recreation and leisure
 Clean environment
 Adequate nutrition
Government alone cannot provide a decent standard of living; it requires determined and
measurable actions from all social actors and partners across all sectors in society. The NDP
is divided into thirteen chapters that addresses the most pressing challenges facing South
Africa and provides solutions to these challenges in the form of proposals and actions. The

34
plan outlines sector specific goals and a vision for South Africa to be achieved by the year
2030.
Describe the key elements of the development plan; a. The core elements of a decent
standard of living; b. Long term objectives with specific emphasis on the issues that will
impact on social justice; c. Implementation strategies and priorities

The National Development Plan

The National Development Plan, or NDP, is a plan to unite South Africans, unleash the
energies of its citizens, grow an inclusive economy, build capabilities, and enhance the
capability of the state and leaders working together to solve complex problems.

South Africa’s transition from apartheid to a democratic state has been a success.

In the past 18 years, we have built democratic institutions, transformed the public service,
extended basic services, stabilised the economy and taken our rightful place in the family of
nations.

Despite these successes, too many people are trapped in poverty and we remain a highly
unequal society.

Too few South Africans work, the quality of school education for the majority is of poor
quality and our state lacks capacity in critical areas.

There has been significant progress, but our country remains divided, with opportunity still
shaped by the legacy of apartheid. In particular, young people and women are denied the
opportunities to lead the lives that they desire.

Our Constitution obliges all of us to tackle these challenges.

The vision

35
The plan envisions a South Africa where everyone feels free yet bounded to others; where
everyone embraces their full potential, a country where opportunity is determined not by
birth, but by ability, education and hard work.

Realising such a society will require transformation of the economy and focused efforts to
build the country’s capabilities. To eliminate poverty and reduce inequality, the economy
must grow faster and in ways that benefit all South Africans.

In particular, young people deserve better educational and economic opportunities, and
focused efforts are needed to eliminate gender inequality. Promoting gender equality and
greater opportunities for young people are integrated themes that run throughout the NDP.

There is a burning need for faster progress, more action and better implementation. The
future belongs to all of us. The NDP is a vision for every South African, requiring action,
change and sacrifice from all sectors of society.

Background to the National Development Plan

In May 2010 President Jacob Zuma appointed the National Planning Commission, an
advisory body made up of 26 experts drawn largely from outside the government, to draft a
vision and national development plan.

The commission’s Diagnostic Report, released in June 2011, set out South Africa’s
achievements and shortcomings since 1994. It identified a failure to implement policies and
an absence of broad partnerships as the main reasons for slow progress, and set out nine
primary challenges:

 Too few people work.

 The quality of school education for black people is poor.
 Infrastructure is poorly located, inadequate and under-maintained.
 Spatial divides hobble inclusive development.
 The economy is unsustainably resource-intensive.
 The public health system cannot meet demand or sustain quality.
 Public services are uneven and often of poor quality.

36
  Corruption levels are high.
 South Africa remains a divided society.

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT -ONE

 IAC0101 Without reference to learning material learners will be able to correctly

describe and explain the evolution and meaning of community development and give
examples of how the various approaches to community development influences its
outcomes. (Weight: 30%)
 IAC0102 Without reference to learning material learners will be able to identify all the
different community development disciplines and give practical examples of how the
various role players in these disciplines interact with each other and how their job roles
contribute towards the ultimate achievement of the overall development objectives.
(Weight: 70%)
 IAC0103 Given a range of questions relating to the basics of development planning in a
developing society and possible answers to the questions learners will, without
reference to learning material: a. Correctly select the correct answers to all the
questions relating to the purpose and structure of the National development plan; b.
Correctly select 80% of the answers relating to the general concepts of development

References
https://nationalplanningcommission.wordpress.com/the-national-development-plan/
iwmp.environment.gov.za/municipal_systems_act/chapter5/part2/section26

37
 2.2.2. KM-02-KT02:
Principles of effective administration applicable to conducting social work.

KT0201 Describe the need for effective administration when doing

social work and indicate the consequences of no adherence to
effective administrative standards: a. Purpose of
administration;
b. Criteria for effective administration; c. Generic document
requirements; d. Regulatory requirements regarding record
keeping.
KT0202 Explain the principles of confidentiality and access to
information: a. The need for confidentiality; b. Conditions for
providing access to information; c. Short, medium and long
term implications of effective record keeping; d. Examples to
illustrate the consequences of violating confidentiality.
KT0203 demonstrate the application of sound administrative
principles for the establishment and maintenance of record
keeping systems: a. Principles for creating filing systems for
hard copy
documents; b. Principles and techniques for creating digital
files, folders and databases; c. Issues related to the security
and accessibility of data.
KT0204 identify and debate the principles for collecting and retaining
data from digital devices and social media: a. Situations
where this will be necessary; b. Risks associated with this
type of data
storage.

38
Describe the need for effective administration when doing social work and indicate the
consequences of no adherence to effective administrative standards: a. Purpose of
administration; b. Criteria for effective administration; c. Generic document requirements;
d. Regulatory requirements regarding record keeping
3 Principles for Effective Social Work Case Management

As an individual working in social work case management, you strive to have a positive
impact on the community around you. You serve as a catalyst to better lifestyles for
each of your clients. However, your job isn’t easy.
You oversee multiple elements of a client’s wellness. As such, you are responsible for a
wide array of tasks during the time between initial assessment and final discharge.
Inevitably at times, the client relationship can become secondary to the frenzy of service
coordination, communication among providers, documentation, burdensome
technology, and other aspects of such an unpredictable field.
This wide spectrum of responsibility can make it difficult to maintain focus, which can
hinder you from successfully facilitating transformation in your clients’ lives.
This is why it’s helpful to understand three basic principles that will enable you to be
more effective at social work case management. These principles are tried and true,
based on the experiences of human services professionals using Clarity Human Services
case management software, as well as the expertise of Clarity Human Services staff.

39
Taking practical steps to apply these principles to your day-to-day work will help you
stay on track, and see better results in your job.

The three principles

 Building trusting relationships
 Using evidence-based practice
 Empowering your client

Principle #1: Building Trusting Relationships

According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Standards for Social
Work Case Management, the therapeutic relationship between practitioner and client
plays an integral role in case management. Developing this kind of relationship with your
client enables you to better engage them and develop the appropriate interventions
with them.
A large part of this principle is providing a safe environment for your clients to share
their story, problems, and feelings. According to a presentation from Minnesota State
University Moorhead, clients indicate that the following four personality characteristics
are most important to them in a social worker:
 Understanding
 Empathic
 Pleasant
 Ability to put one at ease
When you embody these characteristics, you communicate that you are genuinely
interested in your client and that you are a safe person. Another key part of being a safe
person is maintaining confidentiality at all times. It’s important that your client knows
you are someone they can trust to protect their story.

Practical Steps
Convey Empathy

40
The New Social Worker shares a quote from John C. Norcross, stating that studies have
shown that patients with an empathetic therapist tend to progress more in treatment
and experience a higher probability of eventual improvement.
Carl R. Rogers, PhD, writes that, in your ability to convey empathy, you are:
… a confident companion to the person in his/her inner world. By pointing to the possible
meanings in the flow of his/her experiencing, you help the person to focus on this useful
type of referent, to experience the meanings more fully, and to move forward in the
experiencing.
Keep in mind that empathy is different from sympathy. GradSchools.com reminds
us that sympathy is having a concern for a client’s well-being but not necessarily having
a deeper understanding of the client’s thoughts and feelings. On the other hand,
empathy refers to accepting and understanding the client’s feelings, helping you become
better equipped to help the client help themselves.
Psychology Today shares some practical ways to convey empathy, including:
 Suspending your own judgments and critiques
 Using reflection to clarify what the client is saying
 Keying in to shared human values

Focus on the Client

This is a broad topic, but we want to discuss here the importance of balancing active
listening with intake, assessment, and documenting other case notes. Gathering the
necessary information to help your client is important, but so is making sure your client
feels heard so they continue to share information with you. In addition to practicing the
tips mentioned for conveying empathy, be sure to lean forward, make eye contact and
nod your head when appropriate.
One of the best ways to balance active listening with data collection is to use a client
management software that is easy to use. When you have a client management
software that makes it easy to enter data and take notes, you no longer have to focus on
the hassles of technology. Instead, you can focus on your client, confident that you are
gathering the required information while still giving your client full attention.

EXAMPLES AND RESOURCES

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Below are some examples and resources to help you look further into this principle:
 Empathic: An Unappreciated Way of Being
 Breaking Boundaries with Empathy: How the Therapeutic Alliance Can Defy
Client/Worker Differences
 Four Techniques for Active Listening
 How to Conduct a Client Interview

Principle #2: Using Evidence-Based Practice

As evidence-based practice (EBP) is increasingly emphasized in social work, it’s an
important principle for social workers and case managers to remember and apply. EBP is
a process practitioner use to guide and inform the delivery of treatments and services,
integrating the following four components:
1. Current client needs, situation, and environment
2. Best available research evidence
3. Client values and preferences
4. Clinician’s judgment and expertise
According to the Social Work Policy Institute, evidence-based practice requires that the
practitioner, researcher, and client work together to identify and determine what works,
and for whom and in which particular situations. The EBP approach ensures that the
development and implementation of treatment and services produce the most effective
outcomes possible.
There is much that can be said about evidence-based practice, but one important aspect
worth noting is that each of these components is equally weighted. Many practitioners
and other professionals have mistakenly thought that EBP means evaluating best
available evidence, focusing on academic research alone. However, a 2015 Clinical Social
Work Journal paper reminds us that research evidence is only one of four parts in the
process; the other three are critical to doing EBP correctly.

Practical Steps
Analyse and Adjust

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Even though the research supports a particular treatment, you may need to take a
different route if you’re not seeing positive change in your client’s life. Bonnie Spring,
PhD, says:
Suppose you start giving the treatment that had the very best research support. Three
months into the treatment, the client is deteriorating, but you’re continuing to give the
same treatment. I’d say that you’re no longer doing evidence-based practice. Part of the
evidence-based practice process is that you have to analyse and adjust. You need to
measure how you’re doing because if you’re implementing a best practice but the client
is deteriorating, you’ve got to change course. Just doing what the overall body of
research says is only where you start. From there on, you make choices based on what
your own client’s data show is working.

Collect and Evaluate Quality Data

In order to use the evidence-based practice model, you must take the time to collect and
evaluate precise data. In doing so, you are able to clearly see what works and what
doesn’t work, allowing you to confidently incorporate this data into the EBP process.
One way to ensure quality data collection and evaluation is the proper utilization of case
management software. When you have a client management software that complies
with industry data standards, facilitates streamlined intake and assessment, and allows
for seamless generation of reports, you can rest assured that you are gathering the
information necessary to best inform your practice.

EXAMPLES AND RESOURCES

Below are some examples and resources to help you look further into this principle:
 Evidence-Based Practice
 Social Work: Evidence-Based Practice Resources
 Bridging Evidence-Based Practice with Social Work
 Using GIS to Solve 3 Common Problems in Helping the Homeless

Principle #3: Empowering Your Client

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Dating back to the late 19th century, early social work case managers viewed themselves
as benevolent helpers. However, caseworkers today now recognize their relationship
with clients as a partnership instead (according to NASW).
As you recognize the dignity, worth, and rights that belong to each of your clients, you
can instil a sense of self-determination in each of your clients as you guide them. This
will empower them to reach higher levels of life satisfaction. This will also leave them
with the confidence to make healthy choices.
Charles D. Cowger writes that:
The personal empowerment dynamic is similar to a traditional clinical notion of self-
determination whereby clients give direction to the helping process, take charge and
control of their personal lives, get their “heads straight,” learn new ways to think about
their situations, and adopt new behaviours that give them more satisfying and
rewarding outcomes. Personal empowerment recognizes the uniqueness of each client.
While you act as the early support system for your client, it’s important that you help
them build their own support systems and make their own decisions, encouraging the
client to reach more effective and sustainable outcomes.

Practical Steps
Help the Client Define and Own Their Story
This is part of being empathic when interacting with your client. Cowger emphasizes the
significance of helping the client define their situation—clarifying the reasons they have
sought assistance—and helping them evaluate and give meaning to the factors that
affect their situations. But remember that as you listen and seek to understand your
client’s situation, you must be careful to remember it is their story, not yours.

44
 Cowger writes that, in assessment, the
client’s understanding of their own situation—their view of the situation, the meaning
they ascribe to the situation, and their feelings or emotions tied to the situation—
surpass facts found in client data, academic research, and your personal or professional
interpretation of the client’s story. In this, it’s important to believe the client.
“There is no evidence that people needing social work service tell untruths any more
than anyone else,” Cowger writes. “ … Clients may need help to articulate their problem
situations, and ‘caring confrontation’ by the worker may facilitate that process.
However, clients’ understandings of reality are no less real than the social constructions
of reality of the professionals assisting them.”
The client owns the story, and if they sense that you respect their ownership of their
story, they will feel empowered to more fully share it with you.

Recognize the Client’s Individuality

Because every client is different, the treatment and services they receive must be
tailored to the client’s specific needs. In one regard, this involves asking the client
questions such as:
 What do you want and expect from assistance?
 What do you hope to have happen in relation to your current problem
situation?
 What do you believe are your strengths?
Asking these questions helps the client consider their own situation and contribute to
their own treatment and services plan.
Recognizing the client’s individual needs also involves customizing intake forms, creating
goal plans and targeted variables, and streamlining the assessment and prioritization

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process for each individual client. This can be done through a case management
software that allows for these customization, measurement, and prioritization
capabilities.

EXAMPLES AND RESOURCES

Below are some examples and resources to help you look further into this principle:
 Assessing Client Strengths: Clinical Assessment for Client Empowerment
 Social Work with Homeless Mothers: A Strength-Based Solution-Focused Model

In Sum…
Your job is essential to the well-being of your client and their community. While social
work case management involves many different roles to fill and moving parts to
coordinate, entering your work each day with these three principles in mind can help
pull those pieces together.
As you assess your client, providing a safe environment and developing a relationship
built on trust encourages the client to open up and work with you in order to best
understand their situation. Applying the evidence-based practice process ensures you’re
continually testing and adjusting the treatment and services that work best for your
client.
Finally, throughout your interactions with your client, empowering them to own their
story and set goals increases the likelihood of bringing about positive, sustainable
outcomes in your client’s life.

Explain the principles of confidentiality and access to information: a. The need for
confidentiality; b. Conditions for providing access to information; c. Short, medium
and long term implications of effective record keeping; d. Examples to illustrate the
consequences of violating confidentiality.

The Ethics of Social Work, Principles and Standards (1994)

THE ETHICS OF SOCIAL WORK PRINCIPLES AND STANDARDS

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1. Background
Ethical awareness is a necessary part of the professional practice of any social worker.
His or her ability to act ethically is an essential aspect of the quality of the service
offered to clients.
The purpose of IFSW's work on ethics is to promote ethical debate and reflection in the
member associations and among the providers of social work in member countries.
The basis for the further development of IFSW:s work on ethics is to be found in "Ethics
of Social Work - Principles and Standards" which consists of two documents,
International Declaration of Ethical Principles of Social Work, and International Ethical
Standards for Social Workers. These documents present the basic ethical principles of
the social work profession, recommend procedure when the work presents ethical
dilemmas, and deal with the profession's and the individual social worker's relation to
clients, colleagues, and others in the field. The documents are components in a
continuing process of use, review and revision.

2. International Declaration of Ethical Principles of Social Work

2.1 Introduction
The IFSW recognises the need for a declaration of ethical principles for guidance in
dealing with ethical problems in social work.
The purposes of the International Declaration of Ethical Principles are:
 to formulate a set of basic principles for social work, which can be adapted to
cultural and social settings.
 to identify ethical problem areas in the practice of social work (below referred to as
'problem areas'), and
 to provide guidance as to the choice of methods for dealing with ethical
issues/problems (below referred to as 'methods for addressing ethical
issues/problems').

Compliance
The International Declaration of Ethical Principles assumes that both member
associations of the IFSW and their constituent members adhere to the principles

47
formulated therein. The IFSW expects each member association to assist its members in
identifying and dealing with ethical issues/problems in the practice of their profession.
Member associations of the IFSW and individual members of these can report any
member association to the Executive Committee of the IFSW should it neglect to adhere
to these principles. National Associations who experience difficulties adopting these
principles should notify the Executive Committee of IFSW. The Executive Committee may
impose the stipulations and intentions of the Declaration of Ethical Principles on an
association which neglects to comply. Should this not be sufficient the Executive
Committee can, as a following measure, suggest suspension or exclusion of the
association.
The International Declaration of Ethical Principles should be made publicly known. This
would enable clients, employers, professionals from other disciplines, and the general
public to have expectations in accordance with the ethical foundations of social work.
We acknowledge that a detailed set of ethical standards for the member associations
would be unrealistic due to legal, cultural and governmental differences among the
member countries.

The Principles
Social workers serve the development of human beings through adherence to the
following basic principles:
Every human being has a unique value, which justifies moral consideration for that
person.
Each individual has the right to self-fulfilment to the extent that it does not encroach
upon the same right of others, and has an obligation to contribute to the well-being of
society.
 Each society, regardless of its form, should function to provide the maximum
benefits for all of its members.
 Social workers have a commitment to principles of social justice.
 Social workers have the responsibility to devote objective and disciplined knowledge
and skill to aid individuals, groups, communities, and societies in their development
and resolution of personal-societal conflicts and their consequences.
 Social workers are expected to provide the best possible assistance to anybody

48
 seeking their help and advice, without unfair discrimination on the basis of gender,
age, disability, colour, social class, race, religion, language, political beliefs, or sexual
orientation.
 Social workers respect the basic human rights of individuals and groups as expressed
in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international
conventions derived from that Declaration.
 Social workers pay regard to the principles of privacy, confidentiality, and
responsible use of information in their professional work. Social workers respect
justified confidentiality even when their country's legislation is in conflict with this
demand.
 Social workers are expected to work in full collaboration with their clients, working
for the best interests of the clients but paying due regard to the interests of others
involved. Clients are encouraged to participate as much as possible, and should be
informed of the risks and likely benefits of proposed courses of action.
 . Social workers generally expect clients to take responsibility, in collaboration with
them, for determining courses of action affecting their lives. Compulsion which
might be necessary to solve one party's problems at the expense of the interests of
others involved should only take place after careful explicit evaluation of the claims
of the conflicting parties. Social workers should minimise the use of legal
compulsion.
 Social work is inconsistent with direct or indirect support of individuals, groups,
political forces or power-structures suppressing their fellow human beings by
employing terrorism, torture or similar brutal means.
 Social workers make ethically justified decisions, and stand by them, paying due
regard to the IFSW International Declaration of Ethical Principles, and to the
International Ethical Standards for Social Workers adopted by their national
professional association.

Problem Areas
2.3.1. The problem areas raising ethical issues directly are not necessarily universal due
to cultural and governmental differences. Each national association is encouraged to

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promote discussion and clarification of important issues and problems particularly
relevant to its country. The following problem areas are, however, widely recognized:
1. when the loyalty of the social worker is in the middle of conflicting interests
 between those of the social workers own and the clients
 between conflicting interests of individual clients and other individuals
 between the conflicting interests of groups of clients
 between groups of clients and the rest of the population
 between systems/institution and groups of clients
 between system/institution/employer and social workers
 between different groups of professionals
principles of social work
 the duty of the social worker to protect the interests of the client will easily come
into conflict with demands for efficiency and utility
This problem is becoming important with the introduction and use of information
technology within the fields of social work.
 The principles declared in section 2.2 should always be at the base of any
consideration given or choice made by social workers in dealing with
issues/problems within these areas.

Methods for The Solution of Issues/Problems

The various national associations of social workers are obliged to treat matters in such a
way that ethical issues/problems may be considered and tried to be solved in collective
forums within the organization. Such forums should enable the individual social worker
to discuss, analyse and consider ethical issues/problems in collaboration with
colleagues, other expert groups and/parties affected by the matter under discussion. In
addition such forums should give the social worker opportunity to receive advice from
colleagues and others. Ethical analysis and discussion should always seek to create
possibilities and options.
The member associations are required to produce and/or adapt ethical standards for the
different fields of work, especially for those fields where there are complicated ethical

50
issues/problems as well as areas where the ethical principles of social work may come
into conflict with the respective country's legal system or the policy of the authorities.
When ethical foundations are laid down as guidelines for actions within the practice of
social work, it is the duty of the associations to aid the individual social worker in
analysing and considering ethical issues/problems on the basis of:
 The basic principles of the Declaration (section 2.2)
 The ethical/moral and political context of the actions, i.e. an analysis of the
values and forces constituting the framing conditions of the action.
 The motives of the action, i.e. to advocate a higher level of consciousness of
the aims and intentions the individual social worker might have regarding a
course of action.
 The nature of the action, i.e. help in providing an analysis of the moral
content of the action, e.g. the use of compulsion as opposed to voluntary co-
operation, guardianship vs participation, etc.
 The consequences the action might have for different groups, i.e. an analysis
of the consequences of different ways of action for all involved parties in
both the short and long term.
The member associations are responsible for promoting debate, education and research
regarding ethical questions.

International Ethical Standards for Social Workers

(This section is based on the "International Code of Ethics for the Professional Social
Worker" adopted by the IFSW in 1976, but does not include ethical principles since these
are now contained in the new separate International Declaration of Ethical Principles of
Social Work in section 2.2 of the present document.)

Preamble
Social work originates variously from humanitarian, religious and democratic ideals and
philosophies and has universal application to meet human needs arising from personal-
societal interactions and to develop human potential. Professional social workers are
dedicated to service for the welfare and self-fulfilment of human beings; to the
development and disciplined use of validated knowledge regarding human and societal

51
behaviour; to the development of resources to meet individual, group, national and
international needs and aspirations; and to the achievement of social justice. On the
basis of the International Declaration of Ethical Principles of Social Work, the social
worker is obliged to recognise these standards of ethical conduct.

General Standards of Ethical Conduct

Seek to understand each individual client and the client system, and the elements which
affect behaviour and the service required.
 Uphold and advance the values, knowledge and methodology of the profession,
refraining from any behaviour which damages the functioning of the profession.
 Recognise professional and personal limitations.
 Encourage the utilisation of all relevant knowledge and skills.
 Apply relevant methods in the development and validation of knowledge.
 Contribute professional expertise to the development of policies and programs
which improve the quality of life in society.
 Identify and interpret social needs.
 Identify and interpret the basis and nature of individual, group, community,
national, and international social problems.
 Identify and interpret the work of the social work profession.
 Clarify whether public statements are made or actions performed on an
individual basis or as representative of a professional association, agency or
organisation, or other group.

Social Work Standards Relative to Clients

Accept primary responsibility to identified clients, but within limitations set by the
ethical claims of others.
 Maintain the client's right to a relationship of trust, to privacy and confidentiality,
and to responsible use of information. The collection and sharing of information
or data is related to the professional service function with the client informed as
to its necessity and use. No information is released without prior knowledge and
informed consent of the client, except where the client cannot be responsible or
others may be seriously jeopardized. A client has access to social work records

52
 concerning them.
 Recognise and respect the individual goals, responsibilities, and differences of
clients. Within the scope of the agency and the client's social milieu, the
professional service shall assist clients to take responsibility for personal actions
and help all clients with equal willingness. Where the professional service cannot
be provided under such conditions the clients shall be so informed in such a way
as to leave the clients free to act.
 Help the client - individual, group, community, or society- to achieve self-
fulfilment and maximum potential within the limits of the respective rights of
others. The service shall be based upon helping the client to understand and use
the professional relationship, in furtherance of the clients legitimate desires and
interests.

3.4 Social Work Standards Relative to Agencies and Organizations

Work and/or cooperate with those agencies and organizations whose policies,
procedures, and operations are directed toward adequate service delivery and
encouragement of professional practice consistent with the ethical principles of the
IFSW.
 Responsibly execute the stated aims and functions of the agency or organizations, contributing

to the development of sound policies, procedures, and practice in order to obtain

the best possible standards or practice.
 Sustain ultimate responsibility to the client, initiating desirable alterations of
policies, procedures, and practice, through appropriate agency and organization
channels. If necessary remedies are not achieved after channels have been
exhausted, initiate appropriate appeals to higher authorities or the wider
community of interest.
 Ensure professional accountability to client and community for efficiency and
effectiveness through periodic review of the process of service provision.
 Use all possible ethical means to bring unethical practice to an end when policies,
procedures and practices are in direct conflict with the ethical principles of social
work.

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 Social Work Standards Relative to Colleagues
 Acknowledge the education, training and performance of social work colleagues
and professionals from other disciplines, extending all necessary cooperation
that will enhance effective services.
 Recognise differences of opinion and practice of social work colleagues and other
professionals, expressing criticism through channels in a responsible manner.
 Promote and share opportunities for knowledge, experience, and ideas with all
social work colleagues, professionals from other disciplines and volunteers for
the purpose of mutual improvement.
 Bring any violations of professionals ethics and standards to the attention of the
appropriate bodies inside and outside the profession, and ensure that relevant
clients are properly involved.
 Defend colleagues against unjust actions.

Demonstrate the application of sound administrative principles for the establishment and
maintenance of record keeping systems: a. Principles for creating filing systems for hard
copy documents; b. Principles and techniques for creating digital files, folders and
databases; c. Issues related to the security and accessibility of data.

Principles of Filing Systems

No matter what kind of business you are in, there are five basic principles that apply to any
shared filing system. When you apply them to the types of records you use, it’s easy to
create a filing solution that everyone can use without the risk of losing your important
records or wasting valuable time.

Principle 1: File Identification

“HOW DO I FIND THE FILE I WANT?”

54
Develop a mutually understood indexing method or labelling system. Each file must have its
own unique identifier, and there must be only one correct place for it in the system. The
identifying elements must follow a clearly defined format for document indexing that never
varies. It should make it easy to identify files both in and out of the filing equipment. All
users must be trained so they know how the filing system works. Everyone who uses it must
understand how to locate and return a record.

Principle 2: Organization of Contents

“HOW DO I QUICKLY FIND WHAT I WANT INSIDE THE FILE?”
Determine how documents should be organized within the file for the fastest access to
critical information. Follow a consistent method of organization for each file. Contents
should be separated or categorized within the file in a manner that fits your workflow and
makes it fast and easy to locate any specific document.

Principle 3: Misfiled Record Prevention

“HOW DO I MAKE SURE FILES ARE NOT IN THE WRONG PLACE?”
Minimize the accidental misfiling of records. On average, it costs more than $150 to
recreate a lost document. Searching for misplaced files wastes valuable employee time.
Prevent misfiles by making it easy to find the correct location for each file in the system. Use
a filing method that has color-coding to clearly identify any record that has been misfiled or
put into the wrong place.

Principle 4: Out-Of-System Tracking

“IF A FOLDER IS NOT IN THE FILING SYSTEM, WHERE IS IT?”
Give people a way to find a file that is in use or has been removed from the filing system. A
file tracking system lets users know if a file:
1. is being used by someone else
2. has been purged from the system
3. has been moved to permanent archive storage

Principle 5: System Maintenance

“IS THE FILING SYSTEM SUSTAINABLE?”

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Develop and follow a process for migrating out unneeded records. File systems that are not
maintained often outgrow their space. A retention plan and schedule makes sure your
system does not grow unnecessarily while keeping records for the right period of time. Your
filing solution must meet all regulatory requirements that apply. Appropriate security of the
information must be maintained. The integrity of documents stored in long-term archives
must be preserved. The filing equipment used must also be able to accommodate projected
growth.

By following these five basic principles, your shared filing system will reduce the time spent
looking for information and will help your workgroup be more productive.
Basic Principles of Archiving Photographs and Documents
Key Points.
 Digital archives can greatly enhance the preservation and sharing of historical
information.
 A historical photograph archive intended to be accessible for at least 50 years will be
handled differently than a personal photograph collection.
 The master images in a historical archive are intended to be suitable for many
different uses for decades in the future. The documentation for an item perpetually
stays with the master image.
 Working copies of the master images are made when adapting the images for
particular uses.
 At least three copies of the archive should be maintained, including at least one copy
at a different location. Distributing copies of the archive to others can achieve this
result.
 With current technology, the digital files in the archive should be transferred to new
storage media at least approximately every two to four years. This needs to be done
even when the person establishing the archive is no longer able to do it.

For family archives, a good strategy for long-term preservation of the original items after the
digital images have been made is to donate the items to a museum, library, or archive.

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Why Make Digital Archives?
The main challenge with historical items is to preserve the original items while also sharing
the items with others. For traditional paper photographs and documents the goal of
preservation directly conflicts with the goal of sharing. Handling, displaying, and
reproducing paper photographs and documents inevitably results in wear and degradation.
For example, light causes photographs to fade, particularly ultraviolet light that is present in
sunlight and in typical fluorescent lights. Although the adverse effects from one day of
exposure to light are minor, the cumulative effects over a period of years are significant. The
best solution is to make copies of the items for display and distribution. The copies can be
displayed and distributed while the original is preserved in a controlled environment.

With digital archives the goals of preservation and sharing are mutually supportive rather
than conflicting. Display, handling, and distribution of prints from digital copies can be done
without adverse effects to the original item. Copies can easily be made, distributed, and
replaced. A copy of a copy has no loss of quality. That is very different from paper and film
where a copy of a copy results in significant loss of detail.

Another valuable advantage of digital archives is that an exact copy of the archive easily can
be kept in multiple locations. This virtually eliminates the risk of catastrophic loss due to
fires, theft, floods, or natural disasters. The threat of catastrophic loss is a fundamental
factor for paper and film items. For family photographs and documents, a digital archive
also eliminates the threat that items can be lost or misplaced.

Historical Archive Versus Personal Photograph Collection

The primary purpose of a personal collection is to maintain photographs for oneself, while
the purpose of a historical archive is to maintain photographs for others. These different
purposes result in several basic differences between a historical archive and a personal
photograph collection. A personal photograph collection typically includes many
photographs that are primarily of interest only to the owner and that may be similar to
other photographs in the collection. A historical archive will typically have a much smaller
number of photographs and include only the best one when several are similar.

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The images in a historical archive will usually have more extensive documentation and
include only images that merit the effort for this documentation. Information about the
photographs in a personal collection usually resides primarily in the memory of the owner,
and is often lost when the owner dies. A historical archive is intended to avoid such a loss of
information. Documentation of legal rights is rarely an issue with a personal photograph
collection, but is very important for a historical archive that may have many different uses
for decades in the future.

A photograph organizing program or database such as Adobe Lightroom will often be used
to organize and document a personal collection. However, specialized propriety software
such as Lightroom is not appropriate for the long-term documentation and organization of a
family historical archive. Proprietary software limits the ability to distribute the archive and
cannot be expected to be reliably accessible in 50 years—or in 15 years.

A personal photograph collection usually is not maintained as a collection after the initial
owner can no longer manage it. A family historical archive should be distributed to others
who will continue preserving copies of it.

A historical photograph archive is generally a subset of a personal collection and is separate

from the personal collection.

Identify and debate the principles for collecting and retaining data from digital devices
and social media: a. Situations where this will be necessary; b. Risks associated with this
type of data storage.

In the current digital era, companies are working on automated IT systems to process
information for daily operations. It made computer systems vulnerable to security risks and
hence creates the need for strong risk management plans. Risk management is a process
that enables IT managers to balance the economic and operational costs of the protective

58
measures implemented for the protection of data and IT systems of the company. It
identifies, assesses, and control threats to capital and earnings of the company.

Risk management plays an important role in the protection of firm’s information assets. A
powerful risk management process is most important for a successful IT security program.
The main objective of a company behind implementation of the risk management process is
to protect the organization from accidental losses along with financial, strategic,
operational, and other risks. Therefore, the risk management process should be
implemented as an essential management function in an organization infrastructure.

The data present in company systems is more vulnerable to losses. Data is stored either on
company systems or in the cloud, but there looms a risk of losing that data due to human
errors or natural disasters. Therefore, companies are adopting disaster recovery plans to get
an ability to effectively presume business operations prior to the disasters and without any
kind of data loss. In current fast paced business scenarios, loss of any kind of data should be
disastrous for the company. These operational risks are dangerous for business resilience
and implementing strong risk management techniques is the need of the hour.

IT managers work to assure that important data related to business remain safe and easily
recoverable in case of any kind of breakdown. To assure the safety of information, the policy
of taking timely backup of data is implemented in companies, which demands the highest
priority. Risks are involved in both kinds of data storage either using the cloud or disk
storage.

Risks Involved in Cloud Storage

The cloud provides customers an easier way to store their data on a server and retrieve it
whenever required. Cloud storage provides more safety to the data as backing up files on a
server ensures that nothing will be lost in case of any disaster. But, similar to other
technologies, there are different kinds of risks involved with it.

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Every cloud storage service provider denies any responsibility regarding data stored in their
data centres. It’s a user’s responsibility to keep backup copies of their data, encrypt the
data, delete expired data and stay ready with their backup plans in case cloud storage
provider is unable to provide services temporarily or permanently. There is a possibility that
provider ceased down their business, shut down data centre because of government issues,
or vanished with user data. In any of such case, company operations could come in peril, if
they don’t have any second plan to implement. Data on the cloud is also vulnerable to the
cyber-attacks and hackers can steal important information regarding company businesses.

There are some situations during which users may not be able to access any of his services
or information saved in the cloud. This situation is called Lock-In and it can leave companies
helpless in case they are totally dependent on the cloud. A vendor Lock-In is a situation
when customers cannot easily transit or move their products or services to any other cloud
service provider. This condition usually appears because of the competition between cloud
service providers.

The organizations using cloud needs to work on three basic principles that can help them in
avoiding cloud data storage risks. These principals are: encrypt all data, keep current
backups, and know about the cloud service provider. Though working on these principles
might decrease the convenience of cloud storage usage, but it will help in addressing many
concerns regarding the use of cloud technology. In addition, companies need to ensure that
employees don’t save the private data on the cloud services without company supervision.
Implementation of these factors will help in avoiding major data leaks, financial troubles,
and other embarrassments.

Risks Involved in Disk Storage

The data stored on hard disks are very much vulnerable to the data loss. There are multiple
factors that lead to information loss on desktop systems. Hardware failure is one of the
prime factors in which all data is lost because of the ill-functioning of the system hardware.
Insufficient storage, power failures, theft, fire accidents, virus or malware attack and
accidental deletion of files, comes under the risk management process for storage on hard

60
disks. Sometimes natural disasters also play a vital role in data losses. Natural disasters
come all of a sudden and it vitally affects the company infrastructure and because of its
spontaneous nature, it can’t be avoided. Making pre-plans is only option to avoid any fatal
loss.

Timely data backup is compulsory to reduce risks involved with disk storages. Companies
demands strict policies regarding data backup on the daily or weekly basis. IT managers
need to ensure that every employee strictly follows this policy. This policy can’t fully
mitigate the risk of data loss, but it can save information to some extent.

What Are Some of the Risks Associated with Storing Data in the Cloud?
Think of valet parking your sports car and you've started to envision the risks of cloud-based
data storage. It goes somewhere in the parking facility, hopefully labelled and stored
correctly. You probably don't know who's handling it or who has access and you have no
control over it while it's stored. Usually your car comes back fine, but your claim ticket has a
broad disclaimer. This is how it is for cloud-stored data as well.

Just a Method of Storage

Cloud-based data storage exists physically somewhere. In many cases it is stored in several
locations around the country or the world. Each location involves risks that involve local
laws and regulations, physical and social issues, and data security requirements. Considering
a cloud storage provider should be more than price and availability; it should be a full
consideration of their standards, practices, and management of risks.

Security Risks
Cloud storage can be located anywhere in the world where fast enough Internet
connections are available to provide user access. In each location, physical access controls,
unencrypted networking and handling of media which contains or contained the data (for
example, backup media or failed disk drives) could all expose data. If the data is, for
example, confidential or proprietary information, a security failure would be tantamount to
placing the materials in an open dumpster.

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Operations Risks
Nearly every cloud data storage provider disclaims any responsibility for the data stored in
their service. It's up to the user to keep backup copies, encrypt the data, make sure it's
deleted when no longer in use, and be ready if the cloud storage provider is unable to
continue operations temporarily or permanently. Cloud providers can cease doing business,
be shut down as a consequence of government investigations, or otherwise vanish along
with user data.

Legal Risks
Data stored at cloud provider locations may be subject to local laws. Electronic legal
discovery, the modern equivalent of subpoenaed files, may be affected by the jurisdictions
in which the data physically resides. In the case of data privacy laws such as HIPAA or in the
storage of electronic medical records, data owners are likely to be held responsible for
meeting legal requirements as they would be if the data were resident at their own facility.

Reducing Risks
Three basic principles help avoid cloud data storage risks: keep current backups, encrypt all
data, and know your cloud provider. Though these may reduce the convenience of using
cloud storage, they address many of the concerns involved in using such services. In
addition, companies should ensure that employees don't put confidential data on personal
cloud services without company oversight. This can help avoid major data leaks,
embarrassment, and legal or financial troubles.

FORMATIVE ASSESEMENT - TWO

 IAC0201 Given descriptions of a range of social service delivery contexts including

casework, group work and community development work learners will, without
reference to learning material: a. Accurately describe the administrative requirements
relevant to each of the given situations; b. Indicate all the documents that must be
maintained for each of the given situations; c Describe the need for confidentiality

62
relevant to each of the given situations; d. Identify all the reports that must be
maintained for each situation; e. Evaluate the accuracy and completeness of given
documentation relevant to the various situations explaining what is incorrect or missing.
References
https://digitalguardian.com/.../6-security-risks-enterprises-using-cloud-storage-and-
file...

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 2.2.3. KM-02-KT03:
Concepts and principles of social research

KT0301 Explain what research is and describe the various forms of

research applicable to the social sciences: a. Definition of
research; b. Experimental and non-experimental research; c.
Examples of the application of various forms of social
research;
KT0302 Identify the key process steps for conducting social research:
a. List of the broad social research steps; b. Key activities
associated with each of the steps; c. Roles of various
stakeholders in executing the steps; d. Need for
professionalism in executing the various steps.
KT0303 Explain the key principles for collecting research data within
social settings: a. Use of historical data; b. Use of
observations of conditions; c. Use of observations of
behaviour; d. Use of
questionnaires; e. Use of interviews. f. Principles and
processes of collating data
KT0304 Describe the requirements for ethical conduct during data
collection: a. Need for ethical behaviour (collecting data,
processing data and reporting on data); b. Relationship
between ethical behaviour and professionalism; c. Examples
to illustrate the consequences of non-ethical behaviour in
research.
KT0305 Demonstrate the ability to develop basic data collection
reports that can be used for further analysis: a. Purpose and
structure of reports; b. Principles to enhance the readability
of reports (FOG INDEX); c. Principles for determining findings
and developing recommendations: d. Use of references and
acknowledgements.

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65
Explain what research is and describe the various forms of research applicable to the
social sciences: a. Definition of research; b. Experimental and non-experimental research;
c. Examples of the application of various forms of social research;

What is research?

Research comprises "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase

the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humans, culture and society, and the use of
this stock of knowledge to devise new applications." It is used to establish or confirm facts,
reaffirm the results of previous work, solve new or existing problems, support theorems, or
develop new theories. A research project may also be an expansion on past work in the
field. Research projects can be used to develop further knowledge on a topic, or in the
example of a school research project, they can be used to further a student's research
prowess to prepare them for future jobs or reports. To test the validity of instruments,
procedures, or experiments, research may replicate elements of prior projects or the project
as a whole. The primary purposes of basic research (as opposed to applied research)
are documentation, discovery, interpretation, or the research and development (R&D) of
methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge. Approaches to research
depend on epistemologies, which vary considerably both within and between humanities
and sciences. There are several forms of
research: scientific, humanities, artistic, economic, social, business, marketing, practitioner
research, life, technological,etc.
Social research is a research conducted by social scientists following a systematic plan.
Social research methodologies can be classified as quantitative or qualitative.
 Quantitative designs approach social phenomena through quantifiable evidence, and
often rely on statistical analysis of many cases (or across intentionally designed
treatments in an experiment) to create valid and reliable general claims. Related to
quantity.
 Qualitative designs emphasize understanding of social phenomena through direct
observation, communication with participants, or analysis of texts, and may stress
contextual subjective accuracy over generality. Related to quality.

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While methods may be classified as quantitative or qualitative, most methods contain
elements of both. For example, qualitative data analysis often involves a fairly structured
approach to coding the raw data into systematic information, and quantifying intercoder
reliability. Thus, there is often a more complex relationship between "qualitative" and
"quantitative" approaches than would be suggested by drawing a simple distinction
between them.
Social scientists employ a range of methods in order to analyse a vast breadth of social
phenomena: from census survey data derived from millions of individuals, to the in-depth
analysis of a single agent's social experiences; from monitoring what is happening on
contemporary streets, to the investigation of ancient historical documents. Methods rooted
in classical sociology and statistics have formed the basis for research in other disciplines,
such as political science, media studies, program evaluation and market research

Methods
Social science researchers follow the five steps of the scientific method to conduct their
research. Below are some of the steps.
Step 1
The scientific method begins with a question or curiosity. An example of a research question
might be the following: Does texting while driving increase the rate of car accidents?
Step 2
After a research question is determined, social science researchers must form a hypothesis.
A hypothesis is an educated guess regarding what the researchers expect to find. Usually,
social science researchers base their hypotheses on previous research in the field. In the
case of our texting and driving example, researchers might hypothesize that texting while
driving increases car accidents because previous research determined this.
Step 3
The third step that social science researchers take is to test the hypothesis through
empirical research. Empirical research is the process of collecting and analysing data. This
can be done through descriptive research, experimental research, or correlational
research. Descriptive research describes a behaviour. In our example, descriptive research
might describe commonalities among those who are most likely to text and drive.

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Experimental research manipulates variables to measure changes in other variables. More
specifically, social science researchers manipulate the independent variable to see how that
manipulation changes the dependent variable. For our example, experimental research
might compare accident rates in those who text and drive versus those who do not text and
drive. The behaviour of texting and driving would be the independent variable while the
outcome (accident or no accident) would be the dependent variable.
Correlational research examines the relationships, if any, between variables. For our
example, we might find that younger drivers have an increased rate of accidents while
texting and driving. This would show a correlation between age and rate of accidents.

Forms of research

Original research is research that is not exclusively based on a summary, review or synthesis
of earlier publications on the subject of research. This material is of a primary
source character. The purpose of the original research is to produce new knowledge, rather
than to present the existing knowledge in a new form (e.g., summarized or classified).
Original research can take a number of forms, depending on the discipline it pertains to.
In experimental work, it typically involves direct or indirect observation of the researched
subject(s), e.g., in the laboratory or in the field, documents the methodology, results, and
conclusions of an experiment or set of experiments, or offers a novel interpretation of
previous results. In analytical work, there are typically some new (for example)
mathematical results produced, or a new way of approaching an existing problem. In some
subjects which do not typically carry out experimentation or analysis of this kind, the
originality is in the particular way existing understanding is changed or re-interpreted based
on the outcome of the work of the researcher.
The degree of originality of the research is among major criteria for articles to be published
in academic journals and usually established by means of peer review.[9] Graduate
students are commonly required to perform original research as part of a dissertation.
Scientific research is a systematic way of gathering data and harnessing curiosity. This
research provides scientific information and theories for the explanation of the nature and
the properties of the world. It makes practical applications possible. Scientific research is
funded by public authorities, by charitable organizations and by private groups, including

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many companies. Scientific research can be subdivided into different classifications
according to their academic and application disciplines. Scientific research is a widely used
criterion for judging the standing of an academic institution, but some argue that such is an
inaccurate assessment of the institution, because the quality of research does not tell about
the quality of teaching (these do not necessarily correlate).

Research in the humanities involves different methods such as for

example hermeneutics and semiotics. Humanities scholars usually do not search for the
ultimate correct answer to a question, but instead, explore the issues and details that
surround it. Context is always important, and context can be social, historical, political,
cultural, or ethnic. An example of research in the humanities is historical research, which is
embodied in historical method. Historians use primary sources and other evidence to
systematically investigate a topic, and then to write histories in the form of accounts of the
past. Other studies aim to merely examine the occurrence of behaviours in societies and
communities, without particularly looking for reasons or motivations to explain these. These
studies may be qualitative or quantitative, and can use a variety of approaches, such as
queer theory or feminist theory.

Artistic research, also seen as 'practice-based research', can take form when creative works
are considered both the research and the object of research itself. It is the debatable body
of thought which offers an alternative to purely scientific methods in research in its search
for knowledge and truth.

Steps in conducting research

Research is often conducted using the hourglass model structure of research. The hourglass
model starts with a broad spectrum for research, focusing in on the required information
through the method of the project (like the neck of the hourglass), then expands the
research in the form of discussion and results. The major steps in conducting research are:
 Identification of research problem
 Literature review
 Specifying the purpose of research

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  Determining specific research questions
 Specification of a conceptual framework, usually a set of hypotheses
 Choice of a methodology (for data collection)
 Data collection
 Verifying data
 Analysing and interpreting the data
 Reporting and evaluating research
 Communicating the research findings and, possibly, recommendations

The steps generally represent the overall process; however, they should be viewed as an
ever-changing iterative process rather than a fixed set of steps. Most research begins with a
general statement of the problem, or rather, the purpose for engaging in the study. The
literature review identifies flaws or holes in previous research which provides justification
for the study. Often, a literature review is conducted in a given subject area before a
research question is identified. A gap in the current literature, as identified by a researcher,
then engenders a research question. The research question may be parallel to
the hypothesis. The hypothesis is the supposition to be tested. The researcher(s) collects
data to test the hypothesis. The researcher(s) then analyses and interprets the data via a
variety of statistical methods, engaging in what is known as empirical research. The results
of the data analysis in rejecting or failing to reject the null hypothesis are then reported and
evaluated. At the end, the researcher may discuss avenues for further research. However,
some researchers advocate for the reverse approach: starting with articulating findings and
discussion of them, moving "up" to identification of a research problem that emerges in the
findings and literature review. The reverse approach is justified by the transactional nature
of the research endeavour where research inquiry, research questions, research method,
relevant research literature, and so on are not fully known until the findings have fully
emerged and been interpreted.

Rudolph Rommel says, "... no researcher should accept any one or two tests as definitive. It
is only when a range of tests are consistent over many kinds of data, researchers, and
methods can one have confidence in the results."

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Plato in Meno talks about an inherent difficulty, if not a paradox, of doing research that can
be paraphrased in the following way, "If you know what you're searching for, why do you
search for it?! [i.e., you have already found it] If you don't know what you're searching for,
what are you searching for?!"

Research methods

The goal of the research process is to produce new knowledge or deepen understanding of
a topic or issue. This process takes three main forms (although, as previously discussed, the
boundaries between them may be obscure):
 Exploratory research, which helps to identify and define a problem or question.
 Constructive research, which tests theories and proposes solutions to a problem or
question.
 Empirical research, which tests the feasibility of a solution using empirical evidence.
There are two major types of empirical research design: qualitative research and
quantitative research. Researchers choose qualitative or quantitative methods according to
the nature of the research topic they want to investigate and the research questions they
aim to answer:
Qualitative research
This involves understanding human behaviour and the reasons that govern such behaviour,
by asking a broad question, collecting data in the form of words, images, video etc that is

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analysed, and searching for themes. This type of research aims to investigate a question
without attempting to quantifiably measure variables or look to potential relationships
between variables. It is viewed as more restrictive in testing hypotheses because it can be
expensive and time-consuming and typically limited to a single set of research subjects.
Qualitative research is often used as a method of exploratory research as a basis for later
quantitative research hypotheses. Qualitative research is linked with the philosophical and
theoretical stance of social constructionism.

Quantitative research
This involves systematic empirical investigation of quantitative properties and phenomena
and their relationships, by asking a narrow question and collecting numerical data to analyse
it utilizing statistical methods. The quantitative research designs are experimental,
correlational, and survey (or descriptive). Statistics derived from quantitative research can
be used to establish the existence of associative or causal relationships between variables.
Quantitative research is linked with the philosophical and theoretical stance of positivism.
The quantitative data collection methods rely on random sampling and structured data
collection instruments that fit diverse experiences into predetermined response categories.
These methods produce results that are easy to summarize, compare, and generalize.
Quantitative research is concerned with testing hypotheses derived from theory and/or
being able to estimate the size of a phenomenon of interest.

If the research question is about people, participants may be randomly assigned to different
treatments (this is the only way that a quantitative study can be considered a true
experiment). If this is not feasible, the researcher may collect data on participant and
situational characteristics in order to statistically control for their influence on the
dependent, or outcome, variable. If the intent is to generalize from the research participants
to a larger population, the researcher will employ probability sampling to select
participants.

In either qualitative or quantitative research, the researcher(s) may collect primary or

secondary data. Primary data is data collected specifically for the research, such as through

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interviews or questionnaires. Secondary data is data that already exists, such as censusdata,
which can be re-used for the research. It is good ethical research practice to use secondary
data wherever possible.

Mixed-method research, i.e. research that includes qualitative and quantitative elements,
using both primary and secondary data, is becoming more common.
Big data has brought big impacts on research methods so that now many researchers do not
put much effort into data collection; furthermore, methods to analyse easily available huge
amounts of data have also been developed.

Non-empirical research
Non-empirical (theoretical) research is an approach that involves the development of theory
as opposed to using observation and experimentation. As such, non-empirical research
seeks solutions to problems using existing knowledge as its source. This, however, does not
mean that new ideas and innovations cannot be found within the pool of existing and
established knowledge. Non-empirical research is not an absolute alternative to empirical
research because they may be used together to strengthen a research approach. Neither
one is less effective than the other since they have their particular purpose in science.
Typically empirical research produces observations that need to be explained; then
theoretical research tries to explain them, and in so doing generates empirically testable
hypotheses; these hypotheses are then tested empirically, giving more observations that
may need further explanation; and so on.

A simple example of a non-empirical task is the prototyping of a new drug using a

differentiated application of existing knowledge; another is the development of a business
process in the form of a flow chart and texts where all the ingredients are from established
knowledge. Much of cosmological research is theoretical in nature. Mathematics research
does not rely on externally available data; rather, it seeks to
prove theorems about mathematical objects.

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Identify the key process steps for conducting social research: a. List of the broad social
research steps; b. Key activities associated with each of the steps; c. Roles of various
stakeholders in executing the steps; d. Need for professionalism in executing the various
steps.
Research ethics

Research ethics involves the application of fundamental ethical principles to a variety of

topics involving research, including scientific research. These include the design and
implementation of research involving human experimentation, animal experimentation,
various aspects of academic scandal, including scientific misconduct (such as
fraud, fabrication of data and plagiarism), whistleblowing; regulation of research, etc.
Research ethics is most developed as a concept in medical research. The key agreement
here is the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki. The Nuremberg Code is a former agreement, but
with many still important notes. Research in the social sciences presents a different set of
issues than those in medical research.

Problems in research
Methods of research
In many disciplines, Western methods of conducting research are predominant. Researchers
are overwhelmingly taught Western methods of data collection and study. The increasing
participation of indigenous peoples as researchers has brought increased attention to the
lacuna in culturally-sensitive methods of data collection. Non-Western methods of data
collection may not be the most accurate or relevant for research on non-Western societies.
For example, “Hua Orange” was created as a criterion for psychological evaluation
in Māori populations, and is based on dimensions of mental health important to the Māori
people — "Taha wairua (the spiritual dimension), Taha hinengaro (the mental dimension),
Taha Tianna (the physical dimension), and Taha whanau (the family dimension)”.

Linguicism
Periphery scholars face the challenges of exclusion and linguicism in research and academic
publication. As the great majority of mainstream academic journals are written in English,
multilingual periphery scholars often must translate their work in order to be accepted to

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elite Western-dominated journals. Multilingual scholars’ influences from their native
communicative styles can be assumed to be incompetence instead of difference.

Publication
Publications from periphery countries rarely rise to the same elite status as those of North
America and Europe, primarily because limitations on the availability of resources including
high-quality paper and sophisticated image-rendering software and printing tools render
these publications less able to satisfy standards currently carrying formal or informal
authority in the publishing industry. These limitations in turn result in the under-
representation of scholars from periphery nations among the set of publications holding
prestige status relative to the quantity and quality of those scholars' research efforts, and
this under-representation in turn results in disproportionately reduced acceptance of the
results of their efforts as contributions to the body of knowledge available worldwide.

Influence of the open-access movement

The open access movement assumes that all information generally deemed useful should be
free and belongs to a “public domain”, that of “humanity”. This idea gained prevalence as a
result of Western colonial history and ignores alternative conceptions of knowledge
circulation. For instance, most indigenous communities consider that access to certain
information proper to the group should be determined by relationships.
There is alleged to be a double standard in the Western knowledge system. On the one
hand, “digital right management” used to restrict access to personal information on social
networking platforms is celebrated as a protection of privacy, while simultaneously when
similar functions are utilised by cultural groups (i.e. indigenous communities) this is
denounced as “access control” and reprehended as censorship.

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Explain the key principles for collecting research data within social settings: a. Use of
historical data; b. Use of observations of conditions; c. Use of observations of behaviour;
d. Use of questionnaires; e. Use of interviews. f. Principles and processes of collating data
What is involved in collecting data
If an organization is considering whether to collect data on its own or get help from an
external consultant, it will need to have enough information to make an informed decision
about how to proceed.

This section outlines some of the key considerations that may arise during various steps in
the data collection process. There is no requirement that these steps be followed or
pursued in the order that they are written. The model presented is offered as a reference
tool. How data is gathered and analysed depends on many factors, including the context,
the issue that needs to be monitored, the purpose of the data collection, and the nature and
size of the organization.

The main consideration is to make sure that any information collected is done in a way and
for a purpose that is consistent with the Code and complies with freedom of information
and privacy protection legislation. In the interest of effectiveness and efficiency, it is
recommended that efforts be made to collect data that will shed light on issues or
opportunities. To protect the credibility and reliability of data, information should be
gathered using accepted data collection techniques.

Step 1: Identify issues and/or opportunities for collecting data

The first step is to identify issues and/or opportunities for collecting data and to decide what
next steps to take. To do this, it may be helpful to conduct an internal and external
assessment to understand what is happening inside and outside of your organization.

Some organizations, like FCP and Legislated Employment Equity Plan employers, are given
specific direction on what issues should be explored and how data must be collected. Other
organizations may have more flexibility to decide when and how to collect information to
achieve certain goals. Some of the non-exhaustive questions identified below may apply to a
diverse range of organizations and audiences, including employees and service users.

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Depending on the organization, these questions may be considered at Step 1, or at different
stages in a data collection process.

Conduct a review of all policies, practices and procedures applicable to employees, service
users or another appropriate audience:
 Does the organization have human resources and human rights policies, practices
and procedures that are accessible to all employees or to the people they serve?
 Does the organization have clear, transparent and fair complaint procedures in place
to deal with allegations of discrimination, harassment or systemic barriers?
 Have any claims, grievances or allegations been made or received relating to
discrimination, harassment or systemic barriers?
 Do any signal barriers to persons protected under the Code and/or other
individuals/groups in society based on a non-Code ground?
 Have any been dealt with appropriately and in accordance with existing polices,
practices and procedures?
 Explore organizational culture from a human rights, diversity and equity-inclusion
lens:
 What are the organization's mandate, goals and core values?
 What is the history of the organization?
 Are equity, diversity and inclusiveness supported, reflected and promoted by senior
leaders throughout the organization?

Are performance measures in place to motivate the achievement of an organization’s

strategic human resources, human rights, equity and diversity goals?
Do employees feel that the organization is diverse, inclusive, and provides equal opportunity
for learning and advancement?
 How are decisions made?
 How are employment, programming or service delivery opportunities advertised?
 Does the organization have formal, transparent and fair processes in place to recruit,
hire, promote, terminate and retire staff?
 Does the organization have a clear system of discipline?
 Is this system perceived to be applied fairly and consistently?

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  Do service users feel that they are welcome, valued, and able to use the services
offered by the organization?

Potential strengths:
perceived to be more credible and reliable than qualitative data because of the use of
numbers, which are seen as an objective source of data. This is not necessarily the case. The
accuracy of quantitative data can be influenced by manipulation and bias of the researcher,
among other factors, unless checked by the researcher’s professionalism and the use of
accepted data collection research methods
quantitative data excels at summarizing, organizing and comparing large amounts of
information, and drawing general conclusions about a research topic of interest
can help measure progress and success
good at identifying trends and determining the magnitude of a research topic of interest.
Potential weaknesses: a focus on numbers and rankings alone can overly simplify or lead to
an inaccurate understanding of complex situations and realities, unless a broader context is
provided

Example: An employment data survey of the Custodial Services Division of a large

organization reveals that 80% of the cleaning staff are women and that 6 of 7 Custodial
Services supervisors are men. A comparison between these figures and gap data from
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) shows that, while there is an
overrepresentation of women in the ranks of cleaners, there is no gap for women in the
ranks of supervisors.

The reason for the seeming discrepancy is that HRSDC gap data is based on availability.
Nationally, so few women are Custodial Services supervisors that there is a statistically
insignificant availability, giving rise to the conclusion that there is no numerical gap with
respect to women supervisors. This conclusion, however, does not make sense since the
organization knows that the 200:40 women to men cleaning staff ratio is supervised by a 6:1
male to female supervisory staff ratio. The organization decides to ignore the HRSDC data
and apply common sense by setting up career advancement mentoring and other policies
and programs to increase the number of female supervisors in its workforce.

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  subject to multiple interpretations of what the numbers actually mean, which can
lead to a distorted understanding of a research topic of interest. This potential
weakness can be minimized by using accepted quantitative research methods and
identifying appropriate warnings to explain the parameters and assumptions
underlying the research
 depending on the nature and size of the project, as well as the sophistication of the
methods and analysis used, it can be costly to gather the required information
 in areas of research that are relatively new or where tools, indicators, procedures
and sources are far from settled, statistical data can be lacking or of unequal quality,
causing problems for comparisons. These difficulties are often compounded by other
issues, like definition problems (e.g. the meaning of the word “freedom” –
depending on the interpretation of the word chosen, it may produce different issues
and results).

What sources of data should be used to collect information?

Qualitative and quantitative data are generally gathered from more than one source. Where
possible, two or more of the following sources should be used together to strengthen
reliability and consistency in results.

Pre-existing or official data

Pre-existing or official data is information that has already been documented (e.g.
newspaper clippings, case law, Statistics Canada census data, photographs) or is created by
an organization during its routine business operations (e.g. employee personnel files,
student registration forms, annual reports, occurrence reports). This data may contain
information that directly relates to specific Code grounds like race, but more commonly will
relate only indirectly (for example, in the form of names, place of origin or ethnicity). This
type of information could be used as proxies or stand-ins for race, but would be less reliable
than actually having self-reported racial data.

Potential strengths: is efficient. Avoids the time, energy, expense and disruption involved in
collecting data as a separate step from running daily operations

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Example: Outcomes of workplace recruitment, hiring, promotions and terminations can be
recorded, as can events such as interventions by security guards and customer complaints.
When recording these events, relevant Code ground and non-Code classifications could also
be included. This data could then be examined for trends over time to show whether
discrimination or systemic barriers exist, may exist or do not exist.

Potential weaknesses:
 to be a useful source of information, organizations need to be willing to collect the
data as part of their ordinary record-keeping procedures
 the reliability of this data will depend on the diligence and accuracy of the reporting
done by the people collecting it.

Survey data
Survey research is a broad area and generally includes any measurement procedures that
involve asking respondents questions. A "survey" can range from a short paper-and-pencil
questionnaire to an in-depth one-on-one interview (interviews will be discussed further
below).

In designing a survey, it is important to consider the specific characteristics of the

respondents, to make sure that the questions are relevant, clear, accessible and easy to
understand. Some practical considerations to keep in mind are whether the respondents
can read, have language or cultural barriers, have disabilities, and can be easily reached.

Potential strengths:
very useful for documenting an individual’s perceptions and perceived experiences of an
organization’s work culture, service delivery or other areas of interest
Example: The TDSB’s 2006 Student Census, Grades 7-12 System Overview included a
component on how senior and secondary school students generally perceived their
schooling and out-of-school experiences in 10 areas, including school safety and home
support and involvement.

 can contain questions that are quantitative or qualitative in nature, or a combination

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 of both can be conducted on a small or large scale.

Potential weaknesses:
 quality and reliability of survey data depends on factors like the expertise of the
people conducting them, the design and appropriateness of the questions asked,
and the credibility of the methods used to analyse and interpret the results
 may not provide an accurate measure of how others perceive a person’s background
or experience.
Example: A transgender employee may self-identify as female but a third party may identify
her as male.

Focus groups and interviews

Interviews and focus groups (also referred to as “group interviews”) allow for information to
be provided orally, either individually or in a group setting. The data can be recorded in a
wide variety of ways including written notes, audio recording and video recording.

Focus groups:
In focus groups, the interviewer facilitates the session. A select group of people are brought
together, asked questions, encouraged to listen to each other's comments, and have their
answers recorded. The same set of questions may be used for a number of different groups,
each of which is constituted slightly differently, and for a range of purposes.

Focus groups may be facilitated by professionals, but this is not always needed. The decision
to hire a professional facilitator may depend on the goals of the focus group research, the
nature of the questions asked, the skills and experience of staff taking part, and the need for
confidentiality or anonymity.

Example: To get the unique perspective of each group, an organization may wish to hold
separate focus groups for representatives of each of the organization’s internal and external
stakeholder groups, such as senior management, front-line employees, service users, union
representatives and community groups. Or, it may be of greater value to organize a group

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that includes people representing all key internal and external stakeholders, to allow for
contrasting ideas to be expressed and discussed.

Whatever format is chosen, it is important that the focus group is structured and managed
in a way that cultivates a “safe space” for people to share their experiences. In some cases,
this may not be possible without setting up separate focus groups or hiring a professional
facilitator who is not connected to the organization.

Potential strengths:
 focus groups allow for multiple narratives to be voiced in one “interview” about a
research topic of interest
 act as tools for education because discussion among participants can illuminate the
participants’ and the researcher’s views, helping to further refine research about a
particular topic of interest.

Potential weakness: does not allow participants to fully express their individual opinions
and narratives, or ask questions when they immediately come to mind, because of the need
to hear and accommodate other voices.
Interviews:
Typically, interviews involve a set of standard questions being asked of all respondents, on a
one-on-one basis, so that accurate trends and gaps can be drawn from the data. Interviews
are commonly conducted face-to-face, but for more rapid results, can also be done over the
telephone, or, as technology advances, through video-conferencing and other means.

Potential strengths:
 interviews can provide a rich, detailed perspective, impression or story on a research
topic of interest
 the interviewer generally has the opportunity to probe more deeply or ask follow-up
questions than when in a focus group setting
 data from both focus groups and interviews can provide valuable context for
understanding and informing research, numbers, events, behaviour and other
research goals

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  depending on the size of the organization, the purpose of the data collection, the
internal expertise available and other factors, focus groups and interviews can be
done with relatively little expense.

Potential weaknesses:
 one-on-one interviews allow for just one narrative or perspective on a research topic
of interest
 can be very time consuming and resource intensive
 respondents in interviews and focus groups generally want to "look good" in the
eyes of others. Depending on the questions asked, they might “spin” their response
to avoid being embarrassed, particularly in a face-to-face setting. Skilled interviewers
may be able to address this potential weakness by doing a few things, like designing
good questions, being perceptive, asking follow-up questions and cross-checking
responses with other credible sources of information
 interviewers, in both individual and focus group settings, may distort an interview by
not, for example, asking questions that make them uncomfortable or not listening
carefully to respondents on topics that they have strong opinions on. The impact of
this potential weakness can be addressed by taking steps like making sure that
interviewers are properly trained and using standard interview questions.

Observed data
Trained staff or external experts can gather data by identifying and recording the
characteristics and behaviour of research subjects through observation, either within or
outside of an organization. Observed data can include information gathered using all of the
senses available to the researcher, including sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.

Example: A human rights organization that offers a mediation service hires a mediation
expert to observe mediators and service users and provide feedback about any issues of
concern related to human rights. To minimize potential stress and anxiety experienced by
the people being observed, staff and service users are informed in advance of the purpose
and goals of the exercise. Service users’ consent is sought. Staff is advised that the observed
data gathered will only be used for research purposes and not shared with their managers.

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The expert maintains access to the data, and the results are reported on an aggregated and
summarized basis to prevent individuals from being identified.

Hiring experts, while potentially expensive, can add validity and credibility to research
analysis because they are often perceived as having no vested interest in the research
results.

Information gathered using observation techniques differs from interviewing, because the
observer does not actively ask the respondent questions. Observed data can include
everything from field research, where someone lives in another context or culture for a
period of time (participant observation), to photographs that show the interaction between
service providers and service users (direct observation). The data can be recorded in many
of the same ways as interviews (taking notes, audio, video) and through pictures, photos or
drawings.

Potential strengths:
 an effective and capable observer can provide an objective third viewpoint on what
is going on, and draw out implications that are not obvious or that people are
unaware of
 can be relatively inexpensive depending on factors like the size of the project, its
goals, the organization’s resources and the duration of the project.

Potential weaknesses:
an observer, trained or otherwise, can influence the behaviour of the people being observed
(for example, people could be motivated to behave better while under observation), which
may ultimately affect the accuracy of observed results
 can cause potential stress and anxiety for the people being observed, more than the
use of other data collection methods. Efforts can be made to minimize stress and
anxiety by using effective communication strategies to inform participants, in
advance, of the purpose, goals, confidentiality measures, duration of the project and
other key information
 an observer, trained or otherwise, may not always be able to accurately differentiate

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 within or between certain groups of people, particularly when an identity (is) is/are
non-evident (e.g. religion, mental illness, sexual orientation). A survey requesting
self-identification information might be more effective in this regard.

Each source of data used to collect information has its strengths and weaknesses. Some of
the more common potential strengths and weaknesses identified above have been
highlighted. Analysing data from multiple perspectives and relying on data from different
sources can strengthen the conclusions drawn from research. A combination of statistical
analysis, observational data, legal analysis, documentary analysis, in-depth interviews and
external and/or internal consultation can help maximize understanding of a given situation.
[31] Organizations should choose the sources of data that best suit their program goals,
context, resources and organizational culture.

How long will the data be collected (the scope of data collection)?
Data can be collected and analysed on a short-term or project basis in response to situations
or needs that arise from time to time. A short-term data collection project would include a
start and a finish date, with set deliverables to be carried out over a certain period of time.

The best practice is to collect data on an ongoing, permanent basis, and to analyse this data
as often as is needed to identify, address and monitor barriers to Code-protected persons or
other persons based on non-Code grounds.

Data collected in a time-limited study may be less complete than data collected through
ongoing monitoring. This is because short-term studies do not allow for the assessment of
trends, patterns or changes over time. However, where costs, time and resources are a
factor, short-term studies may be the preferred choice to fulfil a need and project goals.

Other factors may also influence the reliability of the data. For example, people may modify
behaviour while under scrutiny during the data collection period.

Step 4: Collect data

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When planning on how best to collect data in Step 4, it is important to be aware of the
practical considerations and best practices for addressing logistical challenges organizations
often face at this stage of the process. Implementing a data collection plan requires
attention to matters such as:

Getting buy-in from senior leadership and key stakeholders, in or outside of the
organization. This group could include boards of directors, management committees, union
representatives, employees, community groups, tenants, customers and service users.
Establishing a steering committee or selecting a person(s) to be consulted and held
accountable for all major decisions about the data collection process, such as design,
logistics, communication management, coordination and finances.
Determining who will collect the data (e.g., experts or trained employees).
Identifying the logistics, resources, technology and people needed to develop and
implement a data collection initiative.

Anticipating and addressing key stakeholder concerns and questions about the project.
Designing a communication and consultation strategy that will explain the data collection
initiative and encourage the highest possible participation rate.
Protecting privacy and personal information by using carefully controlled procedures for
collecting, storing and accessing data that comply with privacy, human rights and other
legislation. Dignity and confidentiality must be respected.

Minimizing the impact and inconvenience for the people affected in the workplace or
service environment, which includes choosing the best time to collect the data.
Aiming for flexibility to allow for changes without great expense or inconvenience.
Considering a test period or a pilot phase to allow you to improve and modify data
collection methods, as may be needed.

Step 5: Analyse and interpret data

Step 5 involves analysing and interpreting the data collected. Whether quantitative and/or
qualitative methods of gathering data are used, the analysis can be complex, or less so,
depending on the methods used and the amount of data collected.

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Explaining the technical steps involved in analysing and interpreting data is beyond the
scope of this guide. An organization will have to determine whether it has the internal
capacity and expertise to analyse and interpret data itself, or whether it will need the help
of an external consultant.

A smaller organization that has basic data collection needs may be able to rely on internal
expertise and existing resources to interpret the meaning of gathered data.

Example: An organization with 50 employees wants to find out if it has enough women
working in management positions, and if there are barriers to equal opportunity and
advancement. The organization counts the number of female employees it has (25), and
determines how many of these employees are working in supervisory and management
positions (two). A few motivated employees identify some issues of concern, like gender
discrimination, that may have broader implications for the organization as a whole.

After deciding to do an internal and external assessment (Step 1), and gather qualitative
data using focus groups and interviews with current and past employees, senior leadership
decides that barriers exist for women in the organization’s recruitment, hiring, promotion
and human resources policies, processes and practices. Efforts are made to work with
female employees, human resources and other staff to address these barriers. The
organization makes a commitment to foster a more equitable, inclusive work environment
for all employees.

Step 6: Act on results

Once an organization has analysed and interpreted the results of the data collected, it may
decide to act on the data, collect more of the same type of data or modify its approach.
Quantitative and qualitative information can provide a solid basis for creating an effective
action plan designed to achieve strategic organizational human resources, human rights,
equity and diversity goals identified through the data collection process. If an organization
feels it has enough information to develop an action plan, it should consider including the
following elements:

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  a summary of the results of the analysis and interpretation of the data
 identification of the barriers, gaps and opportunities that exist or may exist for Code-
protected persons and other individuals/groups based on non-Code grounds
 steps that will be taken to address these barriers, gaps or opportunities now and in
the future
 realistic, attainable goals with short-term and longer-term timelines
 input sought from stakeholders and affected communities
 how progress in meeting these goals will be monitored, evaluated and reported.

Describe the requirements for ethical conduct during data collection: a. Need for ethical
behaviour (collecting data, processing data and reporting on data); b. Relationship
between ethical behaviour and professionalism; c. Examples to illustrate the
consequences of non-ethical behaviour in research
Research ethics involve requirements on daily work, the protection of dignity of subjects
and the publication of the information in the research. However, when nurses participate in
research they have to cope with three value systems; society; nursing and science which
may be in conflict with the values of subjects, communities, and societies and create
tensions and dilemmas in nursing. Method and material: Using the Medline and the Nursing
Canal data base, the most important ethical issues which appear in bibliography, will be
addressed. After a short description of the nature of nursing, and the advocacy role of
nurses, the writer will attempt to highlight the possible conflicts that nurses have to deal
with, when undertaking or participating in research. Results: The major ethical issues in
conducting research are a) Informed consent, b) Beneficence- Do not harm c) Respect for
anonymity and confidentiality d) Respect for privacy. However, both the nature of nursing
which focuses on caring, preventing harm and protecting dignity and the advocates role of
nurses which calls for defending the rights of subjects, are sometimes incongruent with the
ethics in research. Conclusions: Ethical issues, conflicting values, and ambiguity in decision
making, are recurrently emerging from literature review on nursing research. Because of
lack of clarity in ethical standards, nurses must develop an awareness of these issues and an
effective framework to deal with problems involving human rights.

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Assess external context:
Are there best practices in the industry/sector or among similar organizations that can be
learned from?
Are there objective data or research studies showing that discrimination or systemic barriers
exist or do not exist in the organization, industry/sector or similar organizations?
 Is there evidence from other organizations or jurisdictions that a policy, program
or practice, similar to one in place at the organization, has had a positive or
negative impact on Code-protected persons or other marginalized persons in
society?
 How is the organization perceived by the community it operates in?
 Have the media or advocacy groups complimented or criticized the organization
about human rights, human resource or equity issues?
 What are the demographics of the people the organization serves or the
community it operates in?
 Are the demographics changing or projected to change in the future?
 Is the organization proactively looking at ways to make sure that it has the skills
and knowledge to meet the potential needs and concerns of this changing
demographic?
 Check representation:
 Compare the organization’s workforce makeup to the availability of labour or the
demographics of the service users in the community, city, region, province
and/or country it operates in.
 Is the organization representative of and responsive to the needs of the
community it serves?
 At this stage, a detailed comparison is not needed. The goal here is to identify
key issues and/or opportunities that may need further study by noting obvious
gaps, disparities or trends.

Organizations can:
Estimate how people or groups identified by Code grounds and other persons/groups are
represented and distributed among their employees or service users by levels of
responsibility, occupation, branch, department or other appropriate measure.

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Are there any areas in the organization or in service delivery where the persons or groups
seem to be obviously over-represented or under-represented?
Finding the above information can be challenging for smaller organizations, but the internet
offers a wealth of resources to choose from. Media reports may offer insights, as well as on-

It is to be expected that an internal and external assessment of the organization, in light of

the questions listed above, may result in a number of potential issues and/or opportunities
for exploring data collection. Before proceeding to Step 2, organizations may wish to
consider whether there are any preliminary actions that can be taken to address these
issues and/or opportunities, without collecting data (e.g. training, policy development).

Example: The review in Step 1 may have identified the following issues and/or opportunities
for collecting data:

Positive public feedback received about a pilot community policing project in high-crime
neighbourhoods
Unclear and inconsistent human rights policies and procedures in place to address sexual
harassment.
The above examples present a potential opportunity or problematic human rights issue,
respectively, and could lend themselves to data collection. Decisions need to be made about
how best to address the identified opportunities and/or issues and whether it would be
appropriate to act, based on the assessments in Step 1 (either instead of or together with
further data collection).

If the results of the internal and external assessment seem to show that the organization
does not have any pressing problems with discrimination and/or systemic barriers, and is
generally in compliance with the Code and OHRC policies, consider whether the
organization could still benefit from proactively implementing a data collection initiative (for
example, to help monitor the ongoing effectiveness and suitability of policies, programs and
intervention strategies).

Step 2: Select issue(s) and/or opportunity(is) and set goals

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The focus of Step 2 is choosing a priority issue(s) and/or opportunity(is) for collecting data,
and then setting goals and objectives.
The organization reviews the issues and/or opportunities identified from the internal and
external assessment done in Step 1, and picks one or more specific issues and/or
opportunities for starting a data collection project from among the list of priorities. Some of
the questions an organization can consider when deciding to prioritize an issue and/or
opportunity for gathering data include:

Is there a fundamental reason or opportunity to collect data from which other issues and/or
opportunities seem to arise?
Example: An aging taxpayer base provides a government body with a pressing reason to
collect data on this group’s projected size, needs and revenue base. This changing
demographic also presents an opportunity for the government body to ensure that it is
proactively developing policies, programs and services that are accessible and appropriate
to meet the needs and concerns of these taxpayers.

Did the internal and external assessment of the organization in Step 1 reveal any critical
gaps or trends that are apparent in the organization, industry/sector or similar
organizations?
Is there one particular area that has drawn positive/negative media attention or been
subject to multiple complaints, internal rumours and concerns?
Does there seem to be a greater diversity or lack of diversity in one area compared to
others?

Goal-setting
While the organization may intend to collect data relating to multiple issues and/or
opportunities at the same time, the next steps, including goal-setting, should be
individualized for each issue and/or opportunity.

The specific goal(s) defined for each issue and/or opportunity may depend on a hypothesis
or guess about what is happening that can be tested using data collection techniques and
analysis.

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Example: A downtown Toronto hotel receives complaints from guests, who self-identify as
being gay, about the unwelcome treatment they received from staff. A hypothesis might be
that hotel staff lack sufficient awareness and training about how to deal respectfully with
guests who are gay, or are perceived to be from the larger LGBT community. The goal is to
get enough evidence to test this hypothesis.

Step 2 can also involve an organization brainstorming a smaller set of questions that may be
answered by collecting data. Rather than asking a general question like, “Is there any
evidence of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in this
hotel?” one might ask, “What percentage of hotel guests self-identify as being part of the
LGBT community?” and “What are the perceptions of the service received by self-identified
LGBT patrons?” Ultimately, data that is collected should be rationally connected to the goals
set and the overall purpose for collecting the data.

Step 3: Plan an approach and methods

In Step 3, organizations will make decisions about who will be surveyed, how data will be
collected, the sources of data that will be used, and the duration of the data collection
project, among other questions. These decisions may be made in consultation with an
expert. The methods and approaches will flow from the goals set in Step 2, and will vary
significantly depending on a number of factors, including the organization’s context, size,
resources, and the purpose and complexity of the issue(s) or opportunity(is) selected.

Who will the data be collected about?

The “group of interest” (e.g. youth service users of a local community centre who cannot
read and speak English as a second language) will be the focus of the study, and the data
collection methods used will refer to this group, or the persons within it, depending on the
goals of the project.

Understanding discrimination

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When thinking about who the data will be collected about, it is important to consider who
you think will be most affected by, for example, the discrimination or inequities that you
wish to measure. Is it a broad category (e.g. all service users who cannot read), or a sub-set
of that category (e.g. youth service users who cannot read)? The italicized words refer to a
unique characteristic about a broader group that an organization may wish to gather
information about.
Depending on factors like the goals of the data collection project, the organization’s size,
resources and time, data may be gathered about many sub-sets within a broader group of
interest (e.g. youth service users who cannot read and who speak English as a second
language).

Collecting data about a group of interest that shares characteristics, based on several Code
or non-Code grounds, can help an organization understand the behaviour, perceptions,
values and demographic makeup of services users and other subjects of interest. Generally
speaking, gathering data that reflects more than one Code and/or non-Code ground can
allow for richer, nuanced information and more complex analysis.

It is important to recognize that based on their unique combination of identities, people

may be exposed to particular forms of discrimination. Multiple forms of discrimination can
intersect and compound to form a unique experience of discrimination. This perspective is
referred to as an “intersectional” analysis of discrimination.

Example: A South Asian male youth service user, who cannot read and speaks limited
English, may face discrimination on any of the grounds of age, race, colour, ancestry, ethnic
origin, place of origin, gender, disability or perceived disability (e.g. could be seen as having
a learning disability). However, he may also be exposed to discrimination on intersecting
grounds based on being identified as a “young, illiterate Indian male from a foreign
country,” based on the various assumptions or stereotypes that are uniquely associated
with this socially significant interaction of multiple identity factors.

Who will the group of interest be compared to?

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The “comparator group” should be persons who share one or more characteristics with the
persons in the group of interest, but differ in the key characteristic(s) being studied (e.g.
youth service users who cannot read but can speak English fluently). The experiences of
youth service users who cannot read and who speak English as a second language can then
be compared to youth service users who cannot read but can speak English fluently.

What locations or geographical areas will the data be gathered from?

Some data collection initiatives require gathering data from multiple sizes, groups or
communities located in different locations and geographical areas. When determining
where to collect information from, key factors to consider include who the data will be
collected about and who the data will be compared to.

Example: A local community centre is interested in making its current youth literacy
program more responsive to the needs of an increased number of youths in the surrounding
area who cannot read and who speak English as a second language. The community centre
plans to gather information about the community it serves and the geographical region it is
located in. Data is gathered from the community centre’s pre-existing records relating to its
service users, including people who attend the youth literacy program or have expressed an
interest in it. Publicly available information about the characteristics of the surrounding
neighbourhood is also explored, among other data sources.

What categories will be used to identify the group of interest and comparator group?
Choosing categories provides a way to organize the information that is collected. This can be
done either before collecting data, as discussed in this step, or after data is collected
In some cases, although it is not required, it is preferable to use pre-determined categories
such as those developed by Statistics Canada. There are certain benefits to this approach.

Example: Organizations can be confident that the 12 racial groups used by Statistics Canada
will represent how the majority of Canadians racially classify themselves. In addition, use of
these categories is most likely to produce reliable and valid results and enable researchers
to directly compare the results of their studies to Census data collected by Statistics Canada.

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The limitations are that if these categories are used, some respondents may not identify
with them or may object to them. Another limitation is that Statistics Canada does not
produce Census data on all grounds (for example, on sexual orientation).

For a fee, Statistics Canada will customize its data. For example, it can break it down to
“disaggregated” data for a local labour market or for a particular occupational category.

Another limitation is that the Statistics Canada categories may be too broad depending on
the goals selected in Step 2.

Example: Using a broad category such as “racialized” can mask important differences
between racialized groups, since racialized groups are not subject to exactly the same
experiences, racial stereotypes and types of discrimination.[28] However, when it is
necessary to describe people collectively, the term “racialized person” or “racialized group”
is preferred over terms like “racial minority,” “visible minority,” “person of colour” or “non-
White” as it expresses race as a social construct rather than as a description based on
perceived biological traits. Also, these other terms treat “White” as the norm that racialized
persons are to be compared to, and have a tendency to group all racialized persons in one
category, as if they are all the same.[29]

Consider other categories to describe the groups selected (for example, relating to job or
service categories). Organizations may ultimately choose the categories that best reflect
where the organization is at in terms of achieving its human rights, equity and diversity
goals.

How should data be collected?

In the context of human rights, social-science researchers[30] are commonly asked to lead
or help with data collection projects. Two types of data are used in social science research:
qualitative and quantitative. A good research effort involves the use of both types. Both
approaches, while distinct, can overlap and rely on the other to produce meaningful data,
analysis and results.

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Qualitative data:
Typically, data is called “qualitative” if it is in the form of words, but may also include any
information that is not numerical in form, such as photographs, videos and sound
recordings.
Qualitative methods are aimed at describing a specific context, event, people or relationship
in a broad contextual way, by trying to understand the underlying reasons for behaviour,
thoughts and feelings.
Common qualitative research methods include observation, one-on-one interviews, focus
groups and intensive case studies.
Example: A restaurant chain wants to improve service and access to customers with
disabilities. Management decides to collect qualitative information using focus groups
consisting of a range of stakeholders, including customers and representatives of
organizations from the disability community.

Potential strengths:

qualitative data excels at "telling the story" from the participant's viewpoint (it helps
participants feel like they have been heard)
can help others better understand the issue or problem by providing the rich descriptive
detail that explains the human context of numerical results
Potential weaknesses:

perceived that the accuracy of qualitative data can be influenced by false, subjective or
manipulated testimonies. Good qualitative data, checked by a professional researcher and
gathered using accepted data collection research methods, can address the impact of such
factors
depending on the nature and size of the project, as well as the sophistication of the
methods and analysis used, can take a significant amount of time, be very labour-intensive,
and yield results that may not be general enough for policy-making and decision-making
purposes.

Quantitative data:

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Typically, data is called “quantitative” if it is in the form of numbers.
A quantitative approach can be used to count events or the number of people who
represent a particular background.
Common quantitative tools include surveys, questionnaires and statistical data (such as
Statistics Canada census information).
It is important to note that all quantitative data is based on qualitative judgment. In other
words, numbers cannot be interpreted by themselves, without understanding the
assumptions that underlie them.

Demonstrate the ability to develop basic data collection reports that can be used for
further analysis: a. Purpose and structure of reports; b. Principles to enhance the
readability of reports (FOG INDEX); c. Principles for determining findings and developing
recommendations: d. Use of references and acknowledgements.

A report may include any of the sections outlined in the table above, in the order presented.
However, it is rare that it will include all of them. The revolving soccer balls denote the
essential sections of all reports.

Sample report
Title Page
The title of the report should be presented on a separate cover page and contain:
 The title: this must be brief, but must also convey something of the subject of the
report to the reader
 The company's/organization's name
 The date of issue
 The circulation list
 The name of the author(s)
 The authority for circulation, for example, "produced at the request of..." or
"commissioned by…."

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Some people give their reports titles like Preliminary Report, Interim Report, Inspection
Report, and so on. However, this often forces the author to prejudge the aims of the report.
It is better to approach the writing of a report by thinking about the information to be
conveyed.

Foreword
A foreword is only needed if a statement is to be made by some person other than the
author. This is sometimes done to give more authority to the report.

Acknowledgments (strong)
This section allows the people who were indispensable in writing the report to be thanked
or mentioned.

Summary/Abstract
This part of the report summarises the ground covered in the body of the report so that
anyone wanting a quick review of what the report is about can quickly get the gist of the
findings. The summary must state:
 The aims of the report
 The depth of study that went into the research
 Whether the objective was achieved.

The summary must be no more than 10% of the length of the report and mustn't introduce
any information that isn't contained in the report body. The summary should be created
once the rest of the report has been written.

Table of Contents
A table of contents is essential for any report that is longer than about ten pages.
The table of contents must be on a page of its own and the page references must match
those in the text.

List of Illustrations/figures/tables

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All illustrations, that is, figures, photos, diagrams, graphs, charts and tables etc., will be
listed in separate pages after the Table of Contents. They will be listed according to their
number and title, and the page references must match those in the text.

Introduction
The introduction gives a broad, general overview of the subject. Its length depends upon the
target reader's existing knowledge. Try to condense the information to:
 What is the problem?
 What is the cause?
 What will you be doing to address these two points?

However long the introduction, it must clearly state the purpose (Objective) of the report.
This will help the readers to judge the document's success. Use the introduction to provide
the necessary background information, like the sequence of events leading to the problem.
Outline the scope of the report. Finally, especially for longer reports, tell the readers how
the discussion in the body of the report will be developed.

FORMATIVE ASSESEMENT - THREE

 IAC0301 Given descriptions of various problems relating to data collection and the need
for data within a social services context learner will, without reference to learning
material, be able to: a. Accurately describe all the steps required for data collection in
each of the given scenarios; b. In detail describe the actual nature of the problems
associated with data collection relevant to all the given situations; c. Indicate how the
various problems must be solved using principles of action research; d. Evaluate the
given data and identify potentially inaccurate and missing data.

References
Social Work Research in Practice by Heather Cruz; Martyn Jones-ISBN: 9781446200797

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 2.2.4. KM-02-KT04:
Principles and techniques of facilitating group processes

KT0401 Define facilitation and give examples of the purpose thereof:

a. What is meant by facilitation; b. The different roles that a
facilitator must play; c. Different objectives of facilitation.
KT0402 Explain the concept of process relevant to facilitating results
through and with groups: a. The difference between process
and content; b. The need to structure facilitation processes;
c.
Examples of process questions.
KT0403 Demonstrate the application of key interpersonal behaviours
required by facilitators: a. Definition of interpersonal
behaviour; b. Examples of key interpersonal behaviours; c.
When the various behaviours are appropriate; d.
Consequences of the inappropriate use of the behaviours.
KT0404 Site examples of effective group processes.

Define facilitation and give examples of the purpose thereof: a. What is meant by
facilitation; b. The different roles that a facilitator must play; c. Different objectives of
facilitation

What Is a Facilitator?
The definition of facilitate is "to make easy" or "ease a process." What a facilitator does is
plan, guide and manage a group event to ensure that the group's objectives are met

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effectively, with clear thinking, good participation and full buy-in from everyone who is
involved.
To facilitate effectively, you must be objective. This doesn't mean you have to come from
outside the organization or team, though. It simply means that, for the purposes of this
group process, you will take a neutral stance. You step back from the detailed content and
from your own personal views, and focus purely on the group process. (The "group process"
is the approach used to manage discussions, get the best from all members, and bring the
event through to a successful conclusion. How you design this depends on many factors,
and we'll explore this in a little more detail later in the article. The secret of great facilitation
is a group process that flows – and with it will flow the group's ideas, solutions, and
decisions too.)

What Does a Facilitator Do?

To facilitate an event well, you must first understand the group's desired outcome, and the
background and context of the meeting or event. The bulk of your responsibility is then to:
Design and plan the group process, and select the tools that best help the group progress
towards that outcome.
Guide and control the group process to ensure that:
 There is effective participation.
 Participants achieve a mutual understanding.
 Their contributions are considered and included in the ideas, solutions or
decisions that emerge.
 Participants take shared responsibility for the outcome.
Ensure that outcomes, actions and questions are properly recorded and actioned, and
appropriately dealt with afterwards.

Design and Plan

With the group's objective firmly in mind, preparation for the meeting or event is all-
important. Your job is to choose and design the right group process(es), and develop an
effective agenda for the occasion.
Tip 1:

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Whether you're planning a straight-forward meeting, or a complex event over several
sessions or days, it's important to always keep in mind the outcome – and how you are
helping the group reach it.
If the event spans multiple sessions and topics, make sure that you are clear about both the
desired outcome and process for each one. And make sure that you know how the outcome
of each session or topic contributes to the outcome of the event overall.

Tip 2:
If you've been asked to facilitate an event by someone else, make sure that you consult him
or her carefully as to the final "shape" of the event. Even if they haven't been explicit about
what they want, they probably have an idea of what they want, and will be unpleasantly
surprised if this isn't delivered.
Two key aspects of the design and planning are choosing the right group process, and
designing a realistic agenda.

Choose and Design the Group Process

There are as many ways to design a group process as there are events to facilitate: It's quite
an art! Group process design is also a huge topic in its own right, and something that
professional facilitators learn through experience and training.

 Other factors to consider

You won't be able to change some constraints. However, you may be able to change others
to optimize your process and agenda. As part of this, consider:
 The number of participants.
 The nature of the topics under discussion.
 The type of involvement people need to have.
 The background and positions of the participants.
 How well they know the subject – and each other.
 The time you have available.
Remember, whatever group process you define, it's a question of keeping your focus on
outcomes. Find the best way to achieve the objectives of the overall event.

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Group facilitation techniques and methods

Action planning
Action planning is vital for team success. It is a simple and effective technique for gaining
commitment for action. It works by carefully recording each action item, as follows:
 ‘What’ the action point is
 ‘When’ the action is to be scheduled and the estimated completion date
 ‘Who’ is assigned against the action
 Progress against the action (leave blank initially)

To save time, it is often best to leave the assignment of action points to the end of the
meeting/event. In summary, here are a few key rules for the effective use of action
planning:
 Do not nominate an individual for an action, unless he or she agrees to take it on
 Describe actions in precise, clearly understood terminology and with an agreed
deadline for
completion
 The team must agree that each action is worth doing
 Progress must be tracked and reported on at each meeting or agreed interval

In addition, some organisations use a visual method of tracking progress against their action
plans. Typically, these use a ‘red’, ‘amber’ and ‘green’, traffic light analogy. In this context,
‘red’ means the action point has not yet started, ‘amber’ means it is in progress and ‘green’
means it has been fully completed.

Brainstorming
Brainstorming is an ideal tool for generating a large quantity of ideas within the group.
However, for effective brainstorming sessions:
 Ideas should flow freely
 Aim for quantity, not quality of ideas
 Record every idea clearly
 Do not criticise or evaluate ideas in the session

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  Consider an independent facilitator to the group
In addition, the facilitator should also encourage the team to come up with several ‘off the
wall’ or ‘wacky’ ideas. These can often stimulate the ideal solution.

Energisers
Energisers are ideal to raise personal energy levels within the group. Use these, where
necessary, at appropriate intervals throughout the day, to re-vitalise the group. You can
build up your repertoire of energisers by reviewing training manuals, sharing ideas with
colleagues and thinking up your own.
The key principles of using energisers are:
 They should be fun and uplifting
 Make them short e.g. five minutes
 Conduct them with sufficient space
 To be mindful of any potential health and safety hazards e.g. no chairs or equipment
in the way
 They are not physically too demanding and that everyone in the group will be able to
participate

Flipchart
Using a flipchart during a team meeting can provide a creative, yet structured, working
environment and bring focus to the group. Here are a few tips for effective flipchart use:
 Place the flipchart at the front of the group
 Ensure you have plenty of flipchart paper to hand
 Stand to the side of the flipchart to ensure everyone can see
 Whilst standing to one side, practice writing on flipchart. If you are right handed you
may find standing to the left (facing the flipchart) of the flipchart easier
 Write headings, where appropriate, onto the flipchart to focus the group on the
issue or question
 Use clear, bold, large font – (‘capitals only’ helps some facilitators), to ensure the
participants can read easily

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  Utilise different colours and bullet points when writing on the flipchart. However,
remember that ‘red’ and ‘green’ are not helpful for group members who are colour
blind.

Go Wild:
The ‘Go Wild’ facilitation method involves writing down 20 ideas beginning with the phrase
‘wouldn’t it be good if…’
As a result, the group is encouraged to come up with better and more imaginative solutions.
To begin with, the statements might be obvious and predictable, but will become
increasingly creative and ‘wild’ as you go on.

Ground Rules
First, the facilitator or meeting leader should get the group to establish some ‘ground rules’
or a ‘team code’ for group working. Do this at an early stage of the group coming together.
In addition, key principles for setting these ground rules are that they:
 Establish an acceptable code of behaviour
 Provide a frame of reference for group members to challenge constructively
 Help the group gain agreement of what is important
 Are specific enough to be practical
 Do not stifle the groups’ creativity
 Remain within the team
So how do you go about setting these group working rules? We suggest:
 Getting the group and recording feedback on the flipchart
 Asking each individual in the group to summarise their own thoughts on post-it
notes, then place them on the board
 If time is short, or it’s a single day event, we suggest having some visuals with key
words on that represent ‘ground rules’ or an appropriate ‘team code of behaviour’
for the day

Group Review

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Getting the group to review what they have learnt and gained out of the meeting will help
facilitate higher performance. This only takes five to ten minutes. Start by asking three
simple questions:
 What did we do that worked well?
 Did anything not work well?
 Should we do anything differently next time?

Ice Breakers
Ice Breakers are ideal to get people interacting early on in the meeting and are particularly
helpful for new groups coming together. In addition, they help take the group members
mind off the meeting content, whilst concentrating on working with each other in a light-
hearted way.
Furthermore, the icebreaker activity will make each group member feel included, and
provide a bridge into the meeting itself.
The guiding principles of selecting an icebreaker are that they should be:
 Fun and engaging for the participants
 Short and simple
 Bring relevance to the subject matter of the meeting or training

Meta-planning
Meta-planning is a simple technique that encourages individuals to express their thoughts
on the issue under discussion. In summary, it involves writing key words onto Post-it notes
and then collectively placing and arranging them into sub-groups on a flipchart or wall
space.
Ask individuals to quietly write one idea per Post-It note and then place the notes onto a
board, sheet of flipchart paper or similar. When all the notes are on the board, you (or one
or two members of the group) can then collate similar ideas together and add a sub
heading.
As a result, this approach helps to incorporate everyone’s ideas and contributions in the
shortest amount of time. It also enables the group to come to some quick conclusions.

 Multi-voting

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This technique allows groups to use Brainstorming to generate a long list of ideas. Following
this, it is important to narrow down these ideas into a manageable size, for realistic
consideration. A selection process involving the whole group then picks the best ideas, to
save time.
Here is a summary of the process:
 Once the Brainstorming has been completed, the group reviews the list to
clarify and merge similar ideas/options
 Then conduct voting through a show of hands for each option. Alternatively,
allow the group to go to the list and mark their choices or use a sticky dot for
each viable option. Participants can vote for any number of options.
 The facilitator then counts the votes
 Votes from half of the group, or more, warrant further discussion and debate
 The facilitator will circle or make a mark against each item now worthy of
further consideration
 A further vote then takes place based on the reduced list of options, although
participants can only vote for half of the remaining options on the list
 Two more rounds of voting are then used to further halve the size of the list
 Typically groups need to have three to five options for further analysis
 Following this, the group then discusses the pros and cons of the remaining
options
 Then debate the pros and cons of each remaining option within the group
 Finally, the group then makes a choice of the best option or identifies the top
priorities for further analysis and debate

 Ranking
Ranking is a decision-making technique that helps the group select the most appropriate
and relevant idea. Firstly, you can use brainstorming to generate the quantity of ideas you
are looking for. Then the group must determine a selection criterion to use, to guide their
personal decision-making process, against a numerical scale.
For example, each person might apply a one to six rating, where six is their preferred choice.
Finally, the scores of each participant are then added together to determine the most
appropriate and relevant idea.

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  Reverse Brainstorming
If the group is stuck, you could try ‘Reverse Brainstorming’. Essentially, his facilitation
method looks at the problem you are trying to resolve from a different angle. In summary, it
considers the reverse of the problem you are trying to resolve at the time.
For example, the group might look at ‘how to improve business communication’. The
reverse of this is ‘how to make business communication worse’. Then, once you have the
negative list, ‘flip’ each idea to turn it into a positive.
As a result, Reverse Brainstorming can produce some thought-provoking ideas on improving
issues.

 Round Robin
This simple technique aims to raise participation levels or to help define a problem. Then
each person in the group is asked to state their views on the issue under discussion, without
being interrupted by anyone else in the group.
As a result, the facilitator is then able to get the group to summarise these ideas and views,
before the group moves on.

Structured problem solving/decision making

There are many different problem-solving processes available, but essentially, most stages
follow this structure:
 Define the problem
 Present the background
 Generate ideas
 Group ideas
 Choose the idea/s
 Check commitment

In conclusion, many of the group working techniques already mentioned are useful at
specific stages of the problem-solving/decision-making process. These tips will help you
facilitate the team’s progress in achieving their goal or outcome.

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  Three star rating
Three star rating is a helpful visual group decision-making technique using coloured stickers
(all the same colour and star shaped). Start by giving each participant three stars to award
against their preferred option or options. The participant then distributes, or splits the stars
as they wish. As a result, you have a visual record of the preferred option.
 Working in pairs or trios
This is an ideal method of group working, particularly at the earlier stages of a meeting. It
helps encourage easy participation and break down any initial barriers. As a result, it is also
a good way of helping individuals define the issue the group is working on.
Discussions should last about five to ten minutes before bringing the pairs back together to
discuss the issue as one group.

The Two Types of Facilitator Roles

Process Facilitator Content Facilitator

How What

The methods and procedures How The subjects for discussion the task the
relations are maintained the tools being problem being solved the decisions
used the rules or norms set the group being made the agenda items the goals
dynamics the climate

Explain the concept of process relevant to facilitating results through and with groups: a.
The difference between process and content; b. The need to structure facilitation
processes; c.
Examples of process questions.
The Content Facilitator as “Facilitative Leader”

The type of leader innovative organizations need is one who works from a set of core values
consistent with the concepts of empowerment, commitment, collaboration, learning and
partnership. This type of facilitator use core values and principles that underlie the role of
facilitator and provide a foundation for becoming a “facilitative leader.”

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A process facilitator and a facilitative leader use the same core values and principles, but
apply them in different ways consistent with their roles. Many facilitative leaders are in fact
people leading implementation teams or directing and managing their own business units.
Hence, the have more authority to make decisions for their group while serving as facilitator
during meetings or planning sessions.

Differences between Facilitators and Facilitative Leaders

Characteristics Facilitator (Process) Facilitative Leaders (Content)

Group Membership Third Party Leader of group

Involvement in Substantively neutral Deeply involved in issues

substantive issues

Use of expertise Process expert Content and process expert

Yes
Decision making No
authority

Core Values of Facilitation Applied to Leadership

Valid Information

Facilitative leaders share all relevant information with group members (e.g., about strategy,
financing, and salaries). Facilitative leaders share the reasons for their actions and
statements. They encourage other to disagree with them. Ultimately all issues are open to
discussion.

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Free and Informed Choice

Facilitative leaders understand that while external controls generate compliance, internal
controls generate commitment. Consequently, they seek to increase the extent to which
group members make their own choices about their work.

Internal Commitment
This is a neutral result of valid information and free and informed choice.
Serving Everyone’s Interests and Thinking Systematically

Facilitative leaders help other to focus on the interests of all stakeholders when crafting
solutions. They understand that to remain effective, groups must maintain their ability to
work together and meet members’ personal needs (as appropriate), as well as deliver
quality services or products. They shift from focusing on placing blame to focusing on
understanding how problems arise and how they continue despite the sincere efforts of
many people to solve them.

Increasing Responsibility and Ownership and Reducing Dependence

The facilitative leader seeks to do for the group that which it cannot yet do for itself. He/she
recognizes that the systematic solution lies in helping the group address the root causes of
its ineffective behaviour, thereby increasing the group’s ability to deal with similar problems
in the future.

Creating Conditions for Learning

Learning is when members identify the core values and beliefs that guide their behaviour,
understand how some values and beliefs undermine their effectiveness, and learn how to
act consistently with a more effective set of values and beliefs. Facilitative leaders share the
core values, principles, and ground rules with others, discuss what they mean and ask for
feedback as to how they use them. They model the values so that others can make informed
choices about whether to embrace them themselves.

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Demonstrate the application of key interpersonal behaviours required by facilitators: a.
Definition of interpersonal behaviour; b. Examples of key interpersonal behaviours; c.
When the various behaviours are appropriate; d. Consequences of the inappropriate use
of the behaviours.

Definition of interpersonal behaviour;

What is interpersonal Behaviour?
Interpersonal behaviour is the behaviour and actions that are present in human
relationships. The way in which people communicate, and all that this entails, is considered
interpersonal behaviour.

Aggressive Behaviour:
Aggressive behaviour is that type of interpersonal behaviour in which a person stands up for
their own rights in such a way that the rights of others are also violated. Aggressive
behaviour humiliates, dominates, or puts the person down rather than simply expressing
one’s own emotions or thoughts. It is an attack on the person rather than on the person’s
behaviour. Aggressive behaviour is quite frequently a hostile over-reaction or outburst,
which results from past pent-up anger.

Non-Assertive Behaviour
Non-Assertive behaviour is that type of interpersonal behaviour, which enables the person’s
rights to be violated by another. This can occur in two ways: first, you fail to assert yourself
when another person deliberately attempts to infringe upon your rights. Second, the other
person does not want to encroach upon your rights, but your failure to express your needs
of feelings results in an inadvertent violation. A non-assertive person inhibits her/his honest,
spontaneous reactions and typically feels hurt, anxious and sometimes angry as a result of
being non-assertive in a situation. Often, this person relives the situation in their minds
pretending how they would do things differently if it happened again.

Assertive Behaviour:

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Assertive behaviour is that type of interpersonal behaviour in which a person stands up for
their legitimate rights in such a way that the rights of others are not violated. It
communicates respect for that person’s behaviour. Assertive behaviour is an honest, direct
and appropriate expression of one’s feelings, beliefs, and opinions.
Interpersonal Skills
Violet Jones of Intestinal Distress Taco Restaurant has recently hired a brand new assistant
manager named Fred Beans. Fred has turned out to be an absolute nightmare supervisor
who has no social, communication, or interpersonal skills.

Interpersonal skills are the tools people use to interact and communicate with individuals in
an organizational environment. There are seven main areas of interpersonal communication
that Fred fails at with his workers, and this has led to his immediate termination after
working only one month. The seven areas are:

 Verbal communication
 Non-verbal communication
 Listening skills
 Negotiation
 Problem-solving
 Decision-making
 Assertiveness
Let's look at the case of Fred Beans to see what happens when employees do not have the
interpersonal skills needed to perform at work.

Verbal Communication
Fred failed miserably in verbal communication with his entire staff. The definition of verbal
communication is how and what words are used to communicate with individuals. It is the
ability to communicate through words with the correct tone and manner.

Fred's initial week with Intestinal Distress Taco revealed that he was not capable of good
verbal communication. He mumbled orders and then screamed when employees did

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anything wrong. Most employees grew to dread working with Fred because they could not
understand his directions. He also was not a good non-verbal communicator as well.

Non-Verbal Communication
Another type of interpersonal skill is non-verbal communication, which consists of facial
expressions, body language, and hand gestures. Fred only communicated with negative non-
verbal communication, which consisted of frowns and angry stares.

Interpersonal skills examples

Unlike technical or “hard” skills, interpersonal skills are “soft” skills that are easily
transferable across industries and positions. Employers value interpersonal skills because
they contribute to positive work environments and help maintain an efficient workflow.
Here is a list of interpersonal skills for you to identify interpersonal skills you may possess
that are valuable to employers:

Active listening
Active listening means listening to others with the purpose of gathering information and
engaging with the speaker. Active listeners avoid distracting behaviours while in
conversation with others. This can mean putting away or closing laptops or mobile devices
while listening, and asking and answering questions when prompted.

Dependability
Dependable people can be relied on in any given situation. This can include anything from
being punctual to keeping promises. Employers highly value dependable workers and trust
them with important tasks and duties.

Empathy
A worker’s “emotional intelligence” is how well they understand the needs and feelings of
others. Employers may hire empathetic or compassionate employees to create a positive,
high-functioning workplace.

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Leadership
Leadership is an important interpersonal skill that involves effective decision making.
Effective leaders incorporate many other interpersonal skills, like empathy and patience, to
make decisions. Leaderships skills can be used by both managers and individual
contributors. In any role, employers value people who take ownership to reach common
goals.

Teamwork
The ability to work together as a team is extremely valuable in every workplace. Teamwork
involves many other interpersonal skills like communication, active listening, flexibility and
responsibility. Those who are good “team players” are often given important tasks in the
workplace and may be seen as the good candidates for promotions.

Site examples of effective group processes

Teamwork Skills: Being an Effective Group Member

For small groups to function effectively in a course context, students must attend to both
the climate within their group and the process by which they accomplish their tasks. Critical
to a healthy climate and an effective process are strong communication skills. Below you will
find the basic characteristics of effective communicators, plus tips to help students with
group climate and process.

Although students can gain many of the skills described below through informal social
interactions, they still benefit from having them made explicit. To hone their skills they also
need opportunities to practice as well as to receive regular feedback on how they’re doing.
Share the information below with your students, use it to set activities for them, and work
to incorporate three components of feedback into your plan: instructor comments (oral
and/or written), reflective group discussions and/or peer assessment, and self-reflection
(see the reflection prompts in Appendix A for ideas).

Communication skills

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To function successfully in a small group, students need to be able to communicate clearly
on intellectual and emotional levels. Effective communicators:

 can explain their own ideas

 express their feelings in an open but non-threatening way
 listen carefully to others
 ask questions to clarify others’ ideas and emotions
 can sense how others feel based on their nonverbal communication
 will initiate conversations about group climate or process if they sense tensions
brewing
 reflect on the activities and interactions of their group and encourage other group
members to do so as well
Regular open communication, in which group members share their thoughts, ideas, and
feelings, is a must for successful group work. Unspoken assumptions and issues can be very
destructive to productive group functioning. When students are willing to communicate
openly with one another, a healthy climate will emerge and an effective process can be
followed.

Skills for a healthy group climate

To work together successfully, group members must demonstrate a sense of cohesion.
Cohesion emerges as group members exhibit the following skills:

 Openness: Group members are willing to get to know one another, particularly those
with different interests and backgrounds. They are open to new ideas, diverse
viewpoints, and the variety of individuals present within the group. They listen to
others and elicit their ideas. They know how to balance the need for cohesion within
a group with the need for individual expression.
 Trust and self-disclosure: Group members trust one another enough to share their
own ideas and feelings. A sense of mutual trust develops only to the extent that
everyone is willing to self-disclose and be honest yet respectful. Trust also grows as
group members demonstrate personal accountability for the tasks they have been
assigned.

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  Support: Group members demonstrate support for one another as they accomplish
their goals. They exemplify a sense of team loyalty and both cheer on the group as a
whole and help members who are experiencing difficulties. They view one another
not as competitors (which is common within a typically individualistic educational
system) but as collaborators.
 Respect: Group members communicate their opinions in a way that respects others,
focusing on “What can we learn?” rather than “Who is to blame?” See constructive
feedback in the process section for more details.

FORMATIVE ASSESEMENT - FOUR

 IAC0401 Given descriptions of various scenarios relating to non-therapeutic group

situations within social services contexts learners will, without reference to learning
material, be able to: a. Accurately describe the group processes that is required for each
of the given situations; b. Indicate all the preparation work that must be done before
initiating the relevant group work; c. Explain the specific interpersonal skills that will be
needed to deal with the group dynamics as stated in the given scenarios

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 2.2.5. KM-02-KT05:
Principles, processes and techniques related to basic counselling and support of
individuals

KT0501 Explain what counselling is and indicate the various

limitations for conducting counselling as indicated in the
professional scope of work
KT0502 Describe the counselling process and indicate the key
interpersonal steps and behaviours relevant to each of the
counselling steps
KT0503 Describe the role of Social auxiliary work during the
counselling process
KT0504 Indicate the potential pitfalls of getting involved in counselling
from a personal, professional, ethical and legal viewpoint
KT0505 Describe the various key approaches to counselling and
indicate how each of these approaches impacts on the role of
a person executing Social Auxiliary services

Explain what counselling is and indicate the various limitations for conducting counselling
as indicated in the professional scope of work
Counselling is a collaborative effort between the counsellor and client.
Professional counsellors help clients identify goals and potential solutions to problems
which cause emotional turmoil; seek to improve communication and coping skills;
strengthen self-esteem; and promote behaviour change and optimal mental health.

Counselling is a process, as well as a relationship, between persons. Contrary to what some

people believe, counselling is not concentrated advice-giving. The aim of the counsellor is
usually to assist the person or persons (client or clients) in realizing a change in behaviour or
attitude, or to seek achievement of goals. Often there are varieties of problems for which
the counselee may seek to find help. Some forms of counselling include the teaching of
social skills, effective communication, spiritual guidance, decision-making, and career

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choices. Counselling may sometimes be needed to aid one in coping with a crisis. Other
types of counselling include premarital and marital counselling; grief and loss (divorce,
death or amputation); domestic violence and other types of abuse; special counselling
situations like terminal illness (death and dying); as well as counselling of emotionally and
mentally disturbed individuals. Counselling could be short-term (brief counselling) or long-
term.

The Meaning of Counselling

Despite the fact that the terms guidance and counselling are used interchangeably, but both
terms have different meaning. In a family, parents counsel their children, doctors counsel
patients, lawyers to clients and teachers to students.
 Counselling is a mutual relationship between a counsellor who is a professionally
trained helper, and a client who is a consumer of counselling services
 Counselling is a professional relationship between a counsellor who is professionally
trained and a client (counselee) who is seeking help to resolve a problem. (Koch
and Ngoma 1991)
 Counselling is a face-face relationship between a client and a counsellor in a
confidentialsetting.Counselling is a dynamic and purposeful relationship between
two people who approach mutually defined problem, with mutual consideration of
each other to the end that the younger or less mature or more troubled of the two is
aided to a self-determined resolution to his problem Counselling constitutes three
activities like: I - Informing A- Advising and C – Counselling

Informing:
Here the role of the counsellor is to give appropriate and correct information to the clients.

Advising:
The counsellor suggests appropriate courses of action. Here the counsellor offers several
options and recommends one according to your aim or interest

Counselling:

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The counsellor helps the students to clarify his needs, feelings or motivations so that he can
make the appropriate decision for himself. So you can think of these three activities as a
continuous spectrum of areas which merge into each other.

CHARACTERISTICS OF COUNSELLING:
According to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) 2002, the
definition of Counselling emphasizes many features of counselling such as:
 Counselling takes place in the confidential environment
 Counselling is a two way process.
 Counselling is the private relationship

There is a mutual relationship between the two individuals.

mutual respect between the two
 Counselling is a professional relationship i.e. one of the two must be trained to assist
the other
 Counselling does not involve giving advice
 Counselling is non-hierarchical relationship

A common factor in most counselling situations is that the client is demoralized, distressed
or otherwise in a negative state of mind about something.
Counselling can be for one person or a group (typically couples and families) and may be
delivered through a number of methods, from face-face dialogue, group work, telephone,
email and written materials.
Counselling is largely a voluntary activity whereby clients must wish to change and
collaborate willingly with the counsellor. Early counselling activity in some cases involves
bringing referred clients to this point of readiness.

Results of counselling can include:

 Insight and understanding of oneself, with greater self-awareness.
 Changing of one's beliefs and mental models.

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  Increased acceptance and appreciation of oneself.
 Increased emotional intelligence.
 Increased ability to control oneself and one's urges.
 Development of skills and abilities that require self-management.
 Improved motivation towards actions that are good for one's self.
 Understanding of others and why they act as they do.
 Increased appreciation and care for others.
 Improvement in relationships with others.
 Changing of relationship with family, friends and others.
 Making amends for past negative actions.

In summary, counselling typically leads to resolution of a living problem, learning of some

kind and/or improvements in social inclusion.
Counselling is also a profession, with national associations and control bodies, who, along
with academics, have explored its detail further.

Discussion
Contact between counsellors and clients may be through a third party who refers the client.
The client may also seek out the counsellor for help with their troubles.
Counsellors often subscribe to particular schools of thought as to the most effective and
useful way of helping. A critical variable in this is the extent to which the solution to
problems are provided by the counsellor or by the client. This leads to two very different
roles for the counsellor: problem-solving or facilitator. A facilitative approach may also be
used when a more open exploration approach is used.
There are hence a number of theories in counselling, including those held by the client and
those held by the counsellor. Theories provide simplified models for understanding and
ways of acting. They help the counsellor how to perceive the client and decide what to do.
They may also provide the client ideas for what to think and do differently.
Counselling is particularly common at transition points in a person's life, where they are
moving from the familiar to the strange, going from child to adult, single to married and so
on. These changes can be difficult and the counsellor can help their client successfully make

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the change, both emotionally and cognitively.
There has been ongoing debate about the difference between counselling, coaching and
therapy and the boundaries are not at all clear. Therapy can be more clinical but counselling
still addresses serious issues, whilst 'coaching' can effectively be a euphemism for lighter
forms of counselling. Generally, counselling tends to have a more social focus, whilst
therapy and coaching are more individually focused.

Historically counselling in personal issues was done by close relatives, friends or the local
priest. Although counsel has always been given within families, parents and siblings are not
always the best people to do this when they are effectively a part of the problem. Likewise
with friends, the penetrating need of counselling means a fun-based friendship is not the
best place to go.

With the rise of the industrial revolution and the mobility of populations, this stable support
network was often lost. At this time caring professions started to develop and the asylum as
a place of entertainment faded as mental illness and simpler personal issues were taken
more seriously.

In the 20th century, counselling emerged as a profession, splitting from therapeutic

approaches and developing its own ways, although still retaining much in common with
therapy. There are still competing approaches within counselling that parallel therapeutic
though.

Religion has continued to be an influence in the development of counselling and several

counselling agencies grew out of religious organizations which sought to help people in
need. This has influenced the general thinking within counselling, which is suffused with
Judeo-Christian thought.
Counselling has also been influencing by the arts and has had some focus here, for example
in using methods such as dance, painting and drama for therapeutic benefit in providing a
channel that enables people to express their emotions.

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The Process of Counselling
The counselling process is a planned, structured dialogue between a counsellor and a client.
It is a cooperative process in which a trained professional helps a person called the client to
identify sources of difficulties or concerns that he or she is experiencing.

The experience of counselling or psychotherapy varies depending on the counsellor, the

client, and the particular concerns which the client brings. There are a number of different
approaches which may be used to help with the concerns you hope to address. In general,
the process involves you speaking about your issues openly and honestly. Your counsellor
will listen to you attentively and respectfully, ask you questions, and work with you
collaboratively to address your issues. You should expect to be able to discuss with your
counsellor any concerns you have, whether about the challenges you are facing or about the
process of counselling itself. While your counsellor will help you meet your goals, he or she
might not tell you exactly what to do. Rather, you will both work to energize your strengths
to help you make the best decisions and to take action to improve your life.

The process of counselling often takes time, and it is rare for people to feel that their
problems are solved in one or two sessions. After one or two sessions, your counsellor
should be able to offer you some initial impressions of what the work will include and what
methods could be used. Since counselling can involve an investment in time and energy, you
should use your own judgment to assess your level of comfort working with your counsellor.
If you have questions or doubts about the process, you should feel free to discuss them
whenever they arise. If your doubts persist, your counsellor will be glad to refer you to
another counsellor at the Counselling Centre or off-campus. Your counsellor knows that a
good counselling relationship is a necessary condition of counselling and will be supportive if
a referral to another counsellor would be most helpful to you.

Describe the counselling process and indicate the key interpersonal steps and behaviours
relevant to each of the counselling steps

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Boundaries in counselling
Boundaries are a crucial aspect of any effective client-counsellor relationship. They set the
structure for the relationship and provide a consistent framework for the counselling
process. Some boundary lines are clear. Most counsellors would acknowledge that it is
ethically problematic, for example, to counsel your ex-partner because the pre-existing
relationship impairs objectivity and serves to undermine the professional relationship.
Whilst situations such as these are clearly problematic, outside of such elementary confines
are numerous situations where the delineation of boundaries is less clear. These situations
fall outside of the formal code of ethics and lie instead in an ambiguous grey area.
Boundaries are guidelines that are based on the basic principles of the
counsellor/practitioner code of ethics.
Corey (1996) briefly outlines five principles in which therapeutic boundaries are based upon:
1. Beneficence: a counsellor must accept responsibility for promoting what is good for
the client with the expectation that the client will benefit from the counselling
sessions.
2. Nonmaleficence: “doing no harm”. The counsellor must avoid at all times, (even
inadvertently) any activities or situations with the client that could cause a conflict of
interest.
3. Autonomy: the counsellor’s ethical responsibility to encourage client independent
thinking and decision-making, and to deter all forms of client dependency.
4. Justice: the counsellor’s commitment to provide an equal and fair service to all
clients regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, disability and socio-
economic status.
5. Fidelity: being honest with clients and faithfully honouring the counsellor’s
commitment to the client’s progress.
The confusion caused by boundaries is best described by Corey (1996) as a continuum,
ranging from disengagement (rigid, inflexible boundaries/guidelines) to enmeshment
(flexibility to the point of defacement) with a large grey area in between that is notoriously
ambiguous and dependent upon the counsellor, the situation and the client’s changing
needs and circumstances.

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To be an effective counsellor, one cannot disengage from the client to the extent that the
counsellor cannot empathise with the client. That is not the purpose of counselling and is
counterproductive to the therapeutic relationship.
However, the counsellor does not want to empathise with the client to the extent that they
hug the client upon meeting them or rant and rave with their client in a mutual expression
of anger. Nor would the counsellor pop in to visit at the client’s home on their own way
home from the office. This is the behaviour of a friend, not a counsellor. Hence, boundary
violation has occurred.
Ambiguous boundaries often arise in counselling, but strict responsibilities do apply to the
counsellor in relation to their duty to inform clients of the limitations on client
confidentiality. Such information forms a large part of informed consent and informed
consent is a fundamental client right.

A Short Case Study

Jenny had been seeing her counsellor, David, for two years when she was rushed to hospital
for emergency surgery. As she was extremely stressed and upset on the phone, David visited
her at the hospital the following day. Jenny was in horrific pain, and David sat in a chair
beside her bed and took her hand when she held it out to him. David offered some words of
comfort, and after ensuring that the family would be visiting Jenny soon, he left the hospital.
Jenny was aware that this was an exception to her usual counselling sessions with David and
it would not be repeated. David’s visit to the hospital simply meant that he cared for her
and could appreciate the depth of her pain and vulnerability.
At the first counselling session with Jenny after her discharge from hospital, David took the
first few minutes of the session to discuss his visit to the hospital to ensure that Jenny
understood fully its place in the context of the therapeutic relationship.
While some counsellors would not have visited Jenny at the hospital, arguing that it took the
therapeutic relationship outside of the confines of the office and that the counsellor’s
behaviour could have been misinterpreted by the client, many other practitioners believe
that a decision must be based on the individual circumstances and the uniqueness of each
relationship with each individual client.
The professional manner in which David conducted himself during the hospital visit and
later at the first counselling session allowed David to move the boundaries in all good

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conscience. He was not cavalier about his visit to the hospital, rather he carefully thought
out his decision; considering the ramifications and benefits for his client.
His behaviour was appropriate as a professional, in a professional setting, he did not make
the mistake of thinking his visit was equal to that of a friend and neither did he behave as a
friend. Also, as soon as he was able, he spoke to the client to clarify the visit and remove any
possibility of ambiguity or innuendo.

Conclusion
Efficient counsellors recognise that the intense feelings that can rise in the counselling
session can often challenge a counsellor’s personal and professional boundaries.
Counsellors who understand the serious effects of their own personal power, and how that
can be misinterpreted by the client, also take the boundaries of the counselling profession
seriously. When counsellors choose to be flexible regarding boundaries, they do so carefully,
having taken into account the ramifications of their flexibility for their client.

Describe the role of Social auxiliary work during the counselling process
What is the role of social auxiliary worker?
Social auxiliary work is defined as an act or activity practised by a social auxiliary worker
under the guidance and control of a social worker to achieve the aims of social work. Thus
the social auxiliary worker must be of direct assistance to the social worker in the execution
of tasks
Duties of the Auxiliary Social Worker
 Community and family profiling: The profiling process involves family identification,
verification and household assessment. Pre–identification is done by the ward
committees, use of hospital and Social Development records; physical verification
and a scored questionnaire. This process may last up to 6 months.
 Development of a personalized and relevant work plan according to each family’s
reality. The family and their SAW prioritize the family’s goals, create a family
development plan and establish concrete commitments that the members must fulfil
in order to improve their quality of life. By including confidence-building activities
that introduce the SAW to the family’s history and current situation, the SAW gains a
personal and integrated knowledge of their situation.

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  At the end of the intensive work phase, the family and their SAW will evaluate their
progress towards the completion of the minimum conditions. If the family has not
completed the 10 minimums, the SAW will continue working with and guiding them.
If the family has met the conditions, they will then sign a commitment contract in
which they make concrete commitments designed to sustain the progress that they
have made. In both cases, the personalized intervention will last 36 months (3 years)
with each family.
 Organising families into self-help groups through social mobilisation. The SAW’s
initiates and sustains the process of social mobilisation for poverty eradication by
formation, development and strengthening of self-help groups (SHG). The entry
points for organising are the issues that are key to poverty eradication. There are
different entry points for different SHG depending on the local situation.

Responsibilities:
 Assist the social worker to attend to any other matters that could result in, or stem
from, social instability of any form
 Collect and provide information for the identification of appropriate interventions
required to address the identified conditions
 Assist with the development and planning of programs to render the recommended
interventions efficiently, effectively and economically
 Implementation of the recommended interventions by providing continuous
support, basic counselling and guidance to the affected individuals, groups, families
and communities
 Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the recommended interventions, report
on progress and assist in identifying further/amended interventions to address the
identified conditions
 Ability to provide practical support inter alia material support, emotional support
and practical arrangements to beneficiaries
 Collect and provide information for the performance of statutory functions by the
social worker
 Ability to conduct research by completing questionnaires, processing research data
and implementing research findings

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  Conduct promotion, prevention, protection, and rehabilitation, outreach, and
empowerment initiatives in the social work field
 Facilitate social cohesion and community peace building workshops for school
leaners, youth out of school, community leadership and government officials
 Attend meetings, workshops, symposia, conferences and any other relevant
developmental activities to take cognisance of the latest developments in the
relevant field
 Perform administrative support functions in support of the social worker as required
of the job
 Schedule and adequately document external and internal referral appointments, if
necessary, for clients
 Participate and assist with the annual review and revision process of Standard
Operating Procedures for the Psychosocial Programme
 Responsible for compiling statistics for areas assigned to this position, related to
psychosocial on a monthly basis for director
 Maintain an accurate and professional filing system for operations for the psycho-
social department
 Provide written reports as required on the completion of activities
 Attendance to relevant in-house, community and donor meetings
 Contribute to the development and delivery to the development of work plans,
annual plans, strategic plan and organisational assessments
 Contribute to reviews of the organisation’s policies and procedures relating to
services to clients
Requirements:
 Auxiliary Social Worker diploma
 Registration with the SACSSP
 Fluency in written and spoken English
 Third Language in one of the refugees producing countries in Africa an advantage
 Time management capacity, organisational skills as well as written and oral
communication skills
 Valid driver’s license advantageous
 Computer Literacy

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  Experience facilitating and conducting group training
 Experience working with refugees or in the area of human rights is desirable
 Knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS and different form of
abuse is essential
 Counselling and presentation skills;
 Background of being a parent or a direct caregiver to a child;
 Ability to take initiative, work independently and has great attention to detail
 Ability to work independently as well as a team player
 Report writing skills
 Strong leadership skills
 Ability to interact comfortably and effectively with people from different
background.

Indicate the potential pitfalls of getting involved in counselling from a personal,

professional, ethical and legal viewpoint

What are the Code of Ethics for social workers?

The following broad ethical principles are based on social work's core values of service,
social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity,
and competence. These principles set forth ideals to which all social workers should aspire.
The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help
meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and
empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. A historic
and defining feature of social work is the profession's focus on individual well-being in a
social context and the well-being of society. Fundamental to social work is attention to the
environmental forces that create, contribute to, and address problems in living.

Social workers promote social justice and social change with and on behalf of clients.
"Clients" is used inclusively to refer to individuals, families, groups, organizations, and
communities. Social workers are sensitive to cultural and ethnic diversity and strive to end
discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other forms of social injustice. These activities may
be in the form of direct practice, community organizing, supervision, consultation ,

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administration, advocacy, social and political action, policy development and
implementation, education, and research and evaluation. Social workers seek to enhance
the capacity of people to address their own needs. Social workers also seek to promote the
responsiveness of organizations, communities, and other social institutions to individuals'
needs and social problems.

The mission of the social work profession is rooted in a set of core values. These core values,
embraced by social workers throughout the profession's history, are the foundation of social
work's unique purpose and perspective:

 service
 social justice
 dignity and worth of the person
 importance of human relationships
 integrity
 competence.

Describe the various key approaches to counselling and indicate how each of these
approaches impacts on the role of a person executing Social Auxiliary services

The Social Auxiliary Worker will report to the Lead Social Worker/Social Development
Manager.

 Assist in case management and active follow up for all client issues identified by
UBACH staff member, ensuring matter is resolved and recorded properly in a timely
manner;
 Identify and maintain partnerships with key government and non-profit stakeholders
in order to make referrals and linkages to services required by children and families;
 Facilitate appropriate referrals and linkages to other community resources and assist
caregivers in obtaining welfare grants;
 Keep detailed records in the UBACH case management system relating to all children
and families;

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 Assess and monitor children’s home and family environments;
 Investigate child abuse or neglect cases and take authorised protective action when
necessary;
 Assist participants in school enrolment and attendance;
 Identify and implement appropriate interventions required to address any challenges
to a UBACH participant’s social wellbeing;
 Monitor, evaluate, and record client progress according to measurable goals;
 Participate in programmes/workshops for caregivers and the community that
combat social problems and improve the health and wellbeing of participants (e.g.
parenting skills).;
 Assist with the organisation of support groups or counsel family members to assist
them in understanding, dealing with, and supporting the client or patient;
 Collaborate with other UBACH staff members to ensure the social welfare needs of
each UBACH participant are adequately addressed;
 Counsel clients in individual and group sessions to help them overcome challenges;
 Advocate for participants to resolve crises;
 Collect and monitor data on critical social welfare indicators for each UBACH
participant;
 Maintain appropriate records for all UBACH participants and submit reports
regularly;
 Participate in day-to-day activities at the centre, including monitoring the children,
and attend all staff meetings;
 Perform administrative support functions as requested by the Lead Social Worker;
 Any other task normally associated with the position or assigned by an appointed
authority.

FORMATIVE ASSESEMENT - FIVE

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 IAC0501 Given descriptions of various scenarios relating to individual counselling
situations within social services contexts learners will, without reference to learning
material, be able to: a. Accurately describe the individual processes that is required for
each of the given situations; b. Indicate all the preparation work that must be done
before initiating the relevant counselling work; c. Explain the specific interpersonal skills
that will be needed to deal with the individual and social dynamics as stated in the given
scenarios

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