Social inclusion
Sue Phillips
Community Development Officer - Neighbourhoods, City of Onkaparinga
Contact Email:   susphionkaparinga.sa.gov.au

This project is the result of the final topic for a Master of Social Work qualification. It stemmed from conversations with other community development workers in relation to the State Labour government’s new Social Inclusion initiative.

We were interested to explore how this concept came to be picked up by this government, i.e. where did it originate from, what sort of practical implications it is expected to have for the community and how this will be achieved.

We were also interested in how the local community views the concept of Social Inclusion, or whether they have considered it at all. We were particularly interested in ideas around what, if anything, community members wanted to be included in and how this might be achieved.

We understood that ‘conversations’ on this level were difficult to pursue, given the level of work we are all currently involved in. This final requirement of my studies, therefore, seemed a good opportunity to produce some work of substance around this topic.

This has involved a literature search of overseas and Australian writing around this topic, including:
§ Where did the concept of Social Inclusion come from?
§ What are the experiences of those models and are they still in use?

State level
This has involved literature-based research and an interview with staff from within the Social Inclusion Unit. This has provided information on;
§ What approach will be taken?
§ What focus will the Unit have?
§ What is the purpose and role of the Unit?
§ What leadership approach will they use?
§ Will the community be involved with the Unit, or will it operate in isolation from the community?
§ What is the role of the Social Inclusion Board?
§ How can partnerships with the Social Inclusion Unit be fostered?

Community level
Focus / conversation groups have been held with interested community groups or individuals. These have been carried out with two “marginalised” groups within the community. This has also involved a series of individual interviews with community members who have a high level of engagement with their local communities. Areas explored have included:
§ What is their understanding of the concept of Social Inclusion?
§ Are they currently feeling that they are not included and in what ways?
§ What are the barriers to Social Inclusion?
§ How do we help those currently excluded “get back in”?
§ What are the important considerations around Social Inclusion?
§ Are they aware of the Social Inclusion Unit?
§ What would they like to be ‘included’ in and how?

Conclusion
The approach taken by the State government seems to be at odds with how communities would like to see this work.
There are a number of consistencies from within the different community groups about how they view this concept, what the barriers might be and how these could be addressed.
There are opportunities that exist that would allow partnerships with the Social Inclusion Unit and local communities to be fostered.

Paper Download Information (if available):

Paper22.pdf

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