The Competences

2. Build and maintain relationships with individuals and groups

Purpose: so that people’s ability and opportunities to work together are enhanced.

Context: CLD is built upon the interactions between people, be these community members, activists or those working with organisations offering support. These relationships provide the basis to support learning and engage people in action to support change within their communities.

As a competent practitioner able to build and maintain relationships with individuals and groups you will be able to demonstrate that you can:

• seek out and engage with individuals, groups and communities;
• practise in different roles, such as facilitating, supporting, leading, advocating, that are appropriate to the work in which you are involved;
• use informal dialogue in individual relationships and within groups;
• handle challenges and opportunities constructively;
• understand and deal with the underlying dynamics at work within relationships and groups;
• work towards the resolution of conflict;
• recognise the power dynamic and action needed to equalise power relationships in decision making;
• facilitate endings for individual and group relationships where appropriate.