A prerequisite for expanding access and having Civil Rights compliance is ensuring educational programs meet the needs and interests of people representing the demographics of the geographical area(s) you serve. Going beyond just knowing the numbers and characteristics of those you want to reach means learning more about their cultures, realities, communities and needs. There are lots of ways of doing this, reading and studying the research, gathering information from other colleagues, diversity specialists, and diversity training and workshops, etc. All are appropriate and yet none are more valuable than that of actually building relationships and creating trust with the audiences you are intended on reaching. With your audience in mind realize that there is more opportunity than there is not for relationship building, and having a strategy is optimal. Building strong relationships increases value and trust in us and our work. Start with exploring who you should consider building a relationship with, the value of the relationship and its purpose. Ask yourself, “What are the kinds and types of relationships needed and why?” Relationships primarily support and guide us toward developing and implementing culturally relevant programming, building trust in communities that have been underserved, learning about different cultures and increasing cultural competency and understanding, increasing recruitment of audiences for our programs and effectively obtaining and gathering feedback on programs. Key relationships to develop are with community agencies, community groups, community/cultural insiders and with potential and existing program participants. You will need a combination of relationship types. You will also need different types of relationship for different groups or types of programs. While acknowledging the benefits of relationships, building them takes time. Focus on how you will build the relationship and not on how much time it will take. The effort used, time attributed for and knowledge gained while building relationships supports your professional development. Getting to know your partners/collaborators and allowing them to share their knowledge, listening to their concerns and needs and solutions while engaging with them around program planning and development is increasing your knowledge and abilities to serve diverse and underserved communities. Your colleagues, program participants, community partners/leaders and visits to the community can assist you in determining with who to initiate relationships. Establish relationships through invitations to your programs, meetings, for coffee, or during community visits, etc. Trust is established when you approach your relationship building with a willingness to learn, respect and nonjudgment. The time it takes is ongoing and it won’t matter because it will become a function of what you do and how you do it.
Here are additional resources for support and the value of relationships:
Expanding Access to the Latino/Hispanic Population is Waupaca County: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RutYjQP5ZlI&feature=youtu.be
Natural Circles of Support approach:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs5uOHZX_Hk
Qualitative Research Reports on Expanding Access from Recording Results Data Analysis by UW Madison student, Winter 2017.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bx4cIhCl303ScjVOYnFoVUNzSGs
