Partnerships in the Multicultural Community Sector Dr Irene Bouzo (PhD) Senior Policy Officer Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria 12 September 2014

About Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria 200 members Established in 1974 A peak advocacy organisation We lobby all levels of government The voice of Victoria’s migrants and refugees ECCV staff 2012

Outline ECCV research on better partnerships Two models that work 1.Practising Positive Partnerships Model 2.Himmelman Partnership Continuum

ECCV / Monash University partnerships research project The aim To strengthen service delivery through multicultural partnerships in ethnic aged care The benefits Less duplication Better access to resources Improved cultural competency

Practising Positive Partnerships Model

1. External Influences Government policies and resources can restrict or support partnerships Focus on “natural formation of partnerships”

2. Trusting Relationships Trust promotes strong relationships Takes time, effort and commitment Compatible personality styles Sharing common goals Exchanging information fosters trust

3. Professional Capacity Drivers that promote and sustain partnerships are the staff’s: Professionalism Commitment Enthusiasm Passion Values

4. Organisational Capacity and Unequal Power Smaller ethno-specific organisations Have limited resources Juggle service delivery and admin tasks Restricts staff at meetings Feel disadvantaged in decision making Larger councils and organisations have time, resources, staff Ethnic participants said: “They had the final say about what we can do and where we can go…they would take our advice but the final say was theirs”

Multicultural Partnerships Project Checklist Has our partnership project established these at the project outset? Equal spread of obligations and responsibilities Equal power and financial responsibility Shared acknowledgment of expertise Equal balance of inputs and outputs Shared aims and shared workload Shared ownership

Himmelmann Partnership Continuum Work on a common goal Networking = exchange information Coordinating = info exchange + altering activities Cooperating = info exchange + activities + sharing resources Collaborating = info exchange + activities + resources + enhancing capacity of the other organisation An equal partnership is a sustainable partnership

Partnership example ECCV & Palliative Care Victoria Networking Flyers, AGMs Coordinating ECCV wrote position papers PCV produced its CALD Strategy Cooperating Joint Golden Years magazine Mutual presentations Joint forums Collaborating Joint strategic policy directions Joint projects Joint resources

Ideas for collaborating Write a partnerships policy and strategy Link partnership policy with cultural diversity policy Use VMC and ECCV multicultural directories to find partners Work with HACC Access and Equity (A & E) staff in ethnic and multicultural organisations Try co-location of A & E staff Employ frontline bilingual staff Employ a Multicultural Officer

Resources ECCV/Monash University research Practising Positive Partnerships in the Ethnic and Multicultural Aged Care Sector: Networking, Coordinating, Cooperating, Collaborating? S. Feldman (2011) –full report at –summary at ECCV report – A Better Option: asylum seekers living in the community at living in the community ECCV discussion paper Work Solutions: Improving Cultural Diversity in the Workplace –summary at –full report at VCOSS Partnership Practice Guides 1, 2 and 3 – VicHealth Partnerships Analysis Tool –

How to create positive multicultural partnerships? Try the partnership models Work on forming natural partnerships Visit ECCV/Monash University research steering committee