An online learning resource for community groups
How to use this resource
Welcome to Builder Stronger Community Organisations, an Online Learning Resource for community groups and organisations. This resource is aimed at refugee led organisations and refugee supporting organisations, but most of the materials will be useful to all community groups.
What’s the purpose of the resource?
The resource is designed to help you to strengthen:
What you want to achieve as an organisation (providing support and services for your community, running community events, campaigning and influencing policy, achieving social change for refugees, improving quality of life for your members) and…..
By helping ensure that your group works together (by increasing your skills , strengthening your committee meetings, improving your decision making, better understanding the needs of your community, managing your money and getting the funding you need).
Both kinds of activity need to be in place for your group to be able to achieve its aims.
Completing the modules will help you focus on how your group works on the community's behalf and to plan how you can make your group stronger.
Who is it for?
You will find this resource useful if you are:
Thinking about starting a group for your community The resource provides information about the main things you will need to know about running a group. This includes how to get started, staying accountable, finding funding, running activities and having influence. There’s additional information about starting a new group here.
Members of a committee of an existing community group The resource is an excellent way for you to stop and think how your organisation is running now and where your need to make improvements. This will help you to be more effective in achieving your aims.
A member of a community group to build up your own understanding of how strong community organisations work. This will help you as a contributing member of your group. You might also pick up useful knowledge and skills which could also help you in life more generally.
Supporting community groups in a professional role If you are a worker, or a volunteer, with a specific role to support refugee led or refugee supporting community groups, the resource provides knowledge and tools you can use. The presentations, group exercises, factsheets and planning templates will help you to assist communities to start and develop their own independent organisations and work on their own aims, structures and essential tasks. This will enable them to become groups who deliver services in partnership with others and effectively represent refugee interests.
For more information for facilitators, please click here.
What's in the resource?
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All the materials and exercises have been designed to help you work on how to make your organisation stronger and more effective to achieve what you want to achieve. The resource consists of 10 learning modules which are designed to be used by accessing them via this webpage. However, most of the content can also be downloaded and used in person by your group if you prefer to work in that way.
The content covers agreeing and sticking to your group's purpose, designing and planning the services that your community tells you are needed and getting the money you need to do this. It also covers how you achieve changes that your community wants and how you prove that your work makes a difference and is worth investing in for the future.
All the modules have:
Information on the pages themselves with key facts and information on how to use the module.
Introduction to the module which explains the purpose of the module and what it will help you to do
Let’s get started – a short discussion at the beginning of each module to help you get thinking about the topic
Presentations on important aspects of the module topic with a voice over from one of our trainers which explains the content. You will need to ensure that you have speakers or headphones to use the presentations properly. These can also be used as training materials in group sessions with committees or groups of people involved with an organisations.
Factsheets on important learning points from the modules which are important for groups to remember.
Group discussions – questions for discussion and forms that you can use to note down key points from your discussion.
Planning templates where you record more results of group discussion on how to put your learning into action.
My learning notes - Sometimes to make good decisions as a group it’s good to think about issues individually first. Each module provides a template for participants to note down their personal reflections and ideas about the modules content.
How could your group use the modules in the resource?
These modules will exist online but all materials can be printed off - so you can either work online or by using printed copies. You can use these materials in three different ways:
By working through the modules together as a whole committee - this is the best way to use these materials.
By working through the modules as a subgroup (a few members of your committee) and for the subgroup to bring what you have learned to a future committee meeting for discussion and approval.
By working through the modules individually and bringing what you have learned to a future committee - this will be less effective than working together as a whole group.
The modules are designed for groups who wish to work through them independently. Many groups may find it more effective to use the modules with a community worker, or other facilitator they know. For example this could be a community worker from Scottish Refugee Council’s Communities Team or other community work staff.
How to know which modules to do
The modules are designed to be used in order. One module leads into the next, like stepping stones that help you cross a river. For this reason, it is helpful to start at the beginning and to work through the modules.
However, it is also possible for you to pick and choose what modules would best suit your organisation at a particular time, for example, if you need to focus on a particular aspect of your group's operation or its activities. Module 1 will help you to work out which modules would be most useful for your group.
If you do this, please note that some modules refer to the content of other modules (if this happens, there will be a clear links between the modules and you should look at how the content of the modules compliments each other).
How you can use the materials
All the materials have been designed to be used more than once, so you can use them again and again as things in your organisation change, if you have new committee members or if you want to update your plans.
Completing the planning templates is a way for you to keep a note of actions to help you develop your group. You can use these to keep track of things you decide to do or make important changes in how you work as a group when you are working together on the modules.
These should be seen as your group’s plan for achieving what they want to do and everyone should share responsibility for putting them into practice.
The learning and planning materials you produce about your group can be used in the future when you are:
Taking time out to think how your groups is progressing
Making new plans in future
How long will it take?
Each module is designed to take approximately three hours - perhaps longer if you use interpreters. You can do each module in one session, or you can work on one module over several shorter sessions.
There is no set time for doing all of the modules and you can work through them at your own pace.
Some groups may work through them over several months and others may take a year or more. It is really whatever works best for your organisation and what your committee members are able to manage.
What should you do with all of this learning?
Group learning files
To work through the modules in the resource will take up a significant amount of your time. To ensure that your group gets all of the potential benefit from the process and can use the learning to guide your group in the future you will need to save the exercises and templates.
This will also create plans that you could share with partners of funders as part of your work.
Accessing Word files
We have used Microsoft Word for many of the templates and factsheets as part of this resource. If you don’t have access to Microsoft Word, there are other ways of viewing and editing the files. There is information about how to do this here.
My learning notes
The learning notes are a useful way store your individual notes and thoughts on the modules - you can download a template learning note here.
Getting started
We recommend that all organisations do Module 1: Getting Started. This module will help you to work out what other modules would be most useful for your organisation.
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