Together in
2770 Collective Principles
The 2770 Collective agrees to work together in its suburb, postcode and systems level work guided by 7 key principles. As we seek to engage with community and develop our collective strategy, we have agreed to move forward with the following principles underpinning our work together:
01
We are Place-Based
- We develop and implement a sense of place and connection to place.
- We work “locally” and have a presence on the ground.
- We adapt our approaches to the specific places we are in – our work is contextual to the place we are in.
- We acknowledge that the geography of where people live matters.
- We commit to ensuring the decision makers are as geographically close to those affected by the decisions being made as possible and we hold ourselves accountable to them.
- We work within the ecosystem of the suburb.
02
We are Collaborative
- We plan and work together.
- We blur lines between organisations in order to integrate our work with each other.
- Organisations work closely with one another so that community does not need to engage with us as “separate organisations”.
- We have shared outcomes and prioritize these outcomes over organizational agendas.
- We intentionally integrate out structures.
- We share resources, skills and responsibilities.
03
We are Holistic
- We recognize and acknowledge the “whole” person and respond to their aspirations and needs with that awareness.
- We are able to work holistically because we are relational and collaborate with others.
- We understand that for a child to start school well, we need to work with their family, their community, with young people, with adults and with older people.
04
We are Relationship-Based
- We work with each other in relational ways with shared principles.
- We build trust and relationship first acknowledge the value and dignity of the individual.
- We prioritize people over the organizational outcomes.
- We work with the understanding of “Mutuality” – We are not “us” and “them” and we are not “givers” and “receivers”. We all give and receive to and from one another.
- We use relationship authentically towards self-determination.
- We show ourselves to be trustworthy, and are aware of power dynamics.
- We connect, introduce and link people to one another through our relationships.
- We bring ourselves to the work and are able to be authentic and vulnerable.
- We are willing to work with people and be “on the ground” – no work is “below us”.
05
We are Community-led
- We listen to community.
- We decide on our activities and actions based on the needs and aspirations of the community we are engaged in.
- We have mechanisms by which we can be accountable to community.
- Local community members are at the “decision-making” tables/groups.
06
We are Strengths-based (Community are the experts)
- We do not approach community as “problems to be solved” but we understand community members have their own passions and strengths.
- We assume people have strengths and work towards building capacity.
- We practice ethical story telling in the way we represent Mt Druitt.
- We recognise the world is not as it should be, while also recognising the community strengths in “what is”.
- We involve community in our advocacy.
07
We use an Ecological Framework
- We recognise the significance of connection to country.
- We look at a whole person, the systems and the environments around them: e.g. schools, businesses, natural environment, government services.
- We put an individual in “place” and understand the context of the system of that place.
- Contextual- looking at families within their context.
We look at ‘person in place’. - Do we take into account the history of the place?
- “Focuses on the ever changing relationships between all variables”.
