Southerly Aspect - By John Gold
25- Aug-2008

How many times have you heard someone say ‘I didn’t know about that’, or ‘but no-one told me’? Those are the two phrases I hear repeated more than any others in my day to day work. The cynical amongst us may suggest that they are simply excuses, ways of avoiding a meeting or event which we just can’t be bothered attending. But perhaps for many they are real and legitimate concerns, phrases which are symptomatic of a much wider communication crisis which is manifest in so many groups, organisations and communities.

In my work, I’m privileged enough to be able to attend and participate in a huge number of local groups. I find myself constantly overwhelmed by the volume of information which I’m party to, and struggle to keep track of developments and opportunities. And that’s my work – how on earth is a volunteer juggling numerous commitments ever expected to keep abreast of such things?

Conversely, it’s always easy for an individual or a group to become comfortably ‘in the know’ and to forget about the wider community who are equally entitled to access to that same information. It’s very easy to get caught up in the day to day business of an organisation and forget to report progress and developments to the wider world and before long the shape of a project or an idea can have changed so much to the extent that it’s no longer recognisable. The phrase ‘knowledge is power’ often rings true.

In an attempt to address some of the issues I’ve raised above, here in Douglas we’ve established a group which has become known as ‘Douglas Talking’. A forum which is open to all, it aims to improve communication within our community and increase opportunities for participation. The group meet face to face every few months and the discussions which take place are summarised and published in the local newspaper. The group hope to erect a Village Notice Board and utilise our local community council website to share the information which they possess. An online communications forum has also been developed to which documents and files can be uploaded, shared and commented on by anyone in the community. None of these methods of communication can stand alone; there are barriers to them all, but by providing information in a variety of formats it’s hoped that access will be maximised.

Very much in the early stages of development, forum attendance to date has been sporadic and momentum has been difficult to maintain. Perseverance will be required if it is to succeed, and a commitment of time and energy from many already busy people required. That’s important to recognise – an effective communication strategy requires significant resourcing. Meetings require advertising and facilitation.

Community newsletters require coordination, compilation and cost money. Websites need updating and online hubs and forums rely on people setting aside time to contribute – all this on top of running an organisation or developing a project! It’s no wonder commercial firms and businesses often employ communications officers!

But regardless of the extra resources required to help communication happen, I think it’s important to recognise that it’s often a dialogue with the wider community, a free flow of information and an open and transparent method of operating which can be the difference between success and failure of a group, organisation, even a community. No-one likes a clique or a closed shop, or a group which sends out a clear message of disrespect when it maintains that the information it holds shouldn’t be in the public domain. But a group or a community which shares information, which recognises the importance of doing so and which works hard to eradicate the phrase ‘but no-one told me’ is surely one which has a characteristic of success fixed securely within it.

Communities on the Edge Coordinator and
Rural Gateway Correspondent