Inclusive Practice
We want to help people have a say in decisions that affect their lives. However, we know that people are often excluded from the standard processes and structures that exist, and that some people are excluded more often than others.
At Traverse, we want all the processes we run – whether an engagement workshop, an online consultation, research project, or evaluation – to be inclusive; enabling all who want to participate to be able to do so in a full and positive way.
As such, we like to talk about how we can keep getting better at this. We talk to friends, partners, and clients to learn from them and their experiences. We’re collating the resources we have found useful below – this is a living page that we update monthly.
If you are interested in inclusive practice, or can recommend a useful resource or approach, please get in touch. You can either email the team below, or join the LinkedIn group.
Anna McKeon: anna.mckeon@traverse.ltd
Inclusive practice share 2020
In October 2019 we hosted our first practice share session where we worked with a group of peers to come up with 10 recommendations for inclusive practice. One year on, in 2020, we met again to reflect on progress, challenges and changing perceptions of inclusion over a tumultuous year. We had a really challenging session involving colleagues from other research and engagement consultancies, health and social care, charities and membership organisations. One of the key ideas to come out of the discussion was the need to move beyond principles to accountable and measurable criteria for inclusion, that can drive real change. This has fed into a draft roadmap to inclusive practice in social research. We welcome challenge and contributions to this in relation to examples of what success has looked like for you.
Do also check out the timelapse video to the right, where our in house livescribe Skye McCool captures the key topics for discussion.
Resources
- Over the summer of 2020 we hosted a series of discussion sessions for our research and engagement peers to explore how our practice needs to change, to go beyond passive narratives of diversity to actively addressing inequality. For more about the questions we asked see: https://traverse.ltd/recent-work/blogs/anti-racist-research-engagement-how-does-our-practice-need-change
- A comprehensive guide to co-production - SCIE (Social Care Institute for Excellence)
- Essential terminology for conversations about diversity - Versiti
- Inclusion Commitment – Energy and Utilities Sector Skills Partnership
- Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion: The Pillars of Stronger Foundation Practice – Association of Charitable Foundations
- How to make your event more accessible – Traverse
- 10 ways to make your report more visually accessible – Traverse
- Designing for Accessibility - Home Office
- Insights on Pre-Engagement
Blog Post
Recommendations for inclusive engagement practice
In October 2019 we invited a group of our partners and clients together to discuss inclusive engagement practice. We are often asked about working with “hard to reach” groups, “seldom heard” groups and “people in vulnerable situations”,...
Blog Post
Through the eye of the beholder - Positive participant experiences
Have you ever thought what it might be like to be a participant in an engagement event you have run? We did, and here is what we thought we could do better to ensure every particpant has a positive experience.
Blog Post
Inclusive practice for the 21st century: language and progression in the utilities sector
People in vulnerable circumstances are less likely to make a complaint or provide feedback than the average customer for a range of reasons. So, if you want to find out what these customers need, you’re going to have to speak to them in a way that...
