FEEDBACK: AN OVERVIEW OF DISCUSSIONS HELD IN WORKSHOPS
The following is a brief overview of the discussion in each workshop. The following workshops were held:
Each section reflects the key questions used to focus the discussion.
All views expressed in the papers from the workshops are those of the individuals concerned and are not necessarily those of the Scottish Executive or any other organisation.
Group A: Consulting with Communities
| 1. When consulting communities, what do you see as a) the main barriers and b) the solutions to these barriers? |
Barriers | Solutions |
|---|
Use of inappropriate consultation methods | To develop good relations with the communities and consult on 'their' terms, using 'their' own language. To avoid wearing 'suits' or formality, where this will not be appreciated. |
Consultation fatigue | To be creative or innovative in whom you consult with, and how you achieve this. |
Perceptions on consultation | Involve the communities in the planning and outcomes of the consultation. Ensure that the consultation process in clear to all involved. |
Resource issues | Plan and budget for the consultation process, whilst committing to a systematic approach. Recognise that 'time is money' and that resources, whether in the community or in 'consultant' terms, is limited. |
Failure to reach 'hidden voices' | To develop trust within the communities and be open to speak to those that are not automatically involved in consultation processes. |
Preconceptions and stereotypes | To engage with training and awareness raising at an early stage. |
2. Can we think of ways to help ensure that communities respond to the consultation? |
- To establish a long term 'engagement strategy' to build up sustained infrastructure to get communities involved and develop good community relations. Examples include such partnership working as the NHS Health Board Community Councils.
- To ensure that any structure of 'engagement' includes a multi agency approach.
Group B: Monitoring Ethnicity in a Changing Population
1. How is the ethnic make-up of Scotland likely to change over the next decade? |
Change | Details/ Impact |
|---|
More diverse ethnic profile in rural areas of Scotland | Through the encouragement of migrant workers to these areas, the diversity of ethnicity will increase. This will need a change in attitude to community planning and may require further development of ethnic monitoring and classification to ensure needs are met. |
More diverse ethnic profile due to settlement of refugees in Scotland | For various reasons refugees are deciding to remain in Scotland or move to Scotland from elsewhere in the UK. Ethnic monitoring of the existing refugee population and future settlement in Scotland will be important to note trends and tailor services. |
Following the discussion above it was thought that potentially the diversity of ethnicity may prove very difficult to classify according to a finite list of categories. It was suggested that a 'write in' box was an alternative, which could then be explored in detail to reveal trends.
2. How are people's current perceptions of their ethnicity likely to change over time? |
Influence of Perception of Ethnicity | Details/ Impact |
|---|
Political and Social Climate | If an individual feels threatened by members of society due to his/ her perception of identity, the individual may chose to be disassociated with that perception. |
Fashion | Some aspects of culture within certain ethnic groups, can be perceived as 'fashionable'. However, this can change and influence the perception. |
Individuality of Perception | In recording perception there is a difficulty around who fills out the ethnic monitoring form. Age or experience may affect this. For example a mother filling out a form, may have a different perspective of her daughter's ethnicity than her child. |
Ethnicity and Discrimination/ Other People's Perceptions. | It was suggested that how other's perceive you may also influence your answer to any ethnic monitoring- especially if that perception is discriminatory. A solution was suggested that there should be up to three questions… one relating to how the individual perceived their own ethnicity, one to their ethnic ancestry, and another on how they felt other's perceived their ethnicity. |
3. How can we overcome these problems? |
The group also considered the difficulties in the perceptions of the form, as well as perceptions of ethnicity. General concern was expressed over the need to communicate how the data was used and how this related to improvement in policy, which above all required transparency. There was also concern that people were not happy with the 'black' or 'white' definitions given in the form.
Group C: Provision and Use of Ethnicity Data
1 a) List the reasons why people might object to providing ethnicity data and b) list solutions to overcome these objections |
Reasons | Solutions |
|---|
History | This obstacle could not be overcome. |
Classifications and Perceptions: - The Question/ Form
- Perceptions of Ethnicity
| Discussion around responses to questions and perspectives of ethnicity suggested that a 'write in' box would be useful as oppose to a complex set of classifications. Another alternative would be to disaggregate the complex issues in one question, leading to a tiered approach. Successful surveys in ethnic monitoring should be looked at further. |
Sensitive Issues: - Fear of Negative/ Positive Discrimination
- Confidentiality
| Need to develop appropriate education and awareness raising programmes, and to deal with fears sensitively and responsibly. |
Definition of Ethnicity or Identity | To work with communities to look at range of issues on identity and ethnicity. To feed this into any work on ethnicity classifications. |
2 a) Why is there a lack of awareness about what ethnicity data is used for and b) what should be done to increase this awareness? |
The group felt that lack of awareness around use of ethnic data was due to poor communication on behalf of data users, and a lack of clarity about its purpose among both providers and some users of data alike. It was suggested that an information strategy needed to be developed in order to increase awareness of what ethnic monitoring was used for.
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For more detailed notes on the workshops please see the discussion notes and the general report on the seminar itself.
Scottish Executive
April 2005.