“What I see on my return to BD Collective” – A BLOG FROM RUTH ROBERTSON

I have recently started as one of the new Community Connectors, but this is not my first time involved in the work of the BD-Collective. Prior to going on maternity leave from my previous role at Kingsley Hall in February I was actively involved in the work of the BD-Collective for the previous 18 months. Though the landscape of Barking and Dagenham is very similar, there are also some noticeable differences since I have returned to the outworking of our desire for connection and relationship.

Collective Action combined with an array of activity and opportunity has been the most noticeable difference. There seems to be such an opportunity on our doorstep to collectively come together for the benefit of our community. The years of conversations, the time getting to know each other on a personal level rather the professional façade we at times feel compelled to show and the challenging conversations we have had, do really seem to have shifted the culture of our joining together. To me this is clearly evidenced by the continued interest from external sources in supporting the work of the Collective. It has been great coming back to witness to more than just conversations around joined up approached working but in fact organisations stepping into this space. My encouragement to us all and the challenge I think we face, is when the tough times hit and the outworking of our partnerships unfold, do we continue to embrace the relationships with one another or resort back to our previous competitive mindsets or closed door approaches.

At our annual year 4 event, Terry from ILA summed up what I also perceive to be one of the greatest achievements we have made together and that is a genuine sense of trust of one another. Trust and a lack of trust will always be one of the greatest barriers to us working together as it allows us to abandon our preconceived ideas and embrace the mutual visions, we all share. Over the last few years, I have been involved in a wide range of sector led conversations where the need for increased trust has been raised. To return after 8 months and see how there does seem to be a greater trust that we have for one another, really highlights the hard work you have all put in individually. It also makes me excited to think how we do have a large fire of enthusiasm and expertise to make a genuine impact on our borough.