CAN is a community development organisation, committed to building more just and equal communities. For some time we have appreciated the power of conversation to bring about systemic change. We recognise that we need to learn more about how to do this i.e. to understand whole system change and the skills of working in this way. After initial conversations with Dialogix, it became clear that the starting point had to be with ourselves. Dialogix is working with the whole organisation to improve the quality of our conversations internally and to really enable us to become a learning organisation.
Our experience of this process to date has been powerful. It has enabled us to go deeper to tackle systemic issues that have been ignored in the past. We have been supported and encouraged to have conversations that matter in the everyday as well as in dialogue sessions. And it has not been easy. We have experienced disturbance in a way that has shaken us and forced us to really get in touch with what is core in our value base. Uncomfortable as this is, we appreciate that it has brought about a new level of honesty within the organisation. We were right to begin with ourselves.

This has been an eye opener for us and has significantly changed the way in which we carry out the work

Coaching
Sarah Hill from Dialogix currently coaches two members of the CAN team. We have regular sessions, each one lasting one and half hours. Most of these have happened via the telephone, some in person. Both work extremely well. These sessions have been invaluable to us in terms of planning, delivering and reflecting on a regeneration dialogue process that we are engaged in.

Sarah’s skill in asking reflective questions, inquiring into our understanding of the whole system and our motivation for interventions has really made us aware of the subtle ways in which we collude and prevent change from emerging. This has been an eye opener for us and has significantly changed the way in which we carry out the work. She gives us support and courage to take risks and creates the learning space for us to reflect with depth on the work itself.

Introduction to Dialogue
Dialogix facilitated a two-day training programme for CAN and strategic partners we work with. Thirty people in all were introduced to the theory and practice of dialogue. Together we explored its potential for use within a social justice change agenda. This provided a shared understanding of what dialogue means, some exposure to practices and actions and an opportunity to think about how we might use it in some of our future work together. The feedback was extremely positive at the end of the two days. The real impact is evidenced by the fact that we are now working with two groups (some of whom participated in this training) on dialogue processes relating to key issues within their communities.

The Dialogue Development Programme
Two members of CAN are participating in the one-year Dialogue Development Programme that Dialogix offers. This is a unique opportunity to really learn what happens in conversations. Conversations are a bit like driving a car. Once we learn how to drive a car, we never really think about the million and one actions that go into doing it safely and effectively. In the same way we take conversations for granted. We never really question what it is we are doing when we are in them and yet, when they are deconstructed, each practice and action separated out for scrutiny and inquiry—who would believe all that is happening?
The dialogue development programme allows us to do just that. Through a combination of theoretical input, skill development, reflective practice and the experience of dialogue, we unpick what happens when a group of people try to have a conversation – what happens within each person, between people and in the collective. To be doing this complex exploration with a group of people from diverse backgrounds, all of who have a shared intention to inquire and learn together is a very privileged and rare experience.