Indigenous Community Volunteers

ICV now has a more comprehensive and evidenced-based methodology. This ensures that ICV’s work assists Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to reach their full potential. Targeting our investments of time and resources on the evidence of what works is essential. ICV’s programs focus on key evidence-based building blocks for addressing disadvantage: community and family safety, early childhood development, education, health, healthy homes, governance, and economic development. We underpin these with important foundational issues of gender, reconciliation and cultural preservation.

ICV starts from a positive view of a community- building path, that is asset-based, internally focussed and relationship driven. By focusing on an evidence and asset-based approach to community and human development, ICV is making a tangible contribution to ‘closing the gap’ on Indigenous disadvantage.

Asset-Based
ICV takes an ‘asset’ rather than ‘deficit’ approach to development. ICV is honest about deficits, but it acknowledges the evidence about the effectiveness of strengths-based approaches to community and human development. Good community and human development identifies and connects existing assets. All communities have assets that can be harnessed for their development. ICV works with communities to enable them to recognise, map and connect their assets effectively.

Effective community development builds networks between assets. ICV helps to identify and leverage assets and opportunities that are available to communities. It believes strongly in the importance of bottom-up and grass-roots approaches. It begins with where people are at and then helps them to adapt existing resources to meet their needs.

Internally Focused
Community development builds on local strengths and knowledge. Communities need to own their development agenda if it is to be sustainable. Local participation is essential if ICV and the community are to achieve real and lasting results. ICV ensures that it is doing things ‘with’ rather than ‘to’ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Its project officers work in the field and engage in meaningful, respectful and honest dialogue with communities. ICV recognises the value of local leadership mechanisms and respects and supports these. ICV acknowledges the history of colonialism and avoids neo-colonial practices and values.

Relationship Driven
Many relationships interconnect in community and human development. These relationships can include community members, government, businesses, and non-government organisations such as the churches.

ICV helps to connect and strengthen these relations. ICV finds, shares, and connects diverse knowledge, expertise, and resources. Its relationship with communities is respectful. ICV helps to resolve conflict and not be part of it.

Effective community and human development requires ICV to look, listen, and learn. ICV engages with communities to help them explore and refine options for a better future. ICV follows a ‘listening’ rather than ‘preaching’ perspective, because communities have the best answers to their own problems and challenges.

Community Development Impact
Development is a continuous process that can be interpreted in many ways. The processes leading to the outcome are important for sustainability. Strengths-based approaches create the transformation necessary to move from welfare to wellbeing. Through ICV’s approach it provides in conjunction with the community direct relief from poverty, distress, and misfortune.
Communities want ICV to invest ‘with’ them and ‘in’ their future and not do things ‘to’ them or ‘for’ them. ICV pursues a ‘wellbeing’ not ‘welfare’ approach focusing on people’s ‘rights’ not ‘needs’.