The Practices of Social Engagement: A Developing Community

This work inquires into the learning that has unfolded for participants in The Relational Center, a grass-roots non-profit organization founded in 2007 for the purposes of addressing the harms associated with social isolation. The dissertation begins with an argument for a wide-scale position in psychosocial and organizational interventions to focus on cultivating collaborative sensibilities and competencies. Following this argument is a descriptive study of the practices in which The Relational Center has engaged since its inception and how these practices anchor to the argued position. Inquiry projects will then be described, including a rationale for the chosen inquiry strategies/models. Finally a summary will be given of what was learned and important implications for practice.

The sensibilities and competencies that form the basis of The Relational Center's own practice model draw upon phenomenological, hermeneutical, critical and performative disciplines, prioritizing embodied experience as the given of constructed identity and therefore central to our inquiry approach. We map our dialogic competencies to our six core values: (1) embodiment, (2) field thinking, (3) curiosity, (4) inclusivity, (5) resourcefulness & self-determination, and (6) sustainable development. All of the practices around which our activities are organized anchor to these core values.