The importance of being connected

New ASA research explores why, how and when community groups refer their users to advice agencies, solicitors and other organisations for support.
 
For the purpose of this research, we defined community groups as organisations which provide support and services to a specific community, defined by geography or shared interests. We interviewed staff in 11 London community groups that work with older people, ethnic minority people, disabled people, young people and women. We found that, in contrast with many mainstream advice agencies, community groups tended to have a continuing relationship with their users.
 
The study was small and therefore all conclusions are tentative. We were reassured that all of the interviewees were able to give examples of external referrals that they had made. However, whereas some groups (notably ethnic minority groups) were very pro-active in ensuring that their users had access to appropriate external expertise, others were less so.
 
A number of factors appeared to influence when and how users were referred to external advice providers:
 
knowing people

• It was very clear that personal relationships have a significant impact on referrals. These relationships were developed through previous workplaces, previous good experience, joint working, advice forums, marketing and effort by the community group itself. The report recommends that initiatives to encourage referrals between organisations should take into account the importance of these relationships.

lack of capacity in the external organisations

• Several interviewees said that they were discouraged from referring because they were worried that other agencies didn't have the capacity to help. The report recommends that specialist advice agencies need to review how they communicate their capacity to take on new work.

type of problem

• Most interviewees recognised that some areas of law were too serious for them to deal with. However, there was evidence that many (but not all) of the interviewees were uncertain and unconfident in relation to community care law. There is a need to develop greater awareness of the legal framework relating to community care problems.

understanding the limitations of your service

• There was evidence that referrals were more likely to take place in agencies which are clear about the parameters of their service.

uncertainty about being "allowed" to recommend

• Several interviewees thought that they weren't "allowed" to recommend external specialists. Networks need to provide clear guidance to their members about this.

 
A full copy of the report can be found at:
The importance of being connected