Anna was on the course with people from a range of backgrounds and organisations such as: Belfast Exposed, Chinese Welfare Association, Belfast Islamic Centre, Multi-Ethnic Sports Cultures NI, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and Belfast Asian Women's Academy.
Sure Start is a project aimed at families with pre-school children or expectant parents. It provides outreach, home support, play activities and family support.
Motivation
I am working in an interface area and wanted to gain more knowledge of how to bring social innovation into play.
Applying Learning
I really enjoyed the Social Innovation module and learning about design thinking. I have improved my communication with others and how I manage conflict. I found the course a great way to meet people from all walks of life and build relationships.
Impact
Through the programme, I improved how I manage my team and encourage collaborative working. It clarified a possible vision for transformation which could be effective in my work and underlined how power and systems work to stymie radical change at a societal level.
Our interface area will be impacted by me improving working practices in my team in Sure Start. We will be more effective in meeting the needs of our communities. I will also be able to work collaboratively with other groups working towards an end goal.
I will apply what I have learnt by ensuring there is a way to measure at the start and end of a project to capture the right data. This in turn will ensure that needed projects are planned and implemented, and possible funding can be secured.
This programme pushed me in a new direction and gave me the confidence to branch out of my comfort zone. It was great to meet new people and see different perspectives.
