Research to Practice: the importance of the Human Connection

The Institute of Child Protection Studies Research to Practice Series published an article The importance of a ‘Human Connection’: Helpful Relationships with Service Users and Linking Social Capital. The research substantiates the potentially negative influence of funding agreements on practical outcomes.

‘Although power differences are recognised in service-client relationships, it is being treated like a human – the exchange and acknowledgement of each other’s humanity – that is the important interaction which facilitates linking social capital.  The ability to engage in these positive relationship building activities can be affected by program and policy factors, such as funding constraints and narrowly defined outcomes of funding agreements. These structural factors can impact upon workers’ capacity to provide the time to listen, to be flexible and provide an individualised response’. (p5)