About the Relationships Project
How are we to heal divided communities, to respect difference, trade fairly, care for the displaced, respond to crises, or share the natural world? How are we to live together?
More than ever, the big questions that we face are all about relationships. Their substance and quality will determine the direction and quality of our lives.
Wider society, meanwhile, has been moving in the wrong direction: we network and transact as never before but being well connected is not the same as connecting well. Meaningful time together has been displaced by fast and shallow connection.
We value competition, individualism, speed and scale rather than effective relationships, collaboration and the common good. Our organisations have become more remote and less human as these attitudes are wired into every aspect of our lives.
We can do better. Covid and lockdown has shown us all that our health and happiness, as individuals and as communities, is built from the aggregation of our personal relationships. We could build a better society, an equitable economy, effective government, flourishing businesses, successful services, happy, healthy, thriving communities if we put relationships first.
Strong relationships are not a frilly accessory in a happy neighborhood, a thriving school, an effective health service, a flourishing business, or a strong and cohesive society. They are the making of it all.
Working towards a world of good relationships, wherever we are and whatever we do, is simple common sense. We want to make it common practice.
What we’re doing
We believe in the power of relationships, so relationships are at the heart of how we work. We listen, learn and collaborate with others who share our belief in the importance of relationships. We then translate this learning into a shared vision and practical resources, helping everyone, everywhere to nurture good relationships.
Convenings
Creating spaces for connection and shared learning about relationships
Knowledge Bank
Bottling all that we learn about building a world of good relationships
Toolbox
Translating the learning into practical tools for putting relationships first
Strengthening the field of relationship-centred practice
Lots of people in lots of different spaces are doing amazing work around building better relationships, but the connections between these nodes are often weak or non-existent. We’re teaming up with others who are passionate about the importance of good relationships to join up the jots and create more than the sum of our parts.
Drawing on our insights from over 100 conversations in 2021 and with the support of the National Lottery Community fund (you can read our application here) we’re focusing our efforts on helping to develop the infrastructure to support a thriving field of relationship-centred practice. This infrastructure will:
- Connect people who work in ways that prioritise and promote good relationships by creating opportunities to share, learn and collaborate
- Grow momentum, energy and funding for relationship-centred practice across the field and beyond, including amongst those who are sceptical of relationship-centred practice
What do we mean by relationship-centred practice?
A relationship-centred approach is characterised by empathetic behaviours such as positive listening, active collaboration, a commitment to continuity, kindness and mutual trust. There is a shared sense of purpose and also of agency – “we can do this together”, capacity for challenge, for holding tensions alongside compassion and forgiveness, a focus on assets rather than deficits and sufficient versatility to adapt the practice to the individual rather than fit the individual to the programme. It is informed by experience, but not scripted. The most effective relational practice is not enforced from without. It is compelled from within, willing and dynamic.
Latest blog: Join our 2 year plan for a 20 year vision
We’re on a mission to help strengthen and grow the field of relationship-centred practice but this important task needs the help of many hands. In this blog, we outline our plans for the next two years and share 4 invitations to join forces. We’d love you to join us.
Put yourself on the map to connect with fellow Relationship-Centred practitioners
Come along to our upcoming events to hear from fantastic speakers and talk all things relationships
Share your vision and know how for a world of good relationships
Help us make an irrefutable case for the value of relationship-centred practice
The case for investing in better relationships
Relationships are essential to all of us, in all walks of life. From schools to GP practices and big businesses to grassroots organisations, everything works better when relationships are nurtured. Find out more about the importance of good relationships through our bank of case studies or our collaborative blog.
If you have evidence or anecdotes about the difference that relationships make it your work or life we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch: david@relationshipsproject.org
The team
We’re a small core team supported by a wonderful network of associates and collaborators.
David Robinson
I not only believe it’s possible to build a better world by building better relationships, I see no other way. My background is in community development, helping to turn ideas into action and action into learning. I now work mostly with the Relationships Project.
Talk to me if:
You’re interested in practice learning and evidence and on sharing the lessons and the stories with policy makers as well as practitioners. Practitioner communities? An interdisciplinary learning network? Stats and stories that build the case? New ideas or good old community work with love and a tea pot? I’d love to hear from you
Immy Robinson
Immy (no relation to David!) works full time at The Relationships Project. Her background is in research and service design in the voluntary sector. Outside of work she’s a keen amateur jockey and can often be found hurtling around muddy fields on horseback.
Talk to me if:
Interested in co-hosting an event? Creating a toolkit? Supporting a community of practice? I’d love to help! Wondering how to navigate our work? Wanting to share something with our network? Or just interested in learning more about what we do? I’m always up for a chat!
Read Immy’s posts on the blog.
Iona Lawrence
Iona works for the Relationships Project 2 days a week and her energy is focused on growing and sustaining networks of relationship-centred practitioners alongside a bit of everything else we do. Before freelancing, she worked for Save the Children, Citizens UK and founded the Jo Cox Foundation. She can be found most often bringing people together to share time, cook up plans to disrupt things and take action together.
Talk to me if:
Are you finding your bearings in the field of relationships? Are you looking for allies, funders or partners to expand your practice? Do you want to understand how our network and other networks in the field could help you with your relationship-centred practice? Want to just shoot the breeze or ask some ‘silly questions’ about relational working? I’d love to hear from you!
Neil Denton
Neil believes there is an energy within disagreement and conflict that can be a powerful force for positive change. He helps communities in conflict to find ways to solve real life problems and strengthen human relationships. He is a leader in community mediation and conflict transformation, an Independent Community Mediator, and a Professor in Practice with the After Disasters Network at Durham University. He is co-author of The Sense of Connection and the Bridge Builder’s Handbook.
Talk to me if:
Are you interested in building bridges across divides, in conflict transformation, or in reframing resilience as relational? Looking for someone to talk about the big, complex challenges of our time and how relationships offer a way forward? Or in exploring what academia can offer to the field of relationship-centred practice? I’d love to chat!
Read Neil’s posts on the blog.
The Relationships Collective
The Relationships Collective is a group of 9 servant leaders who together represent just some of the brilliant, enthusiastic, creative and diverse people who are putting relationships first and pioneering a relationship-centred future. From January 2023 – July 2024, The Relationships Collective will be helping to turbocharge our work building and strengthening the field of relationship-centred practice.
Collaborators
We’re hugely grateful to our network of collaborators who have fed in to our thinking at various points in time, and who continue to do so.
Observatory Contributors
We’re grateful to all those who have shared their insights about the effect of the pandemic on our relationships through The Relationships Observatory and The Lookout
Side by Side members
We’re grateful to all of the wonderful people who took part in Side by Side, sharing their experiences of building strong communities and helping to create The Community Weaver’s Companion
Relational Councils Network
We’re thankful for all of the people who work in and with local authorities who have helped us develop our understanding of what it means to be a relational council
Contributors to the blog
We’re grateful to everyone who has shared their thoughts, insights and experiences about relationships and relationship-centred practice by contributing to the blog
Get involved
Looking for support to make your place more relationship-centred? Or interested in collaborating with us in some way? We’d love to hear from you! Drop us a line at hello@relationshipsproject.com
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We’re grateful to our funders and partners for their continued support. If you’re interested in supporting the Relationships Project, we’d love to hear from you.
