By Changing Suits
Introduction
Most organisations working with commissioners, funders, police, public sector bodies or communities know the theory of cultural competency. The harder question is how it holds up in practice.
This checklist is designed to help organisations honestly assess where they stand when it comes to engaging South Asian communities. Work through each section and be honest – this is a diagnostic, not a tick-box exercise.
Leadership and strategy
☐ Does cultural competency sit within your organisational strategy, or only within a single team’s remit?
☐ Do South Asian communities have any voice in shaping your services, or are they only consulted after decisions are made?
☐ Is there named accountability for cultural competency at a senior level, with someone who can be held to it?
☐ If your funding or commissioning priorities changed tomorrow, would engagement with South Asian communities survive the change, or is it dependent on one project or person?
Staff and practice
☐ Have frontline and decision-making staff received meaningful cultural competency training – not a one-off session that was delivered years ago?
☐ Do staff understand the specific cultural, generational and religious challenges within South Asian communities, rather than treating them as one homogenous group?
☐ Are staff confident in having open, sometimes difficult conversations about culturally sensitive topics relevant to your service?
☐ Would a South Asian service user or resident say they felt understood, or that they had to explain themselves from scratch?
Data and evidence
☐ Do you collect ethnicity and language data, and can you clearly explain to the communities you collect it from why you’re collecting it?
☐ Is your data self-reported, with a genuine “prefer not to say” option, rather than assumed or recorded by someone else on a person’s behalf?
☐ Do you actually use this data to change how you deliver services and allocate resources – or does it sit in a report that nobody revisits?
☐ Can you identify where your data has gaps, and do you know which South Asian communities are underrepresented in it?
Communication and access
☐ Are your materials available in relevant community languages, and are they culturally adapted rather than simply translated word-for-word?
☐ Do you communicate through the channels and trusted messengers that South Asian communities actually use, rather than only your organisation’s default channels?
☐ Have you asked community members directly whether your current communications feel accessible, respectful and relevant to them?
☐ If someone doesn’t speak English as a first language, is there a clear, dignified route for them to access your service?
Trust and relationships
☐ Do you have ongoing relationships with South Asian communities, or only reactive contact during a campaign, consultation or crisis?
☐ Can you point to a specific time your organisation changed its approach because of community feedback?
☐ Would the communities you serve describe your organisation as trustworthy, and how would you know if they didn’t?
☐ Are your community relationships built through consistent presence, or through people brought in only when engagement numbers are needed?
Scoring yourself honestly
If you answered “no” or “not sure” to several of these questions, you’re not alone. The value of this checklist isn’t a score; it’s knowing exactly where the gaps are so you can prioritise where to act first.
How Can Changing Suits Help?
We help commissioners, funders, public sector bodies and private organisations turn gaps like these into measurable progress. Our services include:
- Cultural competency training for staff and leadership
- Engagement events with South Asian and ethnically diverse communities
- Inclusive data strategy and ethical data collection support
- Service design and re-design with lived-experience input
- Policy and compliance advisory
If you’d like an honest conversation about where your organisation stands, get in touch with us. We’d be happy to have a chat about where your cultural competency gaps are and how we can help improve them.