Issues with Engagement
Community

What Is This?

It is a selection of tools that cover most aspects of community & citizen engagement, isn’t it, yes it is.

What Is Its Use?

The tools can be used for:

  • Thinking about community issues
  • Good practice tools, useful in community engagement
  • Top Tips

Community Engagement Issues

Community issues often motivate people to become engaged as active citizens.

The following tools have been selected to help you link a community issue with a type of engagement most likely to bring success.

What Issue? What Community?

There are some obvious community issues, such as threatened hospital closure, that motivate citizen actions. This community tends to be a village or a town. There are other sorts of communities that arise from a common interest, such as shared religious beliefs or sexual orientation.

It’s useful to keep in mind whether you’re dealing with a geographic community or a community of interest or perhaps a mix of the two.

Trying to engage people as members of certain communities may have special difficulties.

The Making the Connections report on ‘The Citizen’s Voice’ (PDF, 541k) contains some very helpful advice on recruiting people from different groups.

Focussing on the community as well as the issue helps remind us about all aspects of engagement. For instance, communication:

Pinning notices to lampposts to announce meetings may be suitable for some people but not others.

Once you know your community issue, you still have to get all the other pieces of the citizen engagement jigsaw in place.

National Standards For Community Engagement

Scotland has produced a standard of good practice in community engagement:

http://www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/webpages/otcs_008411.pdf

Top Tips

People are more likely to be involved if:

  • 1. The issue is one they care about or close to their personal experience.
  • 2. They are asked and made to feel that their input is welcomed.
  • 3. The body asking for their views has the power to do something about the issue.
  • 4. Their views are given consideration and are reflected in the decision that is taken or the action that is agreed.
  • 5. The form of engagement is fit for purpose and in particular asks no more from the person than is necessary. There must be a balance between what citizens are asked to put in and the benefits that they gain.
  • 6. They receive the training and support they need to carry out the role effectively.

[Source: Leach, S, Lowndes, V, Cowell, R and Downe, J (2005) Meta-Evaluation of the Local Government Modernisation Agenda: Progress Report on Stakeholder Engagement with Local Government. London, UK: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.]