CommunityEngagement
Community engagement is the process of working with and through communities to address issues that affect their well-being. It emphasizes meaningful participation of residents and local organizations in the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies.
Engagement typically follows levels such as informing, consulting, involving, collaborating, and empowering, with higher levels granting
Common approaches include public meetings, surveys, participatory planning, co-design workshops, citizen assemblies, advisory boards, and community
Key stakeholders include residents, neighborhood associations, schools, businesses, non profits, and government agencies. Benefits include more
Challenges include ensuring representative participation, overcoming power imbalances, addressing accessibility and language barriers, preventing tokenism, and
Principles often cited are inclusivity, transparency, accessibility, reciprocity, accountability, and responsiveness.
Measurement combines process indicators (participation diversity, meeting attendance) with outcome indicators (policy relevance, service quality, equity)
Examples appear in urban planning, environmental management, public health campaigns, and disaster risk reduction, where community
Historically, community engagement grew from participatory planning and community development movements and has evolved toward co-design
See also participatory budgeting, co-design, civic participation.