Community Engagement Is NOT The Same as Marketing
There are many ways in which an organization can “engage a community”. Therefore, the definition of community engagement changes, depending on the desired result (among other parameters).
My favourite definition of community engagement, in the realm of social services, is one given by the British Columbia Healthy Communities Society’s PlanH program:
the process of inviting community members into the decision-making strategy to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate solutions to issues that affect their daily lives and environments
CPOD - UofT Women and Gender Studies: "Experience the Experience Program"
More than just promoting yourself
For many organizations, the objective of community engagement is to promote themselves to the community in hopes of gathering funds, resources or volunteers. This can work in a community that is on better economic and social footing. However, if marginalized communities are to provide anything, they must see themselves as partners. This leads us to the crucial mistake most organizations make when engaging a new community:
Thinking that what works or has worked in one community, will work universally!
To explore why this is NOT the case lets take a step by step look at the definition given above. The first part of this definition, states that community engagement is a process that invites community members.
Even if you developed a pool of potential invitees, and decided who should attend… why should they attend or care? Contrary to the current believe in the high inflation economic reality of 2022… those from marginalized communities want to volunteer, they want to spend some time doing good… but organizations must provide them with an incentive, usually by investing in their communities or presenting the organization with a face and perspective that resonates with the community.
Engagement is a Strategy that Must Differ by Neighbourhood
(Even if Slightly)
Engaging the community is itself a strategy and we all know that strategies are only as good as the people and data informing it, and they are only good if the organization acts on it. As an organization you must have a system whereby ideas from your community engagement team and be assessed and approved by management. If a community engagement specialist at an organization must ask more than once for feedback, or for approval for an initiative, that should gauge the level of commitment by that organization to its community engagement efforts.
Community engagement strategies should differ (even if in a miniscule way) from neighbourhood to neighbourhood. What works in Parkdale, or Downsview may not work in Rexdale, and my good friend Vicki Crystal gave me a perfect example as to why:
Maxcine Telfer and team in a strategizing session
“In Rexdale, youth wont cross streets that put them in a rival gang’s territory and gang territories will change if the leader moves… lines will get redrawn every so often and that should be kept in mind. If you're going to engage these youth, you'd better have a neutral location”
Conditions for Success.
The last aspect of our community engagement definition is the most crucial: “solutions to issues that affect their daily lives and environments”. To build a council and network; to understand; and to engage; you must put this at the heart of any scope, goal, deliverable or objective of any community engagement plan or strategy. Volunteers want to see change in their environments, surroundings or communities. Marginalized communities want to see social investment thats tangible in some way. A new community hub, modernizing of local business institutions, they want to be empowered as well as aided.
If you are to succeed in engaging a community, if you are to effectively promote yourself, you must of invite community members into the decision-making strategy, understand their issues and needs, present a face/representation that resonates with them, and actually help provide solutions to their issues so they see themselves as equal partners.
Race Against Racism - Mississauga 2019